The Miami Heat have developed a curious habit of going elsewhere at crunch time with LeBron James on the floor. The reigning MVP – who we can only assume dressed up as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in protest – admits that he’s grown irritated with not getting the ball in such crucial situations. Per the Sun-Sentinel:
James said he was disappointed he was unable to get the ball in the closing seconds of Friday’s 122-121 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in double overtime. He appeared to be open in the post, but forward Shane Battier passed to Ray Allen, who missed a shot with Timberwolves forward Kevin Love in his face.
“For me, it’s a little frustrating being in this position again and not being able to get the last shot,” James said. “It happened in the Indiana game and it happened [Friday] as well. It’s a little frustrating. I’m a little over it right now. Right after the game, I was a little frustrated by it.”
Trailing 84-83, the Heat had a chance to defeat the Pacers last week. The Heat settled for a Chris Bosh 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left instead of going to James, who finished with 38 points. Against Minnesota, Miami had just 1.4 seconds to work with.
“I mean, obviously, there were a lot of different layers with it,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It seemed possible that [James] had some daylight but you never know.”
“You give me two seconds, I feel like I can get a good look at the basket, especially when you see on the other side Kevin Love got three or four looks at making the game-winner,” James said. “It’s a little frustrating but for us, we move on.”
