The Lakers attack with LeBron James still has a major question

After landing LeBron James as a free agent, the Los Angeles Lakers placed a different team around him, hoping to perform a different style than the Cleveland Cavaliers.

By signing players such as Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee to join James and their young and talented core, the Lakers decided to add the game around James rather than shoot.

Early reports suggested that the Lakers also hope James will move to the post more this season. Such a gesture would not only help the spacing of the Lakers in attack but also alleviate James' burden to create as much dribbling.

With the current training camp, the Lakers said they planned to play fast in the attack (they were third in the standings last year). Head Coach Luke Walton did not provide much clues about the team's mid-field attack, but he said he'd like to see no more cuts, projections, player movements and bullets.

In theory, everything looks good and, with the pre-season and regular season approaching, the NBA world will soon have the chance to see the Lakers attack in action. But, on paper, there is still an important question regarding fit – will James do what the Lakers need to do for the attack to go off?

LeBron did not play as the Lakers want to play.

James told reporters he envisioned the Lakers playing as his Miami Heat teams from 2010 to 2014.

"I think it will be a bit like Miami, in the sense that we really went out and started with our defense, and went out and ran," said James. "You go out and run, you are able to speak before they defend, there are a lot of good defenses here in our league, so to be able to stop and go out, you get off the ground before setting up the defense. "

In retrospect, the Heat were known for their transition skills, but they have not always stood out. The Heat has never passed 15th in its four-year tenure and has never finished in the top 10 quick points (they were eleven in 2011-12). The Heat has put forward elite defenses that have given way to quick defeats, but they have never been a team in their own right.

The Cavaliers were also not a quick start, although they have accelerated in the past two seasons, finishing 16th and 12th overall.

Throughout James' career, and particularly in recent years, James has been much more of a methodical and half-court bullet man than a quick weapon. James' athletics, of course, allows him to dominate the transition when such opportunities arise, but he does not play at this speed regularly. James was one of the slowest players in the league last year – his average speed was 3.88 miles per hour, the 10th slowest among players who played at least 1000 minutes, according to the tracking data. the NBA.

So, no, James did not always like playing fast. It would be a surprise if it changed in his 16th season, as he approaches 34 years old.

LeBron likes to have the ball.

It is also fair to wonder if James will be happy to play. James will, of course, always be a playmaker and will have the ball in his hands a lot– The Lakers are not asking for a complete reversal – but in recent years, James has become more dominant than ever.

Last season, James was 10th among all players in average time by "touch" at 6.7 seconds, according to NBA tracking data. The best players were all point guard, which is logical – the point keepers bring the ball back to the ground and carry out the offensive; of course, they touch him more. James essentially functioned as a Cavs leader last year.

But it is not new. In 2016-17, James averaged 6.4 seconds per touch while sharing the ball with Kyrie Irving. It posted an average of 5.3 seconds in 2015-2016 and 6.5 seconds in 2014-2015.

Last season, James was not necessarily a quick decision maker when it came to taking his shot. According to the tracking data, 32% of James' shooting occurred after seven or three drops, 26% after 3 to 6 dribbles and 23% after no dribbling, ie an opportunity to catch.

Similarly, 43.4% of James' shooting occurred after touching the ball for six seconds or more, 34% after James touched the ball for 2-6 seconds and 22% after having the ball for less than two seconds. seconds.

According to the data, James' efficiency increased when he held the ball less, posting a silly 75.5% eFG (which allows for three points and two points) when he touched the ball for two seconds or less.

James is not a balloon pig – he is one of the least selfish basketball players and one of the best smugglers. But James likes to play according to the clashes. When James has a match that he thinks he can exploit, he will take matters into his own hands.

James is such a physical force that it is difficult to devise a better game plan than James, forcing the defense to react and then play.

A source close to James told Business Insider that it would be difficult to coach James because James' style of play is often better than any other system.

"LeBron will break the system all the time to do what he does," the source said. "And he does it so well that coaches do not have the intestinal strength to say"[My system is] Best & # 39. Because it's like "Really? It's better than that?

But for the Lakers to succeed, James will have to change his style a bit. A scout told Yahoo Mann Mann:

"It will be interesting to see how much LeBron is ready to change his style, he wants to dominate the ball, with this list it will not work, they have a lot of guys who want to dribble. get them to play together. "

It all boils down to an awkward list.

That's where lies the confusion on the list of Lakers around James. Making extra games is a good thing, and if everyone buys, handballers and athletes are a real racing team. But if James has the ball in his hands, the defenses do not pay much attention to players like Rondo, Stephenson or Lonzo Ball. The only real solution is to make James play more with the ball or have a complex system of cut and pass – if players like James and Rondo engage in such a system.

But former Cavs General Manager David Griffin said this summer that James will no longer be in action for so long. In the playoffs, the Lakers will want their best player to have the ball.

"He's the most effective playoff game creator in the entire NBA," Griffin said. "Because of that, you want him to make decisions, you want him to create those opportunities, and you will not create them for a Rondo jump, you will not create them for a shot." Lance Stephenson's jump. "

James' talent alone should keep the Lakers in the playoff race. If one of their young players takes the next step and his role mingles with the players, he should be a scary team in the Western Conference, competitive and deep.

But when the Lakers built this team, the NBA world was immediately skeptical about its operation. Even with games fast approaching, skepticism persists about how this team will fit together.