Soobum Im. Getty Images.

In the event you didn’t stay up late to watch some late night West Coast hoops between the Lakers and Blazers last night, you missed what I would consider another completely insane LeBron performance in a B2B to help stop the Lakers little mini-skid.

Mind you, this was coming off his 26/7/11 from the night before where he was doing shit like this

I mean what the hell. I know it’s talked about every time he does pretty much anything on the basketball court these days, but my brain still cannot really comprehend how all of this is possible at age 40. I despise LeBron and the Lakers as much as anyone but come on, how could you not be impressed with what we’re seeing? It shouldn’t physically be possible for a 40 year old to be this good every time he steps on the floor.

And to his credit, having a night like that on a B2B at his age is one of the more impressive things we’ve seen this season from any player. You have NBA stars in their prime ages sitting out B2Bs for rest, and to see a 40 year old do shit like that is pretty fucking nuts. Sure it may make his sitting out of the All Star Game a little weak, but whatever. That’s a fake game and who gives a shit about the All Star Game really. 

I thought JJ Redick provided some great perspective after the game on what we’re seeing

and while I agree with his overall point, I have to admit he did kind of lose me when he dropped the “the kids will call this glazing” line. I’m a big JJ guy and think he’s having a fine season and was a good hire, but that’s a little too “online” for me. I don’t need JJ throwing out trendy NBA Twitter buzzwords. We get it, you’re on Twitter. We all are. Even if his overall point is right, there’s just something weird about an NBA coach talking about how it may sound like he’s meatriding LeBron. I honestly can’t think of another coach to say something like that, so I guess that’s just what happens with this new generation?

Also let’s remember what we’re talking about here. While it’s impressive that a 40 year old had that type of performance, coming off a long All Star Break in which he didn’t participate so he could rest, at a time when the Lakers need all the wins they can get it’s not exactly a crowning achievement that LeBron played 2 games in a row. Especially when Luka sat. Let’s not forget, playing basketball is what LeBron is expected to do. And sure there are different circumstances for a 40 year old in this spot, we’re also talking about LeBron. He is not your normal 40 year old. 

So while I understand the overall point JJ is trying to make, let’s calm down a little bit. My guess is if Luka was ready and active, then LeBron would have sat. But after dropping their last 2 games and not having Luka, it makes sense why LeBron played. That doesn’t take away from how impressive his performance was, but also that’s the expectation star players should have right? They play. 

I’ll admit, there’s probably a decent chunk of my anti-Lakers bias at play here. I acknowledge that what LeBron is doing at 40 years old right now is legitimately insane, but we don’t need to suck his dick every time he plays a basketball game, even in the event they happen in back to back nights coming off a prolonged break.