The LeBron James we saw last night in Boston is not the same guy every single night like he used to be, and that is completely understandable. The physical beating of playing over 100 games every year as the face of your franchise for 14 seasons in a row without major injury (that sentence gets more incredible every time it is said) has obviously put LeBron in a place where he can afford a few nights of deferring the heavy lifting.
That is what makes Russell Westbrook's achievement so incredible.
With all of the incredible things Westbrook has done and the sheer workload he has had to undertake, it would be fair to say that if swapped with LeBron the Thunder wouldn't have the same success. Better player aside, the logistics don't add up for LeBron to lead this Thunder team to a .500 record.
Jason Smith explains below. Listen and be sure to tune into The Jason Smith Show every weekday from 11-2 am est. on Fox Sports Radio.