Even before the start of the NBA season, people were talking about how the Los Angeles Lakers were too old to win the ring. Others, however, trusted LeBron James and the moves Rob Pelinka made to improve the roster.
The Lakers added several veterans alongside Russell Westbrook. And, albeit some of those moves were controversial and polarizing, they put together enough talent to be considered a legit contender.
Even so, perhaps the move that was more discussed was signing Carmelo Anthony as, for the first time in their NBA careers, he and LeBron would finally play together and pursue a long-overdue championship.
LeBron James Says Carmelo Anthony Is Like A Breath Of Fresh Air
The Lakers haven’t fared as good as they thought but Carmelo shouldn’t get any of the blame for that. He’s been pretty efficient off the bench, and James recently claimed that his presence is actually great for the locker room:
“It’s like a breath of fresh air every day,” LeBron said, per Lakers Nation. “He never gets too high, never gets too low… He’s accepted who he is and he’s great at it and I’m happy to finally say I get a chance to team with him for a season.”
Anthony Compared LeBron To An Italian Grandma
Before the start of the season, Anthony addressed the narrative of the Lakers being too old to be competitive. Notably, he compared LeBron’s game to an old Italian grandmother’s cooking to explain why that wasn’t going to be a problem:
(Transcript via Ebony)
“We knew that. We expected people to say those things; they have to. They have to start a debate, get engagement from people; that’s what it is. This is the only industry where you can be too old. After you reach a certain age, it’s like you’re supposed to lose everything. After 32 years old, it’s a wrap. Like, no. We’re getting older, we’re getting wiser. We know how to move differently, we know how to think differently. We know how to pick our spots and we know what we need to do when we need to do it and how we need to do it.”
“It’s like .. you go to an Italian restaurant, you got the grandmother in there who’s 900 years old cooking the food. The food comes out amazing, though. You’re not gonna say she’s too old to be cooking. You’re gonna taste and enjoy that food. It’s the same situation with us. We’re the cooks in the kitchen. When you taste the food, you’re gonna love the food. That’s how I look at it.”
The Italian grandma has been cooking at an elite level this season but the rest of the kitchen crew has been lacking more often than not. The Lakers need to turn things around quickly, but at least they can always count on Melo and Bron.
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