At this stage of his NBA career, LeBron James has had to find ways to conserve his energy during games to keep himself fresh, especially in crunch time.
He has been criticized by many, at least somewhat fairly, for not giving 100% on the defensive end, although so far in this year’s NBA playoffs he has been much more active in that department.
But one thing the Lakers have been doing lately to prevent James from getting tired is relieving him of ball-handling duties.
Guards D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, as well as Dennis Schroder to a somewhat lesser extent, have been advancing the ball up the court fairly often, allowing James to play off the ball more and work to get easier shots.
When he played off the ball in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, he was efficient, but down the stretch when he looked to create offense one-on-one, his shooting percentage dropped.
Draymond Green said the four-time MVP playing without the ball is “weird” (h/t Lakers Daily).
Draymond Green speaks on LeBron James’ play last night:
(Via @TheVolumeSports) pic.twitter.com/zetIxopueN
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 3, 2023
“LeBron is playing a totally different style, a totally different game than we’ve ever seen him play before,” Green said. “And it’s interesting figuring it out. You’re not used to seeing LeBron off the ball so much. And so, I thought that was interesting and something that we’ll have to adjust to.
“It’s just not your typical LeBron running the show, which is a bit weird.”
The strategy has been working. The Lakers got past the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round in six games and stole Game 1 on the road from the Warriors on Tuesday, 117-112.
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