LeBron James led his Los Angeles Lakers team to an impressive comeback win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in the NBA’s play-in tournament.
With the win, the Lakers clinched the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and will face off against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
James played 45 minutes in the overtime win, and he seemingly woke up pretty early on Wednesday morning, something he was understandably annoyed about.
There's just no way I'm up right now!! C'mon man! 🤦🏾♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 12, 2023
The 19-time All-Star shouldn’t stress too much about waking up early on Wednesday, as he will get plenty of time to rest of the next few days.
The series between the Lakers and Grizzlies isn’t set to begin until Sunday afternoon in Memphis. James showed his respect for the Grizzlies when speaking about the upcoming series.
LeBron on his early thoughts on Memphis: "Really good team, very well coached, very well balanced, obviously the head of the snake is Ja Morant."
He goes on to speak highly of JJJ, Tyus Jones, Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, Luke Kennard.
He says you can't disrespect any of them.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 12, 2023
Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks seems to be pretty confident about his team’s chances against the Lakers, though it’s important to note that Los Angeles won two of the three games between the two sides during the 2022-23 regular season.
In L.A.’s lone loss, which came in late February, James and D’Angelo Russell were both out. Perhaps Russell competing in this series might not make that much of a difference, as he tends to cool down a bit in the playoffs.
However, it’s always great to have another talented guard in the rotation. He’ll surely be motivated to improve upon his previous playoff numbers. Russell will likely be able to offer some key insight and analysis to the Lakers for the series, as he faced off against the Grizzlies in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
On Tuesday, James recorded 30 points on 12-for-21 shooting, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks. He made multiple incredible plays, including one toward the end of the fourth quarter where he found point guard Dennis Schroder wide open for what initially appeared to be a game-winning 3-pointer.
DENNIS SCHRODER WITH THE CLUTCH 3!!!! pic.twitter.com/aEuZ2CR6lK
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) April 12, 2023
The Lakers had to play a bit longer due to Mike Conley knocking down three free throws with 0.1 seconds left in regulation, but they closed things out in overtime.
L.A. is now in the playoffs after starting the regular season 2-10. It’s been a roller coaster of a season for the Purple and Gold, and it’s nowhere close to being done.
