Winners of six in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers remain undefeated in NBA Cup play, going back to last season, after a relatively comfortable 124-118 win over the struggling Utah Jazz on Tuesday. While the story of the game is Dalton Knecht tying the NBA rookie record for most triples made in a game, sinking nine triples en route to a career-high 37 points, LeBron James has also silently reached another milestone in Year 22. In the win, James has played the most games with 25+ points and 10+ assists in the three-point era.
Against the Jazz in their second NBA Cup contest, the Lakers superstar has played his 200th game with 25+ points and 10+ assists, leading all players, per StatMamba on X, formerly Twitter. Behind James are the LA Clippers’ James Harden with 172 games, and the NBA’s triple-double king Russell Westbrook, with 154.
The Lakers make it interesting
After leading by as many as 22 points in the third quarter thanks to Knecht doing the Michael Jordan shrug after going unconscious from deep, the Lakers then tried to give the game away in the fourth period, letting the Jazz cut the lead down to single-digits before LeBron helped seal the game with a couple of clutch shots.
Moreover, the Jazz outscored the Lakers 43-27 in the fourth, and rookie coach JJ Redick and staff should look at their sleepwalking defense before their next game, a tough outing against the Paolo Banchero-less Orlando Magic on Thursday.
Still, it pays to have a guy like LeBron James on your team, even in Year 22.
Watching him play, you might think he’s sleepwalking through the game, chucking jumpers in isolation and making layups here and there, but after the game you find out he’s already scored 25 points and dished out 12 dimes.
However, this is only part of the LeBron James experience, as he typically starts slow every season, particularly later in his career, slowly ramping up in time for the postseason, where he reaches another gear nobody had expected.
Yet, in recent seasons, James has had to exert more effort than necessary earlier in the year because his team simply could not win without him, resulting in both him and Anthony Davis already gassed when the playoffs start.
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New coach, new era?
Luckily for them, Redick has led the team to a 10-4 record by doing things previous coaches didn’t. First, he made AD their offensive centerpiece, recognizing that he was the best player on the team.
Then, he benched D’Angelo Russell for poor play and replaced him with Cam Reddish to balance the roster. Moreover, fans even noted Redick’s willingness to call timeout when necessary.
At this point of the season, it is too early to say whether the Lakers will do much of anything in the playoffs, but they might be one or two key role players away from being contenders in a wide-open Western Conference.
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