NBA: LeBron can’t explain high scoring in ‘strangest’ season
LeBron James #6 of Team LeBron shoots the game-winning basket against Team Durant during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 20, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
LeBron James says injuries and COVID-19 protocols are making this his “strangest” NBA season and he can’t explain why he’s on pace for his best scoring average since 2010.
The 37-year-old superstar playmaker for the Los Angeles Lakers spoke Saturday on the eve of the 71st NBA All-Star Game at Cleveland, a half hour drive from James’s hometown of Akron.
James ranks third in the NBA in scoring at 29.1 points a game, half a point a game behind leader Joel Embiid of Philadelphia.
He’s on pace for his top-scoring campaign since averaging 29.7 a game in 2009-10, the seventh and final season of his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I can’t explain the groove that I’m in right now offensively. I guess just playing some good basketball,” James said. “Just trying to be efficient. I’m not just out there jacking up a bunch of shots.”
“I work on my craft. I’m trying to see ways that I can continue to stay in great rhythm and ways I can continue to get better. Even at my age, I’m never satisfied.”
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks against the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter at Moda Center on February 09, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
The Lakers are off to a 27-31 start to stand ninth in the Western Conference in a campaign where injuries to James and Anthony Davis have nagged the club and Covid-19 protocols have added to the uncertainties.
“Every season has its own mental and physical challenges,” James said. “This is the strangest season I’ve been a part of so far.
“I don’t want to just talk about the injuries but Covid protocols. You have guys go out for false positives. You have had guys go out for real reasons. We’ve had our head coach be out for several games. We’ve had a little bit of everything.”
That has made it tough on James even with his emphasis on fitness to stay among the NBA’s top talents at 37.
“It has just been very challenging, very physically and emotionally draining at times,” James said. “But that’s the NBA season for you.
“If you’re not having your mindset on that happening, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. I’ve always kind of known that’s going to happen at some point throughout the season.”
At the All-Star Game, James hit the game-clinching shot to push Team LeBron past Team Durant, 163-160. James finished with 24 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
