Was LeBron James the Reason Behind the Lakers’ Defeat Against the Heat in NBA Finals Game 3?

LeBron James and his LA Lakers fell to a surprising game three loss in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat. The Heat were still without their two starters, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic. However, Jimmy Butler dropped a 40-point triple-double to carry the Heat over the Lakers. The Heat also managed to hold Anthony Davis to just 15 points.

LeBron didn’t miss too many shots and had over 50% efficiency on his shots. But he was turning the ball over. A lot.

LeBron tied his career-worst NBA Finals record for turnovers. The eight he had today against Miami was what he had against the Golden State Warriors in 2017. The last time LeBron had eight turnovers in a game was earlier in this playoff run in the first round against the Portland Trailblazers.

What went wrong for the Lakers and LeBron James

The Lakers fell to an uncharacteristic loss against Miami. They had two dominant wins in the first two games, and everyone expected them to win this game as well, especially with Dragic and Adebayo still injured. However, what changed was Coach Erik Spoelstra adjusting to how LA played; the Heat attacked the Lakers tonight.

The Heat played a very aggressive defense, to the point that Anthony Davis couldn’t even shoot 10 times. LeBron had eight turnovers due to the excellent on-ball defense Jimmy Butler played on him that forced him into bad passes and turnovers. Even the Lakers role-players like Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope flopped and had bad games.

Whether Miami can win three more games is an entirely different argument. This was a fantastic and gritty performance by the Heat, but LA will make adequate adjustments and bounce back. LeBron James did have a rough game, but almost everyone on the Lakers did. While blaming only him for the loss isn’t fair, the leader must take some responsibility for the eight turnovers that he had.

Anthony Davis needs to shoot more, and the role-players need to not miss their shots. The formula for the Lakers success is easy; they just need to ensure they don’t let Miami frustrate them into these surprise losses.