Though they struggled to find a rhythm through the early stages of this season, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers seem to be rebounding in a big way.
The Lakers kicked off their 2018-19 regular-season campaign with three straight losses, raising a few eyebrows around the league. However, thanks in large part to the outstanding play of James, Los Angeles has posted four wins in their last five outings, including Sunday's 113-97 victory in Miami.
James, now 33 years of age, left the Cleveland Cavaliers after four straight trips to the NBA Finals. His move to Hollywood was both heralded and criticized. Some Lakers fans were thrilled to have The King on their side. Others were skeptical.
The skeptics are starting to change their tune, and James is settling in just fine.
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Article Continues Below“I spent 33 years of my life on the East Coast, so going to the West Coast, everything changes. Even though it is just three hours, everything has changed for me drastically,” James told ESPN, explaining how the move affected his game. “When you live on the east side of the country for so long, I think for me, it's taken me a little while to get adjusted, with my game, moving, the family, everything. We are all figuring things out.”
James has made 16 appearances with the Lakers this season, racking up averages of 28.8 points on 52.0 percent shooting from the field (39.6 percent from beyond the arc), 7.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.4 steals and just under one block (0.9) in 34.7 minutes per outing.
The interesting part of James' stat line this season is his minutes played average, which is the lowest of his career and more than two minutes less than last season's mark.
James dropped 51 on the Heat in Sunday's win. In doing so, he became the fifth player in NBA history to record 50 or more points with three different teams (Jamal Crawford, Bernard King, Moses Malone and Wilt Chamberlain). For the record, James now has 12 50-point games to his credit — 11 of which came on the road. His 12th 50-point performance moved him into sixth place on the list of most career 50-point games, breaking a tie with Allen Iverson.
“I felt pretty good,” James told ESPN after Sunday's game.
James and the Lakers have an interesting game ahead of them, as they're scheduled to face the Cavs in Cleveland on Wednesday night. Tip-off inside Quicken Loans Arena is set for 8:00 p.m. ET with ESPN having live broadcast coverage.