LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers began the 2022-23 NBA season off with a 2-10 start. However, as the trade deadline approached in February, Rob Pelinka knew he had to clean house. Russell Westbrook was traded to the Utah Jazz and in a three-team deal, the purple and gold acquired newer pieces.
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D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley, along with Rui Hachimura all compliment LeBron and Anthony Davis’s game far better than what their roster bolstered before. This was evident in tonight’s play-in game between the 7th seeded Lakers and the 8th seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
In a game that saw the T-Wolves lead by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Lakers clawed their way back to tie the game 95-95 with about 2 minutes left in the game as a result of a LeBron 3. They would be on the verge of winning it all if it weren’t for Anthony Davis stalling the win.
LeBron James hilariously blames Anthony Davis for messing up Dennis Schroder’s game-winner up
LeBron James, one of the greatest passers in the history of the NBA, went on to make a stellar pass to a wide open Dennis Schroder in the waning seconds of the 4th quarter. Schroder knocked down the 3 to put the Lakers up 98-95 with 1.4 seconds remaining.
It felt as though they had sealed the deal but a positioning flub from Davis on an inbounds pass from the Wolves saw him covering James’s man. After realizing he had left Mike Conley all open in the right corner, he rushed over to contest the man who drained 6-7 threes. In doing so, he fouled him.
Conley made all three free throws and the game went into OT. Luckily for the 2020 NBA champs, they would squeak out an ugly win. In the postgame courtside interview, LeBron hilariously berated Davis for his defensive mistake.
“I drew the defense and he [Dennis Schroder] knocked it down. It’s unfortunate that AD had a brain fart and messed his game-winner up,” said LeBron James. Davis then crashes the courtside interview and confirms the same, saying, “I messed his game-winner up, I apologize.”
Western Conference picture now
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to face off against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 1 of their first round series. Despite not holding homecourt advantage, they will have a great chance to win the matchup due to both Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke being ruled out for the season.
As for the Timberwolves, they will go on to play the winner of the OKC Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans game on Friday to determine who will be the 8th seed. The team that wins the 8th seed will be ‘rewarded’ with a chance to play against the Denver Nuggets in a 7 game series.
