SAN ANTONIO -- The short-sleeved jerseys introduced across the NBA this season have been popular with fans and big sellers in stores. But LeBron James is not a fan. James partly blamed the jersey for his off shooting night in the Miami Heat's 111-87 loss Thursday to the San Antonio Spurs. He was 6-of-18 from the field, his second-worst shooting game of the season. "I'm not making excuses, but I'm not a big fan of the jerseys," said James, who had 19 points. "Every time I shoot it feels like it's just pulling right up underneath my arm. I already don't have much room for error on my jump shot. It's definitely not a good thing." James said the sleeves affect him on long-range shots, especially 3-pointers. He was quick to point out that the jersey also bothered him on Christmas Day, when he shot 0-of-4 from 3-point range in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, and during the All-Star Game last month, when he was 0-of-7 on 3-pointers in sleeves. Thursday was a night of equipment malfunctions for James. Unhappy with the plastic mask he was wearing to protect his broken nose -- the same one he scored 61 points while wearing it Monday against Charlotte -- James flung it off after the first quarter and didn't put it back on. "I don't like it," he said. "I got a message from my wife at halftime telling me to put it back on, so I may be in trouble when I get home." Regarding the sleeved jerseys, other players have complained, but the league has disputed that the jerseys have caused problems. "We know that shooting percentages are virtually exactly the same for games in which we have sleeved jerseys and teams in which the guys are wearing conventional jerseys," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said over All-Star Weekend. "So I'm pretty comfortable from a competitive standpoint that it's having no impact." Silver said that while there's an "enormous demand" from fans for the jerseys in stores, the league would address the issue if players felt uncomfortable. "I have to figure something out the next time I have to wear them," James said. When informed the Heat were done wearing the jerseys this season, he replied, "good." Brian Windhorst ESPN.com http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/mia...i-heat-says-sleeved-jersey-partly-blame-night Discuss.
Heat are just tired on this road trip. They played poorly in Houston and played even worse in San Antonio... I've never seen Bosh shoot as badly as he did against Houston. Silly of LeBron to make an excuse but I don't like the sleeves either.
yea ok, and Gerald Green lights up OKC in same jersey. Anytime someone starts a sentence with "I'm not making excuses but"......
well if you've grown up your whole life shooting in sleeveless jerseys and they move to a sleeved one it's going to have SOME effect. Curry doesn't like them either and this isn't the first time lebrons complained about them. STOP TRYING TO MAKE SLEEVES HAPPEN NBA...
Everyone is different. Could it really be bothering James? I think so, but I also think you can just get used to it with time. So, although he may be one of the guys that it affects now, he should be ok in the long run.
Whoooo caaaaares? I can understand the frustration. Is that the reason they lost? Of course not, but I'm sure there is some kind of adjustment between the normal jerseys and these.
It's all a matter of personal preference I'm sure. I hate shooting with sleeves, but I've never tried these jerseys. A lot of people hate masks, but it's clearly never bothered Rip Hamilton. I don't think these sleeves jerseys are here to stay.
Yeah, everybody else hates the sleeved jerseys too, but its some poor business sense Lebron is showing. His most important business partner is trying to create this sleeved jersey to improve revenue, and he -- their most prominent individual employee -- is telling everybody they suck? Dumb. Besides which, Silver says the sleeves have shown no statistical effect on shooting, and even if it did, both teams in this game are playing with the same handicap. It's on Lebron if he can't adjust as well as the other players on the court.
They did this once with the basketballs. Was it poor business sense with those too when it was cutting players fingers and crap? Its not like the NBA cares what the players think. They never asked them about it in the first place once again, its nothing but a money grab. Plenty of players have spoken out that they dont like them.
my main problem is that he went ahead and scored his 60 (while his team was up 20 points in the 3rd) and then complained about it saying he slept all day when playing us. That was excuse #1. Then against SA its the sleeves. Dude is too good of a player to make those excuses.
Yes. It was probably a bad plan on the part of the NBA, just like this one is. But, players should have complained internally and kept it out of the newspapers. Of course it's a money grab. This isn't some basketball non-profit putting on exhibitions for the love of sport. Everyone is in it for the money.
I never played team basketball in sleeves(pick up games yeh), so I can't comment there. However, I can't bowl in long sleeved shirts, it's just too restrictive for my follow-thru. I would imagine I'd feel the same about shooting a basketball.
With a body as big and muscular as his, these jerseys would be constraining, so I get his point. For a smaller guy like Parker, the jersey probably helps keep his upper body warm and loose and probably helps. As for why Miami lost these last 2 games, I think they got cocky after beating up on weaker teams. They had a great shot to catch a struggling Indiana and I think they've blown their chance now to get the #1 seed. They took a lot of bad shots and didn't really work hard on the offensive end to get high percentage looks.
