LeBron James cut straight to the chase after the Lakers 116-99 loss to Memphis on Wednesday night.
“Tonight, I was sh*t. And I’ll be better in Game 6,” James said.
“I turned the ball over, defensive rebound, came out of transition, that’s where they’re elite.
“I think defensively I was pretty good, but offensively I wasn’t very good.”
LeBron finished the night with 15 points, ten rebounds and five assists on 5-17 shooting from the field and only shot 1-9 from three to go along with five turnovers. So it definitely wasn’t the usual standard he sets.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham also subbed his star player out for Lonnie Walker in the fourth but explained his reasoning postgame to reporters: “He and I made eye contact, and we had a non-verbal discussion. It was time. We gonna need him big on Friday, so it was time. Simple as that.”
The purple and gold had a chance to advance to the next to the round if they had won.
LeBron’s right-hand man, Anthony Davis even had 31 points and 19 rebounds but it just wasn’t enough to keep a young, hungry, Grizzlies team at bay.
Despite LeBron’s off night, Davis said of his performance: “He has the most points scored ever. He’s the greatest to ever touch the court. He’s fine. He’ll be fine. He’ll adjust.”
Memphis are now brimming with confidence as their forward Xavier Tillman told media after the game “We’ll come back for Game 7 for sure.”
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