LeBron James is running the Lake Show in Los Angeles as the Lakers star pointed out that he was forced to veto his head coach Darvin Ham’s game plan earlier this season.
“In the Clipper game, we had switching built in versus Kawhi [Leonard] and versus James [Harden] and whatever the case may and I vetoed it in the second half,” James said on his new podcast “Mind the Game” alongside co-star JJ Redick.
“Because I know [Clippers coach Tyronn Lue] more than any other player that’s ever been with T-Lue,” James continued. “I know he plays target ball too. It got to a point where I knew in order for us to get back into the game, switching anybody else onto Kawhi is not favorable for us, we might as well just get ready for Wizards, so I vetoed it.”
The game James is referring to was a wild 21-point comeback in which James led the Lakers to a pivotal victory over the Clippers on Feb. 28.
James and the Lakers outscored the Clippers 39-16 in the fourth quarter.
On the defensive end, James stripped Leonard with four minutes to go in a crucial moment that led to the Lakers tying the game at the other end of the floor.
In the game’s final sequence, James matched with Leonard on defense, as the latter looked to tie the game with a fadeaway jump shot on the baseline.
James then threw the ball down the court for a game-sealing layup for Cam Reddish, and the Lakers won 116-112.
Ham has not yet commented on James saying that he vetoed the Lakers’ game plan in the incredible win.
It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that James may have exaggerated the story, though.
James is infamous for his meme-worthy predictions after the fact, once claiming to have said that Kobe Bryant was going to score 81 points the night that he dropped 81 on Jalen Rose and the Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006.
Los Angeles sits in the ninth seed with a 40-32 record, two games back of the Suns and Kings for a hopeful date in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 bracket and a chance to avoid the No. 1 seeded Nuggets in the first round.
