LeBron James Discusses Keys Against James Harden And Russell Westbrook
Playing the Houston Rockets is a game of choosing what hurts less.
Don't give an inch of space? Russell Westbrook and James Harden will penetrate, likely drawing a foul on the way.
Sag? Get ready for a three-point barrage.
When the Lakers open their second-round playoff series against the Rockets on Friday, LeBron James said the goal isn't to stop those guys.
It's to prevent them from getting everything the want. And anything for free.
"With Russ and James, they’re just so dynamic that you understand that they’re going to get theirs, but you gotta be able to limit their free-throw attempts," James said in a videoconference Thursday. "James is number one in our league at free-throw attempts and free throws made. It’s been like that for the last five years probably, if not more. You can’t allow him to make his 3s, but also put him on the free-throw line and get in the paint. You gotta be able to try to take something away, but at the end of the day, you have a game plan and just try to execute that as much as you can for close to 48 minutes."
In addition to having to deal with the combined 61.5 points that Harden and Westbrook averaged this season, the Lakers are also bracing against a much tougher defensive team than initially anticipated.
"Their size and athleticism allows them to cover a lot of ground on the floor, especially in the half court," James said. "A very scrappy bunch and they do a good job of turning you over. You’ve got to be very cautious with careless passing, especially in the interior, because they do a really good job. They’ve got guys with great hands, you know, P.J. [Tucker], [Robert] Covington, Russ, James, they do a really good job with ball, hawking the ball, so you’ve got to be very mindful of that."
The Lakers struggled against the Rockets after they traded to become even smaller in Feb. When they played Feb. 7, the Rockets beat the Lakers, 121-111, behind a 41-point performance from Westbrook. The Rockets made 19 three-pointers, while the Lakers made only nine.
Lakers coach Frank Vogel, however, said not too much can be gleaned from that game.
"There’s some things that we’ll do very differently throughout this playoff series as opposed to a game in the middle of February," he said.
Vogel said one of the Lakers' advantages is that they can play big or small.
"What we did this year, is we built in the flexibility to play both styles every game that we play," Vogel said. "We play some big lineups and some small lineups as part of our normal rotation and part of what we do. So if we were to go small for higher volumes, it’s still within who the Lakers are this season. So we’re prepared to do both, to be flexible and counter any attack that we see."
The Lakers haven't played a game since Saturday, when they won their first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers in five games. The Rockets, on the other hand, had only one day to prepare for the second round after a hard-fought Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Anthony Davis said that's a big advantage for the Lakers.
"These past couple days that we’ve had off has been good for me, good for our team to have us very prepared going into game 1," Davis said.
The Lakers had a team dinner Wednesday evening and then James said he watched that game alongside "quite a few" of his teammates.
This much is for sure.
James has a lot of respect for both Harden and Westbrook. In fact, he picked both of them to be on his team when he was a captain of the All-Star game in Feb. [Harden was the 7th overall pick, Westbrook was 20th.]
When asked what he admires most about them, James praised Harden for always being available, pointing out that he rarely misses games and regularly plays heavy minutes.
"I think that’s what kind of gets lost in translation because everybody kinda looks at euro step and step-back 3s, but if you’re available to your teammates, that’s gigantic to any sport or any craft or anything that you’re doing in life," James said. "If you’re just available to someone, they know they can always count on you. I think that’s pretty much one of the best things that people don't recognize."
As for Westbrook, James called him an "assassin."
"He’s full throttle and he could care less what anyone thinks about his game," James said.
James said the Lakers will definitely have their hands full against them.
"They’re two great basketball players, two really good guys," he said. "Great guys, more importantly."
