Prior to last season’s first-round playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, then-Memphis wing Dillon Brooks called out LeBron James and he would get exactly what he asked for as LeBron was dominant during the Lakers’ six-game series win.
Brooks would sign with the Houston Rockets this offseason and has been a big part of that team’s turnaround. But LeBron had some smoke left for Brooks as he scored 23 of 37 points in the second half of the Lakers’ win over the Rockets, most of which came after he and Brooks got into it in the third quarter, resulting in a technical foul on James.
Rui Hachimura was obviously there for last year’s playoffs as well as this contest and while he isn’t sure exactly what the issue is between LeBron and Brooks, he loves the extra motivation that it seems to give the Lakers star.
“I don’t know what the beef is between those two guys, but I know they’ve been doing it for a while, especially last year in the playoffs… For Bron, it’s nothing,” Hachimura said after the victory. “It’s actually good for him. He needs that motivation, so it actually brings him more into the game.
“Whatever he (Brooks) is doing, it doesn’t do anything to him (James). He actually scores more, gets rebounds more and we’ve been winning… Dillon Brooks just wants to be part of it. His legacy, I guess.”
Players like LeBron James are always looking for that extra little edge and Brooks is someone that gives him that. But even though he is extra focused, it doesn’t change his demeanor coming into the game, as Lakers guard Austin Reaves pointed out.
“One special thing about Bron is, I was telling someone this the other day, I’ve never really seen him in a bad mood,” Reaves added. “He’s always got energy. He’s the oldest player in the NBA but still acts like he’s 20 every day. Joking around and having fun, but I think he plays the game the same way regardless of who he’s playing.
“And like Rui [Hachimura] said, anytime Bron has something that pushes him further, you see the results like you did tonight. Like last year in the playoffs, he just did more after all that stuff started happening.”
LeBron is a competitor at his core and players like Brooks bring out those juices like no other. Once again the Lakers were the beneficiaries with another victory on their books.
Lakers’ LeBron James needed to ‘remind some folks’ about why he came to L.A.
When LeBron James announced he was joining the Lakers many felt it was a move motivated by his off-court interests rather than a desire for more basketball success. One championship and 108 30-point games later and LeBron believes he has proven that wrong.
“Because sometimes you need to remind folks,” LeBron said after the win. “The graphic said it was my 108th 30-point game with the Lakers so sometimes you need to remind people.”
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