LeBron James was brought in to help win a championship. Now, it seems he may have to score more than he expected.
Every player has a goal for the season. In basketball it may be what to average for a season or putting up numbers to make an all-star game. The number one is winning an NBA title. For the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s the only thing that they can shoot for. Rearranging the entire roster made for that expectation. Basketball Reference has an expectation of their own.
According to Basketball Reference, they projected that LeBron James will average 23 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.7 assists on 50% shooting from the field.
That’s an astounding stat for a 42-year-old. If James can put up those kind of numbers, there’s no doubt that this team can be at the top of the Eastern Conference. The only issue is that he may be putting too much pressure on James. That, along with the fact that he wants to take a backseat in the scoring department, makes this stat line even more questionable. It’s not that Philadelphia wouldn’t want these numbers, but the problem could be when the playoff comes around and he has reached his limit.
The whole reason they signed James was for his playoff experience and to assist the team in making a deep playoff run. While the regular season is important, Philadelphia already knows how to get through the regular season. The projected stat line would help James with his personal accolades; it won’t matter if he is worn down before they even make it to the playoffs.
The other thing this could mean is James is playing extended minutes. Another thing to factor in when you think of the wear and tear. It begs to wonder, if they have all these young players, it would make sense to use them more than James. It’s really all about how the team is utilized and how much they struggle to win and close out games.
In a perfect world, James averages just under 20 points with nearly 10 assists a night. It would mean he is delegating to his teammates and not driving in the paint nearly as much. Basketball is a game of precision. You have to run your plays at certain angles and execute them exactly as they're drawn up, or it could throw everything off.
If you have James scoring at a high clip, then you’re derailing everything that was put in place to maximize the players. If that happens, you can surely expect a rough season and a possible repeat of last year's playoff run.
