Colin Cowherd: “Last night LeBron saved the day. That’s kind of what the Lakers are. They're a very limited offense. It's a low ceiling offense with two great players, one brittle, one old and brittle, with a defensive coach. The good news is, thankfully, Memphis is worse. Memphis shot 39% from the field and 21% on three-pointers. Ja Morant is spectacular, but they've got all sorts of offensive issues and are a bit of a fraud as a team. They've got depth but are a long way from contending for a title. The reason though that the Lakers should be optimistic is that on their good nights they're very good in the fourth quarter, they can hand the ball to still one of the top 10 players in the league, and AD, although not last night— can be a top seven player, and because the Clippers are all beat up, the Suns have old brittle players, the Warriors are old, and Sacramento is probably too young. There is not a lot of ‘GREAT’ out there in the Western Conference. Since the Bubble champion, LeBron has been waiting for AD to take the baton… He’s not going to ever. He did for about three weeks at the end of the regular season. LeBron kind of lets the game come to him. That's why the Lakers are 18th in the NBA in first quarter scoring. LeBron is begging his teammates to get up and get going. They never do because Malik Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, Dennis Schroder, and D'Angelo Russell – they’re ‘bounce around the league’ guys. But the Lakers are also, with all these ‘bounce around the league’ guys, first in fourth quarter scoring. How is it possible? Because LeBron now is a highly efficient player. He starts slow, crosses his fingers that AD stays healthy, and they can take a lead. They usually let him down so he has to be a good second quarter player to keep it close at half, and a great closer. Last night was LeBron at his best. It had a lot of ‘MJ.’ Picked his spots and then at the end of the regulation and in overtime he was the best player on the floor. Twenty-two points, 20 rebounds, the ultra-rare 20-20. It feels like this Laker move by LeBron has been two parts… He first comes to LA to build up his business, move off a lot of the young guys, get AD, and it got him a championship. This is the second version of it the last few years where he's waiting for AD to take the baton and be the guy. Because at this point if you look at the contracts they're not going to rebuild with stars. They tried the Westbrook thing, it didn't work. At the trade deadline they moved parts. It's a lot of Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, D'Angelo Russell, and driven and ascending but limited Austin Reaves. LeBron's wanted to hand that thing over to somebody and be the number two guy but last night once again— great late, fourth quarter scoring, they lean into LeBron in year 20 and he delivers.” (Full Segment Above)
Watch Colin Cowherd discuss LeBron James’ series-saving Game 4 performance Monday vs. the Grizzlies in which LeBron scored 22 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in an overtime victory that gave the Lakers a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Check out the segment above as Colin called LeBron’s night ‘MJ-like’, and explains how it perfectly encapsulated the Lakers’ tumultuous season.
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