LeBron James' mysterious illness could be the cause of the drop in points

All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers' 20-time combo forward LeBron James' record-setting 22nd season is off to an encouraging start for his team, even if he struggled individually, scoring fewer than 20 points in two of his first seasons four competitions. However, the Lakers have won three of those four contests – the first three. This is the first time since LA's 57-win 2011-12 season that the club has opened the season with three straight wins.

Now there appears to be an explanation as to why the four-time league MVP has been less than red-hot as a scorer this year (though his field goal and 3-point shooting lines are still pretty good).

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, James has been sniffling since Friday.

The 6-foot-2 phenom, who is the league's oldest player since the start of last season and is just a few months away from his 40th birthday, is averaging 20.0 points on a .446/.391/.684 shooting distribution a career-low 7.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per night.

James has ceded space in LA's offense to All-NBA Second Team center Anthony Davis, who has finally become the linchpin of the club's offense – after long being the team's defensive anchor. The nine-time All-Star big man, 31, is averaging a career-best 32.8 points on .550/.286/.804 shooting splits, plus 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1 .5 steals per night.

Beyond Davis' rise, however, two of the Lakers' other high-profile non-All-Star players appear to have taken an early leap this year: starting combo forward Rui Hachimura and starting shooting guard Austin Reaves.

Reaves, a 6-foot-5 Oklahoma product, is averaging 19.3 points while hitting .547/.480/.700, along with 7.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 0 .5 blocks. All of these numbers represent career highs (aside from his free throw rate), although it is likely that the numbers will decline if his minutes fall below the current average of 36.0.

Hachimura, a 6-foot-2 Gonzaga graduate, was surprisingly aggressive in finding his offense in the first four bouts. He averages 17.5 points (also a career high) on an unsustainable slash line of .439/.615/800, 7.8 boards, 2.0 dimes, 0.8 swipes and 0.5 rejects.

The Lakers currently employ a nine-man rotation under new head coach JJ Redick. Aside from the club's four best players, starting player D'Angelo Russell was also his usual good player. Rookie shooting guard Dalton Knecht has made an immediate impact off the bench, 3-and-D swingman Max Christie has shown competent two-way play, reserve center Jaxson Hayes is currently Anthony Davis' backup by default and Defense-first point guard Gabe Vincent was Redick's preferred fullback with Jarred Vanderbilt sidelined. It remains to be seen how the returns of Vanderbilt and Christian Wood will impact Redick's rotations, but the team's top four is clear.

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