Over the years, LeBron James has been one of the best players to watch in the league, and his career has been filled with a lot of praise and criticism as he went on to leave his mark and come up with impressive runs through the seasons. However, he’s currently in a stretch in his career where he’s struggling to put up impressive performances.

So is Father Time already closing in on him, and it does seem that he is seeing some tough stretches with the Lakers already seeing its seventh loss in eight games, including four in a row after that whopping 134-93 loss to the Miami Heat yesterday. This has led to a ruckus among many fans who have been watching James over the years.

At this point, James is struggling to score well. Sure, his season average is still quite competitive compared to other players in the game, but it does seem that he is starting to show signs of slowing down – and it impacts the Lakers’ overall chances of winning in their games in the campaign as well.

Father Time Has Arrived for James?

James is already a few weeks away from his 40th birthday this December 30th, and it cannot be denied that he is still putting up a massive fight to keep Father Time at bay now more than ever. As the oldest player in the NBA, there’s supposedly low expectations, and yet here he is, being criticized for not being able to perform at a high level.

Still, James is just averaging 19.8 points in his last 10 games with a staggering 43.8% from the field and a career-low 21.8% from three. On top of all that, James is now 1-for-23 from deep in his last five games, including a stretch of 0-for-19 in the first four. The Lakers have now lost seven of its last eight games, including key showdowns against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and the Orlando Magic.

So far, James is struggling to get to the basket easier than he should be – now shooting the lowest field-goal percentage at the rim (68.9%) since his rookie season. Now more than ever, he’s also shooting the lowest attempts on the charity stripe of his career with 4.5 per game. Defense? Well, James is a brick wall and a chasedown artist, but he is getting more laid back this time around, being one of the biggest factors for the Lakers to give up the second-most points per possession in transition in the league.

Adjusting to the New System

Believe it or not, the Los Angeles Lakers actually have a new system in place under new head coach JJ Redick. For instance, Anthony Davis is now the focal point of the Lakers’ offense, as opposed to the two stars sharing turns in the game when it comes to the scoring load. If you are not impressed – James is actually attempting less shots this season at 17.3 per game as well.

It is safe to say that analysts should cut James some slack as well. This battle with Father Time has been going on for long, and he’s been coming up with impressive strides, especially outlasting many known players in the game at this point.

For now, we can consider that James is just in a slump – like many players do from time to time. It just so happens that LeBron has been consistent for so long, that we’re surprised to see him struggle in the game.