Lebron James in a blowout loss against the Pistons: 17 PTS on 6⁄17 FG, 2-5 FT, 4 REB, 4 AST, 5 TO, -16
Pretty horrible game, even by Lebron’s standards. Defense wasn’t there tonight as well. Beginning of the end?
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810315
Seemed like all 5 turnovers were within 3 minutes
His handling and dribbling of the ball are totally off this year
I guess its just old motor skills and head in the clouds awareness of being a 41 year old athlete now
His mind is on the golf course…
Me at work but with disc golf
Father Time is undefeated. He put up a hell of a fight though
He never had the best dribbling. So it makes sense
Back injury will fuck up your whole shit
Never seen him miss a point blank layup the way he did this game. I see it with Steph too. They go through stretches where it looks like they have cement in their shoes.
Until just now? Lmao
His turnovers are down more than his minutes and FGs and assists, so far he’s actually having a good year. It might just be a fluke of that November heater the Lakers were on against many bad teams, but it’s promising.
Honestly, he should sit his old ass down. Watching post up feet away form the basket without real purpose is brutal to watch.
He’s done. Simple as that.
Lol with a fully healthy roster he is still their 2nd or 3rd best player.
He had a great first half too and then just imploded
Not surprising, the whole team imploded
He should really consider announcing a retirement tour when the calendar flips
He still has plenty of feel-good moments left and big bursts of highlights where I’ll go crazy for him and his traditional statline will still be pretty eye pleasing, but man all the contenders that have young guys off the bench always eat this dude’s defense alive
Just announce it now. Retire now
Lebron is inarguably the best Lakers defensive starter.. even now
Maybe for the first 5 minutes.
I mean it’s between him or Ayton. He’s better than AR, Luka, and Rui
That’s so sad lol
Getting mass downvoted for this while his only comp is the known defensive anchor Deandre Ayton lol
Happy Birthday King. LeBorn
I think it’s not blasphemy to say the Lakers look better without LeBron. He and Luka are both just too ball dominant to work well together, and neither are gonna spend that extra energy on defense while the other runs the offense.
He will have his bursts here and there of course but expecting him to be LeBron James every night at 40 isn’t possible
the advanced stats have shown that the last 2 seasons. Pistons went on like a 12-0? run in Lebron’s minutes without Luka early in the game
He is not playing well but I think its worth noting the amount of bums in this team and during those minutes as well. I mean I am trying to remember what that lineup was for that 12-0 run, was it Bron and Vanderbilt, Kleber, Jake and Nick Smith or something. That’s genuinely worse than the Wizards
Ain’t no way you watched this game if you say they were better with LeBron. Every single deficit shrunk when Luka was off the court and grew when he got back on it
Hell, he turned a 6 point deficit into 20 in the first half of the 4th
Not a one-off either. Same shit happened in the Suns and Sixers games
The entire team functions better, you’re watching through LeBron-colored glasses dude. Everyone was having fun, everyone was getting touches, the chemistry was rolling. Lebron gets on the court, stops giving af, messing up plays and blaming teammates for not covering for him.
He’s had a noticeable negative mental effect on the entire team and it’s obvious, he’s the elephant in the room. We’re tired of his attitude and the drama, just fit in or get out. Pass the torch and start going with the flow.
Everyone was having fun, everyone was getting touches
Stopped reading here because there’s no way you watch the games if you think this lmao
When TF has that happened with Luka running the floor AT ALL this season? They went on a 24-0 run against the Suns with LeBron leading team ball. That dried up when Luka got back on the floor and so did the 17 point lead they got from it. Almost lost that game
Sixers game, same thing, different numbers
Shit got so bad that Rui called it out in a post game interview, and Steve Nash called it out too. That’s only 2 of several
So tell me again how Luka, the guy on pace to have the 7th highest usage in HISTORY, gives everyone touches. Give me factual evidence, not the feelings you wish were facts
Tell a Luka lover to give you evidence and they disappear 🤣
Exactly how I feel.
In terms of his playing ability, he’s obviously a great fit on a cheap deal.
But he demands to start when that won’t be optimal next season if we get better defenders and athletes. You can’t have a bad defender in Bron alongside a horrendous Luka/Reaves defensive backcourt.
His attitude is also hurting the overall attitude of this team.
He was saying they were better without him…
They objectively are better without him. Last season too, this is an extended thing
41 now.
LeWashed
Lebron with another All-Time low game from the weak link
What can I even say at this point.
52 million dollars for zero defense.
52 Million dollars for -16 plus minus
52 Million dollars for 35% from the field, 30% from 3 and 5 Turnovers.
There was a sequence of plays where lebron missed 3 straight 3 pointers, a wide open layup, and had 2 turnovers.
Its should be well clear right now that lebron was the reason we went from a top 2 team doen to the 4th seed and falling.
Our offense flowed much better with Lebron out. Reaves and Luka were taking over, and we even beat teams with our bench.
Instead lebron still thinks he’s 28 years old and can do it all himself. Slowing the offense down, bringing the team down, and becoming a cancerous locker room presence for not buying in.
Buy his ass out so he can retire with the cavs and stop being a cancer.
Lakers fans never deserved LeBron and I pray to god he doesn’t end his career with your team.
I hope to god he doesnt finish his career here either. He doesnt deserve a statue or a jersey retirement. He hasn’t done enough
buy out? are you crazy lol, that does nothing for the lakers
Isn’t this the final year of his contract. Why buy him out? He has shown at times he can contribute and even if not, he is a legend of the game
The Lebron-hating Laker fans are such spoiled brats. Like the dude came in and won them a ring after they spent the better part of a decade in the basement, then kept them relevant for multiple years after, and now they act like this.
Lakers fans are the sports equivalent of nepo-babies. Handed everything on a silver platter and yet they still complain at the first slight sign of not getting their way
Lakers fans are brainrot.
I only support this shitty ass franchise for the King.
After he gone, never again.
Markkanen or ace Bailey for LeBron…let’s do it if you think he’s so great. Maybe he’ll bring your jazz out of the basement.
Another dumbass comment to prove the point.
Buy him out so he cant harm our locker room
Gonna be glorious when lebron leaves and the lakers win nothing cause luka is a joke of a defender and the lakers front office are incapable of building the same type of team around him that the mavs did
Two words.
Mark Walter
And he’s even taking up two roster spots!
I pray I will never be as miserable as you. So disrespectful.
Father time is undefeated
Buddy looked bad out there today
It started so well for Lakers
The season that is
Then LeBron came back 😭
My Laker fan friend was talking tons of shit about how my Celtics were dead and his lakers were contenders. Now they are a half game apart and it’s widely believed Jayson Tatum will return at some point.
He genuinely looked washed tonight
But this summer when I said siakam/randle/McDaniels/AG/etc were all better than LeBron I was shunned
Randle absolutely dogged him in the playoffs last year. Obviously it’s the age decline, but if we’re talking about solely present day it’s obvious that his contributions are dwindling.
He’s really not even a top 50 player in the league. He should retire after this season to save himself from the embarrassment of being terrible if he keeps going
I will PayPal you 20$ for that list
Jokic SGA Wemby Luka Giannis Ant Cade Brunson Mitchell Jaylen Brown Steph Durant Kawhi Harden
By team
Spurs: Castle, Fox Lakers: Reaves Mavericks: Flagg OKC: Jdubb, Chet Cleveland: Mobley, Garland Bulls: Giddey Timberwolves: Randle, McDaniels GSW: Butler Pistons: Duren Raptors: Barnes Magic: Wagner, Banchero, Suggs Jazz: George, Markannen Heat: Adebayo, Herro, Powell, Wiggins Portland: Sharpe, Avdija Memphis: JJJ Rockets: Sengun, Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. 76ers: Maxey Nets: MPJ Suns: Brooks, Booker Pacers: Siakam Knicks: KAT
Injured guys: Haliburton, Tatum, Kyrie
This list is longer than 50 and off the top of my head. I’m sure people could argue with plenty of these guys but I think at least all of them would be in the conversation for being better than LeBron this year based on how a GM perceives each one’s production for this year alone. There are probably guys not on here who similarly would be in the conversation.
Edit: Missed a guy like Derrick White so there are obviously more I’m not thinking of.
Old dude had a bad game and there’s a clear drop overall this year but we’re talking about season averages of 20/5/6 on 58% true shooting. He’s only played 15 games and didn’t get a training camp or preseason
The training camp/preseason/injury are a feature of his contributions.
He’s the greatest player of all time, but it’ll be interesting to see what type of contract he gets next year if he stays.
Also those stats on 15 shots a game with poor defense in the second half aren’t really a selling point/moving the needle on my list/argument. Known chucker Coby White has 59% TS this year.
Pistons ran him off the floor tonight
He had birthday party plans, can’t blame him when the rest of the team can’t give a damn
the guy making $50m should be held to higher standards
He’s being held to higher stands than the 26 year old “generational talent” who just let a bench player eat his lunch
5 points, a steal, and an assist in 3 possessions while Luka stood around watching him cook like he’s at a hibachi spot
how so?
Pistons went on like a 12-0? run in Lebron’s minutes without Luka early in the game
If you have to ask this, then you didn’t watch the game. Go to bed.
It’s more fun doing this offline, because guys like you get embarrassed when you try to talk about things you know nothing about
who didn’t watch? I saw both of them play horribly but yall the ones trying to make excuses for one of them
he’s making $50m this year btw. along with his nepo baby son on the roster
Literally comparing a 7-8 point spread versus a 12-0 run. Lebron has been visibly off this season, his stats don’t tell the full story. Quit deflecting this shit while defending LeBron’s BS.
What’s worse? A rough stretch early in the game that was made up for, or doing absolutely nothing while the bench player you’re guarding is cooking in the 4th during a close game?
Lol game went sideways when Bron missed that wide open layup late in the 3rd that killed momentum. Followed up by Jake turnover that lead to a Pistons 3.
Lebron was shit and worse than Luka, wake up
Exactly this
He is, 15 pts in the first half. He keeps them in the game lol. They’d be blown out at half time if you wanna act like he’s playing a full game worth of minutes to stat-pad.
Pistons went on like a 12-0? run in Lebron’s minutes without Luka early in the game. his turnovers and lack of defense does not get negated by his scoring
Pistons turned a 6 point lead into a 20 point lead in the first half of the 4th
What was the difference? Luka getting back on the court
Let’s talk about that. Any questions?
pretty sure thye were both on the court
there’s a reason Lebron had a worse +/- tonight
Ahhhh, there it is, the mating call of the casual who watches box scores instead of games
Who let their man score 5, get an assist, and get a steal in a few late-game posessions? And when I say let, I literally mean stand around and let
watched Pistons go on 12-0 run in Lebron’s minutes w/o Luka early in game
Like you said, early in the game. That was already made up for.
What I’m talking about is late game when they still had a shot to win it.
Btw, was that 12-0 run all from eating off LeBron? Because most of that 6 point lead to 20 point lead was from eating off Luka
how so? Lakers never retook the lead
you don’t dig a hole and expect to win
It’s crazy to say this when you guys are literally talking about the scores when guys are on and off the court.
Plus minus is literally a stat to track what happen when they are on the court lol
Some of us watched games, not yapping about narratives like a scripted chat bot. His defence is not elite but he’s not the anchor bringing the team down. He has limited usage with the ball in his hands and isn’t the focal point of the offence. His comp are 2nd option guys. We’re gonna flip-flop b/w this being LeBron’s team vs Luka’s team?
the advanced stats all show otherwise. Lebron has been a net negative the last 2 seasons
Lakers were #2 seeed before he returned
Try harder, quoting advanced stats and then obsessing over +/- lol.
both support Lebron being a negative bud
Both are shitty talking points hammered by bots. I remember when AD was out last year and Donic being injured. Guess who kept Lakers in the mix for playoffs? They wouldn’t sniff 50 wins without Bron. But yeah waffle about cherry picked advanced stats and more +/- numbers. The Lakers as a team overall have an abysmal net rating when compared to their win shares.
He’s judged as a no.1 option as a contender when he should be treated on the scale of Jamal Murray or any 2nd option making max money on a playoff team. You know damn well such a 2nd option would flounder just as badly as LeBron given the Laker’s roster and lack of effort defensively from the no.1 option in the team
It’s fucking LeBron James lmao, you think he hasn’t been held to high standards in the last 20 years or something
so why are yall making excuses now? he’s still making $50m
I’m not making any excuses, he’s old, he’s not nearly as good as he used to be, but he’s still LeBron James lol, let’s not act like everyone is going to ignore his poor play, it’s like 90% of the discourse on the sub right now
aint no way. Luka is the one getting 90% of the criticism lol
Well yeah he’s also a max player who didn’t play very well, welcome to online discourse lol
Tiger turned 50 today and is eligible for the Champions (read: old guys) tour.
Maybe we can set one up for the NBA.
Yuck, he was awful tonight
Jesus Christ just put him out to pasture already lmao
“Even by LeBron’s standards”? WTF is that supposed to mean?
Wonder where he plays next year and if he can scam his way to a max
Steph on Christmas type shi
Honestly weird that two of the Lakers starters and two of their bench players had worse +/- Laravia -18, Smart -24, Vanderbilt -17, Hayes -17
This team is genuinely so dogshit, like we can make some reasonable criticism for Luka, Lebron and when he plays AR. But Laravia, Ayton, old ass Marcus, fcking Vanderbilt, Kleber, Nick Smith and Hayes played minutes today outside the garbage time Bronny, Knecht, Adou. That’s genuinely shocking, I genuinely think not a single one of these guys outside of maybe Ayton and maybe Laravia would play a single minute for contenders and even those 2 would be like the 10th man, 9th man in the rotation. If you are playing Vanderbilt for 27, Hayes for 18, Nick for 17, genuinely just rebuild bro
Guess they are going to need another player’s only meeting after this one.
Yeah I think this is the last season from Bron.m
Reserving energy for the playoffs
He’s still good but he’s clearly not worth a max slot. The Lakers will never go far with him taking up that much salary
Lmao but yeah Luka is the problem.
Next year 100% the final year lol
This year is his final year.
He’s got 1.5 billion, a family, and other interests besides basketball.
Can’t believe he’s finally washed. A sad day.
It’s like he’s 40 or something wow
It’s like he’s on $55m a year or something wow
It’s not his fault the Lakers gave him the option lol
No it doesn’t, but he’s a an underperforming bum
41.
That’s a pretty standard game for LeBron at this point in his career. Not sure what people are expecting from a 41 year old.
We’re expecting $52 million of effort and focus.
He had averaged 25/6/5 on 56% from the floor over the past 9 games before this game
He was 6th in MVP voting I am pretty sure and could have potentially made it to 1st team if he didn’t get an injury close to the end last season because he was actually playing some great basketball. He also took a deal for 52 million this season
Luka stans in here doing their best to deflect all blame to the 41 year old 😭
Go to the nba webpage and look at the picture they have - LeBron is standing under the basket(literally standing) as Detroit’s player goes for a layup and the Lakers other defensive presence is at least acting like he cares … Bron is sucking a donkey d this year on defense and his shot is hitting like a 41 yr in rec league!
https://www.nba.com/game/det-vs-lal-0022500460/box-score
When he said “even by lebron standards” I had to laugh