The LA Lakers are about to become part of history by getting swept by the same team in back-to-back playoff series. However, tensions flared off-court, as Charles Barkley and the ‘Inside The NBA’ crew got stuck in an unexpected situation after the Lakers’ recent Game 3 loss. While the Purple and Gold struggled on the board in the game, Chuck struggled to hold his temper on LeBron James. The reason was not his team’s performance but unprofessional behavior, as the King arrived hours late to the post-game presser.
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Going down 0-3 in the series must have obviously hurt King James, as he was nowhere to be found after the players took to their respective locker rooms. The TNT crew was in Studio J, waiting for LeBron, as the panel usually covers the post-game analysis and the post-game press conference.
Seeing that everyone was growing impatient with James’s delay, the veteran anchor, Ernie Johnson, decided to capture some post-game comments from the panel as they continued to wait on the 39-year-old superstar. While Shaq and Kenny played along perfectly, Barkley didn’t look in the mood to tolerate LeBron’s shenanigans. Calling out James, Charles told his co-panelists,
“So we are just going to be on TV till LeBron comes out the shower, cause we have things to do. LeBron get your a** out of the shower.”
Despite the delay, ‘Inside the NBA’ delivered yet another insightful breakdown of the game and player’s comments, as Barkley relished at the opportunity to criticize the Lakers. He led the panel with his comments, claiming that James and the crew had already given up, as was evident from their body language in the second half. The rest of the crew also found the Lakers’ second-half performance abysmal, as once again the Denver Nuggets came from behind to take another game.
LeBron James has a fighting mindset
The Nuggets eventually claimed yesterday night’s contest, 112-105. While the home team put up a valiant effort, the game came down to rebounds and three-pointers, in which the Lakers underperformed.
While LeBron did arrive late to the press conference, the King sat down with the media to analyze the game. Pointing to his mentality from this point onwards, James presented Game 4 of the series as an opportunity for his team.
“It’s one game at a time at this point… As long as you still have life, then you always have belief; you play until the wheels fall off. That’s what it’s always about for me as a mindset.”
While the Lakers definitely need a change in mindset, it’s even more important that they ponder upon a change in coaching. The difference in the team’s talent is “visible”, but the deciding factor in the last three games has been Coach Ham’s adjustments down the stretch. The Nuggets have made comebacks in back-to-back games while executing the same pick-and-roll plays.
That said, the players aren’t without their own faults, as the Lakers combined for 5/27 on threes and shot just 70% from the free-throw line. In most critics’ eyes, the game is over, and it somewhat even showed in James’ eyes.
