It sucks, but this is what has to pass for highlights during the ‘offs. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scoring 18 points. If this had happened during the regular season, I would have ignored it without a second thought. My time is too valuable to be wasting it making vids of KCP not even scoring 20. And a quick search bears it out: I made a vid for him every single time he scored 20 or more this season.
Problem is, he only did that ONCE. 1 game out of a little less than 70. I noted in the description of that singular video that he wasn’t appearing on my channel as much as in the past (a past where I was EXTREMELY resentful of his existence due to the highlight burden he was placing on me), but I don’t think I realized how messed up the situation actually was. He was pretty good at hitting 5 or 6 shots, he did that basically all the time, but more than that? Nope. Just straight up not happening. He never got hot.
Is this LeBron’s fault? Is “fault” the right word to describe things when the Lakers are about to make the Finals? It’s clear that what KCP is doing on the court doesn’t have much impact on whether the Lakers win or lose. I’m sure he’s playing defense or whatever, but his box-score stats are absolutely anemic these days. How did he turn into Tony Snell without me even noticing?
This is his third-highest scoring game of the season, and it came in a crucial playoff game (“crucial” in that every playoff game is crucial), so good for him. He “stepped up”. Is he the reason the Lakers won, for maybe the first time all season? That’s pushing it, but if you want to believe, go ahead. I won’t take that away from you.