LA Lakers coach Luke Walton has been told to slow it down – or he faces burning out star man LeBron James.
ESPN pundit Stephen A Smith claims they are putting too much pressure on the 33-year-old – and it’s showing in the 0-3 record.
Ahead of the match against the Phoenix Suns tonight, Smith said: “The pace concerns me because Luke Walton needs to find a way to slow it down,” Smith said.
“LeBron James can’t play at this pace and last 82 games.
“The man is 33. It’s too much for a guy that age, you can’t sustain it.”
Walton received a $15,000 fine from the NBA on Wednesday for public criticism of officiating following the Lakers’ 143-142 overtime loss at home to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
James admitted earlier in the week that the going is tough at LA Lakers at the moment – but he knows what to do to turn things around.
The Lakers slipped to 0-3 after James, who joined the LA franchise this summer, missed with a potential game-winning three-pointer with less than three seconds to go.
After the match James delivered a brutally honest assessment of his – and the team’s – problems.
"I know what I got myself into," said James.
"We’ll be fine. I didn’t come here thinking we were going to be blazing storms right out the gate.
"We’re going to continue to get better. I like the direction we’re going in. Obviously, we haven’t got the results or the wins yet, but it’s a long process."
James had landed a three-point attempt with 3.3 seconds of regulation time left to take the game into overtime after the Lakers had trailed by eight points with 70 seconds remaining.
But with the Lakers up by one with 13 seconds left in the game, James missed two free throws and he could not respond after Patty Mills had put the Spurs ahead with seven seconds left.
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