The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Houston Rockets 139-130 on Wednesday night in overtime, following a puzzling LeBron James play.
The latest Los Angeles Lakers loss showed a clear distinction between Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
It was a tie game with 13 second left in regulation. The Lakers had possession and their best player, a man in the GOAT conversation, LeBron James had the ball in his hands. The Rockets, despite playing a great overall game, did what most young teams do and gave up a wide open lane for LBJ to drive and score.
But right at the rim, James kicked the ball out to Carmelo Anthony on the wing. Houston ran Melo off the line, forcing him into a long two. He missed, the Lakers went into overtime and lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games.
This Lakers’ season has left more questions than answers. With a star-studded roster, LA currently sits in ninth place. That puts them in the play-in tournament.
James is praised for his longevity and ability to play at a high level despite being 37 years old. Defenders of James say that the level of play at this age is the separating factor between him and Jordan in terms of the GOAT debate.
But does it matter if your team is unable to remain relevant?
This is turning into a battle!
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) March 10, 2022
2002 Wizards: 30-35
2022 Lakers: 28-37
The 2002 Wizards hold a slight two-game lead over Los Angeles to this point. In that season, Jordan was 39 years old and wasn’t playing with with members of the NBA 75 Anniversary Team. He had a roster in shambles. Prior to Jordan joining the team, they went 19-63. After adding MJ in the offseason, they made an 18-game improvement and finished 37-45.
Jordan was the only new addition to the roster, battling through knee troubles for the majority of the season. MJ averaged 24.3 points per game and was an MVP candidate before having to sit out the final stretch of the season. He did all of this in his first year out of his third retirement.
James has a squad compared to that Wizards team and is in a similar situation. The only difference is down the stretch, Jordan takes that layup. Bad knees and all, Jordan was a killer on the court. LeBron, time and time again, has deferred.
Wednesday night’s game showed that even playing at a high level, James isn’t the same assassin as Jordan. With the game on the line, James had the height advantage, extra step on his defender, and elevated to the rim. He was right there and didn’t take the shot.
A team with four NBA 75 Anniversary Team members is fighting to be in the play-in tournament— a concept that didn’t exist when Jordan was dragging the Wizards out of oblivion.
If the play-in tournament had existed then, Jordan would’ve been suiting up alongside Christian Laettner, Kwame Brown, Tyronn Lou and Charles Oakley … all of whom were in the same position as AD, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and James.
Sometimes, it’s just not all in the statistics. Remember that next time you’re having a GOAT debate.