The LA Lakers have played at the top of their game after losing the opening match of the series against the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers won the third game of the series by 109-95 to take a 2-1 lead. Anthony Davis has returned with 34 points each in the last two matches for the defending champions whereas LeBron James has once again led from the front.
In fact, James has changed his style in the playoffs after returning from an ankle sprain injury. James is now more focussed on playmaking rather than scoring himself. The Akron Hammer scored 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists in the third game of the first conference round against the Suns.
Former NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is well known for criticizing the best of players. The NBA analyst feels there is something wrong with the way LeBron James is playing in the postseason.
Barkley said in the latest episode of TNT, “Remember when Chris Haynes said, he got an injury, that he told he’s not going to heal until [indiscernible]. But there is something wrong with him. But he was a little bit aggressive in the second half. I can just tell, watching the first three games, he’s not been aggressive as he normally is looking to pass the ball. But… he said hey, I’m not gonna sit out. I’m gonna play.”
Meanwhile, James averaged 18.3 field goal attempts and 7.8 assists in the 2020-21 regular season. In fact, in the last three playoff stages, James has averaged 16 field goals attempts and 9.3 assists per match. Furthermore, James has never averaged less than 23.7 points in the postseason before the ongoing playoff.
Thus, Barkley is quite right in his observation but James is still delivering the goods for the team. The Lakers will play the fourth match of the series against the Suns on Sunday night.
