LeBron 'jealous' of Durant's attempts
— -- LeBron James has MVPs, NBA championships and is considered the best active player in the game. So who could possibly make King James jealous?
"I get jealous sometimes when I look over at KD and he's like 16-for-32 (from the field) and then 14-for-34. ... Man," James told ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh.
While the Miami Heat star is shooting a career-high 59.1 percent from the field this season, he is tied for just 18th in the league in field goal attempts (580) with an average of 16.1 per game.
With that kind of efficiency, James could stand to take more shots but explained, "I'm not much of a forced-shot guy.
"But there are games where I have it going, and then at the end of the game, I'm like, damn, I shot just 12-for-16? Why don't I get up at least six or seven more? I definitely notice it."
The difference between James and Durant's shooting totals may be in the philosophy of their respective teams. Durant, who is shooting 48.8 percent from the field this season on 19.2 attempts per game, is third in the league in shot attempts (711) and is expected to carry the scoring load for the Oklahoma City Thunder. That has been especially true for the three-time scoring champ this season with Russell Westbrook hampered by injuries.
On the other hand, James shoulders both scoring and distributing responsibilities whether Dwyane Wade is in the Heat lineup or not. However, the four-time league MVP admitted he's wondered what it would be like to embrace the green light he has to score.
In seven seasons in Cleveland, James had at least 20 field goal attempts in 61 percent of his games. Since coming to Miami, that number has been reduced to 36 percent.
"First of all, you have to have an unbelievable mindset to get up 30 shots," James said. "I always think about it, though. If I get up high-20s, 30 shots a game, what could I do today, with the way I'm playing?"
The way things are going, though, that "what if" never may be answered.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
