I wouldn't say that LeBron is "continuing to get better", unless you're talking about padding his stats. Not that that's hard to do in this modern era of soft fouls, softer defense, and stat padding being in vogue - look at some of the numbers Luka Doncic puts up, and how he's openly said it's easier to do that in the NBA than in Europe these days - but even giving credit where it's due, they're somewhat empty numbers when they come in a loss. It's been
quite well-documented how LeBron does this: sagging off on defense to collect easy rebounds, handling the ball for much of the possession before dishing it off as the shot clock winds down to make the assist pass, and so on. It's also pretty clear why.
When LeBron puts up those numbers, everyone focuses on them, even in a loss. They point to them and say "Well, what more could he have done?", and that's by design. By making sure he puts up numbers, it deflects criticism onto his teammates and masks the ways he could've played better that don't show up in the boxscores. On paper, he couldn't have done more, except perhaps hit a few more shots. In reality, it's not quite the case.
Take Game 1 for example. LeBron was working on a nice stat line by halftime, and continued to pad it out in the second. He also shot the ball poorly. Not only that, but as the game wore on, his aggressiveness disappeared. Despite the fact he could clearly bully the Blazers' defense at will, with the game hanging in the balance, he looked timid, sluggish, and gassed. He was even struggling to make moves when Carmelo Anthony was on him! He also made some costly turnovers with ill-advised forced passes (gotta get those assist numbers for an impressive triple-double), and basically wilted in crunch time, while on the other side, Damian Lillard fearlessly took over for Portland. One guy was playing to win, the other was playing to not get blamed in the event of a loss.
Once again though, the triple-double and the record dazzles people, and that takes the focus away from the way he shrank in the clutch; not to mention the fact they lost to a team that many figured they had a good chance of sweeping. It distracts from the fact he bricked two free throws late in the game, and that while he's shooting 75% from the foul line through the first three quarters, that number drops to 66% in the fourth. It means people don't mention the inconsistent effort on defense that allowed Melo to splash an open three in the waning minutes, putting the game out of reach. It ignores that while he's racked up some impressive triple-doubles including the one in Game 1 and led the league in assists this year, he also tallied five or more turnovers in 40% of his games, and that often comes out of trying to make an assist pass in an effort to chase the numbers that draw attention.
As I mentioned, he looked sluggish and gassed as the second half wore on, and that's nothing new. In his last couple of Finals, he's put up big first half numbers, padded them a bit in the second, and been nowhere near as aggressive, even when the team needed him to be and a player of his physical stature and skill level should be. That's also an indication that he's no longer in his prime; he's only 35, but he's an old 35, with a lot of mileage on a big frame. That's not a knock on him - he's still a tremendous athlete who's more than capable of playing at the highest level - but Father Time is undefeated as the saying goes, and that's a sign of it. A younger LeBron could play those minutes and more, and make it look like he was only sweating for show, as if to not give away that he's superhuman. He's showing his age, and that's no shameful thing.
Back to Game 1, though. If you just look at his stats and the record, he played a tremendous game and he couldn't have done more. Watching the game however, you could see a player who was noticeably timid and unassertive in crunch time, in stark contrast to Damian Lillard. Now, people will always make the excuse that "LeBron is more Magic than MJ" when he doesn't score more, but frankly, when you pass MJ on all-time scoring lists as LeBron has (admittedly in significantly more games, but still), you don't get to play the "well, he's not a scorer" card. Even if you go back and look at some of LeBron's biggest clutch shots and gamewinners in the Playoffs - as professional fanboy Nick Wright loves to do - you'll see that several of them came when the game was tied and the stakes were lower if he missed. When the pressure's really on, LeBron has historically been more like Wilt than MJ, Kobe, or other historically impressive clutch performers. That's not to say he hasn't hit some big shots and come through before because he absolutely has, but he's also got some rather unimpressive fourth quarter and crunch time numbers that are often glossed over. Thanks to the Game 1 triple-double, a subpar crunch time performance was glossed over again.
Look, if LeBron is going to sport a tattoo that reads "Chosen 1", if he's going to be hyped up by all the talking heads, then he's going to be held to a high standard. He put up some big numbers in Game 1, and set a record. That deserves to be acknowledged. Even in an era of stat padding, it's a good effort, and it contributed to the Lakers being in the game after a poor first quarter. However, he didn't do the things he needed to do in the fourth quarter - make free throws, make that last three-point attempt, close out on defense - and that conveniently doesn't show up in the boxscores. If you don't come through when it's needed most and your team loses, then those stats are empty. You filled the stat sheet, but failed to do your thing when it was needed most.
If LeBron is unassertive like that moving forward and the games are close, then Portland could have a real chance in the series, because Lillard isn't here to mess around and be happy kissing The King's ring after a series that's looked upon as merely a formality. Dame and the Blazers are here to compete, even with the odds are against them. On the other hand, if LeBron does those things when they need him to the most, and not just earlier in the game to ensure he has his numbers, the Lakers moving on may as well be a formality; at least on paper. Should he come up short, the boxscores are where the spin will be, and where his teammates will get thrown under the bus. Anyone who watches the games and looks beyond the stats at what's happening, especially in crunch time of a close game, will see right through it. Unfortunately, the stats will get the attention and drive the narrative regardless.
With all that being said...I still pick the Lakers to win the next four games. I do doubt that LeBron, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers as a whole will shoot that poorly three more times. Portland will put up a fight, but the Lakers simply have more weapons...assuming of course, they're utilised properly when the chips are down.