LeBron James is playing with the disease

Something that was very noticeable in the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night was the performance of LeBron James. The Lakers superstar appeared a little more passive than usual and didn't attack the basket with his normal level of aggression and power.

James shot just 3 of 14 from the field and almost saw his streak of games with double-digit goals come to an end. A late 3-pointer brought him to 11 points on the night and LeBron added five rebounds and eight assists, but the Lakers trailed 109-105.

Afterwards, LeBron's problems were a topic of discussion and when asked if he was feeling unwell, the Lakers star actually revealed that he had been battling an illness for the past few days, via Spectrum SportsNet:

“I felt better. You can hear it in my voice. (It started) on Friday.”

It was obvious that something was wrong with LeBron, especially given his incredible performance in the Lakers' previous game against the Sacramento Kings. On this night, James appeared to be at his best as he took over the fourth quarter and led the Lakers to victory alongside Anthony Davis for the second night in a row.

But against Phoenix, that burst and energy just wasn't there and it showed. Everyone has the right to time off, especially someone of LeBron's stature, but the Lakers can ill afford for him to struggle so much offensively, especially against a Suns team led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

There's no doubt that James will look to bounce back in the Lakers' next game, and the stage is set for that when he returns to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers. LeBron always tries to put on a show in his hometown, and after this performance in Phoenix, he'll have a little more motivation to show off.

LeBron James stresses how important it is for the Lakers to bounce back after their first loss

LeBron James is undoubtedly looking to bounce back, but he knows it's important for the Lakers as a team to get back in the win column after their first loss of the season.

After the Suns' loss, LeBron spoke about how the Lakers can't allow a “snowball to turn into an avalanche” and the importance of not allowing losses to pile up. This is what doomed the Lakers last season as they suffered multiple losses of three games or more. That's why they're focused on making sure something like this doesn't happen again this year.

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