The Los Angeles Lakers lost their second consecutive game on Monday night as they suffered a 108-107 defeat to the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center in Florida. It was a very tight game with LeBron James having the opportunity to win the game for his team but he passed it up in the last second.
NBA Analyst Skip Bayless blasted the 38-year-old and also compared him with Michael Jordan in that situation.
The Lakers were down by a point with just 8.9 seconds remaining on the clock. Taurean Prince inbounded the ball to James who drove against Jimmy Butler. But Bam Adebayo read the situation well and came out to support hence James had to pass the ball to Cam Reddish, who missed a wide-open three as the Heat recovered the rebound.
Bayless made a very valid point. He wanted LeBron James to drive through the defenders and earn a foul and then dump in those free throws. “Drive it, Bron, and make one free throw if you have to,” he wrote on Twitter.
With James passing up the game-winner, Bayless praised Butler for his exceptional defending skills which forced James to pass the ball. He then compared the situation with his favourite player of all time, Micheal Jordan and how he would not have shied away from taking the shot.
“I can’t condemn LeBron for kicking it to the far corner to Reddish for the game-winning shot,” Bayless wrote. “He had a tough defender on him (Jimmy Butler) with Bam lurking. All I know is that Jordan takes that shot … at least gets to the line.”
The Lakers lost their fourth game of the season on Monday night against the Miami Heat. They wasted another sensational performance from James who finished with 30 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks. He was dominant on the paint but it was still not enough to secure the win.
Anthony Davis suffered a hip injury in the first half and was limited in the second. He registered nine points, six rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes of action. Austin Reeves was stunning with his near triple-double performance as he scored 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. But D’Angelo Russell was ejected after receiving his second technical foul. His ejection left the Lakers massively short-handed in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Butler and Abedayo had noteworthy performances as well. The former notched up 28 points, six assists and two steals while the big man registered a fantastic triple-double of 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists with two steals and two blocks.
