On March 28, Beijing time, the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 138-126 away.
In this game, the Lakers' star James played well again, playing 35 minutes, shooting 8 of 14 and 7 of 11 free throws, scoring 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.
According to statistics, this is the 111th triple-double of James' career and the fourth triple-double of the season, and at 39 years and 88 days, James continues to break the record for the second-longest triple-double in history held by himself, and the oldest triple-double in history is Karl Malone at 40 years and 127 days.
Back to the game, in the absence of thick eyebrows, James shouldered the beam, his performance is self-evident, a direct data can prove: in a game with a difference of only 12 points, James's on-court plus-minus actually reached +33, in other words, in the 15 minutes he was not on the court, the Lakers lost 21 points to the Grizzlies.
The third quarter was particularly typical, when James led the team to a maximum of 27 points, and until three and a half minutes remained, the Lakers still led by 23 points at 98-75;
However, by the end of the third quarter, the Lakers only led by 10 points at 102-92, which means that in just three and a half minutes of James' absence, the Grizzlies chased 13 points.
Although he is 39 years old, James's performance is still crazy, so far this season, he can average 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game, looking at the whole league, only he and Doncic, Jokic can average 25+7+7 per game;
And James' efficiency has not diminished at all, shooting 53.0%/40.5%/74.8% from three-point range and 62.1% true shooting rate this season, of which his three-point shooting percentage is the highest in his Lakers career, and he can shoot 2.1 three-pointers per game.
It is worth mentioning that James's performance has also improved with the deepening of the season, after the All-Star, he played a total of 14 games, and his average data increased to 27.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 56.5%/44.1%/77.1% and a true shooting rate of 65.6%.
In addition to scoring a 23+14+12 triple-double in this game, not long ago against the Warriors, James also scored 40 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists.
The point is, James is getting better and better, and the Lakers are getting better and better, with a 17-7 record since February, which is the third best in the league during the same period, which is definitely a championship level.
During this period, when James was on the court, the Lakers scored 123.7 points per 100 rounds, outscoring their opponents by 8.3 points, and when James was not on the court, the Lakers scored 110.8 points per 100 rounds, losing 4.1 points to their opponents, and the +12.4 efficiency difference ranked first on the team.
Even if zoomed in to the whole season, James's influence is also the first on the team, when he is on the court, the Lakers win by 3.5 points per 100 possessions, and minus 5.1 points when he is not on the court, and his cumulative plus/minus is currently +169, the first on the team.
As we said, James' performance at this age and age is unprecedented, especially after the All-Star, James seems to be getting older and braver, such as today, he also dunked Scottie Pippen Jr. in the game.
But what impresses us more than the dunk is this - in this game, the league's oldest player, 39 years and 88 days James, and the league's youngest player, GG Jackson, who is only 19 years and 101 days old, are directly opposite each other, and the difference between the two is a full 20 years.
When GG Jackson was born, James was already playing his second season in the NBA, and that season, he was already an All-Star and All-Star Team.
Now, 20 years later, James is still an All-Star and hopefully on the All-Star team — again, it's crazy.
Finally, let's talk about the Lakers.
As we said, after February, the Lakers are 17-7, the third in the league in the same period, only worse than the Celtics (20-4) and Nuggets (18-6), and the sample size of nearly two months is not small, and it is no joke to say that the Lakers have the ability to compete for a championship.
This team is really amazing, it can fight with the Pacers offensively, can compete with the Timberwolves defensively, can win 3-1 with the Thunder in the season, and can also pick off the Celtics away.
If you want to win the championship, there are nothing more than two points, roster depth and superstar ceiling, the Lakers actually have both, and last year's entry into the Western Conference finals has shown that his rotation is not bad, and there are also James and thick eyebrows - as long as there are these two, everything is possible.
As for James, if the time goes back to 10 years ago, let alone Zhan Hei, I'm afraid James can't imagine that he can maintain this state at the age of 39, the self-discipline and dedication behind it can be imagined, whether he wins the championship this year or not, continue to witness greatness.