LeBron James is already carrying too much of a burden for the Lakers.
LeBron James went HAM on Sunday night against the Miami Heat, showing no mercy to his former team and dropping a heavy 51 points in the process.
It was the 12th time James hit 50 points or more in his career — and as we come up with more and more stats to define his excellence — he also becomes just the fifth player in NBA history to do so for three different franchises.
LeBron James is the 5th player in NBA history with a 50-point game for three different franchises joining Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, Bernard King and Jamal Crawford.
— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) November 19, 2018
In all, he made 19 of his 31 shots from the floor and tossed in eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in 38 minutes off picture-perfect work fit-for framing.
LeBron got it going early, hitting 8 of his first 10 shots. From here it was vintage Big Game James. LeThanos returned to douse the Heat. The Toronto Raptors know that LeBron James well. It’s the reason why Dwane Casey is coaching in Detroit.
LeBron James puts up a season-high 51 PTS (19-31 FGM) in the @Lakers road W in Miami! #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/8GJ5KRdBJ9
— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2018
In a season of high-powered offensive outbursts, James is the sixth player already this season to score 50 or more points. There have been 15 40-point outbursts as well. Kemba Walker achieved the season-high of 60 points on Saturday night.
The Lakers could use a No. 2 option with those offensive capabilities. For now, they are 9-7 and hanging onto seventh place in the Western Conference. We are only 16 games into the season and LeBron is already having to carry a tremendous burden. Bron can’t be out here having to drop 50 for the Lakers to win a game. Kuzma had 15. Brandon Ingram had a modest 13 and Lonzo Ball had 2 points. These guys have to be more assertive. As great as Bron is, he can’t possibly keep this pace up through the 82-game season and playoffs.
