The Golden State Warriors are one of the toughest teams to guard in the league. This is not only because they have arguably the two greatest shooters of all time in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but because they are constantly moving on offense and screening off the ball. If there is one player who knows this well enough and has seen it time and time again, it is LeBron James.
Through the years, LeBron has battled the Warriors on numerous occasions, most notably in the NBA Finals from 2015-2018 when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now with the Los Angeles Lakers, James finds himself battling it out with Golden State once again, only this time in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Attacking the Warriors in the paint and receiving a dominating performance from Anthony Davis, Los Angeles was able to pick up an early road win in this series, as they defeated the Warriors 117-112 in Game 1 on Tuesday night. This win did not come easy for the Lakers, as the Warriors' style of play ran them down and the Lakers looked tired near the end of the game, especially on the defensive side of the floor.
Talking with Spectrum SportsNet's news Mike Trudell after the game, LeBron James shared his thoughts on withstanding the Warriors.
“You got to hold your composure with this team,” James said. “They drive you crazy and it's the team that can hold their composure after a run like that or they make a few threes or Steph [Curry] coming with a barrage of threes… you've got to still be able to maintain focus. We've got to be a lot better.”
James also mentioned that rest and recovery will be very important for the Lakers in this series, especially since they are going up against a team that “plays like Road Runner.”
The Warriors have always been a strong offensive team. The Lakers, especially LeBron, know they will face a challenge defensively every game in this series. Curry, Thompson and the rest of Golden State's shooters can get hot at any time, which is why Los Angeles must be well-rested and recovered moving forward if they are to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
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