National Basketball Association

'Playoff LeBron' Has Arrived

Updated Aug. 25, 2020 1:17 p.m. ET

The Los Angeles Lakers were a team on a mission Monday night, never trailing en route to taking a commanding 3-1 series lead against the Portland Trail Blazers.

LeBron James played with a ruthless efficiency, scoring 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting, as the Lakers manhandled Portland, 135-115.

The game was so lopsided that the bulk of LA's starters sat during the fourth quarter.

And for Shannon Sharpe, the dazzling display served as a reminder to anyone that might have been sleeping on the West's top-seed.

"When they play like this, nobody can beat them. No one. You've got your work cut out for you."

In Nick Wright's estimation, the magic number to take down "Playoff LeBron" is four Hall of Fame players.

"That's the barrier for entry, and folks are going to keep forgetting that."

For context, in the past decade, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks, the 2014 San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors in 2015, 2017 and 2018, are the teams to have bounced LeBron from the finals.

Is there a team in this year's playoff field that fits Wright's criteria? Tough to say, but Skip Bayless is on record saying the reactions to James' performances against the Blazers are overblown.

"I told you this would be the equivalent of a Disney World amusement park theme ride for the Los Angeles Lakers."

Theme ride or not, James has certainly been enjoying himself since the Blazers upset the Lakers in Game 1 of the series.

The King's former teammate, Dwyane Wade, summed it up nicely:

In the three wins since, James has averaged 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 29.8 minutes per game. He's also shooting 61.0% from the field and 50.0% from behind the arc.

As for who can stop LeBron right now? The latest FOX Bet insights have only the Milwaukee Bucks as narrow favorites at +280 to win the championship, with the Lakers a hair behind at +290.