Magic Johnson discusses how LeBron James can make everything easier for everyone around him.
For the last decade it seems every team that LeBron James is on is classified as a superteam.
It started with the Miami Heat and continued when he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. For the Philadelphia 76ers, the story remains the same, as fans state that it’s nothing but another super team orchestrated by James. The critics feel he changes a player's playstyle and relegates them to one-dimensional styles.
A fellow Laker by the name of Earvin “Magic” Johnson has come out and spoke on the narrative of LeBron James and the way he changes the game for others.
“He gets everybody involved in the game. He gets people easy buckets and shots.” said Magic, “When you think about Maxey, Embiid, all those guys, and now Jaylen Brown, one thing he knows how to do is bring those guys together.”
There was something interesting about what Johnson said. James has the type of talent to get guys to work together. A tool many players struggle to use. The thought that James forces players to be spot-up shooters is completely false. When you have different stars all join one team, someone has to sacrifice. Everyone can’t be the number one option; it’s a recipe for disaster. Look no further than the Lakers of the 2000s; Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were one of the most dominant duos to ever play the game.
But what stood in their way was the reluctance to concede to the other. It’s something that casts a dark shadow over the team. When it comes to James, you can say his style forced a player to do something different than they’re used to, but it was never to disrupt team chemistry.
The other thing that people need to understand is all those stars, once they join a new team, can't be as dominant as they were with their previous team. It just doesn’t work that way. When there is a system put in place by the coach, you have to play the role intended for you, or it’s never going to end well.
This Philadelphia team is going to have to fall in line or this offense is never going to work. The saving grace with this unit is that head coach Nick Nurse is going to give everyone an opportunity to shine. With James leading the way as the facilitator, it only aids in Johnson’s comment that he’s going to ensure everyone gets an easy shot. When the team understands the offensive game plan, it’s sure to make the flow of the game much easier.
