“Can LeBron [James] ever show some Class?”: Lakers Star’s Sly Advice to Pacers Doesn’t Sit Well With Social Media Celeb

What transpired in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game between Indiana and Boston really made people question Rick Carlisle’s coaching strategies. Up by three points in the final minute and within seconds of clinching Game 1 on the road, the Pacers chose to not foul the Celtics on the final possession. That decision led to Jaylen Brown hitting a three from the corner and sending the game to overtime. Watching the Pacers blow the lead, LeBron James took to X to reiterate the advice he was seen preaching on his podcast a few weeks ago.

“And yall still wanna know why I would foul up 3 EVERY SINGLE TIME??” a disappointed King James tweeted with several facepalm emojis. Earlier, on an episode of his Mind The Game podcast, LeBron explained why a team with a three-point lead should always foul their opponent in the final seconds of the game. But media mogul Joe Concha was not pleased with James, sitting at home, giving out sly playoff advice amid Indiana’s misery, “Michael Jordan never did this because he was almost always still playing at this point of the playoffs. Can LeBron [James] ever show some class?”

Possibly questioning LeBron’s character, Concha compared him to MJ and claimed that His Airness was always busy playing in the playoffs during this time of the year rather than giving out free advice from home. However, that does not seem like a fair comparison for multiple reasons. First of all, when MJ was an active player, there was no social media to voice your opinions and call things as you see it. Secondly, Jordan never made it to the postseason after the age of 34 because he was either retired or playing for an awful Wizards team in the final stages of his career. Meanwhile, LeBron, at the age of thirty-nine, is still being held to a very high standard by the fans and the media.

Was LeBron James right?

While a section of the NBA World did not appreciate LeBron’s tweet, he might have been right about the fouling strategy. Not only during Tuesday’s game, but multiple times in these playoffs, teams have suffered for not fouling their opponents up three. In Game 5 of the first-round series between New York and Philly a few weeks ago, the Knicks made the same mistake and had to pay the price after Tyrese Maxey hit a game-tying three from the logo, eventually leading his team to victory. Dissecting the play on his podcast, LeBron said, “I would have fouled before Tyrese even crossed half court.”

Yes, it can be scary for coaches to foul at such a crucial stage because one wrong move can make it a four-point play and cost them the game. But LeBron believes because of how great the players are these days, it’s better to put them on the free throw line and regain possession rather than letting them pull up from deep. And had Carlisle followed LeBron’s advice on Tuesday, the Pacers could have avoided Brown’s dagger. Do you agree?