Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra likely knows as well as anyone the work that LeBron James has put in over the years to sustain his greatness as an NBA player. After all, James played under Spoelstra for four seasons when the 39-year-old was a member of the Heat.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup between the Heat and James’ Los Angeles Lakers, Spoelstra implied that it would be beneficial for the youngsters on Miami to watch James in team meetings in the sense that it would provide a peek into his unrivaled preparation.
Erik Spoelstra on time with LeBron this summer: I wish I could have had all of our young players watch him in the team meetings…LeBron is not fatigued at all in terms of preparation. You want young players to see that. #HEATNation pic.twitter.com/jcVpsA2CpA
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) December 4, 2024
James has been defying Father Time for a while now, and he is continuing to do so with the Lakers this season. James is in his 22nd season in the NBA, yet he played as well as anyone on Los Angeles versus the Heat on Wednesday.
He scored a team-high 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds, eight assists and one steal. The NBA’s oldest player was the only Laker to put together a standout scoring performance against Miami, as no other player for Los Angeles scored more than 14 points.
Miami’s youngsters seemed geared up to play against James and company, however. Tyler Herro — who is 24 years old and currently in his sixth season playing for the Heat — scored a game-high 31 points and connected on an unbelievable nine 3-pointers.
Haywood Highsmith, who has yet to turn 28 years old, also got the start for Miami and played productive basketball. The fifth-year pro ended up with 14 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal. He also shot 5-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Thanks in part to contributions from Herro and Highsmith, the Heat handed the Lakers their second loss in a row. Miami also snapped a two-game losing streak with its win on Wednesday and is now back at the .500 mark on the season at 10-10.
The Heat won’t play James and the Lakers again in the 2024-25 campaign for more than a month, as the two teams are slated to face off at Crypto.com Arena on Jan. 15.
