LA Sports Hub
Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers: Three bold predictions for LeBron James in 2019

By Jason Reed

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 05: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers waits to walk out to the court for a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers during the 2019 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 5, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 05: LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers waits to walk out to the court for a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers during the 2019 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 5, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
(Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. LeBron has his best defensive season in some time

LeBron James is not as bad of a defender as you may think or as the media likes to paint him to be. If he was such a slouch on the defensive side of the ball, he would not have five All-Defensive First-Team honors and one All-Defensive Second-Team honor.

More from LA Sports Hub

His last All-Defensive honor came in 2014, which happened to be his Second-Team nod. Since then, we have seen various levels of LeBron defense, which recently, has made him look like a bad and lazy defender.

In some instances, you get the LeBron who is an insane help defender and can chase down guys and deliver blocks that even win the NBA Finals. On the other hand, you can get a lazy version of defense that indicates that he does not care on the defensive end.

LeBron is older and he is no longer an All-Defensive First-Team-caliber player. Heck, he probably isn’t fit for the second team, either.

However, for the first time since the 2016-2017 Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron has a team around him that he knows can win the NBA Championship. Not only that, but he does not have to stare a team with both Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry down.

LeBron will still have his lazy moments but we will see a version of him that puts more effort on the defensive end. He will put more effort as he will be fresher with fewer minutes played and because he knows that this team is worth the effort.

Next. The anti-Lakers bias is thriving this summer. dark

And then come to the playoffs, we will see LeBron at his best defensively. He is still a force of nature and is someone that can play great defense when it matters most and we will see that a lot more this season on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Home/Los Angeles Lakers