LeBron James put forth another tremendous effort on Thursday, logging another triple-double to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The three-time NBA champ notched 27 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and also chipped in three 3-pointers, a steal, and a block in 34 minutes of play.
James did his damage on 11-of-19 shooting, buy surprisingly, only had two attempts from the line, making both of them. Right now, LeBron is attempting a career-low 5.4 free throws per ballgame. The last time he averaged six attempts per game was back in his rookie year some 16 years ago. When asked if he had any thoughts on this matter, the 16-time All-Star was left speechless.
“I have no idea,” James quipped, via Michael Pina of SB Nation.
Even Lakers head coach Frank Vogel appeared to at wits end when asked to explain why he thinks this has been the case all season long.
“I mean, it’s difficult to say. He’s going to the basket. We send clips in all the time to the league office, in terms of why he’s not getting calls,” he said. “I’m not trying to turn this into a complaint or anything, I’m just answering your question. But he’s still going to the basket the same way he always has.”
That's a great perspective from coach Vogel here. One would think that the main reason why LeBron hasn't been to the line as much is because of his lack of aggression this season — something that would be understandable given how he is already 35 and in season 17. Nonetheless, the Lakers shot-caller refuted this claim, saying that James is currently playing with the same level of aggression as he has been the past few years.
There's no denying that LeBron has dialed it back a bit, and is no longer the same player he was in his youth. Even so, it is still quite mind-boggling why his attempts from the stripe has dropped dramatically this season.
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