The Los Angeles Lakers have started the preseason games with a record of 0-3, with LeBron James appearing in one game so far.
James, along with Russell Westbrook, made his debut Friday against the Golden State Warriors but clearly had lingering rust on the court.
He finished with nine points in 18 minutes on 4-of-12 shooting and missed all three of his 3-point attempts.
James played just the first half as he gets acclimated again to the speed of 5-on-5 games against opposing teams, but getting back to form as soon as possible will be key.
However, James said after the game he cares more about practices than preseason games, so he’s not worried about the outcome of the game.
“Preseason is…I care more about the practice court than I care about the preseason games,” James said. “You get out there, you play rotations, they’re trying to figure it out and things of that nature, so there’s so much that you can get out of a preseason game, for me, individually. But, I love our practices, I love to see what are we doing and continue to work behind closed doors. So I don’t know, I don’t really put too much in the preseason, to be honest.”
James later explained that preseason games aren’t as important to him anymore since he’s been in the league for 19 years, but younger players will definitely take learning experiences from them.
“It means something as far as like individuals getting their rhythm, getting in game shape. We have our practices, but being out on the floor, bumping against another team and things of that nature, that helps,” James said. “All I’m saying, for me, it’s nothing I’m gonna learn in preseason at this point in my career, nothing at all. I’m not gonna learn anything, nothing. We’re working our habits and building camaraderie and chemistry on the floor, and that’s always good.”
James detailed how the quickness of correcting mistakes in practice compared to preseason also plays a part.
“I love the practices more than the preseason games because you could be making mistakes and you figure it out right there. You’re able to stop it and talk about it and things of that nature and go back and rewatch,” James said. “You can do that obviously the next day after the preseason game, but you could do it right on the fly in practices. So I’m more inclined to love those more at this point because there’s nothing on the floor that I’m gonna learn for me individually.”
With the Lakers having 11 new faces on the roster, chemistry is certainly a major focus for the team. The preseason has shown the Lakers are still trying to figure each other out and see what works best.
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