Chris Broussard: LeBron's 44-point performance was 'spectacular' against Blazers | NBA | UNDISPUTED

good morning, how impressive was that game by LeBron, it was so impressive, I don't even think the great skip bayless can find false starts a little late to the party, it's the parade because it's a game, I'm not saying he's better than Michael Jordan. I'm not saying they are winning the championship. I'm saying that last night's

performance

was

spectacular

and virtuoso. Hey? You had Steph Curry's three-

point

shot. I'm not saying I do it every night, but I did it last night, that's all because the range you had the passing of Magic Johnson several times you didn't look, you always say no, he's not as good a passer as Magic, but I asked you as a man, I beg to differ on something really nice, as if that were no other topic. but I wouldn't give that to Brown, but defensively that's what impressed me the most defensively because LeBron hasn't played defense this year and not just the three blocks, but there were times when you saw him in his man position playing defense . in his shots, that stat line was incredibly impressive 44

point

s 10 rebounds 9 assists three blocks with five triples never in the history of MBA had that been done in a revelation game hmm never and I think it was good for LeBron to do this at Staples Center because I was there for his first home game, yeah, and the fans, rightly or wrongly, are comparing him to Kobe and I'm not just talking about Kobe fans, but I was sitting there in the crowd and the Lakers fans, someone told me.

Because LeBron wasn't as aggressive, they were like what's going on, like we're used to our superstar taking control and being more aggressive, so they've been waiting for this LeBron James type

performance

. I think they had said before that he was great, obviously. but they really hadn't seen the LeBron James they expected, they saw him from a distance, they saw him last night and I really think skip wanted to send a message because it was Portland's second best record in the West. I wanted to send a message to the league and the West and even his teammates that there's no reason we can't be a contender in the West and I've been saying it for weeks, there's no reason we can't.

They should be second. best team in the West hmm and then I think LeBron sent that message last night and hmm, dude, you wanna go. I think Chris should have fallen asleep in the first half. I don't know myself in the first half, what matters is that Tim Tebow didn't do it. I don't worry about the first half, so he's about the end of the game, so with six minutes left in said first half, Aminu hits a three-pointer and suddenly I feel because it gave me four points Portland plus four games for two boxes by Diet Mountain Dew. and I lost, so there are only eleven cases left that he owes me, but with six minutes left, I have no hits and three, which puts them up 45 to 32, that's a 13-point Portland lead and I got four, so I'm up 17 points and sit back and think hmm, I'm in pretty good shape right now because I was reeling from a blowout from Portland and why that happened.

I have to tell you, LeBron James was out of it at that point in the game and you weren't talking. about defense or no defense LeBron played zero defense seemed lifeless seemed out of sync out of rhythm out of sorts got tackled at least three times in the first half up to that point and his defensive wind stock plummeted last night from when he was 67th to start the game, which by their standards is really good, but it dropped to 117 after the game, so don't give me defense to this point and who saved their bacon, who saved the night for the Los Angeles Lakers, Chris.

Well, he's not here, that's what happened in the game because I think this is a cruise. I think it's going to become one of those things that was 42-10 at the end of the 40s, yeah, and that was without Kawhi Leonard. and I'm thinking this is about to end and all of a sudden my man loves the old ball, he comes down and says give me the ball, I've got you, King, I've got your back, take a step back, three quarters from the other side and breaks it. and then he comes down here, he comes down again, he comes down on the next possession, this is the one in the corner, now he comes off the next possession and LeBron kicks him, he just steps back and caresses him with fearless confidence and suddenly I look up and has eliminated it to a seven point lead and the Lakers are back in the game and then we come to the faithful decisive moment of this game. 49 seconds left.

LeBron James gets fouled and for the first time all night he goes to the dreaded free throw line and we know he's had some real problems at the free throw line and the first free throw he shoots looks like a mark . Free kick from Hill's people, to me it seems like a scream as if he almost threw it in the air and on the next one he overcompensates and throws it to the left and gila blocks it, gila hits it with the left back iron and it shoots towards here and I'm thinking, wow, these are the demons that really took over. of you at the Laker broadcasters say he's really on a bad free throw streak right now and they fall Damian Lillard misses on the other end what happened LeBron James did what I love to see he got mad he said give me the damn ball and get out of my way and he gets up from 28 feet dribbling the ball, he'll stop he took 28 feet and said I'm shooting this, who cares about 15 foot free throws, I'm shooting a three point shot from 28 feet and just He destroys it, it's a crazy three, it's like a crazy ball and he comes right at the end of the half and says give me the ball again with two seconds left and shoots another three from 28 feet.

These are the kind of shots that Lance gets thrown because they're outrageously offside, you know again, they're Steph's range sheet shots and all of a sudden I look up, I'm down four and a half times because thanks to the play started by two balls from Lonzo. three, they go on a twenty-seven to ten run to end the first half and it just turns around and I said, that's it, I'm done because LeBron took over the second half and I'm going to read Terry Stotts' quote after the game again , said that when LeBron James makes his three-pointers and lowers his head, it is difficult to stop and in the second half LeBron lowers his head, no one can stop LeBron when he plays bully ball because Amino can't stop him, he can.

I don't keep him away from the rim. Newark each cannot maintain it. He's not afraid of the Newark itch. It is never the same. Well, I don't know, we're 21 and 14 last night. I don't know, it's not like that. In the second half, LeBron does everything. 13 of him all because he was salting the game because he was no longer afraid to go to the well what you wanted to see I love you you want to see oh hey when you stay like that you want him to be like that all this about who played point guard throughout the second half, Your guy did it because he's their best point guard.

I love watching him distribute an attack when he mixes it up between kicks, but when he gets it down the line great things happen, either he's going to get to the rim or the free throw line or someone's going to have a wide oh I like the worry time for the loot I like what Luke Walton said too he probably should have shot another ten free throws okay you know bottling it up all the time you and he get frustrated hit him in the head okay he would have to bring his Hamill to a side, I thought I'd have to go to the hospital later, okay, a layman raked him across the field, oh, like an open-handed rake and LeBron fell like he had to.

I'll be in the hospital for that, but then about two minutes later, CJ McCollum just walks up and grabs LeBron's arm as he's about to go up, probably dunked on him, and pulls him up, and of course LeBron falls like They would have shot him, yes, and they did. go check him out and say it's okay, we'll give him a flagrant on this one, but in the meantime, body bag, my man Newark stings Yusef, he's walking around looking at LeBron with whiny baby eyes during that check, that check replay, right, he's making a whiny baby out of LeBron at Staples Center.

Got it, you're kidding, okay, that's outrage over disrespect, he gets all that gift, what got that beer, witty, I don't know what he's going to do next, but he got it, how can you disrespect the king in his powers like you made a good point? about LeBron playing angry, I think after missing free throws he was just so angry that he wasn't thinking about what can be good because love is right, he's so smart, don't think about it too much, just go man, I think that's it what's wrong with you you know you've heard the phrase paralysis by analysis sometimes that line he's thinking too much even maybe sometimes during the game at that moment he was like he's playing my game and when he gets on a roll in a flow No, I can stop him, no one can stop him from getting to the basket, Portland can't, but here's the thing, this is only what was a 14th game, so the 86 he still has to fight, he still has to find that combination, right? take over now, I let these young guys come and you hear Brandon Ingram, you hear Alonso like he's amazing, like you're watching him from a distance.

Brandon says I saw it when he was a kid, but when you're on the court it's a completely different thing. LeBron has to decide if he takes control now and runs the risk of not having them later or let these guys figure it out last night. He's fine, they got off to a great start, they had a small lead of five and seven points and the next thing you know he goes passive, he's going to drop Kuzmic, he's going to let Ingram, he's going to let these other guys do that and the next thing you know, who are down 11 because they are not playing without defense, they are open from three to three for Portland. everywhere and listen if you give them open threes yeah they'll make O'Brien real and then you can't catch him because they're good at shooting free throws damn CJ those guys can make free throws Newark he's a good shooter of free throws for a big guy and then he says: do you know how tired I am of this?

I heard what he's watching Christmas, he talked about Yanis and he talked about all these other guys, he said, let me go ahead and show you because he talked about his closing, they're closing Yanis lost at home last night against Memphis just yeah, I don't know and that's what happened company missed the trip buddy she was delayed in Orlando couldn't make the flight to LA but anyway LeBron It's like he's still trying to figure it out because it's like I said, this is a young team and he we know what he can do well, then do it, no, but it can't, in these games, you shouldn't have someone coming. along with, but I think there's an element of trying to figure these guys out and let them, you know, do some things, but those were five of their losses, they were there for the taking, it's just that Brian could have taken care of those guys now. . him sitting there saying let me see if Ingram can do it if I can trust the good, maybe I think they should have gone and tried it in the future, we won't have this problem, he will select, okay, now the good game is near, good.

I'm going to go ahead and do what I have to do. We can create a very viable Western Conference team. I'm wrong? Who in the West outside of Golden State should be better than them? Speak. I don't know what happened to him. they dine up and down have their moments Denver has up and down Houston hasn't figured it out yet Oklahoma City still has some health issues and all the good stuff but you've got LeBron James and you've got some talent let that sink in like The only reason you're talking about the Lakers is because we were in Cleveland, we talked about cows, okay, I'll give you that, but you panicked right before the regular season.

I already panicked, "You were over 55 when she said they could." They couldn't shoot so they won four straight games and against Minnesota they made 15 threes and then in Sacramento 12 in Atlanta 14 threes last night 15 more threes there there's no one better at setting up open threes than LeBron because his skip passes we just jump and shoot through off the court, there's no one who can do that and suddenly Brandon was like all alone in AirBaltic, the aerial ball was only three and Lazo Baldwin shoots, he likes it, what is this, what am I done with this? ? leading already saves the game Rondo's injury as much as I like Rondo could help, he gives life although you know freedom, this is your chance weeks, right, you have five weeks to establish order, well, he had how many games for games, five games. for the fourth game, he's four, well, Lonsdale didn't play very well in those four games, next one for the Lakers on the road, three games, some familiar faces, starts with Orlando, then LeBron sees Miami and Cleveland, come on, He manages that innovation that we did not do. eat because you know they should be, I mean, those are a wonderful game, okay, Cleveland out, let's hope not, we don't want anyone to want with that.