JJ Redick was amazed by LeBron James’ performance vs. Grizzlies

When LeBron James hits his high gear, he’s still one of the best players in the NBA and he showed that for the Lakers against the Grizzlies.

There weren’t many bright spots for Los Angeles during their blowout loss in Memphis.

The roster was depleted with Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura out and coach JJ Redick called out players like D’Angelo Russell for not competing.

It may be an obvious observation, but one aspect that was a joy to watch was LeBron James playing with full force. LeBron has had some mediocre games this season where he seems to be pacing himself which is understandable, even if frustrating, given the years on his legs.

On Wednesday, with AD out, he didn’t mess around. He had 39 points scoring on all three levels, including knocking down six 3-pointers.

He was the Lakers’ best facilitator, dishing out six dimes, played the most minutes and even went toe-to-toe with Ja Morant. He exchanged baskets with him along with “too small” gestures and got the Grizzlies star so riled up that he baited him into drawing a tech.

After the game, Redick was frustrated with the team’s overall performance but spoke glowingly about his oldest and best player.

“I think LeBron was fantastic tonight,” Redick said. “I mean, the biggest thing that stood out, I had no idea he had 39 [points]. I’m not looking at the box scores during the game, but he played hard. Almost 40 years old and played the hardest on our team, says a lot about him.”

This performance will throw cold water on those who were worried about Bron falling off after a few subpar games.

You might be annoyed he doesn’t give his absolute best every night, but I mean, he’s 39 and asked to do more than any player ever has at that age.

The pacing is by design so he can attempt to play all 82 games and, as Wednesday demonstrated, when he needs to be Superman, the cape is ready.

LeBron, being the oldest and playing the hardest, says a lot about him. It also says a lot about this team and none of it is good. Understandably, a loss is likely without AD, but the supporting cast didn’t give many good performances.

The Lakers need more from that group to get where they want to go.

The good news is they have the two aces they need, which is arguably the hardest part of building a contender.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.