LeBron James Dominant as Lakers Cruise Past Lauri Markkanen, Bulls
LeBron James had 36 points and 10 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 24 points off the bench as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Chicago Bulls 123-107 on Tuesday at the United Center in Chicago.
Robin Lopez scored 20 points for the 19-50 Bulls, who have now lost five of their last six games. Lauri Markkanen added 11 points.
The 31-36 Lakers broke a five-game losing skid.
Bulls Defensive Deficiencies Prove Why They Must Draft Talented Stopper
The shorthanded Lakers, who are without their starting backcourt in point guard Lonzo Ball and wing Brandon Ingram for the remainder of the season, scored 82 combined points in the second and third quarters. For context, the Lakers scored 3.4 points per minute during that span.
Chicago's shorthanded itself with shooting guard Zach LaVine recovering from a knee strain, but the bottom fell out on a Bulls defense ranked No. 25 in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.com. A team can get away with being a bottom-third defensive unit if, say, it has an elite offense led by an MVP candidate, like James Harden and the Houston Rockets. But the Bulls average the third-fewest points in the NBA.
Chicago needs help on both ends and should focus on finding someone who can excel offensively and defensively. The obvious answer is Duke forward Zion Williamson, but unless the Bulls get some pingpong-ball help, that isn't happening.
But Chicago does own the league's fourth-worst record, so the Bulls' worst-case scenario is the No. 7 pick right now. Most likely, they'll be in the neighborhood of No. 4.
Luckily, that gives the Bulls some excellent two-way options, and Duke forward Cam Reddish should be first on the list if he falls out of the top three.
He hasn't encountered as many issues defensively, amassing 1.8 steals per game. Reddish has also received much praise for his work there.
The Stepien wrote that Reddish had "All-NBA defensive potential" and that his "wingspan and size even allows him to be a threat as a rim protector." NBADraft.net mentioned that he has "great tools as a versatile defender with his size, foot speed, and anticipation." And Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report wrote positively as well.
"There are also reasons to be optimistic about Reddish's defensive outlook," Wasserman wrote. "Aside from encouraging height, quickness and length, he's demonstrating strong instincts while reacting off the ball, providing help and jumping passing lanes."
The freshman has endured many ups and downs offensively, however, and is shooting just 35.6 percent from the field. But he's also come through in pivotal moments, like when he scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting and knocked down the game-winning three-pointer at then-No. 13 Florida State. He also had an efficient 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting at then-No. 3 Virginia.
But the bottom line is Reddish is just 19 years old. Not everyone's game develops as quickly as his teammate Williamson's. He could easily turn into a dominant two-way force on both ends, something the Bulls lack right now. Provided it doesn't get lucky and land the No. 1 pick, Chicago needs to take Reddish without much thought.
Trading LeBron Won't Fix What Ails Struggling Lakers
Former NBA head coach and current ESPN on NBA commentator Jeff Van Gundy threw out the idea of the Los Angeles Lakers trading James on Saturday:
Van Gundy made it clear that his position was the Lakers should put every option on the table at this point, not that Los Angeles should make the move.
Let's get one thing out of the way: Unless James demands a trade, he's not going anywhere, even if he's without a no-trade clause. He's entered an invincible hemisphere where he can pretty much dictate when and where he wants to end up.
But James isn't the problem in Los Angeles.
First, it's important to note that the quartet of James, Ingram, Ball and Kyle Kuzma played all of 23 games together. Ball's season ended on Jan. 19. James sat for 17 games after a groin strain suffered on Christmas. And Ingram missed 11 games prior to Christmas (seven for a sprained ankle, four for a suspension).
The Lakers went 15-8 in those games for a 65.2 percent winning rate. Only four NBA teams have a better winning percentage.
Granted, we have no idea whether Los Angeles would have hypothetically been able to keep that pace over an entire season, but the potential was there for a top-four Western Conference seed. However, the Lakers were hit harder by injuries than any team in the league.
Second, the Lakers are a bad three-point shooting team in an era where teams are more reliant on the deep ball than ever before. Los Angeles is second-to-last in the NBA with a 33.3 percent three-point rate. No team in the bottom six in this category is in line for a playoff berth in its respective conference, and the only team worse than L.A. is the 16-52 Suns.
Los Angeles simply needs better shooters around James, which isn't his fault.
Third, James averages 27.3 points on 51.7 percent shooting, 8.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. He's still been unbelievable in what is now his 16th NBA season and ranks seventh in the league in player efficiency rating, per Basketball Reference. James is the reason the Lakers aren't among the Bulls, Suns and New York Knicks of the league.
Simply put, Los Angeles' solution for a better future has James in it, even if he's near the end of his career.
What's Next?
The Lakers will play the second matchup of their five-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. The Bulls will visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
