LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers hit their first real title defense challenge, losing 96-94 to the Miami Heat on Saturday, marking the third loss in four games since Anthony Davis worsened his Achilles tendonitis and suffered a calf stalk in his right leg.
A question arose for these Lakers: Does LeBron James need to do more to help his colleagues or does he need to do more colleagues to help James?
“I feel like the last two games that have taken place, putting a lot on the Bron,” Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after the game. “We already know what we’re going to get out of him. So everyone else, we have to keep playing hard and playing basketball and not worry about anything else.”
James scored 19 points on 7-for-21 shots against the Heat (including just 1 for 8 in the 3-point range), the lowest shooting percentage of the season. He also coughed up a turnover five times.
James, after stealing an entrance pass to Jimmy Butler with 5.4 seconds left in the contest and set up Alex Caruso for a potential equalizer that missed the game, insisted his teammates no longer needed more freedom while Davis and at first guard Dennis Schroder is eliminated.
“They’re doing their part,” James said. “They do their part and much more.”
No, James said it’s up to him to lead LA out of the pile he’s in, as he did for most of his 18-year career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Heat and now Lakers. Saturday’s loss dropped the reigning champions to 3rd place in the Western Conference standings.
“I think that’s all there is to it, and right now it’s another challenge for me to be able to adapt,” James said. “Not having AD for a long time is something I haven’t had in the last year and a half, and now it’s time to adjust again and see ways I can be even more effective in helping this team to win games Because this is the sport we are in.
“We’re in the winning business and we’ve always been the winner. So it’s time to click on that.”
James wasn’t the only one who struggled to shoot the ball against Miami. The Lakers went 1-for-13 from the 3-point range in the fourth quarter and did not fare much better for the game, hitting 13 of 45 tries (28.9%) from the outside.
“We try to help him as much as possible and we want to do it as perfectly as possible,” said Caldwell-Pope, one of three Lakers who shot more than he missed against the Heat. “We try to help him, we try not to make too many mistakes when we’re on the floor with him or we even play a play with him, just to help him. We ask Bron a lot; he gives thanks to every game .
“It depends on us in terms of the role of players and the ‘next man up’ mentality, we have to be prepared and closed.”
Caruso, who is 10 years younger than James, said that being aware that he did not burn James in February with a championship organized for spring and early summer is a “conscious thing” for his colleagues.
“I mean, LeBron is the best player on our team, and every night you can see the attention he gets because he is,” Caruso said. “With the guys we took out, the teams will charge against him. He has a great basketball mind and will play his part in opening up the boys to great games.”
For James, who gathered in support of his team by saying, “Every time we’re on the floor, we all try to protect each other and bring each other to the floor every night,” there was a minor however, a criticism of a teammate he shared.
Down by two points, with 1.4 seconds left in the game, he said he wished Caruso had taken a few steps back to launch a 3 and leave for victory.
“I think the only bad thing about this 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, do or miss, I’ll live with it.”