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Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron out early, Butler leads Heat upset, 5 Lessons

Ronald Agers|
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 04: Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat handles the ball during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Three of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 04, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 04: Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat handles the ball during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Three of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 04, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

LeBron James let the Miami Heat see him sweat in Game 3! 

LeBron James was irritated all night. He had every right to be on this night. The Los Angeles Lakers came out the gate sloppy, listless and did not match the aggressiveness of their opponent.

Then there was this laundry list of issues.

  • Turnovers were a problem. The Lakers finished the night with 19 turnovers.
  • Ten of them was in the first quarter alone. To put this is perspective, the team had more turnovers than field goals.
  • His starting backcourt has officially fallen off a cliff shooting the basketball.
  • AD never got out of foul trouble or got a rhythm. 

Credit to Miami for forcing many of those miscues with their defensive adjustments. Add more effort to make their zone defense look more active and effective than in previous games by clogging the paint with their bigger bodies, the Lakers struggled.

Bottom line, this was a bad game for LeBron James. Forget the stats, he got his numbers in the box score with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.  The 8 turnovers forcing passes that weren’t there was a major reason the Lakers lost this game.

But that’s not what’s going to make the news cycle. This will be.

This looks small to many. This just in, it’s not! Was he frustrated with the outcome? Sure. Did he have a right? Absolutely!

But he has to lead this team to the NBA title. No one saw Jimmy Butler doing this when the Heat was getting their behinds handed to them in the first two games. Plus this will be a nagging set of questions for LeBron to answer for the next 36 hours and maybe more if the Lakers lose Tuesday night.

In the landscape of being the face of the NBA, the athletic champion of social justice and the franchise player of the Los Angeles Lakers, he is going to have his legion of haters waiting for any slip up so they can whine (Look for a Jason Whitlock piece and Skip Bayless rebuttal show on UnDisputed!) about this incident.

Regroup, win on Tuesday and Thursday, raise the Larry O’Brien trophy so you, your teammates and this Lake Show Life post-game series can scream 1-2-3 Cancun!

Please!

LeBron wasn’t good, but he wasn’t the only superstar that didn’t have it. Read on to learn about Anthony Davis’ struggles!

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