The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a disappointing and odd loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
A number of technical problems plagued the game in its final few moments.
But the issues went well beyond that, as the Lakers were again playing subpar basketball.
Speaking on “Undisputed,” Paul Pierce said that LeBron James has been playing great lately, but needs to let other players take their fair share of the spotlight.
“Yes, LeBron’s been great numbers-wise, but LeBron’s got to take a step back,” Pierce said.
“Yes, LeBron’s been great numbers-wise, but he’s got to take a step back.”
@paulpierce34 on the Lakers loss to the Warriors pic.twitter.com/MjX1vofvT7— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 18, 2024
Pierce noted that the Lakers have had some huge victories without James lately, including against the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks.
During those games, other players like D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Davis, and others have stepped up and filled the void left by James.
Because of that, Pierce claims that James needs to step back a bit and allow these other stars to shine brightly.
That being said, James has also been the best player for a number of games, including some extremely close ones.
That means that the Lakers’ record could be much worse right now if it wasn’t for James.
Pierce’s claim has been said again and again over the years: countless people believe that James needs to take more of a backseat as a way to let the next generation of Lakers stars rise.
But with him averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game, there is very little chance that head coach Darvin Ham and the front office will instruct James to ease up and step back.
Additionally, his competitive spirit likely won’t allow that to happen.
In all likelihood, James is going to keep playing a lot and scoring a ton too despite Pierce’s opinion.
Hopefully, the rest of the roster can step up even if James doesn’t step back.
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