Rare negative LeBron James playoff start difficult to believe

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Rare negative LeBron James playoff stat almost impossible to believe

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 5/20/23

While the optimism surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers after their Game 1 loss to the Denver Nuggets remained fairly high, it has taken at least a slight hit following Game 2's defeat, with the Nuggets now leading 2-0. The struggles for the Lakers following their two Western Conference Finals losses raise some questions and one wild stat that has come to light from the series might be enough to make fans do a doubletake.

Lakers star LeBron James has been excellent throughout the bulk of this postseason, but his struggles from three-point range (specifically late in games) could be cause for concern. As ESPN Stats & Info revealed, James' fourth-quarter struggles are at a level that hasn't been seen in 25 years.

James has now missed 19 straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of contests dating back to Game 2 in the opening round.

LeBron James has missed 19 straight 3-pointers in the 4th quarter dating back to Game 2 of the 1st Round this year.

That's the longest streak by any player in the last 25 postseasons. pic.twitter.com/xMzmc1sINI
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 19, 2023

It is legitimately hard to believe that stat is real, but looking back at the numbers in multiple games, paired with his struggles in other quarters, it's actually not all that surprising.

When looking at his numbers through entire games, just for the Western Conference Finals, James has shot 0-for-10 from deep, missing six attempts in Game 2 and four in Game 1. Over his six games in the second round against the Golden State Warriors, James had three games north of 42.9 percent from three-point range, with the Lakers winning two of those three games.

The opening round of the playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies was a different story for LeBron. Over six games, the veteran star shot 19.5 percent from three-point range, with his best showing in the box score coming in Game 6, when he knocked down 2-of-5 attempts (40 percent). Not including that game, the Lakers star shot 6-of-36 from beyond the arc.

While the Lakers don't necessarily need James to hit from three-point range at a high percentage, there is no question they need him to come up clutch in crunch time, which he has been unable to do in the first two games of this series against the Nuggets.

If that late change does not happen for James, the series with Denver may be shorter than most anticipated.

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