Lakers Rumors: LeBron James 'Playing Way Harder Defensively Than He Ever Has'

An NBA source reportedly believes the defensive intensity Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has shown throughout the 2020 postseason is the highest of his decorated career.

"He's playing way harder defensively than he ever has," the source told Joe Vardon of The Athletic on Wednesday. "He didn't play this way (in Cleveland) for extended periods of time. He's done it at a really high level in these playoffs."

The longstanding prevailing wisdom has been James doesn't always go full tilt at the defensive end during the regular season, instead opting to conserve energy during the 82-game schedule to maximize his impact during the playoffs.

His numbers back up that stance. His career defensive box plus-minus in the regular season is 1.8, but it jumps to 2.5 in the playoffs, per Basketball Reference. That's a 38.9 percent increase.

The advanced stats don't agree this is his most impactful defensive postseason, though. He posted a career-high 4.8 DBPM in 2009 while with the Cleveland Cavaliers. It stands at 2.9 so far in the 2020 playoffs.

James has stepped up to take on key defensive assignments late in games, though. That included guarding Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray in the Western Conference Finals.

"I knew it was winning time, and Jamal had it going," James told reporters about asking to guard Murray in the final minutes.

Between the four-time MVP's ability to guard the opponent's top wing or perimeter scorer and the presence of Anthony Davis, a three-time league leader in blocks, on the interior, the Lakers are a nightmare matchup.

The Miami Heat will test L.A.'s defensive depth with six players averaging at least 11 points in the playoffs.

If James guards Jimmy Butler and Davis takes on Bam Adebayo in crunch time, that leaves Goran Dragic and Tyler Herro as major perimeter threats the Lakers must address.

That said, along with their defensive prowess, the Lake Show also ranks second among playoff teams in offensive efficiency, per ESPN. Miami is fourth.

So Los Angeles owns a statistical advantage at both ends of the court coming into the series, and L.A. also has the two best players in the Finals matchup in James and Davis.

That could prove difficult for Miami to overcome despite its strong showing to this point in the postseason.