The Paper's reporter Ma Zuoyu
In 18 years in the NBA league and 15 playoffs, LeBron James finally tasted the bitterness of "one round" for the first time at the age of 36.
When the final whistle sounded, the Lakers and The Suns' sixth playoff game was fixed at 113-100, and James did not do much with his opponent on the court and walked back to the locker room with his head down.
Playing 41 minutes, with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, as well as 2 steals and 2 blocks, James handed over the data in the final game is not ugly, but still powerless to drag the Lakers out of the quagmire of loss.
James was lonely.
James' final few rounds of the game seemed to epitomize his entire season — first trying to back-hit Cameron Johnson, who was 12 years younger than him, only to be robbed; then trying to grab the attack under the basket but being blocked by Crowder; giving the ball to a teammate, but only to watch it come back again and again.
He complained to the referee again and again, but he could only portray the helplessness and struggle in his body more obviously...
The 36-year-old James really can't lead the team to the Finals on his own, as the American media "Sports Illustrated" wrote, "It must be admitted that James is no longer the strongest player who can do everything." ”
James gave his jersey to the young Booker after the game, who scored 47 points.
Milestone season, "mileage sad" ended
If it weren't for the first time in his career to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, James' 18th season would have been quite perfect. At the age of 36, the "thirty-year-old man" has set one historical record after another on the court.
In mid-February, in the focus battle against the Nets, James lost the game, but set a milestone - he reached the 35,000-point mark in his career total, surpassing "Sky hook" Abdul-Jabbar to become the youngest Mr. 35,000 in NBA history. James, 36 years old and 51 days old, advanced the record by more than 2 years.
What's more, according to StatMuse, James is the only player in history to achieve 35,000 points, 9,000 rebounds and 9,000 assists.
In fact, before this great milestone, Every few games James played this season was able to rewrite an NBA record:
In early February against the Nuggets, James hit his 12,691st athletic goal of his career, surpassing legendary Neville Chamberlain to become the third-most athletic goal scorer in NBA history; it was also that game that helped him score more than 25 points in 800 career games, also a new league record.
Not long after, James received 5922554 votes in the All-Star fan vote, becoming the "king of votes" for the fifth consecutive year, which was also the eighth time in his career to receive this honor, second only to Jordan's 9 times.
When the regular season ended, James averaged 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game, allowing him to maintain such an amazing performance for 17 consecutive seasons, once again becoming the "first man" in NBA history.
At that time, the Us media had begun to discuss the possibility of James "regaining the regular season MVP after eight years", and they even came up with the phrase "I want that damn respect" that James once said, alluding to the NBA league's lack of minimum fairness and respect for James in the selection.
Unfortunately, James's shine throughout the season ended in "mileage sadness" - in the past 10 years, James has reached the finals 9 times, but this time, he fell in the first round for the first time.
In six playoff games, James averaged 23.3 points per game, and the number of appearances and points per game were his playoff history lows.
James and Booker hugged, and the league was already young.
No matter how good the body is, it can't bear age and injury
"At this point, given James's ankles and age, it must be admitted that James is no longer the best player on the field." That's what Robin Lundberg, a veteran commentator at Sports Illustrated, said.
In fact, Lundberg is not a "Janch", just after the "Janku 5.0" battle, he also wrote a comment praising James's strength.
But as he says now, "James is 36 years old, he used to be the best player in the league, but injuries and age have prevented him from getting back to 100 percent." ”
Indeed, injuries are dragging down James' body — even though he spends millions of dollars a year training and protecting his body, he still can't withstand the onslaught of injuries.
The game against the Hawks in March was a turning point in the fate of James and the Lakers' season. He was hit from the side by the Hawks' small forward Solomon Hill during a ball-holding attack in the second quarter, and it was this serious high ankle sprain that kept James out for a long time.
When he returned to the court again, James also said, "My injury has not healed all season."
The Lost Lakers Bench.
You know, James was once a well-known iron man in the league. ESPN has given a report on James' absences for 18 seasons in his career:
From 2003 to 2010, James only missed 26 games in 7 years, when the Cavaliers played a record of 10 wins and 16 losses; from 2010 to 2014, James only missed 18 games in the Heat, the team's winning percentage was just 50%; then returned to Cleveland, missed 27 games in the next 4 years, the team record was 4 wins and 23 losses; and in the 3 seasons of the Lakers, James has missed 52 games, and this season has missed 27 games.
Even back in the game, James's body is not in the best condition, not to mention the thick eyebrows have fallen due to a groin injury...
When the "King Mountain" showdown was over with 5 minutes left, James got up and left the court, which also caused a hot discussion at the time, and the explanation given by Lakers coach Vogel was, "LeBron must start treatment, that will help him prepare for game six." ”
Vogel's remarks are not an excuse to prevaricate reporters, and the 36-year-old james does need more time to adjust his body and manage the physical load, and injuries throughout the season have exhausted him physically and mentally.
James and the Lakers have never been able to find rhythm.
Has the "James era" come to an end?
As a result, lakers fans at Staples Center witnessed a James who was "dragged down by the team".
In the first two quarters of the sixth game, the Lakers were once 22 points behind, and when the third quarter point difference was gradually approached, James began a "last attempt", he suddenly shot inside and outside to help the Lakers close the point difference to close to 10 points. However, when he came off the field to rest, the sun took advantage of the situation to open up the point difference.
Watching his teammates repeatedly fail to shoot, James carried the ball through the half by himself, and then dribbled into an innocuous three-pointer.
'Every season is a different challenge and it's important for me to get this team back to health and to get myself back to full strength. After the season, James left a summary like this: "I haven't fully recovered in this series. ”
Whether fans blame James for leaving the game early or attacking passively in this round of playoffs, James, who persevered with injuries, did his best, and in his 18th season, the 36-year-old James is still making changes, trying to play a kind of "evolution" belonging to the 36-year-old player on the court.
According to ESPN statistics, in the first half of the season, James's average three-point shot per game reached 6.7 times, the number of shots reached 2.7, and the shooting rate was even as high as 41%. At that time, these three statistics were all new career highs.
You know, long-range projection has always been one of James's "soft underbelly", and he made up for this shortcoming in the middle and late stages of his career.
The Suns stopped James.
"It's really amazing that a player is still trying to improve in the 18th year of his career and can evolve to this extent." Even Lakers coach Vogel marveled at James' efforts and changes, "To beat those teams at the top of the standings, it is also these basic skills that seem ordinary." ”
In the regular season, James is still trying to improve more, "dribbling, free throws, three-pointers, low back play, back basket offense, face basket offense, mid-range, long-distance dribbling breakthroughs, etc., I just want to practice some tricks that will make the opponent's defense unbalanced." I've always felt that if I could improve my personal competitiveness as much as possible, then our team would be stronger. ”
However, on the way to the championship, the regular season is only the first step, the playoffs with higher offensive and defensive intensity are the real test, and James, who cannot recover to 100%, is obviously unable to show dominance - averaging 23.3 points per game in 6 games, the lowest of his 15 playoff trips.
He is now only at 19th place on the playoff scoring list, with young players like Doncic, Jokic and Tatum averaging nearly 10 points per game than James, and "supergiants" like Durant and Leonard also being able to maintain around 30 points.
Stopping the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career does not mask James's greatness, but this fold may be a signal - when James enters the end of his career, the NBA may also be out of the "James era".
Editor-in-Charge: Ascendas