The Los Angeles Lakers are facing a massive homestand against the Memphis Grizzlies in Games 3 and 4, as the series comes to LA tied at 1-1.
Dillon Brooks trash-talked LeBron James after Game 2, calling him old and saying he doesn’t respect anyone until they score 40 on him. Brian Windhorst believes those comments are a deliberate trap to make the Lakers not highlight Anthony Davis.
“He’s laying a trap, which is not gonna work. The Grizzlies, because he also said that he doesn’t respect someone until they put 40 on him, which is a laughable comment for 10 reasons, but let’s put that aside. The reason he’s saying this is because the Grizzlies want LeBron to go for 40. The more LeBron has the ball, the more Anthony Davis doesn’t have the ball. He’s trying to goad LeBron into something here. I don’t think it’s going to work but this was extremely predictable from the start of the series. Now we have it and we’re going to see a lot more back-and-forth between these two guys,
LeBron is still a sensational talent that can drop 40 to 50 points if he pushes toward that. AD is a worse stylistic mismatch for the Grizz, who are without their two best big men in Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke. Despite AD’s Game 2 struggles, he will come out looking to mend fences in Game 3 and the Grizz would rather LeBron be the focus, as they have the personnel to match up with him.
Who Will Be The Focal Point For The Lakers?
The Lakers’ general game plan does rely on Anthony Davis, especially in this series. LeBron makes plays for most of his teammates and feeds AD quite often, making D’Angelo Russell question his status as a point guard in the NBA. James relies on his scoring skill set in minutes where he’s playing with the bench or when the regular plays the Lakers draw out aren’t working.
We saw this in Game 2, with LeBron taking a bigger role in the second half when AD’s struggles became apparent. It was too little too late, as James ended with 28 points in the loss.
The Lakers can beat them through either one of their stars, but basketball X-and-Os would say AD is the better option due to the lack of matchups. Brooks goading LeBron into abandoning that and playing hero ball is admirable and may still end up working, but we’ll have to wait and see.
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