When the Los Angeles Lakers made the blockbuster trade that landed them Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks, it was clear that the team’s gameplan was going to be altered significantly. And one of the biggest changes was that, for arguably the first time in 22 years, LeBron James would not be the No. 1 option on his own team.
Some wondered if LeBron would be able to adapt to an off-ball role, or if it would become a stagnant isolation game that trades off between him and Luka. The early returns are not only that LeBron transitioned into an off-ball role for Doncic, but he seems to be doing so for Austin Reaves as well.
In less than two months, James has become essentially the perfect role player, while Doncic and Reaves drive the bus. He spoke about this transition with Steve Nash in the first episode of the new version of the “Mind The Game” podcast:
Nash was highly complimentary of James’ ability to quickly shift into being a catch-and-shoot, short roll type player as opposed to being the engine of the offense. That’s a role Nash never fully transitioned to and something he’s seen star players fail to do first-hand, especially when he was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.
But he was most impressed with James’ ability to know that it was his responsibility to do that in order to make this iteration of the Lakers work. A superstar’s ability to recognize when he needs to defer directly correlates to how long they can extend their careers.
And if the Lakers want to win a championship this season, LeBron knows it starts with him choosing that transition and allowing Doncic — and even Reaves — to lead the way and get the bulk of the defensive attention.
The Lakers amassed back-to-back major victories over the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets over their last two games. LeBron James and company put themselves in great position to avoid the Play-In Tournament and fight for seeding at the top of the Western Conference with wins over two other top conference opponents.
The even more impressive part is that they won both games in completely different ways. The win over the Grizzlies was an offensive battle that required 134 points from L.A. with all three of James, Doncic and Reaves scoring 25 or more. Against a gritty Rockets team on Monday, the Lakers defense held tough, limiting them to 98 points. Doncic led the way with 20 points.
