A long-lost performance of divine courage, in exchange for a long-lost victory, to complete the redemption, this is today's James. In today's game, James frantically swept down 56 points, a new single-game high since joining the Lakers, and his highest single-game score since November 2017, leading the Lakers to a 124-116 victory over the Warriors. As coach Vogel said after the game, James played an incredible performance this season, but was dragged down by the Lakers' record.
Prior to this game, James averaged 28.8 points, 8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game this season, shooting 51.9% overall and 34.8% from three-point range. Throughout James's NBA career, this performance can be ranked in the top 4, not to mention that this performance is played by a 37-year-old veteran in the 19th season of his career, which is difficult to match in the history of the NBA. However, the Lakers suffered four consecutive losses before this game, and only ranked 9th in the West Zone with 27 wins and 35 losses, but James's performance was clouded.
The Lakers have not performed well, and James's words and deeds in recent days are also to blame, especially when he said that he does not care about the ranking of the record and only focuses on winning the next game. Looking back after today's game, it is rare for James to have such a mentality, but before he was criticized, and even some fans will ask: The team boss is so desireless, does the Lakers still have a play this season?
But today's victory has put the Lakers off the brink. By March, the competition for playoff places became more and more fierce, and the Lakers tried their best to stop the bleeding for the team and pull up the record when it was difficult to escape the play-off area, which was the consensus of the whole team, and this game was a good start. In addition, although James has recently been criticized for "brushing points" and only focusing on the total scorer in NBA history, this game has provided another way of thinking for the Lakers: if they want to recover their record, perhaps the superstars led by James must open the playoff mode in advance.
For James himself, this game is also redeeming, after all, not long ago, there were many people who talked about whether the Lakers should send away the Zhan Mei combination. After this game, James proved that if necessary, he can still play a rejuvenating performance, and age is not a problem.
Next, it remains to be seen whether the Lakers can start again on this basis, and whether James can achieve a double harvest of personal performance and team record. (Supine Braces/Hairy)