The Lakers finally got back in the win column Tuesday night, snapping a five-game losing streak behind an All-Star performance from LeBron James, who logged a triple-double (32 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) in his first career start at center. “I've taken pride over the course of my career in being able to play five positions. Or at least know all five positions,” said James, who shot 11-of-19 from the field (3-of-5 from downtown) in the winning effort. “[Tonight] called for me to start at center and I just tried to be in a hell of a lot of plays."
Typically cast as a wing or “point forward,” James said he had never started a game at center, even in high school, before getting the nod Tuesday night. Acting coach David Fizdale (Frank Vogel remains in the league’s health and safety protocol after testing positive for COVID last week) felt Los Angeles needed to shake things up by using James at the five. The experiment paid off with James turning in a dominant performance against Houston, posterizing Christian Wood with a ferocious dunk to extend the Lakers’ lead to eight with 1:18 remaining.
James, who the Lakers list at 6’9”/250, certainly has the requisite size to play center, though, throughout his career, he’s rarely been asked to fill that role. However, with L.A.’s frontcourt in shambles—Anthony Davis is battling a knee injury while Dwight Howard has largely been a non-factor since his return from COVID—Fizdale decided James’ expertise was needed in the low post.
“LeBron's plus-minus at the five is so ridiculous right now,” said Fizdale, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “To have guys out with COVID and stuff like that, I just took a gamble and said, 'You know, I think that tonight's the night to start him at [the] five.'"
Tuesday marked another milestone for James, who became the third player in NBA history to accrue 36,000 career points. Not bad for a guy who turns 37 in a matter of hours (he shares a birthday with PGA legend Tiger Woods).
James’ move to center is likely just temporary, though the four-time MVP has, in one fell swoop, taken a flamethrower to the myth that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
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