Podcast: The Lakers are learning how to win, and it’s all because of LeBron James

Later this month, on Dec. 30, LeBron James will turn 37 years old. On Sunday, when the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Orlando Magic at Staples Center, James tallied 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, good enough for his second triple-double of the season and his third game with at least 30 points this month.

Yes, the Magic are one of the worst teams in the league, as are the Oklahoma City Thunder, who the Lakers played on Saturday, but the fact remains that James, in his healthiest stretch of the season to date, is leading his team to wins and making them look like something resembling a cohesive unit — that’s big.

On today’s podcast, Christian and Jacob talk about James’ recent stretch of games and what he’s attributed it to. They then do their own analysis of why James has been playing well, starting with the lineups he’s played with. Since Frank Vogel has made the switch to only playing one big, the Lakers have played like a top-five team in the NBA, and that’s not a coincidence.

To close the show, they recap Talen Horton-Tucker’s big night against the Magic and the importance of him playing well with the starters.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.