Zach Lowe on Lebron taking plays off this year

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3. LeBron, in chill mode

This is a thing, again:


LeBron gives the ball up and watches, statuesque, even though he has Boban freaking Marjanovic on him. This is Chill Mode Offense.

LeBron can do this on 20 possessions and still notch triple-doubles. A lot of his workload metrics -- speed and distance covered, drives, pick-and-roll volume, free throws -- are consistent with the past few seasons. He is recovering from his first extended injury absence.

He has reached an age where he needs to conserve energy. He ceded large chunks of the offense against Indiana in last season's first round until Game 7. Perhaps this is the price of getting full-throttle LeBron when it matters.

But his shots in the restricted area are down, and he's taking more super-long 3s. He is posting up about 2.9 times per 100 possessions, half his typical rate, per Second Spectrum. He was a more engaged off-ball player in Miami and during the early years of his second Cleveland stint. He did not retreat so often toward half court, blowing on his hands, as possessions wound away.

It has been hard for the Lakers to develop a stylistic identity with LeBron toggling between passivity and chess-master control. Close your eyes and picture a Lakers half-court set. What do you see?

Bystander LeBron has contributed to the vibe that he exists outside the current roster. (The public Davis drama amplified that vibe.) It also brings out the worst in Brandon Ingram. You almost see Ingram and the other Lakers look around before they all agree LeBron is out of the play, and that they must proceed accordingly. If Ingram has the ball and no one sets a prompt screen, he might laze into a fadeaway jumper.

LeBron's previous teams could afford heavy doses of dialed-back Bron. They played in the East. The Lakers play in the West.

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