Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel says the storyline about LeBron James playing point guard this upcoming season is much ado about nothing.
Vogel, in an interview with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, points out how James has always been his team's primary ball-handler throughout his career.
MT: There was one storyline earlier this summer about LeBron playing point guard, and my thought was … well, he’s always had the ball on offense and run the show because he’s great at it, but he’s not going to guard point guards. So, nothing new here…
Vogel: Correct, obviously, it’s an offensive role. It would be an offensive mindset. I went back and watched all of our playoff games from the last year we played Miami, just to look at that balance specifically, and (Mario) Chalmers and Norris Cole never brought the ball up. Almost the entire series. LeBron handled it the entire time. It’s not anything that’s going to be new if we play line ups with LeBron as the primary ballhandler. He’ll be in that role some, and he’ll be in a role with a true point guard too.
LeBron James averaged 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 55 games last season while shooting 51.0 percent from the floor, 33.9 percent from beyond the arc and 66.5 percent from the free-throw line. The four-time MVP would have likely made the playoffs with the Lakers had he not suffered a groin injury during their Christmas showdown against the Golden State Warriors.
The groin injury forced James to miss 17 consecutive games. The Lakers went 6-11 during that stretch and fell out of the playoff picture out West.
Los Angeles acquired Anthony Davis this summer, so LeBron has the second star he needs to compete for a championship.
Follow Us
Subscribe