Sometimes, when somebody foolishly ‘pokes the bear,’ the right response is for the bear to bite back hard and give the fool a lesson, which is why Dillon Brooks should be careful because he just might get what he wants.
Everybody understands that Brooks is just trying to get James to indulge in a personal battle with him instead of focusing on the team’s game plan but maybe the Lakers’ plan for Game 3 should be to unleash James and Davis.
After all, the Lakers’ winning combination has always been a healthy James and Davis with complementary roster. But in Game 3, James and Davis were on court together for 29 minutes and posted a terrible -20.5 net rating.
Individually, James posted 28 points, 12 rebounds 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and just 1 turnover in 39 minutes but had a team worst -17 plus/minus. While LeBron shot 12/23 from the field, he was just 1 for 8 from deep.
Meanwhile, Davis posted just 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 5 blocks, and 2 turnovers in 38 minutes with a -4 plus/minus. Anthony was great defensively but shot poorly hitting only 4 of 14 shots in the loss.
Since their trade deadline makeover, the Lakers have discovered a formula for winning that makes up for points given up due to poor 3-point shooting by winning the points-in-the-paint and made-free-throw differentials.
Unfortunately, that winning formula did not work in Game 2 as the Grizzlies not only won the 3-point battle by 12 points but were able to tie the Lakers in the number of made-free-throws and points-in-the-paint.
The Lakers delivered a brash statement to the Grizzies in Game 1 but the gritty Grizzlies punched back hard and raised the physicality of the series. It’s time for the Lakers to do same and punch back and be more physical.
LeBron James doesn’t need to be poked by the likes of Dillon Brooks to be motivated to come out and dominate Saturday night but only a fool would expect the proud James not be looking for payback against the Grizzlies.
But LeBron does not have to score 40 to show the world what happens when you poke the bear. What he has to do is create a wire-to-wire Lakers win that resets the relative standing and hierarchy between the two teams.
While the Lakers blew an opportunity to sweep the Grizzlies, they still won home court advantage by winning one of two in Memphis and there’s still a path for a gentlemen’s sweep if they take the two games in Los Angeles.
Payback. That’s what Saturday’s game will be all about. The Lakers learned an important lesson from Game 3 that should get their attention and focus them on upping their game, their focus, and their physicality to new levels.
The playoffs are about adjusting and elevating your game as your opponent adjusts and elevates their game. You adjust or you go home. LeBron and AD need to adjust and elevate their games for the Lakers to win Saturday night.
Dillon Brooks saying he doesn’t respect LeBron because he hasn’t scored 40 on him and calling him old is not going to end well for him or the Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron’s response is going to be to take it out on the Grizzlies.