Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had a sassy response when asked about missing all nine of his three-point attempts against the Jazz.
The Los Angeles Lakers took down the Utah Jazz on Sunday, December 1, in an oh-so close 105-104 win. At the end of the game, the Lakers called a timeout to stop a Collin Sexton play, which could have resulted in a Jazz win. It was a wild end to the game, but what was also crazy was that Lakers star LeBron James missed nine three-pointers. In the end, it didn’t matter, though, because a win is a win.
In a postgame interview with Lakers reporter Mike Trudell, James had a sassy response to going 0-9 for his three-pointers.
LeBron James Says He ‘Can Still Make Plays’
“One thing about me, if the shot is not going, I can still make plays, and I still make an impact on the game,” James said in the postgame interview with Trudell. True.
For this game, the Lakers were plagued by missing players due to injury or illness, including D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Cam Reddish, which made the win more impressive.
Even going 0-9 for three-pointers, James had 27 points and 14 assists, so he had a solid performance. Fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis also had an impressive game, scoring 33 points and getting 11 rebounds. As Andrew Peters of Bleacher Report noted in a December 1 feature, Davis’ game is “continuing his MVP-level season.”
In the Lakers’ postgame presser after the Jazz win, James was asked about what adjustments he’s had to make under new head coach J.J. Redick. He said that one adjustment was having the lowest usage of his career but that Sunday’s game felt more “normal.”
“This is the lowest usage rate of my career, so it’s definitely been an adjustment,” James said. “Tonight felt a little bit more (normal), obviously, with AR (Austin Reaves) and D’Lo (Russell) out. The ball handling and responsibilities heightens more, and I had to do that today. It felt like normal for myself, but the way we want to play this year is a little bit different, and I’m adjusting to it, as well.”
LeBron James ‘Delivered,’ NBA Analyst Says
Regardless of the missed threes, James’ performance against the Jazz is getting solid reviews. NBA analyst and expert Jacob Rude of Silver Screen & Roll gave his performance an A- overall.
“You know, if you take away the 3-point shooting on the night, this was as good as LeBron’s looked in recent games,” he stated. “Perhaps most important is that his turnovers were down on the night as he had three — and the team as a whole only had five — despite the ball being in his hand a whole lot down the stretch.”
Rude added, “We’ll see how he looks on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, but the Lakers needed some hero ball late in this one and he delivered.”
NBA analyst and expert Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation noted, “James had a tough time getting his jumper going throughout the evening, but he was still aggressive trying to get into the painted area late in the second half. He spent most of the game looking for teammates, racking up assists nearly every time down the floor.”
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