The 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers have had a few defining characteristics in their journey towards the franchise’s first NBA Finals in over a decade. No. 1, their star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis is the best in the league. But No. 2 is the consistent greatness of the defense displayed by the Los Angeles Lakers throughout the season. And one of the more unexpected aspects has been elite has been a defensive renaissance of LeBron James as an elite force on the defensive end. No moment has captured that more than LeBron’s defense in the 4th quarter of last night’s Game 4 win to put the Lakers up 3-1.
According to tracking from Second Spectrum, the Nuggets were 0-for-6 when LeBron was the closest defender within six feet.
.@KingJames didn't allow a bucket in the 4th 😳 pic.twitter.com/JrYHcxjhYG
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 25, 2020
Synergy Sports, another tracking service, we can track five shots in which James was playing defense and it ended in a Nuggets miss. A flailing floater by Mason Plumlee, a close-out on a missed 3-pointer, a Jamal Murray turnover, and two misses by Murray.
