Lakers News: Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks Takes Another Shot At ‘Old’ LeBron James
During your Los Angeles Lakers' dispiriting 103-93 loss to a very depleted Memphis Grizzlies team Wednesday, LA All-Star LeBron James played fairly well, while being defended by professional Grizzlies irritant Dillon Brooks. When James apparently told Brooks he was "dumb" to have gotten an avoidable fourth foul in the game's fourth quarter, Brooks began chirping back, a decision he defended later to reporters, as captured by Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“I don’t care — he’s old. You know what I mean?” Brooks said. “I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40.”
Shots were taken directly at James' current ability as opposed to his former glories. There's no denying he has receded considerably on defense, though he remains a potent scorer when healthy and engaged.
“He’s not at the same level that he was when he was on Cleveland winning championships, Miami,” Brooks said. “I wish I got to see that. It would have been a harder task, but I’m playing with what I’ve got. Just wear and tear on him throughout a seven-game series and see if he can take it. See if he wants to play the one-on-one battle or if he wants to be out on the sidelines shooting the basketball.”
In game one of the series, James took just four free throws, had just five drives all game. Half of his field goal tries were triples (and keep in mind, he's been a below-average three-point shooter this year), and he took just one shot in the entire fourth quarter. Happily, his teammates stepped up to help carry the burden late. In game two, he looked a bit better, and was able to muster up some late-game offense with Anthony Davis, those his defense eroded as time wore on. He finished yesterday with a team-high 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Brooks has a point, but even beyond James' age and mileage, it does seem like the torn tendon in his foot that kept him sidelined for a month may be continuing to cause him some discomfort and impact his movement. Two doctors recommended he undergo season-ending surgery, but a third, whom James called the "LeBron James of feet," cleared him to finish out the year.
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