The Los Angeles Lakers are quickly down 0-1 in their Western Conference semi-final playoff series, losing 112-97 last night to the Houston Rockets. There were many reasons that influenced the Lakers’ poor play last night, including their shooting (especially their three-point shooting), turnovers, and their inability to win the rebounding battle against the smaller rockets (both teams had 41 rebounds). However, LeBron James sees another reason for the Lakers losing, giving praise to the Rockets’ speed after the game (reported by Ben Golliver of The Washington Post).
“I think it’s the speed. They play with a lot of speed obviously starting with the head of the snake in Russ (Westbrook). They play with a lot of speed both offensively and defensively. You can watch it on film, and you can see it on film, but until you get out there and you get a feel for it, that’s what we did tonight. We got a feel for their speed and we should be fully aware of that going into Game 2.”
Lakers’ LeBron James on what stood out about Rockets in Game 1 loss: “The speed. They play with a lot of speed offensively and defensively. You can watch it on film but we got a feel for their speed tonight and we should be fully aware of that for Game 2.” pic.twitter.com/ZDUTpHFK3w
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 5, 2020
LeBron James took his praise of their speed to another level later, comparing the Rockets to the speedy offense of the St. Louis Rams when they won the 2000 Super Bowl with the “Greatest Show on Turf” (video courtesy of Ben Golliver/Washington Post while transcribed by Chris Haynes/Yahoo Sports).
“It’s like in the early 2000s, when the St. Louis Rams were The Greatest Show on Turf,” James said. “People would always say how they’d scout them, and scout them, and scout them. Until they got on the field, and they’d see Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, Marshall Faulk and Az Hakim, and all those guys. And they were like, ‘We need to play them again.’ Because there’s no way you can simulate that speed. Getting out on the floor and having a Game 1 will give you a good feel for it.”
Lakers’ LeBron James compared small ball Rockets to the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams of the early 2000s: “There’s no way you can simulate that speed.” pic.twitter.com/TdSlacMbCK
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 5, 2020
Luckily, the NBA Playoffs are not single elimination like the NFL Playoffs are. If that was the case, the Lakers would have to be thinking about the Rockets’ speed for an entire offseason. Instead, LeBron James, Frank Vogel, and the rest of the Lakers will look to create a better gameplan for that speed as they look to even the series on Sunday night.
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