Is LeBron James underappreciated as a scorer?
"Desperation."
That was the singular word LeBron James used to describe the Lakers' 124-116 win over the Warriors on Saturday, as well as his dazzling 56-point masterpiece.
"We'd been on a four-game losing streak, obviously our season has been up and down, but we played inspired basketball against a really good team," he said afterward. "We needed this win for sure. We've been struggling all year, pretty much. We haven't played like much of anything lately, so it was a good win."
James was marvelous in the outing all night long. He complemented the 56-piece (his career-high as a Laker) with 10 rebounds, three assists and a block. He also shot at a magnificent 19-for-31 clip from the floor, 6-for-11 from 3, and made 12 of his 13 free-throw attempts.
And amidst all the brilliance — the showstopping dunks, the riveting 3s — it's easy to forget that the man is 37 years old.
Almost too easy.
For Nick Wright, James' greatness, which has spanned nearly two decades, is entirely unique unto itself.
"It's the greatest scoring performance by anyone age 35 or older," Wright surmised Monday morning on "First Things First."
"LeBron's going to win the scoring title this year. Despite the Lakers' season from hell, he's been the one shining bright spot. This is basically every-year LeBron James. This guy might be able to drop 56 any given night.
"He just dropped 56 on one of the teams that's favored to win the title. It's impossible for LeBron to surprise us."
LeBron James scores 56 points vs Warriors
James' scoring eruption came just days after he expressed his disappointment with not being routinely listed amongst the game's greatest scorers on his HBO show, "The Shop."
It's a reality that Chris Broussard blatantly disagrees with.
"LeBron's a scorer," Broussard simply stated.
"LeBron can do things like this. I agree with him, he is a scorer. Now, he doesn't have the arsenal of a Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or a Kevin Durant. But he scores as many points as them, and he does it at a high field-goal percentage. He's one of the best ever, and obviously, he'll be the top scorer ever."
Shannon Sharpe agreed with James' sentiments about his scoring attributes, adding that it was shameful he's not included more in the "greatest scorers" conversation.
"No one has been asked to do what LeBron James has been asked to do. 19 years, he's been asked to score 27, get 12 or 13 boards, and dish out 10 assists," Sharpe stated on "Undisputed." "When you do so many things well, it’s hard to be known for doing one thing great. LeBron has the fifth-highest scoring average in NBA history, 27.1. KD's thought of as a great scorer, but LeBron has more 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-point games, while averaging more rebounds, assists and steals. It's an anomaly that he gives you 56 and 3. He'll usually give you 38, 12 and eight. I get why he's upset."
Why LeBron is a great scorer
Due to James' cerebral passing ability, Skip Bayless was hesitant to give him the same flowers.
"Michael Jordan won 10 scoring titles," Bayless said. "Kevin Durant has won four, Allen Iverson won four. Kobe Bryant won two, Wilt [Chamberlain] won seven, and ‘The Iceman’ George Gervin won four. LeBron has one. LeBron distributes the basketball the greatest. He's still the best passer in basketball. On a nightly basis, he makes two or three passes where I'm like ‘woo, that was special.’ That's just a gift. Nobody else can do that."
James is one of the game's best passers, but his scoring feats are nothing to brush over.
The King has now scored 20+ points in 28 straight games, which is the longest streak of any player this season. Since returning from injury in early February, he is averaging 30.6 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 5.7 APG while shooting 52.0%.
Meanwhile, his 56 points were the second-most by a player 37 or older, behind only Kobe Bryant, who scored 60 points in his final career game (37 years, 234 days).
Desperate times certainly call for desperate measures, and if "desperation" means fans will see scoring performances like the one James put on Saturday night, they won't mind if he stays in that mode for the remainder of the season.
