Is it hard to look at LeBron objectively?

Author | Darius Soriano

Translate | Yang Yunge

Proofreading | JOGI

As LeBron James gets older, his abilities as a player are being challenged more than ever.

But this season when the Lakers are trying to reach their championship goals, his leadership has been tested more.

Bazemore and Stanley Johnson walked cautiously toward the half, acting as inconspicuously as possible.

With the Lakers' losing streak coming to an end, the Crypto Arena is full of energy again, making it easier for the two players to carry out their tasks and score in the open slots.

Their leader, LeBron James, was turning his back on them, being interviewed after a truly dominant performance.

As James explained to reporters how he was able to score a season-high 56 points and lead the Lakers to victory, Bazemore and Stanley rushed in with their ice water bottles, spilling water on his head as their leader laughed.

James was thrilled, and rightfully so.

In his 19th season, james, 37, has just become the only player to have a record of 50+points before and after the age of 21.

He once again proved that he is the best player on the field, and this is exactly what the Lakers need.

This reflects his greatness as a player and his extraordinarily long athletic life.

It also reflects the fact that he is still the highest level player in the league and that he can make a huge impact in any game, even if his career has exceeded 60,000 minutes.

After the game, Vogel thought the game was a sign that LeBron had led the team to victory on his own, and we all nodded in agreement.

He's such a good player!

A few days later, the Lakers drew with their opponents in regular time and entered overtime, with LeBron shaking his shoulders and slightly tired.

You know, a week ago, he was also cheering on national television to beat the Warriors and break the team's losing streak.

Tonight, however, things are different.

Their opponent, the Rockets, who are almost two gears behind the Warriors, went all out to drag the Lakers into overtime and gave the Lakers a head start at the start of overtime.

LeBron, who was suspended for one game due to knee pain, returned to the squad and looked uninterested in playing against opponents of this level.

His explosiveness was not as sharp as ever, which was understandable considering the aforementioned sore knees.

However, he was not focused enough to blame the loss.

On this night, LeBron didn't concentrate very well.

It's not the first time we've seen him like this, so these details are familiar to fans these days.

He's changing defenses very slowly, he's passing too much... Seemingly forced to give up the ball early in the offensive turn, he looked content to let his teammates finish the offense alone.

He has fewer layups, less accuracy in his long-range jump shots, passive and frustrated when his teammates make mistakes, and contradictory state of play and desire to win.

When the final whistle sounded, he scored 23 points on 26 shots, five turnovers, and the team's worst plus-minus of -17.

In such a failure, his triple double also seemed empty and futile.

Whatever good feelings the team had been in a few days ago, they are now gone.

There may not be any player in the league who deserves to analyze his own season from different angles like LeBron to find out why.

He had to reflect on himself in just a few days, which was necessary for the Lakers.

The reality is that given his years in the league, he shouldn't have been as good and stable as he is now.

As a player who has spent most of his life playing in the NBA, he should rest on the second night of back-to-back games.

Playing time per night should be limited to 32 to 34 minutes, and at most as a second-in-command, rather than playing 45 minutes in overtime against one of the worst teams in the league, enduring a knee injury as the first point of attack.

Also, with James making the playoffs almost every year, having a season that was significantly lower than expected was unacceptable for LeBron.

Whatever role he plays in this team, he has a lot of involvement in every way.

This doesn't alleviate frustration or make it more acceptable.

No, such a season is ultimately just a waste.

And in his 19th year, he's past the kind of time to put down this season and hope for next season.

LeBron, on the other hand, is the best player on this team and remains one of the best players in the league.

As he has been in every team (at least) he has played for since high school, he has been a leader.

His teammates get their command from him every night (and indeed) come with a certain responsibility to hold himself to the same standards.

Note that this doesn't mean james has to do everything his teammates do, nor does it mean playing the same explosiveness and effort in every game as they do.

We can't and shouldn't expect LeBron to sprint on the court like Stanley Johnson, or to play with a lot of energy in defense like Reeves.

Again, considering the factors of his extraordinarily long career, not to mention the responsibilities he still has to take on offensively, the factors that ultimately determine this.

But that doesn't mean that the focus of role players needs to be initiated by James, and his emphasis on ball possession and decision-making must also be dominated by him.

In games like against the Rockets, there were too many offensive rounds, and LeBron quickly raised his hand, gestured to the bench, hung his head, or shrugged his shoulders in frustration when teammates did something wrong, all at a level of engagement that was far below his own standards.

This poor body language doesn't inspire confidence and, from an outsider's point of view, is very harmful to building the team spirit needed at this point.

Understandably, there will be nights when LeBron's physical condition is not at his best, or he simply doesn't achieve the effect he wants.

In fact, it is inevitable.

Time is still getting old after all, and while LeBron has stayed in his spot longer than any great player, it would be silly to ignore the hints of his declining physical fitness and the stats that he's approaching 40 and a mile or two slower than he was at 30.

He's still an amazing player and even more a smart player who continues to develop and refine his skills and maintain a high level of efficiency at most nights anyway.

But this compensation and personal adaptability cannot serve as a stand-in for the team to need him to come forward.

I understand that this should not be the case.

Davis is in his prime, and he should have taken on that responsibility rather than missing more than half a season due to various injuries.

Westbrook was supposed to be the team's three-man, helping LeBron lighten the offensive burden rather than spend much of the year messing around and reducing his already bad efficiency even more.

It's all completely unfair.

For nearly 20 years of his career, he has stared at his winning percentage in a team that is significantly below pre-season expectations.

Knowing that he's still such a good player personally, it's easy for us to feel sympathy for LeBron.

The team's demand for him every night is a lot of attrition, and in theory, he shouldn't have to play well against bad teams in order to give the Lakers a chance.

However, we're back where we started, and now, as always seems to be, back to LeBron, who is the ultimate solver of the problem.

Asking LeBron to come up with the state he was in every night when he dominated the Warriors was unrealistic.

Those races are special because they are rare and we should cherish them for that.

But it's also unrealistic to have LeBron as a player against the Rockets.

Because that player, whether it's statistics and efficiency, or why he doesn't have the factors he's not as committed as he used to, is not the leader this team needs.

There is a middle ground here.

If any player can find it, it's LeBron.

But he has to actively look for it, which is a responsibility as the best player and team leader.

And, ultimately, whether he asks for it or not, it's a responsibility he needs to fulfill every night.

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Record this team, with heart