The anticipated return of LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers arrived recently, with the NBA superstar starting alongside fellow stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. With the team facing the struggling Utah Jazz, they put up 140 points while their opponents managed just 126.
LeBron finished with decent numbers for a return to the court, scoring a modest 11 points to go with 12 assists and three rebounds. He played just 26 minutes with starters Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Deandre Ayton combining for 83 points.
As one might expect, the team’s top scorer remained Luka, who recorded 37 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. As of this writing, the Lakers superstar leads the league in scoring, with an average of 34.6 points per game. Oklahoma City Thunder star and reigning NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is right behind him with 32 per game.
Before his return, many questioned LeBron’s ability to contribute to the Lakers at his age, given the expectation that he might begin to decline in his overall game and physical skills. Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd recently addressed seeing King James back, even discussing a huge reality check for one of the game’s all-time greats.
During a recent "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Cowherd mentioned how "LeBron has always been the best player on the team." He mentioned last season, when he was equal to or better than Luka at times, because Luka was injured and overweight when playing for the Lakers.
“Let’s keep it a hundred. LeBron now, for the first time in his career, is absolutely the second-best player on a team,” Cowherd said, referencing his previous star teammates Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Davis.
Cowherd also called the game against the Jazz a “perfect night” for LeBron’s return, given that the Jazz are the “worst defensive team in the NBA by a mile.” He said it was the healthiest Lakers roster in years, and “LeBron eased his way back into it.”
However, the Fox Sports analyst also indicated that LeBron's "usage rate" by the Lakers' JJ Redick is what he's interested in seeing going forward, as he mentioned that "LeBron didn't insert himself into the offense" against the Jazz.
Cowherd said LeBron only had the ball 13 percent of the time against Utah, and wondered if the NBA superstar would still be happy with a much lower usage rate by the time the NBA season hits April.
He’ll get another game against the Jazz as part of his return to the court, as the Lakers visit Utah to play the squad they just beat. Based on Cowherd’s take, LeBron should take a backseat to Luka, who is playing superior ball, but one has to wonder whether LeBron will be okay with that role or decide he wants to take his talents elsewhere.
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