LeBron James: Lakers playoffs hopes rely on star NOT doing this - NBA expert
LEBRON JAMES and the Los Angeles Lakers won’t make the playoffs if he plays like he did in the first half against the Houston Rockets.
Lakers: LeBron James reflects on Houston Rockets win
This is the view of ESPN pundit Brian Windhorst.
The Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 111-106 at the Staples Center on Thursday night but were trailing at half-time.
James notched up 40 minutes on the court and led the Lakers to an inspired comeback in the second half as they overcame a 19 points deficit.
The 33-year-old finished the night with 29 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
If we see the LeBron we saw in the first half, which looked a lot like the LeBron right before the break, I’m not so sure
Windhorst claims if the Lakers are to make the playoffs, James cannot afford to play like he did in the first half of the game.
Los Angeles, who now have a 29-29 record, currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference and are two and half games off the final playoff spot.
“If we see the LeBron that we saw in the second half, for the next two months, I think anything is possible for them,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s The Jump.
“If we see the LeBron we saw in the first half, which looked a lot like the LeBron right before the break, I’m not so sure.
“At the end of the day, the Lakers, they don’t shoot well enough, the don’t defend well enough.
“That doesn’t mean they can’t have a hot shooting night.
“They had great defence in the fourth quarter last night.”
Los Angles made 38 of their 85 attempts from the field, but only managed 26.7 percent from behind the arc after they only scored eight of their 30 attempts.
LeBron, who have made the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons, faces a difficult task ahead of him this year to make it to the post-season.
Windhorst claimed the Lakers rely heavily on James and insisted the veteran’s form going into the stretch it going to make or break Los Angeles’ season.
“They really rely on LeBron to be great,” Windhorst added.
“When LeBron is great, and I’m gonna be betting on LeBron being great, then anything is possible.”
Next up for the Lakers is a road trip to Louisiana on Saturday to face the New Orleans Pelicans and Anthony Davis.