“LeBron James needs to look at Chris Paul the way he looked at Steph Curry”: Richard Jefferson calls for the Lakers MVP to play better defense on the Suns ‘point God’

Richard Jefferson takes to Twitter to say that LeBron James needs to view Chris Paul like he viewed Steph Curry in the NBA Finals. 

LeBron James has a history of facing off against Hall of Fame level point guards in the Playoffs. Everyone from Tony Parker to Jason Kidd and of course, Steph Curry, have matched up against the reigning Finals MVP on the biggest stage of them all. Out of all of these players, squaring up against the greatest shooter of all time would have to be his most difficult assignment. 

Steph Curry’s shooting prowess on and off the ball, combined with his otherworldly off ball movement allows him to be virtually, unguardable. The scoring champ faced double teams off the catch in the half court and yet still averaged 32 points a game. LeBron James’s Cleveland Cavaliers had the unfortunate task of trying to shut down Curry in the Finals 4 years in a row.

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They did so quite well in the 2016 Finals, with the defense being anchored by none other than LeBron James. Now, with the Lakers facing yet another HoF point guard, a former teammate of LeBron’s wants to see some changes in the Lakers’ defensive schemes. 

Richard Jefferson wants LeBron James to treat Chris Paul like Steph Curry. 

Richard Jefferson recently took to Twitter to point out that Chris Paul, in this series against the Lakers, needs to be defended as tightly as Steph Curry was in the NBA Finals.

Yes AD needs to play better… but Lakers need Lebron to look at Chris Paul the same way he use to look at Steph during those Finals matchups. 📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠📠 pic.twitter.com/Gs3MrykrUk

— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) May 24, 2021

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While playing harder defense on Chris Paul is always welcomed by the opposing team, doubling him off the catch like how you do with Curry may not be the smartest idea. With the way the ‘point God’ sees the floor and generates offense through good looks for his teammates, playing face up and putting longer defenders on him would be the Lakers’ best option. 

LeBron James hasn’t particularly been spry on the defensive end of the floor ever since he’s come back from injury. It seems as though he’ll need time to get acclimated to Playoff level basketball for him to take on a defensive assignment as taxing as one involving Chris Paul.