LeBron James has received criticism from all quarters this season thanks to how underwhelming the Los Angeles Lakers have been in the regular season, but so far that has been restricted to his reported involvement in building the roster that is letting the franchise’s fans down. For the most part, LeBron’s play on the court is not something that has been called into question thanks to how elite he has been.
LBJ has been elite this season, averaging 28.7 points per game and getting his name into the conversation for MVP despite how bad the Lakers have been. However, against their rival Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, James came up short in the clutch, leading to a disappointing loss. With the clock expiring and the opportunity to make a play in the game’s last moments, Bron passed instead of shooting, which led to a Carmelo Anthony miss.
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— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 26, 2022
NBA fans were unforgiving after the play, taking to social media to let the King hear it, considering that even a 2-point make would have put them in a position to grab a win instead of succumbing to yet another loss.
Prime: “LeBron got scared and passed it away Not my goat.”
BroDev: “This the best shot we can get w all that time?”
GregoryBell: “All I know is, Lakers down by 1 with 15 secs on the clock, Kobe ain’t passing that ball at all.”
Tyler Durden: “LePassTheBallAtClutchTime is back y’all.”
vito: “It’s wild. Cause I’m still waiting for the lakers to pick it up . It’s like 19 games left.”
BrianBunton: “THIS was what I was talking about, WHY would you do THAT!!?!”
jaundo: “There was no need for a screen. Boy y’all king just…. Go one on one. Man I miss Kobe.”
Azza van Bizza: “Drive to the paint man, poor choice.”
BP2: ““GOAT” gotta take that shot man.”
MitchelJackson: “Lebron just shoot it bro.”
The criticism, in this case, is fairly valid considering that the Lakers needed to get this win against a Clippers side missing both of their superstars. The best player generally takes the final shot in this situation, and the pass to Carmelo wasn’t exactly an open shot at that point either. The Lakers find themselves just 3.5 games ahead of the 11th seed and this loss is sure to sting.
