Back-to-back wins can hide deeper issues, and that has been the case for the LA Lakers. Despite beating the Memphis Grizzlies twice, the Purple and Gold have struggled for consistency, going 4-4 over their last eight games as Austin Reaves remains sidelined. With momentum slipping, LeBron James has stepped in, sending a message to Luka Doncic as the Lakers look for a spark.

The 41-year-old forward, who is also a co-host of the Mind the Game podcast, was discussing how the star player game plan where the ball is run through just one player, isn’t the key to success anymore in the modern-day game.

“We didn’t have this many defenses and nuances of how to play defenses versus isolated players back, I mean, I would say five to seven years ago. Now There are so many different ways to get the ball out of a guy’s hands if he’s just sitting there isoing on the wing. You can flood the whole side and bring another guy to the elbow,” James said.

“You could literally run a guy and just go trap him, and now you’ve got three defenders. You got the guy that’s guarding the ball, the guy that came over to trap him, and you have the sideline. So, there are so many different ways,” he further emphasized.

The Lakers superstar explained how teams have established efficient systems to stop a single player, and that teams can no longer hand the ball to just one player and hope he can win them the NBA title. That, according to James, at least, isn’t how a franchise can win in the league nowadays. So, what should teams do instead? Well, James also had an answer for that.

“You’re playing the numbers game. That’s the game right now. It’s the numbers game. How can you start the blender? Is the blender being started by the pass? Is it pass and cut? Is it what the Miami Heat are doing? Or is it what the Lakers are doing? Why do we start a lot of our plays with pick and roll? Because we have such a dynamic pick-and-roll player in Luka,” he said.

“So, the trigger, how do you create the blender? How do you create the trigger? And creating the trigger ever used to be where guys catch the ball at the elbow or in the Karl Malone area, and catch it and face up and jab, and that you need it a bit, but it’s definitely on the lower side of that pie chart now. It is not a big piece of the demographic of winning basketball in my case. I don’t see it.”

The game is a numbers game now, indicating that Luka Doncic’s usage rate, which is the second highest in the league, only behind Phoenix’s Jalen Green, isn’t good. The Lakers’ point guard’s usage percentage is currently at 36.7 only, which should be a worrying sign for the franchise, if we go by James’ words.

However, we still should take this stat with a pinch of salt, given that Doncic will tend to have more of the ball with Austin Reaves on the sidelines. Moreover, Luka Doncic has also been instrumental for the Lakers this season. In fact, just the other night, the Lakers superstar put up a terrific performance, even drawing praise from none other than his teammate LeBron James.

LeBron James lauds Luka Doncic after his stellar performance against Memphis

Despite his strong words about teams relying heavily on one player and modern basketball being a numbers game, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James couldn’t help but praise his teammate Luka Doncic.

The Purple and Gold secured an emphatic win over the Grizzlies for a second night in a row, and the Slovenian guard played a huge role in it.

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He finished the night with 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. As expected, everyone involved with the franchise was thrilled to see the Slovenian’s performance, including James.

“One of the best quarterbacks and I’m a pretty good receiver, when it comes to that,” James said postgame. “It’s my job to not allow the defense to break that up or steal the ball. And he put it right on target, and made it a lot easier for me.”

The veteran superstar praised his teammate for his passing skills as the two linked up on several occasions on the night. So, it seems like both of them are enjoying each other’s company after all, as the Purple and Gold hope that this winning streak will further go on.