Li Xilin, All Media Reporter of Sports Weekly
You can always trust LeBron James, who is about to turn 38 and continues to write miracles. On November 27, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 143 to 138 in an away game to achieve back-to-back victories. James scored 39 points and 11 rebounds, and made 7 of 12 three-pointers. His touch is back, scoring a season high and setting a new record. After half a month of recuperation, James recovered strongly.
Set the oldest record to show three-point firepower
At the age of 37 years and 332 days, James became the oldest player in NBA history to score at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 three-pointers in a single game. It is worth mentioning that James has maintained the record of scoring at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 three-pointers in a single game in NBA history. He scored 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a single game against the Bucks when he was 20 years old and 100 days old. And hit 7 three-pointers.
Once James entered the league at the age of 18, he broke countless records for the youngest. Now nearly 38 years old, James is frantically harvesting the oldest record.
This is the second game back for James, who had missed many games due to a strained left adductor muscle. After Schroder and Thomas Bryant returned, Hamm gave James enough time to rest. Playing back-to-back against the Spurs, who were obviously failing, Zhan Huang didn’t show any mercy.
James scored 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block and 3 steals the day before, but made as many as 9 turnovers. Fighting back to back, Brother Nongmei missed due to injury, and Thomas Bryant entered the starting lineup. Brother Nongmei is the top scorer of the Lakers this season. He has scored more than 25 points in the last 5 games, including 30+ points in 4 games.
With Brother Nongmei absent, James must hold up the banner of offense. James had a good three-pointer in this battle. He scored a three-pointer in the first quarter, scored two three-pointers in the second quarter, and made a foul and scored a free throw. He was then replaced for a rest. After returning from the break, Zhan Huang made another three-pointer. James also cooperated exquisitely with Wei Shao. After stealing, he passed to Wei Shao who was on the fast break. Wei Shao didn’t make a shot himself and continued to pass the ball to James who followed up. Very handsome.
Regarding this wonderful lob connection, James said after the game: “Wei Shao is an elite passer on our team, and he has always been an elite passer in basketball games. I thought I should continue Run down there and see if he’s going to pass the ball back, which he did.”
James scored 16 points in the first half, including 4 of 7 three-pointers. James maintained a fierce firepower in the second half, and Wei Shao temporarily left the field due to injury. James made consecutive fouls and got to the free throw line to score. In the fourth quarter of the game, James felt very good, scoring two three-pointers and scoring at the basket.
The Spurs couldn’t stop the ferocious LeBron James. James killed the Quartet and led the Lakers to win the game. Regarding the recovery of the state in this battle, he scored 7 three-pointers. James said: “Experience is the best life mentor. In my career, many situations have made me a better version of myself. I work hard and work hard. Show dominance in the game and don’t let your shortcomings hold you back. I’m happy that my skills are well-rounded now.”
This season, James’ shooting touch was relatively poor. Before this game, James shot 45.8% from the field and 24.0% from the three-point range. Among them, the field goal percentage was the second lowest in his career, only better than his rookie season. After James’ rookie season, his shooting percentage was originally above 47%, and his career shooting percentage was 50.4%. He hasn’t had a good hand this season. James’ three-point shooting rate this season is a career low, and his career three-point shooting rate is 34.5%.
After recuperating for half a month, James’ mentality became calm. Regarding his poor hand feeling before, James said after the game that he was not worried about his sluggish shooting performance at the beginning of the season, because he knew and believed in his efforts. In this game, James’ scoring and three-pointers hit new season highs.
6 games won 5 games, the Lakers’ record climbed
After two consecutive victories, the Lakers ranked 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 7 wins and 11 losses, and they have already suppressed the Spurs behind them. The Lakers once had a record of 2 wins and 10 losses, tying the record for the worst start in Lakers history. But in the last 6 games, the Lakers have achieved a good record of 5 wins and 1 loss.
The Lakers are gradually getting back on track. Regarding the previous bleak start of the Lakers, James said: “It’s just a feeling that everyone was not very sure about each other at that time, and we didn’t know each other enough. But in the past few weeks, we have been getting to know each other and get to know each other. Learning, we played good basketball after another, kept sharing the ball on the floor.”
The Lakers do have better chemistry now. In the defeat of the Spurs on November 27, six players from the Lakers scored in double figures. Schroeder continued to start, scoring 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.
This is Schroeder’s fifth game of the season. He didn’t return until November 19 due to a finger injury, and he played as a substitute in the first three games. Because Beverley was suspended by the league for 3 games, Schroder entered the starting lineup. Schroeder jumped at the chance to show his energy. Starting the first game, Schroeder scored 9 points and 5 assists.
James said that the tacit understanding between him and Schroeder is still there, and both of them are still finding their rhythm. In this game, both James and Schroeder really recovered.
Lonnie Walker maintained a stable performance. He is the third leading scorer of the Lakers this season. In this game, he scored 19 points and 5 rebounds, 7 of 10 shots and 3 of 5 three-pointers.
Thomas Bryant, who entered the starting lineup in this battle, performed well. He only played 18 minutes and scored 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. Wei Shao scored 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on the bench, and Reeves scored 16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Gabriel had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.
“I feel that we are getting better and better. Now everyone will pass the ball more, and everyone has confidence in their shots. We believe in our outside shots, and we will also attack the basket.” James said after the game.
The Lakers are the team with the worst three-point shooting rate in the league this season, but in this game, the Lakers made 17 of 33 three-pointers and made the best performance of the season, with a three-point shooting rate of 51.5%.
The Lakers are recovering, and James also pointed out the team’s problem, which is defending the opponent’s fast break and protecting the backcourt rebounds. In this game, the Spurs grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, blowing out the Lakers’ 3 offensive rebounds. In this game, the Spurs scored 39 points in the fast break, and the Lakers scored 20 points in the fast break, but they were also overwhelmed by the Spurs.
The Lakers will play two home games next, and then start the road trip. James hopes that the Lakers can accumulate victories and improve their record in the near future: “Just like the way we deal with every game, we have read the defense on the court in the past two weeks. It’s going to be a good team, but it’s about accumulating wins. We’re going to play the next two games and then go away.”
Wei Shao’s death shows the bloodiness of the Lakers
Wei Shao was knocked to the ground with an elbow by Zach Collins. After standing up, he immediately asked Collins to fight. The Lakers this season have many bloody men. Beverley stood up for Reeves when he played the Suns, pushed Ayton down, and was suspended by the league for 3 games. The Lakers players are not easy to mess with.
It happened with 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Wei Shao attacked from the basket and was blocked by Zach Collins. Wei Shao grabbed an offensive rebound and got up for a layup. Collins elbowed him on the forehead. Wei Shao fell to the ground, he got up and rushed to confront Collins. The teammates came up to separate the two sides, and Wei Shao’s forehead was bleeding. After watching the replay, the referee called a flagrant foul and expelled Collins from the field. Wei Shao was called a technical foul.
When Wei Shao rushed in front of Collins, James hugged Wei Shao tightly, pulled him away, and covered his wound with a towel to prevent Wei Shao from creating a bigger conflict. At the same time, he also hoped that Wei Shao could receive treatment as soon as possible. “Rick West is like a fast car, so I just try not to let it escalate. Before me and him (West Shao) were teammates, we were like brothers. His health is more important than basketball. So I try To stop the escalation.” James said, “I have seen his wounds. I took him to the bench and let the staff deal with his wounds.”
After the referee made the penalty, Wei Shao executed free throws, made two free throws, and was replaced by Lonnie Walker and went to the locker room for further wound treatment.
Wei Shao scored 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block in this game, and made 6 turnovers. Lakers coach Hamm said in an interview that James went to help Wei Shao to reflect the brotherhood and also represented the image of the Lakers as a whole.
It has to be said that Beverly pushed Ayton angrily for Reeves, Wei Shao was beaten to death and asked Collins to fight, and James took care of the injured Wei Shao throughout, which really reflected the brotherhood of the Lakers soldiers.
These two conflicts are not necessarily a bad thing for the Lakers, but may enhance the friendship and tacit understanding between the Lakers soldiers. The Lakers have had a relatively large lineup change this season. The players come from all corners of the country. They did not form a good chemical reaction before. This is also an important reason for the Lakers’ previous losing streak.
In these two conflicts, the teammates actively stood up, which helped them to trust each other more. In this way, it is beneficial for them to cooperate more tacitly on the court and dare to make various actions, because they have trustworthy teammates as their backing.
After these two conflicts, it’s time for the opponents to weigh in. If they dare to be presumptuous to the Lakers players, it is very likely that other Lakers players will stand up. Once Beverly comes back from the ban, opponents may be even more afraid, because Hei Bei is a player who doesn’t care.
The Lakers are back on track, they have restored a full lineup. Brother Nongmei’s injury is not serious, and he is expected to return to participate in the next game. Next, what the Lakers have to do is to form a better chemical reaction and find the best lineup match. Coach Hamm doesn’t have to worry as much as he did at the beginning of the season. Now he has enough manpower, Brother Nongmei is back, and Heibei is lifted. If the Lakers use a 10-man rotation, there will still be generals who will not be able to play. Hamm will also face happiness troubles.