When the Los Angeles Lakers misplaced Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, their high two scorers in the course of the common season, simply two weeks earlier than the beginning of the 2026 NBA playoffs, it appeared like a deadly blow to their probabilities of not solely contending for the NBA title, however of even making it out of the opening spherical of the postseason. A 3-2 end after shedding Dončić and Reaves — with the wins coming over the Warriors minus Stephen Curry, the Suns minus Devin Booker, and the Jazz minus an NBA roster — did little to dispel that notion; a matchup towards a tricky, bodily Houston Rockets crew with a top-five protection and loads of youth and athleticism on the wing appeared like one the Lakers wouldn’t survive.
They’re doing a hell of much more than surviving, taking the primary two games of their opening-round matchup and leaving the Rockets wanting overmatched and shell-shocked heading into Game 3 back in Houston on Friday. There are loads of causes for that: Kevin Durant missing Game 1 and the Lakers haranguing him into nine turnovers in Game 2; Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart capturing a mixed 19-for-33 (57.6%) from 3-point vary through two games; Deandre Ayton holding Alperen Şengün to simply 5-for-19 shooting once they’ve been matched up; and so on.
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One of the most important ones, although? LeBron James, it seems, nonetheless is aware of methods to take the reins of a playoff collection and — even at age 41 — ensure it’s performed on his phrases and at his tempo.
“We all got to pick up our play,” James told reporters after the Lakers’ 101-94 Game 2 win. “When you’ve got two big guns out like we have, we all got to pick up our play. And that’s all it’s about. We’re all just trying to contribute, make contributions in all facets of the game, pick up our play.”
One method LeBron’s been choosing his up? By posting up.
As my colleague Tom Haberstroh famous on this week’s episode of The Big Number, by way of two video games of Lakers-Rockets, James has completed 16 possessions out of the publish with both a shot try or a foul drawn. According to Synergy Sports monitoring information, that is not solely extra post-ups than some other participant (no person else is even in double-digits); it’s greater than every non-Lakers team in the postseason field.
Left block, proper block or on the nail; Josh Okogie, Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. or Aaron Holiday; backing all of them the best way all the way down to the rim, whipping a move to a slicing huge man, or turning over both shoulder for that patented baseline fadeaway jumper. LeBron’s breaking out each software within the toolbox — I assume “every club in the bag” is extra applicable nowadays — in quest of methods to compromise the Rockets’ protection, draw consideration away from the likes of Kennard, Smart, Hachimura, Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, and create benefits that enable the Lakers to play on their phrases quite than Houston’s.
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Including performs the place he is handed to a teammate who has shot the ball, the Lakers are scoring 1.053 factors per possession on these post-ups, based on Synergy. That’s not elite effectivity; it will’ve ranked thirty ninth amongst 76 gamers who logged no less than 50 publish possessions in the course of the common season, between Jalen Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe. Considering the Rockets gave up 0.94 factors per possession on post-ups and 0.99 factors per possession on pass-outs from the publish in the course of the common season, although, it ain’t half-bad. Especially whenever you consider {that a} Lakers crew that has struggled with ball safety without Dončić and Reaves — a 19.3% turnover rate by way of two video games, third worst within the playoff area, together with 21 cough-ups of the more damaging live-ball variety — hasn’t turned it over as soon as on these LeBron post-ups, getting a shot on purpose or drawing a foul every time.
LeBron James is averaging 23.5 factors, 8 rebounds and 10 assists by way of two playoff video games. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE by way of Getty Images)
(Adam Pantozzi)
Thanks partly to these methodical journeys to the low publish, the Lakers have the slowest common time to shoot on offense (14.6 seconds, greater than 60% of the shot clock) within the postseason area, based on Inpredictable, and have decelerated the tempo of their collection to 91.8 possessions per 48 minutes — the slowest series in Round 1 thus far. Several collection in recent times have operated at a slower tempo, largely that includes groups that already performed at a snail’s tempo (Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics, Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks), that revolved round a low-post monster (Nikola Jokić, Joel Embiid) and/or that entered the collection as an underdog and have been adopting the underdog technique of attempting to take the air out of the ball — limiting the variety of offensive possessions their favored opponents had, and with it their means to construct and prolong a lead.
The present iteration of the Lakers verify all three containers: twenty second in tempo in the course of the common season, constructed across the publish sport that LeBron has worked tirelessly to hone over the past 15 years, and an underdog heading into the series based mostly on the absence of two of their three greatest offensive weapons. Given that, it most likely shouldn’t shock us that James has approached the beginning of the collection by hitting the brakes and dragging the sport into the publish. After all, he’s been right here earlier than.
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I don’t simply imply that usually and metaphorically, within the sense that over the course of 23 NBA seasons and greater than 1,900 video games, he’s seen nearly each situation and scenario {that a} participant can expertise on this league. I imply that he has, particularly, had to determine methods to make do in a playoff collection towards a youthful, longer, extra athletic, favored opponent without his two greatest teammates.
LeBron James is turning again the clock
Harken again, if you’ll, to the lengthy, way back of June 2015. “Mad Max: Fury Road” was blowing minds on the multiplex. People have been tremendous into “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa, partly due to its inclusion in “Furious 7,” which was blowing minds on the multiplex. There was a huge FIFA corruption scandal happening, which I notice doesn’t slim issues down all that a lot, however stick with me. And LeBron was nearing the top of his first season again in Cleveland, the place he paired up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love on a Cavaliers crew that gained 53 video games and went 12-2 within the Eastern playoffs en path to an NBA Finals matchup with the upstart Golden State Warriors.
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Along the best way, although, the Cavs misplaced Love to a dislocated shoulder towards the Celtics, and then misplaced Irving to a fractured left kneecap in time beyond regulation of Game 1 in Oakland. The different 4 Cavs starters for the remainder of that Finals collection: Timofey Mozgov, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova.
Playing without one other shot creator, with two plodding/mauling huge males, and two only-kinda-sorta-OK 3-point shooters, James surveyed the scene and noticed just one probably possible pathway to victory towards a Warriors crew that had extra expertise, depth, capturing and pace throughout the board. The goal: Keep Golden State from working by grinding the sport to a glacial tempo by way of mismatch-hunting and bulldozing his method into the publish, the place he may overpower the Warriors’ smaller defenders, draw defensive consideration and arrange shooters and cutters, or simply create alternatives for Thompson and Mozgov to generate second possibilities.
It labored …
… for a short time, no less than.
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The Cavs pressured the Warriors to play at their tempo, although; these six video games averaged just over 93 possessions per 48 minutes, which is slower than the slowest crew within the NBA has performed in every of the final 9 seasons. And they did that, partially, by way of James’ management of the sport from down low. In that collection, together with possessions the place he handed out of the low block to a teammate who shot the ball, he averaged 9.8 post-ups per sport, based on Synergy. (Through two video games towards Houston: 9.5 such possessions per sport.)
Both groups scored beneath 100 factors within the subsequent two video games of that collection — both of which the Cavs gained — earlier than the Warriors adjusted their plan of attack, changed their starting lineup for Game 4, and ripped off three straight victories to win the first title of what could be a dynastic run.
It’s attainable the Rockets may equally wrest management of the collection again from LeBron because the scene shifts again to Houston. There are some notable variations, although. For one factor, these Rockets (clearly) don’t have the identical type of capturing and offensive firepower as these Warriors, or a provide of high-end two-way gamers able to punishing L.A. on each ends of the court docket. For one other, LeBron would possibly really be getting some reinforcements earlier than too lengthy.
Wherever the collection goes from right here, although, the Lakers — midway to 4 wins, with home-court benefit nonetheless intact — enter Game 3 firmly in management, due largely to James nonetheless with the ability to set the phrases of engagement in any case these years. May the f*****y by no means stop.
