A question for these Lakers has emerged: Why Does LeBron James need to do more to help his teammates or do his teammates will need to do more to help James?
“I feel like the last couple games that’s been happening, putting a lot on Bron,” Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stated after the game. “We know what we’re going to get from him. So all of the rest of us, we’ve got to keep to just play hard and play basketball and not be worried about anything else.”
James scored 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting against the Heat (including just 1-for-8 from 3-point range), accounting for his worst shooting percentage of this year. In addition, he coughed up a team-high five turnovers.
“They do their part,” James stated. “They’re doing their part and more.”
No, James said it is on him to direct L.A. out of this rough patch it is in, as he’s done for nearly all his 18-year career using the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Heat and the Lakers.
“I feel that is what it boils down to, and right now is another challenge for me personally, to be able to adjust,” James stated. “Not needing AD for a long period of time is something which we haven’t had over the last year and a half, and it’s time for me to adjust again and see ways I could be even more effective to help this team win ballgames. Since that is the game that we’re in.
“We are at the winning business, and I have always been a winner. Thus, it’s time to click to that.”
James was not the only one to struggle shooting the ball against Miami. The Lakers went 1-for-13 from 3-point range from the fourth quarter and didn’t fare all that far better for the match, hitting 13-of-45 attempts (28.9%) in the exterior.
“We strive to help him out as far as you can, and we wish to do it as flawless as possible, as we could,” explained Caldwell-Pope, one of only three Lakers to create more shots than he overlooked against the Heat. “We strive to help him out, we strive not to make too much mistakes once we are on the floor with him or perhaps conducting a play with him, simply to give him some help. We do ask Bron for a whole lot; he provides us a lot every game.
“It’s up to us up to like role gamers and’next guy up’ mentality, we’ve got to be ready and locked ”
Caruso, who is 10 years younger than James, said being aware of not burning James in February using a championship run planned for the spring and summer is a”conscious thing” because of his teammates.
“I mean, LeBron is the best player on the team, and also night in and night out you can see focus he gets because he’s,” Caruso said. “With the men that we got outside, teams will load up against him. He’s got a fantastic basketball mind, and he’s likely to do his part to get men open to make great plays.”
For James, who rallied in support of his team by stating,”Every time we’re on the ground, we’re all trying to protect each other and bring up each other out on the ground every single night,” there was one slight review of a teammate he did talk, however.
Down by two points with 1.4 seconds left in the match, he stated he desired Caruso could have obtained a couple of steps back to launch a 3 and then go for the win.
“I think the only bad thing about it’s that he shot a long two,” James said of Caruso’s 22-foot shot that hit the front rim at the buzzer. “I wish he would have taken a 3 and also, make or miss, I will live with that.”
