LeBron James and the reigning champion Lakers are on the cusp of first-round elimination, and it’s not difficult to pinpoint why.

Playing with more weight on his broad shoulders without fellow star Anthony Davis, the 36-year-old hasn’t been able to produce the way he’s used to when he pushes toward the basket against the Suns.

James has hit just 50% of his shots stemming from drives—the worst playoff finishing rate he’s had in five years. And if he’s looked a tad passive at times in this series, that’s because his 46.5% pass rate out of drives this postseason is the highest he’s posted since the NBA began tracking such data back in 2013.

This isn’t to suggest he’s been ineffective, or to suggest James is the reason Los Angeles could be sent packing for vacation Thursday night. Quite the opposite, actually. Even in a series that’s far beneath his own lofty standards, James is averaging 22.2 points and 8.2 assists on 48.9% shooting. The Lakers have outscored Phoenix by 3.3 points per 100 possessions with James on the court.

By contrast, they’ve been blasted by per 100 possessions in this series when James takes breathers, scoring just 75.4 points per 100 plays in his absence. This is but one area where Davis’s injury absence severely hampers the club. The other way it clearly hinders things: spacing. It’s no secret that Los Angeles enjoys far more of it when Davis can play, and far less of it when using center Andre Drummond.

Any way you slice it, the Lakers have been brutal from outside, hitting just 30.1% of their three-point attempts with James on the floor (not counting James’s attempts), and just when James is off the court. In fact, aside from James (39.5% from three) and backup Marc Gasol (7-for-11, or 63.6% from three), every other Laker with at least two attempts has found himself under 35% this series. Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (who has been playing through injury) have shot a combined 2-for-20 on wide-open threes in this series, according to data from NBA.com. None of these things opens more room for James. And even when he’s gotten to the rim and been fouled, he’s hit just 58.8% of his free throws.

It doesn’t mean the Lakers can’t come back and win the series. But if they’re going to, it likely needs to start with some of the role players knocking down a few shots to give James more to work with.