The risky bet on the past of LeBron James and the Lakers

• LUCAS SÁEZ-BRAVO

  @LucasSaezBravo

Updated Sunday, 31october2021-14: 46

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LeBron James

turns 37 in a couple of months, but his determination not only prevents him from folding sails, it doesn't even allow that to cross his mind. Known is his millionaire investment in physical care, a plan that for years includes chefs, physical therapists, home gyms and even a former SEAL agent (

). In his performance without hint of decadence the results are reflected, but it is not (only) his age that has set off the alarms at the beginning of the season in the Lakers. It is the age of those around you.

Because in the Angelina renewal in search of the reconquest of the ring that was brilliantly taken in the Disney bubble of 2020 there is too much of nostalgia. And the defeats at the beginning of the season only fuel doubts and criticism. Until they could (with a lot of trouble) with the Grizzlies, they accumulated more than five months without knowing the victory (since the young Suns, later finalists, of

eliminated them in the playoffs), including six preseason trips and the first two officers at Staples Center.

Later, they lost to LeBron by a good scare in the same leg by which the last year it could not dispute 26 parties. And they made a fool of themselves against the Thunder: perhaps the worst team in the League beat them back 26 points. In the first six games they have conceded nearly 120 a night to raise the flag of the worst defense. There are too many seams on them, but they, for the moment, clear the mockery for their risky challenge of time: "Some of the memes have been extremely funny" (LeBron).

The big summer bet in the Lakers offices was

(in exchange for

), to complete a new Big Three with LeBron and

.

Coup d'état: the king of the triple-double, the star always in question for his little collective contribution, the Californian back home - he was trained at UCLA - with his mammoth salary of more than 44 million dollars and his almost 33 years .

Along with LeBron, and Davis, 28 but a long history of injuries: between the three, more than 120 million.

So the rest must be crumbs.

And there the bet: instead of by thriving young people, by stars with more past than future.

Harry HowAFP

True, the promise experience didn't taste too good for LeBron. In his first year in Hollywood, he was shipwrecked with twenty-somethings like

or Kuzma himself. Now he prefers the experience in search of his fifth ring, aware that he no longer has so many opportunities left. With

(the only major youngster for

) injured, the quintet is completed by

(33). And from the bench emerge

(36). An average age of almost 31 years, quite far from the rest of the aspirants and the general average of the NBA (26.2).

The last team to win a ring with a similar average age were the Mavericks in 2011, who relied on veterans like

(33) to support the

of

(31). So, the big question is whether the purple and gold will be able not only to cope with the rest of the favorites (mainly the Warriors in the West and Nets and the champion Bucks in the East), but if they will at least hold out physically and mentally. . For now, they accept it as a challenge: "They give us up because we're old. We see it. It's exciting. The narrative about our age makes me laugh a bit ...".

Because it is not only the legs, but also the egos. In the second game of the course, Davis and Howard almost came to blows on the bench. An unusual image. In the third, at last, the figure of Melo appeared to put peace and incidentally break records. He has been in the League for 19 years and surpassed

to become the ninth leading scorer.

Anthony, who seemed to lose his step a couple of seasons ago in frenetic new times, has also undergone a physical change.

"When you grow older, the more you understand your body. There are many resources now to take care of it. I decided to take control of my body and my mind. Happiness is good too. I didn't take much of my diet, I just substituted something or other", he explained, although, like most of his new teammates, he has already played all the best matches of his career.

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