LeBron James’ move doesn’t work as the Lakers lose to the Suns

LeBron James intentionally missed a free throw near the end of a brutally tough shooting night to grab an offensive rebound and salvage his bad night.

But the Suns recovered the loose ball, the last big moment in a 109-105 victory that handed the Lakers their first loss of the season.

When faced with a final-minute timeout trailing by three, Lakers coach JJ Redick made a decision.

He would try.

Read more: In the mindset that led JJ Redick to coaching – and to his first win

Even though the Lakers still had time to score on several possessions, Redick designed a play to give Austin Reaves an open three-pointer. And while the play itself created the look the Lakers wanted, the shot didn’t fall.

The team got another stop and another chance, but Phoenix fouled out instead of giving the Lakers a chance to make a three-pointer to tie the game. James made the first free throw, but instead of making the second and fouling the Suns, he tried to force the offensive rebound.

He finished with just 11 points and made just three of his 14 shots.

Anthony Davis had 29 and Reaves 23 in the loss to the Suns. Devin Booker had 33 for Phoenix and Kevin Durant had 30.

Validation can come in other ways, too, like it did Monday morning for the Lakers and Davis when he was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for his dominance in Week 1.

While the award itself represents only temporary official praise from the NBA, like so much of what happened in the early going, it only lends credence to Redick’s vision of what the Lakers should be doing on a nightly basis.

The Lakers dubbed Davis the “center” of the team’s offense shortly after getting the job and have fully committed to their big man being their first offensive option. And he rewarded her.

“We talk a lot as a team about decisions and for me that was a decision that was made on day one and then that decision was just made,” Redick said Monday before the game. “There is nothing else you need to do. Now move on to the next priority. Of course, I think that decision was obvious in preseason and the first three games of the regular season and our guys across the board embraced that decision.”

Read more: LeBron James continues to impress Lakers coach JJ Redick with his “crazy” performances

The Lakers made that decision again early Monday night, and Davis somehow looked even more dominant than he had in a string of three straight games with more than 30 points.

In the first nine minutes on Monday, Davis scored 16 points against the Suns while delivering the defensive highlights that have defined his career, such as blocking Durant as the two met on the sideline.

But when Davis left the game, the Suns quickly erased a lead of as many as 18.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.