LOS ANGELES – Wait, so people actually thought that adding 23 to the 10-4 Lakers might be a minus?
Well, they beat the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, are now 11-4 and riding high after putting up a season-high 140 points in a game they won by 14 and that felt like a concert, every member of the band in tune and hitting all the right notes.
The conductor, LeBron James, said afterward: “Just so fun.”
He was smiling still following his first game back from sciatica, which cost him all of training camp and the first 14 games of the season. It was strange not to see him to start a season.
No worries now, because before a packed, appreciative house, the 40-year-old wearing No. 23 was out there again touching hardwood, debuting in his history-making 23rd season and – dare I say – doing it in predictable fashion.
By playing basketball the right way.
You’d think after all these years in phosphorescent limelight, that people would know LeBron better. Still, he took the opportunity to reintroduce – LeIntroduce? – himself.
“I can fit in with anybody, I can ride with anybody,” said LeBron after notching 11 points and a flashy 12 assists to match the bright, shiny metallic gold Nikes with 40k+ [points, not assists] engraved on the heels.
Yeah, maybe the billionaire basketball player can be passive-aggressive online on occasion, and he might have done some flexing for the benefit of his front offices. But on-court, he’s aggressive-aggressive. This dude doesn’t own a fat suit and he’s not the guy you’re going to find standing in the corner and pouting, even if he is introduced first during player introductions and not last, even though he wasn’t offered an extension in the offseason for the first time in his career.
James has never been one to cheat the game, or he wouldn’t still be playing it, and it wouldn’t still be rewarding him.
What did he say at media day? “The thing that’s still pushing me is the love of the game is still high. The love of the process is still higher, and so that’s what continues to push me to play this game. It’s really that simple.”
It would be silly to expect him not to embrace the co-starring role on a team that’s on its way up, especially at this stage of his career. Would he prefer to be pushing alongside less talented teammates? Not to be working with a joyful 27-year-old superstar like Luka Doncic, an ascendant Austin Reaves and a supporting cast of characters – including LeBron “Bronny” James Jr.! – who seem really to like each other, like, for real?
What’s not to love, if you’re a Laker? Now, if you’re on the other side, sure, you hate to see it: LeBron checks out, Luka comes in. It’s like a young Lionel Messi coming on for Ronaldinho when they played together at FC Barcelona (tip of the hat to Lakers fan Christian Rivas for the apt online analogy).
And did I sense some concern that James might not think he’d be getting enough shots?
Again, have we forgotten who this man is?
We used to blast him for being an over-sharer!
How many times has the NBA’s all-time leading scorer – a facilitator at heart – been ripped for being too trusting, for making a pass to an open teammate instead of taking the big shot himself? Only when you’re as good as LeBron James can the right play so often be the wrong play.
Well, against young, pace-pushing Utah, James was like: Nice to see you again! To his teammates, to all of us. Emphasis on see you, because he caught seemingly every cutting Laker for those dozen dimes (and just one turnover).
He set up six teammates for easy buckets, whether he was zipping passes or lobbing them. He rumbled with his broad shoulders into the paint a few times, even drawing one, two, three, four defenders with him to give Jake LaRavia – who scored eight of his 16 points off passes from LeBron – another wide-open look.
And all night, James celebrated with his mates, dancing and gesturing and even striking a pose before Gabe Vincent’s 3-pointer went down to end the third quarter, so strong was the belief in Crytpo.com Arena this night.
Said center DeAndre Ayton, who scored eight of his 20 points off passes from James: “Those are easy, easy buckets right there.”
Concurred Reaves, who chipped in Tuesday with 26 points on 7-for-11 shooting: “We have two of the best passers to ever touch a basketball. And with them making the right read, I’d say 90% of the time, you’re gonna play advantage basketball. And at that point, the game should be pretty easy.”
Numbers don’t lie: Against the Jazz, the Lakers an easy, breezy 59.5%, their best of the season.
The goal going forward, James said, will be to “not let teams off the hook, offensively.”
There will be wrinkles to iron out, and there won’t be 140 points on the scoreboard every night.
And LeBron admits there’s the matter of his “wind” to reacquire. But when it returns, the Lakers would be wise to insist that he pace himself. Savor his contributions to a team that won’t be favored to win a championship over the Oklahoma City Thunder in this, Season No. 23, but that has the capability of consistently sending their fans home, humming a happy tune, for having watched them try.