LeBron James is playing the final regular-season Lakers game against the Clippers. The series has been hotly contested all season, with the Clippers having a 2-1 lead. The ongoing game has been exciting, with only two points separating the teams at half-time. The pace is disappointing because of all the free throws, but the teams are keeping it close.
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Poor shooting has been the story of the first three quarters, and LeBron James is the most plagued by it. James entered half-time with only 6 points. He made only two of his nine shot attempts, with the Clippers playing strangling defense on him.
He ended the third quarter with 9 points on 3/12 shooting. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is ruling the game. He has had 32 points on 14 made free throws.
LeBron’s rival Kawhi Leonard almost single-handedly brought the Clippers back into the game after AD gave the Lakers a big lead. His defense against ‘Bron has worked wonders.
However, in the last Clippers possession of the first half, LeBron’s strong defense completely stifled Leonard’s shot attempt. Kawhi is on 22 points and missed most of the first quarter due to foul trouble.
Clippers lead the Lakers after 3, 77-76.
Kawhi Leonard: 22 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 1 blks
Paul George: 20 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 2 stls
Reggie Jackson: 10 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts
JaMychal Green: 8 pts, 3 rebs, 1 blkAnthony Davis: 32 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts
LeBron James 9 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 31, 2020
LeBron James ineffective against the Clippers?
LeBron has struggled against the Clippers all year. James is shooting 23/60 against the Clippers, struggling against their elite wing defense. He is averaging 23 points against them, which is lower than his season average of 25.7 points.
The Clippers team is built to make LeBron struggle. However, this game has been especially bad for LeBron. His shooting splits are some of the worst we have seen from him.
Considering how he has been bad to average against the Clippers all year, this is worrying. He doesn’t seem to have the same unstoppable tools he has against other teams.
Even when ‘Bron was facing the unbeatable Golden State Warriors, his numbers always elevated to the occasion. Against the Clippers, they regularly sag something that has become rather disconcerting.
If the Conference standings are to stay like this, the Clippers and Lakers will play again only if both teams make it to the Conference Finals.
So, the question is whether Doc Rivers will continue creating plans to stifle LeBron, or will LeBron find a way to overcome them?
SOURCE- NBA.com- Stats, NBA.com- Stats
