What's Up With Lebron?

Yesterday Lebron passed Michael Jordan and moved up to 4th place in the all time scoring leaders. Despite that milestone I have been really concerned about his level of play recently. Lebron has many haters but I have never been one of them. He is one of my favorite players and I have admired how he has carried himself on and off the court since he entered the league. 

Despite this, I can't help but acknowledge that something has been off since he came back from his injury last month. The Lakers are in a tailspin losing to some of the worst teams in the league as they attempt to make the playoffs by the skin of their teeth.

I was expecting the Lakers to need some time to gel and rebuild before being serious contenders with Lebron, so not making the playoffs is not the real problem. There was drama with the potential Anthony Davis trade last month when the organization was willing to unload pretty much anyone and everyone on the team for him. The way that went down certainly couldn't have helped team morale. 

You can easily see there is a problem by watching Lebron's body language lately. He still puts up impressive numbers but he's walking around on defense and finger pointing at teammates. He's staying out late with rappers and then sitting out games the next day. It's one thing to see the Lakers struggle but it's harder for me to see him in the kind of slump which frankly includes a bad attitude. He's starting to remind me of  Demarcus Cousins. I've never seen this before from him. He's also missing the usual leadership spark he's expected to have. I'm not sure if he's given up on the current squad for this year or if he's going through some other kind of personal struggles.

I just hope the Lakers can rebuild and prepare for the upcoming season and I hope Lebron can get the rest he may need since he's had extended seasons including playoffs for the longest time. I think as painful as it has been to watch over the last  month, that next year will be much better. I am not giving up on one of the greatest players ever. He will be back and in full form eventually.