For the entirety of the playoffs, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been spectacular. What the question for the Lakers has always been was who would step up and be the third option offensively?
According to Alex Caruso, it’s whoever has the open shot. After their Game 4 win over the Heat, he broke down this topic.
“Our third star is whoever has the open shot…tonight it was KCP…it’s just about being ready to shoot.”
In Game 4, it certainly was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored 15 points including several key buckets down the stretch in the win. However, he isn’t always the third guy. It’s been an inconsistent mix of himself, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Markieff Morris and Alex Caruso among others.
The issue is that nobody outside of James and Davis has averaged more than 10.5 points per game in the playoffs. It’s a shot in the dark each night as to who will be the team’s third leading scorer.
This doesn’t seem to be a huge concern for Lakers head coach, Frank Vogel. He commented on this after their Game 4 win when talking about Caldwell-Pope’s performance.
“We’re a team first team. We trust all of our teammates. We trust all five guys on the court to make big plays and that’s what happened tonight in the fourth.”
For the Lakers, clearly Davis and James have done enough in the playoffs, as they are currently up 3-1 in the 2020 NBA Finals. To finish strong, role players will have to step up like Caldwell-Pope did most recently. As Caruso said, whoever has the open shot will be the guy in that moment.
Special Offer: Click Here To Get 15% Off NBA Store With Code NBASLAM15
