The Los Angeles Lakers probably have the most challenging matchup among the Top-3 seeds in the West. They face off against a fully motivated Blazers team led by the unstoppable Damian Lillard.

So, what should LeBron James do to overcome the Portland test? 

King James was surprisingly quiet in the seeding games, unable to unleash his might against opponents. The four-time NBA MVP played seven out of the Lakers’ eight games, but only managed to register 30.0 points once in these outings. 

If the Lakers have to overcome the challenge of the Blazers, they need LeBron James to be at his best. Well, we all know playoffs LeBron is different, but competing inside the bubble is never an easy task. 

2006 NBA champion on what LeBron James needs to do in the playoffs

When LBJ signed with the Lakers in 2018, he suffered a personal hit in his career. Since his rookie debut in 2003, LeBron had always managed to get into the playoffs, but missed out on it last season, ending a very long streak. 

Thus, the three-time champion will be more hungry this time to prove his dominance during the business end of the season. Antoine Walker is a player who won the championship with the Miami Heat in 2006.

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Thus, Walker knows what it takes to succeed in the playoffs. He joined the ‘First Things First’ crew recently and opened up about what LeBron needs to do in order to beat the Trail Blazers. 

“LeBron James has to take an aggressive approach to this playoff, and I mean offensively,” Walker said. “They’re [Lakers] going to need him to score the ball. It might take 30.0 points a night to beat Portland,” he added. 

Walker then mentioned how the Blazers have no particular player that can truly guard LeBron. Thus, the Lakers star needs to take advantage of it and bring out his best game when they face Portland. 

We feel LeBron digs and finds more motivation when the playoffs commence. The 35-year-old holds the record for the most playoffs points by any player in the league’s history. Moreover, King James averages 28.9 points in his postseason games so far.

Can we expect a masterclass from him in the intense series against the Blazers?