:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72838985/1776430267.0.jpg)
After Cam Reddish missed the game-winning shot against the Miami Heat, LeBron James let him know another similar opportunity will come and to “get ready again.”
Against the Miami Heat, with 8.9 seconds left in the game, the Lakers got possession of the ball within one point and passed the ball to LeBron James at the top of the key. James passed the ball to Jimmy Butler, and when the defense collapsed on him, he kicked it to a wide-open Cam Reddish in the corner.
Reddish missed the shot and Austin Reeves desperately tried to touch the ball for a tip-in or tip-in, but he couldn’t get close to the ball as time expired.
Given the scheduling, James was prepared to make the same pass to Reddish and would do so again in the future.
“Get ready again because there’s going to be more opportunities, especially from me,” James said after the game. “I knew I was going to see two defenders late in the game, so be prepared.”
Throughout his career, fans have called on James to make heroic plays in the final seconds that hurt open shooters, but as he did on Monday, James has always stood up for the right way to play basketball and not for his own glory. .
“One thing about LeBron is, throughout his career, he’s been killed for making the right plays late in games and not shooting. That’s who he is and not everyone likes him, but that’s what it is He, he believed in his teammates,” Reeves said of James’ late decision-making after the loss. “As soon as he walked into the locker room, he blew everybody away and went right up to Cam and said ‘No, that was a good shot. If it happens again, we’re going to give it back to you and you’re going to Knock it down.” That’s better. This has happened to me in the past when I was with LeBron. In moments like that, he will exude a sense of confidence and self-assurance to you. “
You only have to look back at James’ tenure in Los Angeles to see countless times where he chose open shots instead of taking contested shots. I was reminded of Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals when Danny Green, wide open, missed the final play of Game 3 of the series.
Or the time in the 2021 first round against the Suns when struggling Kentavious Caldwell-Pope elected to pass for an open 3-pointer and James immediately walked up to him and said, “I want you to shoot it. .”
This has always been James’ style of doing things, and it won’t change in the 21st year. Hopefully, though, the next time James’ teammates take a shot, it goes in.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter: @ECreates88.
read more