LeBron Is A Genius Passer, Solving Every Lakers Problem

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the regular season facing two major weaknesses. One of these is the lack of floor spacing that appeared when coaches decided to start newly acquired Anthony Davis at power forward alongside traditional centers in an effort to improve the defense. The other issue is the dearth of supplemental playmaking after the initial loss to Kawhi Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers. It looks like the franchise has a solution to both problems. LeBron James. King James is doing something he has never made in his professional career. This season, LeBron plays a full-time point guard, and he is brilliant in this role. LeBron has league-high 11 assists per game.

LeBron can see things most players and coaches can’t, and he is able to sneak a pass into a tight window. Star playmakers can’t do that. LeBron is a basketball genius. His basketball IQ is huge.

Because of this power, the spacing challenge is no longer an issue and the team needs one primary playmaker to make good shots. LeBron’s team ranks fourth in offense and second in shooting efficiency.

LeBron is able to put enough touch on pocket bounce passes to rushing big men, allowing them to finish with a score. On a different team with better half-court spacing, King James has more room for mistake. On this squad, any pass that’s a target is a turnover. Instead, these turn into layups and dunks.

King James has precise lob passes. He has vertical help of leapers like Davis, JaVale McGee, and Dwight Howard, but the limits of his perimeter teammates reduce the horizontal space necessary to fit passes in. His kick-out passes have to be faster, his lob passes softer and his pocket bounce passes more progressive to rush through defenders.

Los Angeles scores much more than their supplementary talent allows, even when the king isn’t assisting the made bucket. Alex Caruso isn’t supposed to deliver a corner three, but it happens thanks to LeBron’s ability to snap a perfect backdoor pass to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope through a very narrow crease.

LeBron is the best, what can we say…