LeBron: Lakers Made ‘Right Play’ Passing to Steve Blake for Last Shot


Some in Laker Nation were and still are apoplectic over the fact that Steve Blake took (let alone missed) the potential winning shot in Game 2 last night, but LeBron James – infamous for gladly passing to open teammates with the game on the line throughout his career – says it was the correct play. From the Sun-Sentinel: “A day after he was left to defend his own Tuesday late-game decision in the Miami Heat’s Game 2 loss to the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James came to the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers and their late-game execution in their Game 2 loss Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Instead of going to Kobe Bryant, as scripted, for the decisive play against the Thunder, Lakers forward Metta World Peace passed to an open Steve Blake, who was off with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. To James, it was a case of the former Ron Artest making the right basketball play, just as he deferred to Dwyane Wade, who blew an open late layup that could have allowed the Heat to salvage Game 2 against the Pacers. ‘I thought it was a great play,’ James said of World Peace’s pass to Blake. ‘You guys know my answer. I thought it was a great play. Those are the same shots that Derek Fisher has hit multiple times for the Lakers,’ James said. ‘And if Steve Blake makes that shot, then it’s a whole different storyline. You guys know how it works. I think it was a great play. Ron Artest made the perfect play, and [Blake] just missed it. You make that shot, you miss it, the storyline gets changed.’”