Do the new Lakers need James transformation?

When Doncic and James were unable to play at the same time, Reeves exploded against the Kings and played a career masterpiece: 51 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, helping the Lakers win 127-120.

Since February last season, Reeves has averaged close to 23 points per game. In four NBA seasons, his scoring has grown from 7.3 points, 13 points, and 15.9 points to 20.2 points.

In addition to scoring, the increase in assists is also quite similar. He sent out 29 assists in the first three games of this season. So far, he has averaged 9.3 assists per game, ranking fourth in the league. Of course, the sample number is still slightly small, and because the Lakers have many injured players, his personal data is slightly skewed, but judging from the development trajectory of his entire career, the small guard seems to be preparing to become an All-Star.

Combined with the MVP-level Doncic, it is no exaggeration to say that this Lakers probably have the best offensive backcourt in the league.

The above are all based on the gains from the team's healthy players, and the last remaining player is the player who has not yet played: LeBron James.

James is expected to return in November. Judging from his past habits, after suffering an injury, he always likes to fully recover before returning. When he returned after seven games of rest last season, he played at high intensity and took 16 shots in 31 minutes in the first game.

In short, when James returns, he will naturally devote himself to the team at full speed. By then, the Lakers will have no time to adjust slowly and must think about his team positioning in advance.

This is a little complicated. James' career usage rate ranks sixth in NBA history. He has been the core of the team's offense in 19 of the 22 seasons. The other three special seasons were when he teamed up with Wade in 2011, Irving in 2017, and Doncic last season.

In the past 19 seasons, the team's first choice has been to hand over the basketball to James, but in the new season, the Lakers no longer have to rely entirely on James. He will be 41 years old in December. It is difficult to imagine how many players over 40 years old can occupy a high proportion of ball possessions in the playoff team. Especially after Doncic successfully lost weight, Reeves also made significant progress on the ball-holding end.

And James' value is more than that. He is a threat enough with the ball, but his off-the-ball performance is often ignored. Although he has been criticized, seriously speaking, if he wants to, he can play the evolved version of Green, become a top cover + conductor, and still be able to transform into a defensive sharp knife in a short period of time. After Doncic and Reeves' ball-handling offense became more and more outstanding, defensive commander is the trait that the current Lakers lack even more.

Therefore, for this Lakers, the best version of the new season may require James to take a step back on the offensive end. Of course, he is still James after all, and averaging 18-20 points per game is the baseline level. However, with Doncic and Reeves, these points may need to come more from fast break counterattacks and catch-and-shoot attacks, rather than holding the ball in pick-and-roll offense.

In this regard, James himself took the initiative to mention this at the media day:

"I spent a lot of time practicing three-pointers after catching the ball to learn how to maintain an offensive threat when not holding the ball. Of course, Doncic and Reeves will spend a lot of time holding the ball. We now have a lot of ball holders. How can I still be effective without so much ball possession?"

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Coach Redick also discussed this matter in a podcast before the Doncic trade:

"James is one of the smartest players in the league. I think he should be used as a screener more often, catching the ball at specific positions on the field, so that he can both organize and score. This is the off-ball style of play I insist on."

In fact, the basis for this transformation has already begun.

James rarely took three-point shots after receiving the ball in the Heat and Cavaliers, but after joining the Lakers, this data has steadily increased. At his peak in 2022 and 2023, in order to cooperate with Westbrook, James averaged 3.5 three-point shots per game; although there has been a slight decrease in the last two seasons, he still maintained 2.9 last season, which was much higher than any year before he was with the Lakers.

It is particularly important to note that his catch-and-shoot percentage last season was as high as 42%. If he is willing to completely adjust his playing style, he has the basic ability to do a good job in this area.

However, the real key lies in whether James is willing to do this. He has been the ball-handling core for so many years, and it is not easy for him to completely change his style of play.

There is no doubt that James is qualified for many roles and different styles, but it is the biggest challenge for him to truly fully accept change.

Of course, it is understandable if he refuses. After all, he is the top ball-handling attacker in NBA history, but this is also the key to the Lakers this season.

He chose to exercise player options during the offseason, clearly expressing his desire to strive for honors at the end of his career. If the Lakers want to achieve this goal, they must rely on Doncic and Reeves to take over the offense and let James do some defensive work that these two cannot do.

At present, the Lakers' offense has reached unexpected heights, but they are not yet a top defensive team, and their offensive value must be reasonably distributed through ball rights, but Doncic and Reeves have defensive limitations.

But as long as James is willing to do it, he will not become a shortcoming. Even if he does not maintain the full-court intensity as when he was young, he can still be valuable at critical moments.

As the two young backcourts gradually reach their peak, the key to James' new season is to learn to adapt and do things that other teammates cannot do.