Watch the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Orlando Magic on NBA Primetime, live on Sky Sports Arena on Sunday at 8:30pm
Monday 26 November 2018 00:19, UK
LeBron James is just 17 games into his Los Angeles Lakers career but has already produced a string of signature performances to stabilise his new team following their sluggish start to the season.
James has routinely measured his effort through the NBA regular seasons, balancing his need to conserve energy over the 82-game schedule against meeting the immediate demands of his team.
Since the Los Angeles Lakers' sluggish 2-5 start to the season, James has mined a rich vein of form, carrying the team on his shoulders on a run of seven wins in their past nine games.
Against the Portland Trail Blazers, James scored 44 points on an ultra-efficient 13-of-19 shooting to lift the Lakers to a 126-117 win. Those points took him past Lakers icon Wilt Chamberlain into fifth place on the NBA all-time scoring list. Not bad for a player recognised more for his all-round game (especially his skills as a passer) than for his scoring.
If he maintains his current scoring rate, James will pass Michael Jordan for fourth on the all-time list late in January.
Four days later, James was even better, dropping 51 points - just the second time he has topped 50 points in a game in the last five years - on his former team the Miami Heat as the Lakers rolled to a 113-97 win in South Beach. Once again, he shot efficiently, connecting on 16 of his 31 attempts, including going 6-of-8 from three-point land.
If October was about James assessing the talent around him and giving his team-mates the opportunity to share the load, November has seen him reassess and realise just how much he needs to do individually for the Lakers to win consistently, particularly as a scorer.
In eight October games, James averaged 27.8 points per game in 36.4 minutes. He dished out 8.0 assists per game. The Lakers, who also lost Rajan Rondo and Brandon Ingram to multiple-game suspension, limped to three wins and five defeats.
James' recalibration can be seen across the Lakers' eight November games. He is playing less minutes (33.5 per game) but scoring more points (29.2). He is also distributing the ball less (6.1 assists per game compared to 8.0 in October). His field goal percentage has risen from 50.9 to 52.8, boosted by a dramatic improvement in his three-point shooting (47.6 per cent compared to 27.3 per cent in October).
We've seen LeBron turn it on in this manner numerous times in recent years. In January 2015, after an out-of-sorts start to his return to Cleveland, he took a two-week hiatus (a controversial trip to Miami) primarily for rest and to treat injuries. Upon his return, the Cavs reeled off 29 wins in 37 and went on to win the Eastern Conference title.
Alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat, James measured his efforts through the long regular season, knowing his team had the talent to cruise into the playoffs where he would unleash his best form as his team reached the NBA Finals four times in four years, winning two titles.
James has never been forced to press his 'power-up' button this early in a season before. It's not realistic to think any player could keep up this stellar level of play from now until April.
But James has made a mockery of historical precedents before - and, at almost 34 years of age, appears to be getting better and better.
It is hard to think of any marquee player as effective and as durable at this stage of his career. Last season, James played all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career. He rarely suffers injury. He has led the league in minutes played for the past two seasons (37.8 and 36.9 per game, respectively) because he recognised that was the only way his Cavaliers team could succeed.
A similar story is developing in Los Angeles, although James will receive more support from the Lakers than he did in Cleveland. Whereas James was left frustrated and disillusioned by Cleveland's front office decisions (particularly the trade of Kyrie Irving to Boston), James was visibly reenergized by the Lakers' acquisition of veteran big man Tyson Chandler to shore up their interior defense.
He will get a further boost if the Lakers' core of young stars - Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart - develop over the duration of the regular season.
Through 17 games, the Lakers are a fringe playoff team. For teams in a similar position, a postseason spot is a 50/50 possibility.
But the Lakers have LeBron, still improving at an age when most stars begin to decline and showing no signs of wear and tear.
James is close to attaining mastery of his craft. The Lakers - and all fans of the game - are the beneficiaries.
Sky Sports is the new home of the NBA in the UK with live coverage throughout the week, including selected live games free to all Sky subscribers via Sky Sports Mix.
And www.skysports.com/nba will be your home for news, reports, video and features throughout the season while you can follow us @SkySportsNBA
