Lebron James DEBUT ANGELES LAKERS #NBA #DEPORTES
The debut of LeBron James with his new club started with two monstrous rebounds in a span of 19 seconds. But James knows that he and the Los Angeles Lakers are far from being a steamroller at the moment and that his chemistry will not work so fast.
After the era of the LeBron Lakers had a resounding start on Thursday night, the Los Angeles defense could not contain the dynamic duo of the Portland Trail Blazers, as Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum ruined the premiere of James in purple and gold to take Portland to a 128-119 victory at the Fashion Center.
"Um, not as fast as you think it's going to happen," James said when asked how long it will take to develop the chemistry of the Lakers. "I always compare it to something like instant oatmeal, it's not that fast, it takes a while to get to where you can close your eyes and know exactly where your kids are."
James had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, but he saw the Lakers fail their first 15 attempts of 3 points, give 14 offensive rebounds, lose 21 points in a second attempt and lack cohesion in both ends of the stave in several moments . The Lakers also showed flashes of promise, especially with their pace, as they outscored the Trail Blazers 34-12 in quick response points. Six players also achieved double figures.
"I liked our fight to get back in the game," James said. "We lost by two digits, I liked the way we compete at times, I also liked the way we shared the ball, that was positive."
"You're going to need patience from our team, from all of us," James said. "To simply decipher, discover what we're good at, discover what we're not so good at, how we can be better at that." It's a good first test for us, to be in a stadium where they do not lose [a home game] at the decade of the 2000 ".
The Lakers expect their promising core to adapt to play alongside James faster than expected. On the other two occasions that James has debuted with a new team, it took time for him and his new teammates to set.
It will not be easier for the Lakers, since James will make his regular season debut at the Staples Center on Saturday against James Harden, Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets.
"Reasonably, it will take time," Ball said of the time the Lakers will arrive at their pace. "We want to get there, we want to bring back Los Angeles, it's just the first game, it's not a big problem right now."