Lakers: LeBron James Sets Another Record
Another day, another record for Lakers superstar Lebron James. LeBron is the first Laker in 10 years with seven consecutive 30-point games. James poured in 43 points in just 29 minutes in Friday’s blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers to add to his scoring rampage.
During his streak, LeBron is averaging 36.0 points per game. Check that, a very efficient 36 points per game. During his streak, Lebron is shooting 57.8% from the field and 42.1% from the three-point line.
Coincidence or not, LeBron’s string of 30-point games began after the team lost Anthony Davis on December 17th. Davis was diagnosed with a MCL sprain and should be re-evaluated in mid-January.
LeBron has carried the additionally scoring load admirably. He’s also stepped up his rebounding.
After averaging 6.2 rebounds in the first 18 games of the season, LeBron is pulling down 10.9 boards per game in his last seven contests. When James is cleaning the glass, it typically translates to effective transition offense for the Lakers.
The Lakers are in a precarious position. They’re down a superstar and farther down in the conference standings (7th) than they would have anticipated. Even for January.
There’s plenty of reasons why they’ve struggled, but James’s offensive play as of late is not part of the problem.
Los Angeles is in the midst of a five game home-stand. Three of their next four games are against opponents who are sub-.500 through Sunday.
Hopefully James and the Lakers will use the soft schedule at home to pickup some ground in the standings.