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LeBron James tells Lakers: Just ‘go out and hoop’ vs. Grizzlies

April 15, 2023

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — LeBron James had a message for his teammates after the Lakers’ final practice before opening their first-round playoff series Sunday afternoon against the Memphis Grizzlies. It wasn’t about novel approaches to strategy or possible adjustments or anything sophisticated.

“Just go out and have fun,” James said Saturday. “Go out and hoop.”

After playing 82 regular-season games and one more in the play-in tournament, the Lakers weren’t in a mood to overthink where they’ve been or how they got from a 2-10 record to open the season to a 10-2 closing mark to get to this point. They’re here and that’s all that really matters.

“We’ve just got to go out and play free,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said, expanding on James’ post-practice thoughts. “We’ve got our strategies, and our adjustments, our initial coverages, and so on and so forth, but at the end of the day, you’ve just got to go out and hoop.

“It’s a beautiful time to be a part of NBA basketball. The postseason. Everyone doesn’t get a chance to do this. Everyone doesn’t get to participate in it. And those guys coming in for the first time and with limited experience or no experience, you’ve just got to remember who you are as a player and who we are as a team, and just go out and put your best foot forward.”

The Lakers stressed the notion that the regular-season records and the seedings don’t matter. Everyone is starting fresh – whether seventh-seeded, as the Lakers are, or second-seeded, as the Grizzlies are. The games are up for grabs, and it’s up to the Lakers to take full advantage, starting Sunday.

If the Lakers developed a bit of a swagger during their sizzling end to the regular season, it was difficult to tell Saturday. They spoke in reserved tones, calmly, confidently laying out some but certainly not all of their plans for the Grizzlies, a team they defeated in two of three regular-season games.

There’s been a slow buildup to their return to the playoffs. The days that it was a foregone conclusion before the start of training camp that they would qualify for the playoffs and make a deep run are long past, replaced by a different kind of assuredness that was evident Saturday.

“I’m very confident in our team and our group, with the guys that we have, the coaching staff that we have,” Anthony Davis said. “We do a good job of preparing, getting ready for teams. This is no different. As long as we stay together and we defend. I’m not really worried about the offensive end. We can score.

“We’ve got to come out and defend, especially in this series. Their guys are playing with a lot of pace. Have a lot of shooting. Offensive rebounding. We’ve got to defend and rebound and try to limit their All-Stars. Their guys. And if we’re able to do that, we’ll put ourselves in a good position to win.”

Naturally, it helps the Lakers’ chances for what the oddsmakers and pundits would consider an upset series victory over the Grizzlies that James and Davis are healthy going into Game 1. So many of the Lakers’ ups and downs this season could be traced to their unavailability because of injuries.

Officially, James (foot), Davis (foot) and Dennis Schröder were listed as probable for Game 1.

The Grizzlies are not at full strength, with big men Steven Adams (knee) and Brandon Clarke (Achilles) likely sidelined for the remainder of the season. It could give the Lakers a healthy advantage in the paint for a best-of-7 series that’s expected to be close and might go the distance.

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“I mean, anytime me and Bron are able to be on the floor together, our chances heighten as far as winning basketball games,” Davis said. “But … (Memphis) is a good team. We know they’re not healthy. Missing some guys. But they’re still capable of beating us. And so we have to be mindful of that. But anytime me and Bron are able to step on the floor, it always causes a threat.”

Lakers at Grizzlies

What: Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference first-round series

When: Noon Sunday

Where: FedExForum, Memphis

TV: Ch. 7

Orange County Register

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LeBron James tells Lakers: Just ‘go out and hoop’ vs. Grizzlies

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