Former Chicago Bulls Champion Predicts Massive Issues for Lakers’ LeBron James in Orlando

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are inside the Orlando bubble, and things have gotten really tough for the team. Rajon Rondo broke his right thumb, and he won’t play with the team for 6-8 weeks. The veteran was the best play-maker on the roster, right after King James. According to former NBA champion BJ Armstrong, LeBron will see more pressure at this stage.

The Chicago Bulls guard appeared on Sky Sports’ NBA Heat Check and talked about Rondo’s role in the team.

“Even though Rondo is not playing significant minutes for the Lakers, his veteran presence in the locker room, what he does to organize a second unit is going to be missed,” he said. “Playoff Rondo is battle-tested and we know he can organize the game So I think this is going to hurt much more than people are talking about”

Is Armstrong right?

Armstrong is convinced that the absence of Rondo and Avery Bradley will have a big impact on the team.

“They’ve already missed a significant piece in Avery Bradley. So now I think this is going to put an extraordinary amount of pressure on LeBron James. Not only does he have to score, (but he’s also) going to have to initiate the offense. And he is going to have to organize the team.” 

How will the Lakers handle Rondo’s absence? Will they find a replacement for him? Armstrong is not really convinced that these replacements will work better than Rondo.

“Putting that type of pressure on Alex Caruso and the players they have just acquired, is going to put a lot of pressure on LeBron James,” the champion added. “You can put him (James) in positions doing whatever part of the game is being played. He can be a wing player, he can be a scorer, he can drop in the post, (or) you can put him top of the key.”

LeBron James and Anthony Davis will carry the team in Orlando

LeBron is used to carrying his teams. He did that in Cleveland. King James carried the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 and then did the same in 2016. Well, let’s not forget that LeBron was playing with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love back then. In 2018, the burden got bigger, and LeBron couldn’t win the title. Adam Pearce and Joe Ward from the NY Times explained that in the 2018 playoffs, King James had a 32% of the Cavaliers stats. No NBA player has ever reached this number. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it and he had 30%.

In LA, LeBron will join forces with Anthony Davis. The former Pelicans superstar is the most talented teammate LeBron has had since his time with the Heat. He was playing with Dwyane Wade back then.

Davis is DPOY of the year and he is also a three-time Blocks champion. Prior to the NBA hiatus, LeBron and Davis played like the best duo in the NBA. They carried the team on their backs. Will this help them win a title?