NBA Game Reviews: January 5, 2021

1. LeBron James continues to be one of the greatest closers ever, even in Year 18

Lebron James is playing in his 18th season in the NBA. He just turned 36 years old before the turn of the new year. LeBron is coming off a season in which he led the league in assists for the first time in his career, and became the first player in NBA history to win a Finals MVP award with three teams. With just a 72-day offseason, this was looking like the year LeBron could finally slow down. Not so fast.

LeBron took over down the stretch of the Lakers 94-92 win over the Grizzlies, hitting multiple tough fadeaway jumpers in the closing minutes of the game and executing an unstoppable pick-and-roll alongside Anthony Davis. Even though Kyrie’s comments were misplaced and the narrative earlier in the ‘Chosen One’s career said otherwise, James proved once again why he’s one of the most effective closers in the game. The King would go on to finish with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, his third double-double of the year (he also has one triple-double).

Most 36-year-olds in the league are taking a backseat on their squads (ex. Andre Iguodala, Carmelo Anthony, JJ Redick, Paul Millsap, or Lakers teammate Marc Gasol). Their playing time is diminishing, and they may even be transitioning into a player-coach type of role. LeBron is different. King James has played in all eight games this year for the Lakers, despite the turned ankle he’s been nursing since opening night. Bron will be looking to lead his Lakers to the top seed in the West yet again, and to hoist his 5th championship and MVP trophies, as a 36-year-old, with still plenty left in the tank, especially at the end of the game.

2. The NBA’s 3-point revolution is only going to continue rising

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Steph Curry and the splash brother Warriors changed the game of basketball over the last decade. Their offensive strategy was simple: three points are worth more than two, so why not focus on taking more three-point shots. This led to Daryl Morey’s Rockets to take this one step further, basically eliminating the two-point jumper from their game. That team set the NBA record when they attempted 70 three-pointers in a game last season.

This year, this emphasis on the three-pointer is only increasing. On Tuesday, Gregg Popovich’s Spurs tied a franchise-record with 20 made threes in their victory over the Clippers, while Terry Stotts’ Trail Blazers set their own franchise record with 51 three-pointers attempted. Patty Mills made eight huge threes for the Spurs, while CJ McCollum attempted 14 for the Blazers. NBA scores are increasing, and more threes are being attempted than ever before. Expect this trend to only continue in the future as analytics become a bigger part of the game.

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