LeBron James' Blunt Response To Los Angeles Lakers Flopping Allegations
On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 5 of their second-round playoff series to the Golden State Warriors (on the road) by a score of 121-106.
That said, they still have a 3-2 lead in the series and will have a chance to close out the Warriors (once again) in Game 6 on their home floor in Los Angeles on Friday.
After Game 4 (which the Lakers won 104-101), Warriors head coach Steve Kerr shared a surprising quote.
Kerr after Game 4: "The Lakers are a team that plays with a lot of gamesmanship. They understand how to generate some calls. I thought they took some flops and were rewarded. I'll have to see the replays. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe those were all illegal screens, but it didn't feel like it watching it live."
The four-time NBA Champion head coach was asked more about the subject on Tuesday before Game 5.
After the Lakers lost Game 5, All-Star LeBron James was asked about flopping.
Reporter: "The conversation in the last 48 hours from the Warriors' standpoint has been gamesmanship on your team and flopping. Do you feel like that affected anything in terms of the way the game was dealt with tonight on the court?"
James: "I just know that we, our coaching staff and us players, we don't work on flopping. That's not even a part of our game. Our game is to attack, attack the paint. We don't mind physical contact. We actually like the contact, and we don't shy away from it, so we're just not a team that goes out there looking for flopping opportunities. That's just not us. It's never been. It's actually never been any team that I've played on in my 20 years where we've been a flopping team, but it is what it is. They have their right to say what they want to say, but the game is always won in between the four lines, and we've gotta be better on Friday for sure."
James finished the night with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in 39 minutes of playing time.
He is in his fifth season playing for the Lakers and led them to the 2020 NBA Championship over the Miami Heat.
Whoever wins the series will advance to the Western Conference Finals.
