After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Darvin Ham was asked to give his thoughts on LeBron James‘ performance.
“The King” finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 40 minutes.
“He’s just playin’ a total game, man,” Ham said. “He’s not forcin’ anything. And that’s who he’s been his entire career. We knew what we did off the ball defensively, particularly, would be extremely important. And he was all on board for that and understood why we had to do it. And he did his part. And defensive rebound is a huge thing. And so some of the blocks he had, some of the hard, tough rebounds he had, it allows us a lot of flexibility defensively. And then offensively, he’s just playin’ the right way. It’s times where he’s gonna dictate the pick-and-roll, dictate the offense. It’s times he’s gonna be off the ball. And we got guys around him that can carry the load, from D’Lo to Austin to Dennis, Rui. Obviously AD. So it gives him a chance to not have to make every play. And so now down the stretch when we really need him to step up and dominate, the ball particularly, he’s able to do that with a lot of gas left in his tank.”
James didn’t shoot the ball well in Game 1. The four-time MVP shot only 9-of-24 from the field and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. James is shooting a woeful 18.4% from 3 in the playoffs thus far, but the Lakers are still winning games.
LeBron James Has Strong Words for Anthony Davis
James showered Anthony Davis with praise after Game 1. Davis put up 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in 44 minutes while shooting 11-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
“The Lakers franchise over the years, over the course of their existence, has always had dominant big men. Dominant guys that have been a force at the rim,” James said. “And that’s why their jerseys are in the rafters. And AD will be up there when he’s done playing. And the No. 3 will be up in the rafters. And he continues to show why he’s one of the best players that we have in this league. And for us, it’s a treat for us to be able to have such a dynamic player that can not only go out and get you 30 and 20, but also command the paint defensively, can switch out to guards and also give you five assists as well.”
Davis is the first Laker with 30 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal in the 2004 Finals. AD also joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor as the only players in franchise history to record a 30-20 game in the postseason.
LeBron James & Anthony Davis Combined for 52 Points & 34 Rebounds in Game 1
James and Davis combined for 52 points and 34 rebounds in Game 1. The Lakers stole home-court advantage, but Davis isn’t satisfied with just one win.
“We didn’t do anything,” Davis told Chris Haynes of TNT. “We came in, we got a game, but like I said, last series we see what this team can do. We know what this team can do. We know what they’re capable of. So we go back, look at the film, ways we can do better, clean up that last like five minutes in the fourth quarter when they got hot. … We was able to get one in Game 1, but like I said, we haven’t done anything.”
Game 2 of this series is on May 4.
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Darvin Ham Addresses LeBron James’ Performance in Lakers’ Win Over Warriors