After losing to the Lone Ranger in two overtime games, the Lakers are currently ranked 13th in the West with a 19-23 record, and are still struggling outside the play-off zone, although James has averaged 29.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game this season, shooting 50.3% from the field overall, and the performance is not lost at the peak, but this has nothing to do with the word "win", so the outside world began to ask the soul torture, why can't a historical superstar in excellent form turn data into victory?
There is actually a very reasonable answer to this question, that is, the league is now in the era of small balls with data explosion, according to statistics, 20 years ago, in the 03-04 season, only Maddie averaged more than 25 points per game in the league, and now it has skyrocketed to 19, if you measure the star level by the standards of that year, there are now superstars everywhere.
So it is not difficult to understand that 20 years ago James could get 25 + 7 + 7 comprehensive data, now 38 years old, the data has not only not declined, but has slightly improved, which is not to show how stable his state is, but the general environment has changed, data has become worthless, James seems to be ten years of all-round data, in fact, he has gone downhill.
As we all know, although James has played many positions in his career, but he exists as a "ball core", and he is also one of the few stars in history with his own system, whether in the Cavaliers, Heat or Lakers, he firmly holds the ball, teammates can get the ball depends on his choice, so the most suitable teammates are three-point shooters and blue collar in the box.
Unfortunately, the Lakers' three-point shooting rate this season is only 33.7% in the league, ranking 26th in the league, a proper bottom level, Davis and Westless two core masters are shooting less than 30%, James's own long-range shooting efficiency is only 28.5%, lower than the rookie season to create a career low, the team's highest starting percentage is center Thomas Bryant, you can imagine how hard James' ball holding system will work, and the ball passed to teammates is difficult to convert into points.
In fact, playing in James's system, if there is no strong ability, it is difficult not to drop the shooting percentage, the first James holds the ball for a long time, if the defensive intensity is average, he will score into the box by himself, and when the defensive intensity comes up, he will pass to teammates in better positions, but at this time teammates are not fully prepared at all, it is impossible to have a shot.
Secondly, playing next to the Lakers and James, it will have received more attention, and naturally will bear more pressure, when the shooter lacks enough ease and confidence, even Curry and Thompson will play iron, so in recent years, many outside stars will have a three-point efficiency decline as soon as the Lakers come, James is always alone, the data is good but difficult to win.
With the development of the times, the big core of the ball has proved to be unable to succeed on its own, as strong as James also needs the help of Wade, Irving and Davis, and Harden and West, who have not yet won the championship, have begun to gradually transform, such as Doncic enjoying the praise of the outside world, but he has been unable to bring the Lone Ranger to the ideal height, and continue to play according to this model The ceiling is clearly visible.
If we still ask James to be super-giant, then he can no longer bear this title, after all, you can no longer determine the extremely high lower limit of strength under the system that comes with it, but if you look at it as a 38-year-old veteran, then this performance is very respectable, not to mention that Old Jen is about to achieve the "411" feat, which is definitely the icing on the cake.
The success and failure of the team is never the entire responsibility of a player, but the star has an obligation to make the team exist in a decent way, and it is clear that the current Lakers do not deserve enough respect, just like Doncic led the team out of danger with two consecutive three-pointers in the last game, and if James can continue to do so, his system will never collapse completely.