Beijing time on April 22, according to Lakers reporter Jovan Buha, the Lakers conducted team training today to prepare for tomorrow's G3 game against the Grizzlies, and the first two games were tied 1-1. At the end of the media interview, James responded to Dillon's repeated provocations, and the outside world believed that James was expected to usher in a big outbreak in G3, and even hit 40+ points in a single game.
In the third quarter of G2, after James scored on a backward jumper, he and Dillon exchanged a few words. In the fourth quarter, after Dillon hit a three-pointer, he angrily provoked James, who did not respond. After the game, Dillon said James was old and said, "I won't respect anyone until I get 40 points on my head."
James was not asked about Dillon after the G2 game, but in the training interview before G3, a reporter finally mentioned Dillon's trash talk. James said: "The series is always who wins the first four games to advance, it has always been like this, it will always be like this. Before leaving, another reporter mentioned Dillon, and James frowned, obviously unhappy. He responded: "I'm not here to be, I'm ready to play!" ”
Did Dillon really stop James?
Dillon also said that he "poked the bear" and looked like he was restraining James. Did he really stop the 38-year-old superstar? According to official NBA data, James scored a total of 49 points in the first two games, 26 of which were scored against Dillon, and shot 61.1% against Dillon. Previously, Wenhorst had said that Dillon's provocation of James was a trap.
Venhorst said on the show: "It's a trap, a trap to try to get LeBron James to score, and that's what the Grizzlies want to happen. No matter what you say about Dillon, he's just shrewd... Chasing dreams often does this in his career because he is also smart. Chasing Dreams knows how to incite opponents and turn the situation in the Warriors' favor. Last night, the Grizzlies won for a number of reasons, but one of them was that LeBron shot nine more shots than Davis. ”
"If James is the focus of the Lakers' offense, if he tries to score 40 points, the situation will be in the Grizzlies' favor. The Grizzlies can't deal with Anthony Davis. In G1, the Lakers won, and Davis made 1 more shot than James, which is what the Lakers need. However, I don't think there's anyone in the NBA smarter than James, so I don't think he will fall into that trap. ”
Will James G3 really hit 40+ points?
The 40 points mentioned by Dillon have become a hot topic of discussion in the outside world, will James G3 really use 40+ points to respond to doubts? James has not scored more than 40 points in a game since losing to the Greens (41 points) in overtime in late January. So far, James has averaged 24.5 points per game in his first two playoff games, 28 points per game in April, 33.8 points per game in February, and most of March recovering from injury.
The odds for James G3 to score at least 40 points are 1-6, though coach Hamm hopes Dillon's comments won't affect James. He doesn't want James to take any different offensive approach at G3. "LeBron needs to step up and do what he's always done," Hamm said, "and if you play the right way, everything will work out." ”
Hachimura said of Dillon's remarks: "That's all they can do, they're a young team, they want to talk, we don't care. What we need to do is play our game well and try to win it. "The G3 between the two sides will kick off tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the home of the Lakers.