The Lakers lost to the Suns 111-140 today, losing 29 points.
James's personal performance today is still good, playing 30 minutes, 10 of 20 shots, including 5 of 11 three-pointers, 6 of 7 free throws, 31 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, all three statistics are the highest in the team. In the 3rd quarter, James played 12 minutes and scored 16 points and 2 assists on 6-of-9 shooting.
Because the Lakers were behind in the score, James did not play again in the fourth quarter, so James actually only used three quarters of the game to cut down 31 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, but unfortunately the Lakers still suffered a fiasco.
On the Suns side, Booker played brilliantly, playing only 31 minutes, shooting 12 of 25, including 4 of 10 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws, with 30 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals.
It is worth mentioning that since the All-Star Weekend, the Lakers have only won two games in total, and James has cut 50+ in both games. That is to say, if James does not take 50+, the Lakers will not win the ball now.
In today's game, James scored 31 points, and the Lakers still lost as much as 29 points. If the Lakers want to beat the Suns today, James's 50+ will not work, he must get 61 points, and James's career high score is only 61 points.
After All-Star Weekend, James' individual performance was good enough to average 33.1 points per game, second only to Tatum, who averaged 33.4 points per game in the league. However, even so, the Lakers still have only 2 wins and 6 losses, nine wins behind the Timberwolves and five wins behind the Clippers. If there is no playoff, the Lakers probably have no chance to play in the playoffs, and even if there are playoffs, the probability of the Lakers playing in the playoffs this season is very low.
If the Lakers really want James to cut 50+ to win, then there is really no hope, even if the 37-year-old James still has the ability to cut 50+, but it is unlikely to make such a team into the playoffs.