LeBron's Greatness is Not Enough for the Lakers

The Nuggets disposed of the Lakers in another thriller last night. The series was never in doubt to be honest. I was rooting for the Lakers, for what seems like the first time ever, but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the Nuggets would win this series. Jamal Murray woke up, Jokic was efficient, Aaron Gordon played high level defense and the Nuggets advanced to the second round.

What I took away most from this game was the excellent play from LeBron James. James is the second greatest basketball player ever, in my opinion. He has done everything you could ever want from a basketball prodigy. He has more than lived up to the hype and then some. But this felt like the end for him. He was amazing in this series. That needs to be said right off the top. He averaged damn near 28 points per game. He added almost 9 assists and 7 rebounds. He played 40 minutes per game. He did everything he could to win these games and keep this team relevant.

LeBron didn't get much help either. After being healthy most of the season, Anthony Davis appeared to injure his shoulder on a minimal contact play. He was never the same after that. He was timid, he wasn't looking to shoot, his defense wasn't the same and he seemed off. Austin Reaves was clearly overhyped going into this season. He was average at best. Rui Hachumura never got his shot going. D'Angelo Russell gave up two games ago. Gabe Vincent never got going. Jaxson Hayes couldn't stay on the floor. The Cam Reddish experiment didn't work. All the things the Lakers did, to appease LeBron James, did not work how they wanted it to. But, throughout all of this LeBron James produced.

In 71 games this season, James averaged 25 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. All of this at 39 years old in his 20th NBA season. He was the leader of the 7th seeded team in the West and was the leading factor to them winning 47 games. But looking back at these stats, this is a Lakers team that needed to get into the playoffs through the play in. This is a Lakers team that truly struggled after winning the inaugural in season tournament. LeBron also looked incredibly tired at the end of their game last night. And who could blame him. He is 39 years old. He has been in the public eye since he was 16. He has been scrutinized, idolized and marginalized by a bunch of people. He has been used and used others to continue his career. And what he has been able to accomplish is truly amazing. No one else will come close to approaching his numbers and his legendary status. He has won every major award. He has won multiple titles. He has been the face of the league since the early 2000's. But it feels like the time is as close as it has ever been to being over.

LeBron cannot continue to carry a mediocre team anymore. The Timberwolves are young and coming. So are the Grizzlies, Spurs, Pelicans, Thunder, Mavericks and Rockets. That is just the good teams in the West. The East has the Celtics, Knicks, Bucks, Cavs, Magic and Pacers. All of these teams, right now, are better than the Lakers. They are younger too. They have so many better contributing players than the Lakers do. And it is too much for the Lakers to ask a soon to be 40 year old LeBron James to continue to carry this team. He shouldn't have to do that to end his career. The Lakers should not strive for another Kobe Bryant ending. But I fear they are trending that way with James. They will probably try to get another big name player this offseason. I've heard Trae Young, Dejounte Murray or Zach Lavine as options. While adding one of these younger guys, does it really move the needle? Is Anthony Davis going to stay this healthy ever again? Who will remain of importance to this team, especially if they trade for one of the young guys I mentioned.

LeBron James has nothing left to prove. He has done it all, stayed out of trouble and won at the highest possible level. He is going to go down as a true legend. He is one of the greatest to ever do it. But last night felt like a blow. It felt like a big push into the inevitable. I'm going to miss watching him play, and I don't know if it will ever look like it used to again. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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