The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

LeBron James and the Lakers: The King's Problems

2019-10-23T11:16:52.336Z


In the China affair LeBron gave James a bad figure, now he lost to the NBA start with the Lakers city duel against the Clippers. The status of the superstar is crumbling.



At the end of a used evening only a sandwich with peanut butter helps.

Moments earlier, LeBron James was still sitting in the locker room of his Los Angeles Lakers, his feet in a plastic bucket of iced water, and the crowd of journalists in front of his locker 102: 112 defeat to kick off the new NBA season explained. Ironically against the Clippers, the city rivals. "A little rusty" was his throw after the long break, his three ball losses in the last quarter "simply negligent", the team still has "a lot of air up".

Five minutes of phrases, then pulls the Pressemeute from, to the nearest locker, the next stooges. And James, finally as good as for himself, can bring out the sandwich wrapped in cling film. With the first bite the smile comes back, a small, joking curse, then the world seems alright again.

photo gallery


30 pictures

NBA season start: All 30 teams in the SPIEGEL ranking

The NBA matchday planners did not mean well with the Lakers, they played in the opening match as a guest in their own hall, against the Clippers, the highly equipped neighbors (read more about the new balance of power in the NBA). The rival is after the commitment of Kawhi Leonard, in June still MVP finals series for the Toronto Raptors, and all-star Paul George many experts as championship favorites - in addition to James' Lakers.

After all, the 16-time title holder has also been upgrading after a disappointing preseason: With the krakenhafte Anthony Davis, who came to California from New Orleans, James knows the perhaps best player of his long career at his side. To secure the exceptional athlete Davis, the leaders of the Lakers sacrificed several promising young stars. You know: the time is finally.

James turns 35 in December, playing his 17th season. Undoubtedly, he is still one of the best players in the league - his position as all outstanding exceptional players, however, he has lost in the eyes of many.

For the first time James is not in first place (but in third place) in the best rankings, which the US television channel ESPN always published before the start of the season since 2011. In a league-wide survey of the 30-team general managers, he was named second-best small forward, behind Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard is also the one who dominates the opening game on Tuesday. In the second quarter alone he sinks seven throws in a row, and in the end he scores 30 points. James, however, starts powerfully, with his first two attempts, one of them against the closely defending Leonard in the fallback, to the delight of the many thousand Lakers fans in the stands.

Protests in front of the hall, James silent

But his battery does not last. Spectacular defensive actions are followed by simple ball losses, a failed laymaker to a massive dunking. When James is taken out of the game at the score of 70:82 in the third quarter, the Lakers manage a 15-0 run without him in about three and a half minutes. With him on the floor, the team falls back into the background. "It was a good test," says James, who ends up with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. For the vast majority of NBA players that would be excellent values, for James it is a rather inconspicuous evening. Still, after the game he says, "I am euphoric about being back in the field."

That may also be related to the discussions about him in recent days. James had come under criticism after publicly addressing Houston Rocket's manager Daryl Morey. Morey had stated in a tweet solidarity with the protests in Hong Kong - James countered, Morey was "uninformed", the statement "thoughtless" (Read more about the background).

Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

Supporters of the protests in Hong Kong stood in front of the hall: "fight for freedom, stand up for Hong Kong"

Hong Kong was followed by pictures of angry people burning James jerseys. Also on Tuesday evening, demonstrators stood in front of the hall, "fight for freedom, stand up for Hong Kong," the lettering on their T-shirts. What James thinks about this is unknown - it had already been announced in advance of the game that he would no longer comment on the cause. From now on, only points count instead of politics.

Instead, James wants to make sporting headlines again. The expectations are huge. On Hollywood Boulevard, number 6544, he has already made it into the ranks of the Los Angeles Lakers legends. At least as part of a mural painting. On the gray façade of a shoe store, James sits enthralling between Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Kobe Bryant, two city sports icons. Both have each won five championships with the Lakers: Johnson in the eighties, Bryant in the 21st century.

James, who won the title twice with Miami and once with Cleveland, has yet to catch up.

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2019-10-23

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.