Li Xilin, Sports Weekly all-media reporter
You can always trust LeBron James, who is about to turn 38 and continues to write miracles. On November 27, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 143 to 138 in a road game in a winning streak. James had 39 points and 11 rebounds and made 7 of 12 three-pointers. His touch returned, scoring a season-high and setting a new record. After half a month of recovery, James made a strong recovery.
Set the oldest record to show three-point firepower
At age 37 years and 332 days, James became the oldest player in NBA history to score at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 3-pointers in a single game. It is worth mentioning that James held at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 7 3-pointers in a single game in NBA history, posting 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a single game against the Bucks when he was 20 years old and 100 days and hit 7 threes.
Once James entered the league at age 18, he broke countless records for youngest. Now that he’s nearly 38, James is frantically collecting the oldest record.
This is the second game back for James, who had missed many games with a strained left adductor muscle. After the return of Schroder and Thomas Bryant, Hamm gave James enough time to rest. Playing back-to-back against Spurs, who were obviously failing, Zhan Huang showed no mercy.
James had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block and 3 steals the day before, but had an impressive 9 turnovers. Fighting back to back, brother Nongmei missed out with injury and Thomas Bryant moved into the starting lineup. Brother Nongmei is the top scorer of the Lakers this season: he scored more than 25 points in the last 5 games, of which more than 30 in 4 games.
With Brother Nongmei’s absence, James must raise the banner of offense. James had a good 3-pointer in this battle: he hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter, hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter, had a foul and hit a free throw, then was substituted for a rest. After returning from halftime, Zhan Huang hit another three-pointer. James also collaborated exquisitely with Wei Shao. After stealing, he passed to Wei Shao who was on the break. Wei Shao didn’t shoot himself and kept passing the ball to James who followed. Very nice.
Regarding this wonderful connection with the lob, James said after the game: “Wei Shao is an elite passer in our team, and he has always been an elite passer in basketball games. I thought I should continue. Run over there and see if he’s going to pass the ball back, which he did.”
James scored 16 points in the first half, including 4 of 7 from three-point range. James maintained fierce firepower in the second half, and Wei Shao temporarily left the field due to injury. James fouled back to back and got to the free throw line to score. In the fourth quarter of the game, James felt very good, making two 3-pointers and scoring on field goals.
The Spurs couldn’t stop the ferocious LeBron James. James killed the Quartet and led the Lakers to win the game. Regarding the recovery of the state in this fight, he hit 7 triples.James said: “Experience is the best mentor in life. In my career, many situations have made me a better version of myself. I work hard and I work hard. Show dominance in the game and don’t let your flaws hold you back. I’m happy that my skills are well-rounded now.”
James’s shooting touch has been relatively poor this season. Prior to this game, James shot 45.8% from the field and 24.0% from three-point range, including his field goal percentage was the second lowest of his career, only better than his rookie season . After James’ rookie season, his shooting percentage was originally over 47% and his career shooting percentage was 50.4%. He hasn’t had a good hand this season. James’s three-point shooting rate this season is a career low and his career three-point shooting rate is 34.5%.
After recovering for half a month, James’ mentality calmed down. As for his poor hand feeling earlier, James said after the game that he wasn’t concerned about his slow shooting performance earlier in the season, because he knew and believed in his efforts. In this game, James’ scoring and triples reached new season highs.
6 games won 5 games, the Lakers record soared
After two consecutive victories, the Lakers are ranked 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 7 wins and 11 losses, and behind them they have already suppressed the Spurs. The Lakers once had a record of 2 wins and 10 losses, tying the record for the worst start in Lakers history. But in the last 6 games the Lakers have a good record of 5 wins and 1 loss.
The Lakers are gradually getting back on track. Regarding the Lakers’ previous bleak start, James said, “It’s just a feeling that everyone wasn’t too sure about each other at the time, and we didn’t know each other well enough. But over the last few weeks, we’ve been getting to know each other and getting to know each other. Learning, we played one good basketball after another, continuing to share the ball on the floor.
The Lakers have better chemistry now. In the Spurs’ loss on Nov. 27, six Lakers players scored in double figures. Schroeder continued to start, posting 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists.
This is the fifth game of the season for Schroeder, who didn’t return until November 19 with a finger injury and played as a substitute in the first three games. Since Beverley was suspended by the league for 3 games, Schroder moved into the starting lineup. Schroeder jumped at the chance to show off his energy. Starting in game one, Schroeder had 9 points and 5 assists.
James said the tacit understanding between him and Schroeder still exists, and both are still finding their groove. In this game, both James and Schroeder really bounced back.
Lonnie Walker has maintained a stable performance: he is the Lakers’ third leading scorer this season, posting 19 points and 5 rebounds, 7-of-10 shots and 3-of-5 three-pointers.
Thomas Bryant, who entered the starting lineup in this battle, performed well, played only 18 minutes and scored 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. Wei Shao had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on the bench, and Reeves had 16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Gabriel had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.
“I feel we are getting better and better. Now everyone will pass the ball more and everyone has confidence in their shots. We believe in our long shots and we will also attack the basket,” said James after the game.
The Lakers are the team with the worst three-point shooting percentage in the league this season, but in this game the Lakers hit 17 of 33 three-pointers and had a season-best performance with three-point shooting percentage by 51.5%.
The Lakers are recovering, and James also underlined the team’s problem, which is defending the opponent’s counterattack and protecting rebounds in the backcourt. In this game, the Spurs grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, negating the Lakers’ 3 offensive rebounds. In this game, the Spurs scored 39 points on the fast break and the Lakers scored 20 points on the fast break, but were also overwhelmed by the Spurs.
The Lakers will then play two home games and then begin the road trip. James hopes the Lakers can rack up wins and improve on their record in the near future: “Just like we go through every game, we’ve read the defense on the field in the last two weeks. It will be a good team, but it’s about racking up wins, we’ll play the next two games and then we’ll leave.”
Wei Shao’s death shows Lakers blood
Wei Shao was elbowed to the ground by Zach Collins and, after getting up, immediately asked Collins to fight. The Lakers have a lot of blood men this season. Beverley defended Reeves when he played against the Suns, pushed Ayton down and was suspended by the league for 3 games. It’s not easy to mess with Lakers players.
It happened with 2 minutes to go in the third quarter. Wei Shao attacked from the basket and was blocked by Zach Collins. Wei Shao grabbed an offensive rebound and got up for a layup. Collins elbowed him in the forehead. Wei Shao fell to the ground, got up and rushed to face Collins. Teammates came to separate the two sides, and Wei Shao’s forehead was bleeding. After watching the replay, the referee fixed a flagrant foul and expelled Collins from the field, Wei Shao was called a technical foul.
When Wei Shao rushed in front of Collins, James hugged Wei Shao tightly, pulled him away, and covered his wound with a towel to prevent Wei Shao from creating a bigger conflict. At the same time, he also hoped that Wei Shao could receive treatment as soon as possible. “Rick West is like a fast car, so I just try not to let him step up. Before he (West Shao) and I were teammates, we were like brothers. His health is more important than basketball. So I try to stop the escalation.” James said, “I saw his injuries. I took him to the counter and let the staff deal with his injuries.”
After the referee took the penalty, Wei Shao made free throws, made two free throws and was replaced by Lonnie Walker and went to the locker room for further treatment of the injury.
Wei Shao had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block in this game, and had 6 turnovers. Lakers coach Hamm said in an interview that James went to help Wei Shao reflect the brotherhood, and also represented the image of the Lakers as a whole.
It should be said that Beverly angrily pushed Ayton for Reeves, Wei Shao was beaten to death and asked Collins to fight, and James took care of the wounded Wei Shao all the time, which really reflected the brotherhood of soldiers Lakers.
These two conflicts are not necessarily a bad thing for the Lakers, but they can enhance the friendship and tacit understanding between Lakers soldiers. The Lakers have had a relatively large lineup change this season. Players come from all corners of the country. They hadn’t had a good chemical reaction before. This is also an important reason for the Lakers’ previous losing streak.
In these two conflicts, teammates actively stood up, which helped them to trust each other more. In this way, it is advantageous for them to cooperate more tacitly on the pitch and dare to take various actions, because they have reliable teammates behind them.
After these two conflicts, it’s time for the adversaries to gain the upper hand. If they dare to be cocky with Lakers players, it is very likely that other Lakers players will stand up. Once Beverly returns from the ban, opponents may be even more fearful, because Hei Bei is a player who doesn’t care.
The Lakers are back on track, they have restored a full lineup. Brother Nongmei’s injury is not serious and he is expected to return to participate in the next match. Next, what the Lakers need to do is form a better chemical reaction and find the best formation match. Coach Hamm doesn’t have to worry as much as he did at the start of the season. Now he has enough manpower, Brother Nongmei has returned, and Heibei has been relieved. If the Lakers use a 10-man rotation, there will still be generals who cannot play. Hamm will also face happiness issues.
