Los Angeles Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith does a whole lot of talking on the court and it turns out there is a good reason for it. During an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Finney-Smith explained why he never shuts up.
“I try to be an energy giver. So I just don’t shut up. I just talk. And I’m gonna make sure you hear my voice as much as I can,” Finney-Smith said. “And it can’t be [LeBron James] and [Anthony Davis] doing the talking. They’re the ones who gotta make the decisions. They got a lot of stuff [to handle]. So the rest of us can be the energy givers.”
That is a good approach. LeBron James and Anthony Davis already have plenty on their plates and Finney-Smith doesn’t want to put more responsibilities on their shoulders. The 31-year-old wants their primary focus to be on making important decisions on the court.
An issue that Finney-Smith seemingly noticed early on in his Lakers tenure after they acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets was that there wasn’t a lot of talking on defense. After a 118-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 7, the veteran stated in his press conference that everyone had to talk more in order to help the perimeter defenders.
“On them iso’s, we got to do a better job of talking behind guys, giving them confidence so defenders can crawl up in ball handlers and force them to the rim,” Finney-Smith said. “And we got AD down there, so we got to use it.”
Finney-Smith’s talking appears to have rubbed off on his teammates as well. After a 111-88 win over the Washington Wizards on Jan. 21, he revealed in his press conference that James and Davis follow his lead nowadays.
“I’m just trying to make sure my voice is heard, my presence is felt. When I’m out there, just trying to be one of the loudest guys on the court,” Finney-Smith said. “I can hear it bouncing back to me with LeBron and AD, they get to talking too once I get to yelling a lot. It’s been fun. I enjoy being out there with those guys. We just got to stack days and collect wins.”
Collecting wins is all the Lakers are doing these days. They beat the Charlotte Hornets 112-107 at Spectrum Center on Monday to improve to 26-18 on the season. That was the Lakers’ sixth win in the last seven games and they are currently on a four-game win streak.
Finney-Smith has impressed during this winning run and he had six points (3-4 FG), five rebounds, and a steal against the Hornets. He is not having big scoring nights but is hustling on the court and playing great defense. Those two things and the occasional three-pointer are really all the Lakers need from him as well.
Finney-Smith and the Lakers will now look to make it five wins in a row when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET. Despite it being the second night of a back-to-back, you’d fancy their chances of winning as the 76ers will be without Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
