Coming into this first-round playoff series, the Houston Rockets were heavy favorites over the Los Angeles Lakers, especially with the latter down their two leading scorers. But with LeBron James leading the way, the Lakers surprisingly took the first three games of the series.
Despite that, the Rockets never lost confidence and following their Game 4 win, Jabari Smith Jr. made a claim that Houston was “obviously” the better team. After the Rockets extended the series with a Game 5 victory in Los Angeles, James was asked his thoughts on that statement, but the Lakers superstar couldn’t care less about it.
“I don’t care about shit like that, bro,” James said after the Lakers fell 99-93. “The game is won between the four lines. I don’t give a damn, who cares. Why would you say we’re not the better team? Ask one of the young guys that question, I’m too old for that shit.”
James is right in that any player on any team should believe they are better than the opposition. To admit otherwise would basically mean conceding defeat and most teams aren’t going to do that. And this Rockets team certainly won’t be doing that as they have shown in these past two games.
Many players might very well take those words personally and use them as extra motivation, but at this stage of his career, James doesn’t need it. He has seen everything there is to see in the NBA and words like that just don’t phase him.
What is far more important to James is the Lakers as a team figuring things out and coming together to eliminate the Rockets. After dropping Game 5 at home, the Lakers now must go on the road to try and finish the series and if they don’t all of the pressure will be on them for a Game 7 at home with the danger of being the first team to ever blow a 3-0 series lead lingering over them.
It is the playoffs and that alone should be all the motivation the Lakers need to be locked in, so expecting James to engage in any sore of back and forth of words in the media is foolish.
LeBron James discusses Lakers’ offensive struggles in Game 5 loss to Rockets
James and the Lakers will need to get back to the drawing board now as their offense struggled mightily in their Game 5 loss to the Rockets and he spoke on what went wrong that led to the loss.
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