I have to say that this season's James is really too difficult!
James is 37 years old, which is definitely an advanced age for basketball players. But this season he averaged 37.1 minutes per game, ranking third among all players in the NBA. James has continued to do well this season, averaging 30.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. Still, the Lakers' record is still very unsatisfactory, currently 31 wins and 43 losses, ranking 10th in the West, and may be replaced by the Spurs at any time.
The Lakers' game against the Pelicans was the 9th place battle in the West. The Lakers once led 20+, but the Pelicans came up to complete a big comeback and defeated the Lakers 116-108. James slashed 39 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and struggled to save the Lakers! I really don't know what James has to do to save this Lakers team from fire and water.
Although the Lakers lost this game, it also reflected James's steely will and professionalism that put the interests of the team before the individual. After the game went through Quarter 2, James suffered a 90° kick. Lakers player Munch said of James' injury that it was a very horrific injury. It was in this situation that James endured severe pain in this game and still played for nearly 42 minutes.
In an interview with reporters after the game, he talked about his insistence on participating in the game with injuries. James said he felt "severe pain in his legs" but "understood how important this game was for us" and that if it wasn't that important it "probably wouldn't" continue with an injury. ”。
For James, resting after an injury is the best option. But James understood the importance of this game for the Lakers, so he chose to stick to the game with an injury. When James went to the press conference after the game, his steps were a bit faltering. As James put it: "After watching the replay, to be honest I don't even know how I finished the game. It sucked and now feels very sore. That's what we've epitomed up to this season. ”
Some fans say that James is injured, mainly for the scoring king. My answer to that is that James really isn't for the scoring king. Because James felt very good in the first half of this game, he scored 11 points in the first quarter and 14 points in the second quarter. Although James' current advantage over Embiid in the scoring list is very weak, even if James is injured in this game, he will not lose the scoring king.