'Big man' James the centre of attention

LOS ANGELES • With the Los Angeles Lakers resembling the walking wounded at the moment, acting head coach David Fizdale felt he had to gamble by starting LeBron James as a centre for the first time in his career.

The visitors did not have many options to begin with on Tuesday. Anthony Davis is out for a month because of injury, Dwight Howard is still recuperating after being placed in National Basketball Association (NBA) Covid-19 protocols while DeAndre Jordan has been poor this season.

With their three centres out of the equation and usual head coach Frank Vogel also in Covid-19 protocols, Fizdale decided to take it upon himself make the big call.

"To have guys out with Covid and stuff like that, I just took a gamble and said, 'You know, I think that tonight's the night to start him at five'," he said.

The switch from forward to big man paid off as James tallied 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, notching his third triple-double of the season as the Lakers snapped a five-game skid with a 132-123 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The 37-year-old also made history by becoming the first player in league history aged 35 or above to score 30 points or more in five straight games.

After becoming just the third to reach 36,000 all-time career points, behind only fellow greats Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James said it was proof of his versatility on the court. "I think I've taken pride over the course of my career in being able to play five positions," he said.

"Or at least know all five positions. Knowing the commands. So tonight... called for me to start at centre and I just tried to be in a hell of a lot of plays.

"I was a skinny, lanky kid growing up, but I was never one of the biggest guys or in the centre position. I've always played the wing or kind of handled the ball.

"I'm just trying to do whatever it takes for this team. Tonight I was starting at centre for the first time in my career and, you know, we were able to get off that five-game losing streak."

Going forward, Fizdale said that he would not commit to playing James at centre for the long term, but expressed his admiration for the four-time NBA champion. "I can't help it, man. We all are, we're very lucky as basketball people to get to watch what we're watching right now out of this man and it's just beautiful," he said.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, along with teammate LaMarcus Aldridge, have been cleared to return to the team following their stints in Covid-19 protocols.

Durant, who is the NBA's leading scorer this season, and Aldridge are eligible to play in Brooklyn's home game against the Philadelphia 76ers today.

Irving, however, will not be able to play because he is unvaccinated - a New York City mandate means he can feature only in road games.

That means the guard could make his first appearance of the season on Jan 5 against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis - provided he clears five straight days of testing.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS