After trailing by a significant margin late in Monday’s game against the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers ate away at that deficit and trailed by just one point in crunch time.
In the final seconds, LeBron James drove the lane and fed the ball to Cam Reddish, who had a good look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer, which he missed.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 7, 2023
Afterward, Austin Reaves said that James gave Reddish some encouraging words following his missed game-winning attempt.
Austin Reaves on LeBron passing to Cam Reddish for the last shot: "As soon as [LeBron] walked into the locker room, he went to Cam and said, 'Nah, that's a good shot. Situation happens like that again, we're gonna give it right back to you and knock it down.' That's major,…
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) November 7, 2023
Some may feel James should’ve passed the ball instead to forward Taurean Prince, who also appeared to be open and is a better 3-point shooter. However, in general, he seemingly made the right basketball play by passing the ball rather than forcing a shot against a thicket of Miami defenders.
The Lakers wouldn’t have even been in that situation if it hadn’t been for James’ aggressive play. He scored 30 points on 13-of-23 shooting, and he went 6-of-8 from the field and put up 13 points in the fourth quarter. He even blocked three shots, including an exciting chase-down block on Tyler Herro.
LeBron chases down Tyler Herro 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UWcdgVm5Q8
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) November 7, 2023
To add insult to injury, Anthony Davis sustained hip spasms late in the second quarter, and although he tried to continue playing, he had to leave the game late in the third quarter. The ailment limited him to nine points, and Los Angeles was clearly disadvantaged without him.
The team is now 3-4 on the season and on a two-game losing streak after getting routed by the Orlando Magic on Saturday. It hasn’t won a road game yet this season, and it has several issues to sort out.
The most urgent of those issues is health. Not only is Davis hurt, but Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino missed Monday’s game due to injuries. As a result, the Lakers, who looked to be very deep when the season started, are suddenly very thin.
