LeBron James has led the Los Angeles Lakers back from being the 13th seed in March to playing in the Western Conference Finals. But his team is facing a 2-0 series hole at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, and his late-game struggles are a big contributor to the issue.
His play certainly shouldn’t be described as poor. In 14 postseason games thus far, James is averaging 23.5 points, 10 rebounds, and nearly 6 assists. His team entered the playoffs as the 7th seed after starting the regular season 2-10, and he has led them all the way to being 4 wins away from an NBA Finals appearance.
LeBron James Struggles With 4th Quarter Shooting
LeBron James in the 4th quarter this postseason:
4.5 PPG
34.6% FG
5% 3PT pic.twitter.com/JAy1zWhLtb— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 19, 2023
But in taking a closer look at the numbers, we can see that LeBron James has struggled mightily when it has mattered the most.
Over the past two series, more than a few games have come down to the wire. In the series against the Warriors, there were multiple comeback attempts that the Lakers had to stave off, and both games against the Nuggets have been tight contests in the final frame.
LeBron hasn’t been of much help. Through the 14 games that the Lakers have played during the 2023 Postseason, James has made just one three pointer in the 4th quarter. He has hoisted up 20 attempts, meaning that he is knocking them down at a 5% clip. Interestingly enough, his first attempts went in way back in the first round, and he has missed 19 in a row since then.
James was 0 for 6 in Thursday Night’s loss as Los Angeles surrendered a double-digit lead on the road.
LeBron James is shooting 0% from 3 in the WCF pic.twitter.com/ayi8i7QPGI
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 19, 2023
While the numbers aren’t as glaringly bad for the rest of the game, LeBron is having one of his least efficient showings. Overall for the playoffs, he is shooting just 23.3% from deep and under 50% overall.
He’d better be able to correct his woes if the Lakers hope to have any chance at a comeback in this series. Not only has James struggled in the 4th quarter, but Jamal Murray of the Nuggets has seemingly taken his power. 23 of Murray’s 37 points in Game 2 came in the final frame.
Should Los Angeles want a shot at a comeback in this series, they’ll need more help from LeBron on both the offensive and defensive ends.
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