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Despite Rajon Rondo's semi-J.R. Smith moment in the dying seconds of the tightly-contested Saturday night matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, LeBron James came to the defense of his teammate explaining why it wasn't actually such a bonehead play.
With the Lakers down three points and less than 13 seconds remaining, Rondo passed up a wide-open layup to kick the ball out to a teammate for a trey attempt. Unfortunately, the move backfired and instead of the easy two, James had to settle for a contested three, which came up short. It proved to be the crucial play of the game, as the Spurs ended up with the 110-106 victory.
After the game, James explained to reporters why Rondo decided to kick the ball out instead of taking the easy deuce.
LeBron explains why Rondo passed up on the layup (via @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/0Fx65NPYKc
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 28, 2018
James does make a lot of sense here. With the shot clock turned off, the Lakers wanted to tie the game with a three. It would have been a good move had it panned out, but since it did not, Rondo has been on the receiving end of a ton of criticism.
Nevertheless, Rondo's recent blunder is a far cry from J.R. Smith's epic brain fart in Game 1 of last year's Finals. That was just inexplicable, and we all remember how LeBron reacted to that unforgettable moment.
James arguably had his best game as a Laker in Saturday's loss, scoring a season-high 35 points (13-21 field goal, 7-of-8 free throw), with two 3-pointers, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and four turnovers in 34 minutes of action.
With the loss, the Lakers are now 2-4 to start the new campaign. Their next game is scheduled on Monday, as they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
