Still up 2-1 over Miami in the NBA Finals, the Lakers couldn’t help but feel disappointed with the outcome of Game 3.
It was a chance to essentially put the team away and move into a position to win the Finals via a clean sweep. Instead, Anthony Davis’ foul troubles early on got the whole team out of rhythm and Miami has the chance to even things up with another win on Tuesday.
Needless to say, Game 4 is going to be an important moment for the series.
So much so, in fact, former NBA player Channing Frye said he expects LeBron to come out and drop at least 60.
“Listen, I expect him to come out and try to score 60. If that was me, if I was on the team, I’d be like ‘Bron, you have to give us 20 in this first half, you have to be aggressive. you have to take advantage of the offensive opportunities. You have to seek out their worst defenders and put pressure on them.’ When you allow the Miami Heat to play all the players that they want with their substitution patterns, Coach Spo is going to eat you up.
But if you constantly go at Duncan Robinson and Nunn and Herro, some of the Rookies, you have to get them to double team the ball so that your shooters can take open, calm shots. You can’t take contested three, they’re just not built like that.”
“I expect him to come out and try and score 60.” 👀@channingfrye shares what he expects from LeBron in Game 4 of the #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/v0tvRSUKW3
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 5, 2020
Channing Frye has played with LeBron before, so if anyone knows what he’s talking about, it’s him.
Obviously, when The King is going, it can be hard to stop him. Historically, he has always had his best performances in the most important games.
But, at 35-years-old, is LeBron even capable of that level of play anymore? Can he take over like he used to? On the surface, it certainly seems like his reliance on Anthony Davis is heavy. When Davis has a bad game is when the Lakers usually lose.
Νοw, more than ever, the Purple and Gold need James at his absolute best if they want to close this out quickly and Frye seems to have the right mindset about it. LeBron James has to be aggressive and look to dominate early.