LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have reached the first real challenge of their title defense, with Saturday’s 96-94 loss to the Miami Heat marking the third loss in their last four games since Anthony Davis left. aggravated Achilles tendinosis and suffered from calf strain. on the right leg.
A question has arisen for these Lakers: should LeBron James do more to help his teammates or should his teammates do more to help James?
“I feel like the last couple games that have been going on, putting a lot on Bron,” Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after the game. “We already know what we’re going to get out of him. So we have to keep playing hard and playing basketball and not worrying about anything else.”
James scored 19 points on the 7-on-21 shooting against the Heat (including just 1 of 8 from 3 points away), representing his worst shooting percentage of the season. He also coughed up five turnovers surpassed by the team.
James, after stealing an entrance pass to Jimmy Butler with 5.4 seconds left in the contest and setting up Alex Caruso for a possible tie-breaker, who failed, insisted that his teammates d ‘team didn’t need any more slacking while Davis and starting goalkeeper Dennis Schroder are offside.
“They’re doing their part,” James said. “They’re doing their part and more.”
No, James said he had to get Los Angeles out of trouble, as he has done for most of his 18-year career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Heat and now Lakers. Saturday’s loss dropped the current champions to No. 3 in the Western Conference standings.
“I think that sums it all up and right now it’s another challenge for me, to be able to adjust,” James said. “Not having AD for a long time is something we haven’t had in the last year and a half, and now it’s time to adjust again and see ways to be even more effective in helping this team win ball games. it is the sport we are in.
“We’re in the winning business and I’ve always been a winner. So it’s time to click on it.”
James was not the only one who fought to shoot Miami. The Lakers went from 1 to 13 from the 3-point range in the fourth quarter and didn’t come out much better for the game, getting 13 of 45 attempts (28.9%) from the outside.
“We try to help him as much as possible and we want to make him as perfect as possible,” said Caldwell-Pope, one of three Lakers who made more shots than he missed against the Heat. “We try to help him, we try not to make too many mistakes when we’re on the ground with him or even make a play with him, just to help him. We ask Bron a lot; he gives us a lot every game.
“It’s up to us as protagonists and ‘next man’ mentality, we have to be prepared and closed.”
Caruso, who is ten years younger than James, said that considering not burning James in February with a championship race scheduled for spring and early summer is something “conscious” for his teammates.
“I mean, LeBron is the best player on our team and, night after night, you can see the attention he gets because he is,” Caruso said. “With the guys we went out with, the teams will be loaded with him. He has a great basketball mind and will play his part for the boys to open up to make great plays.”
For James, who came together to support his team by saying, “Every time we’re on the ground, we all try to protect each other and get on the ground every night,” there was less criticism from a teammate. ‘team that yes, however, shared.
He dropped two points with 1.4 seconds left in the game, and said he wished Caruso had taken a couple of steps back to throw a 3 and win the victory.
“I think the only bad thing about that is that he fired a long 2,” James said of Caruso’s 22-foot shot that hit the front edge of the bell. “I wish I had shot a 3 and, would I do or miss, I’ll live with that.”