Kentavious Caldwell-Pope caught an earful after causing a shotclock violation. Fans began comparing LeBron James to MJ following that moment.
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The swingman, who nets $12 mil a year, scored no points while tallying just four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. KCP missed all his shots from the field, going zero for four, all of which were 3-pointers.
Perhaps that was what got him so down as he shrunk during a big moment late in the game. Caldwell-Pope received the ball on a pretty play by the Lakers to find him open, but he passed on an open 3. This consequently turned into a shot-clock violation with 3:40 left in the game.
The scoreline read 93-92 at that point and the Lakers hadn’t played well in the minutes before. They would still have preferred to get an open shot off through KCP with the scoreline being where it was. A made shot would have ensured that the game was back to a 2-possession gap.
Lakers nation did eventually manage to make their much-awaited run with 3 minutes and change left.
“Y’all wanted LeBron to be like Mike now you got it”: Fans react to KCP getting blasted by LeBron
To be sure, Lakers fans can be quite brutal about their players when they underperform. Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma got the brunt of it for their lackluster game 1 performances.
Kuzma and KCP did no better in Game 2, often looking like one-way players and posing no threat of scoring. KCP had to hear it from LeBron after he messed up the open play.
KCP will undoubtedly be looking to prove himself worthy of his contract in upcoming games. The Lakers have not shot the ball well from downtown yet. The Suns may allow them to get away with this, but teams like Denver could pose a lot more trouble with their 3-pointer heavy offenses.
