‘A Little Rusty’: NBA Analyst Shannon Sharpe Has a Bittersweet Take on Lebron James’ Performance Against Suns

LeBron James and Anthony Davis finally made their return yesterday when the Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns in their third preseason game. LBJ and AD were on the court for 15 minutes and 18 minutes each.

NBA analyst Shannon Sharpe in the Undisputed described how he felt about the Lakers win. He said, “The first quarter you can tell that it’s been a while. They took off the first two preseason games. Especially LeBron was a little rusty, but come 2nd quarter he got it going.

He added, “I think both of those guys picked it up in the 2nd quarter. LeBron got that fadeaway going and you know once he gets that fadeaway going you are at his mercy.”

Sharpe was pretty confident that James will be ready for the regular season. “I loved what I saw from the Lakers. GOAT James will be ready, come Tuesday night. Hang a banner and get a dub.”

The Lakers have a much deeper roster now and will hope that their reliance on Anthony Davis and LeBron James is less. This will give them more leeway to the coaching staff to limit their star’s minutes.

How much will a condensed season affect LeBron James?

LeBron James and co are only seeing an off-season of 77 days after they clinched the 2019-20 NBA championship. Given the tight schedule they had, ‘King James’ might not have recovered properly.

James had to step it up in the playoffs, especially in the finals against the Miami Heat. The 4-time-MVP was arguably the best player on both ends, defensively as well as offensively.

Given the condensed schedule ahead, Frank Vogel would know how important their star is in big games. We might see LBJ play lesser minutes and younger players like Talen Horton-Tucker and Kyle Kuzma getting more minutes than last season.

Apart from these players, the Lakers have also brought in other stars like Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell to add to the team’s depth. Both the players were in the running for the Sixth Man of the Year trophy and add much needed quality to the Lakers’ bench.

The Lakers have a much deeper roster right now. The abundance of quality players is necessary to provide their stars with much needed rest. We might end up seeing the team somewhat trying the 2017-18 Warriors’ strategy, where they end up having a big lead at the end of the third quarter and then resting their stars.