LeBron earns more time off

Remember when we spent the better part of a decade crediting Shaquille O’Neal with keeping his cool while opponents hacked with abandon, well

yeah.

LeBron James was done with the NBA’s regular season when he moved to Los Angeles, it’s the time change, games at 10:30 at night aren’t it.

Now, it’s true Rajon Rondo has way more shot attempts than points this season and that Kent Bazemore stole LeBron’s lighter and that Malik Monk lost the map. Russell Westbrook never misses a game so the Lakers expect 88 extra turnovers for every 18 contests. Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan both inhabit the locker room which at this rate means Andrew Bynum is only a knee sprain away from becoming a Laker again.

And it’s Sunday, and you’re in Detroit, and everyone else in the world gets to watch football and kinda pay attention to the kids before the short school week but no, LeBron has to be in shorts, a month ahead of the start to the NBA’s regular season, five months before the play-in, trying to beat the Pistons just to get back to .500.

LeBron didn’t have Shaq’s provocation. He got sloppy: