"Let him shoot all he wants"- Austin Reaves defends LeBron James' fourth-quarter shot selection in Game 2
LeBron James, star forward of the LA Lakers, faced criticism for his shot selection in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. He went 0-for-6 from 3-point range, including three misses in the fourth quarter, while the Lakers lost 108-103 after holding an 11-point lead earlier in the game.
However, James' teammate Austin Reaves came to his defense, emphasizing their confidence in James and his ability to make the right shots.
“Let him shoot all he wants. It’s LeBron James,” Reaves said.
“We want him taking what he feels comfortable with. He’s a winning player.”
Austin Reaves: “Let him shoot all he wants. It’s LeBron James … We want him taking what he feels comfortable with. He’s a winning player”
In total, James finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and two blocks on 47.4% shooting in Game 2.
Austin Reaves on the difficulty of defending Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets
During his Game 2 postgame press conference, when asked about defending Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, Reaves praised Jokic's ability to elevate the performance of his teammates. This came after Jokic finished with another triple-double with 23 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists and three steals on 42.9% shooting. Reaves said that Jokic just makes all his teammates play up to their full potential:
“Jokic, like I said two nights ago, is so good at making everybody around him (play) up to their potential,” Reaves said.
“He gets the max out of every player he has just by the way he demands everybody’s focus, the way he can pass the ball. I mean, I thought for the most part, we defended well besides a couple of those possessions where they got a couple of threes. But, like I said, tip your hat off and move on.”
Reaves also said that the Lakers have to make sure not to dwell on the loss too much as they prepare for Game 3:
“Don’t get down. Denver is the one seed for a reason,” Reaves said.
“They’re a really good basketball team and they did what they were supposed to do here. Obviously, we don’t love that. We wish we could have got one (or) two (wins).
“But it’s time for us to lock in on Game 3, see what we did in this game (and) last game that worked (or) didn’t work, areas that we could get better, watch film and just move on. I wish you could win them all, but that’s not the nature of any sport."
Following their Game 2 loss, the Lakers now trail the Nuggets 2-0 in their Western Conference finals series. Game 3 will take place on Saturday in LA.
Also read: Shams Charnia reports Lakers are worried Austin Reaves will get better offers from other teams