Lakers coach advises LeBron James and co. to stop entertaining Grizzlies’ “CLOWNS”
Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy has a message for his team after things got heated in Game 2 vs. the Grizzlies.
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The NBA playoffs are growing to be more exciting every day. The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2, playing away from home. The Lakers were leading the series 1-0 going into the highly-anticipated matchup. While the Grizzlies were playing in front of their home crowd, they missed a huge player in Ja Morant. The young gun was out of today’s game due to a hand injury, and the Lakers hoped to take advantage of his absence. However, the men in purple and gold were outdone by Memphis.
The Grizzlies put up a dominating performance. They led by as many as 20 points during the game. Xavier Tillman was the leading scorer for the home team, as he put up 22 points. LeBron James scored an impressive 28 points for Los Angeles. In a low-scoring thriller, the players were bound to get competitive as there were quite a few moments of tension between James and Dillon Brooks. Despite his commanding performance, the Lakers lost the game 93-103 as Memphis tied the series 1-1.
Following the altercation between James and Brooks, the Lakers’ assistant coach Phil Handy put up an Instagram story. While a story might seem harmless, many suspect that the message was throwing shade at the Grizzlies. Handy posted a picture that said, “Don’t blame a clown for acting like a clown. Ask yourself why you keep going to the circus.” He also captioned the post saying, “Lol Let that sink In.”
Fans suspect that Phil Handy was calling Dillon Brooks a clown after he got into a verbal spat with LeBron James. His followers also believe that this was Handy’s way of telling James to stop entertaining the Grizzlies’ antics. Brooks and the Grizzlies are infamous for their verbal, trash-talking approach to the game. Moreover, the Grizzlies forward has a history of getting into it with his opponents. Therefore, this might be a reminder to his players not to engage with his tactics.
How do the Lakers look ahead of Game 3?
The Lakers fell quite short against the Grizzlies without Ja Morant. While most fans and critics were predicting a 2-0 Lakers lead, the Grizzlies surprised everyone. LeBron James and Anthony Davis spoke at the post-game conference about their Game 2 loss and the plans ahead.
“Every game is its own entity so you gotta prepare for that challenge,” James said, talking about how his team looks at the series’ challenges. The Lakers forward was also asked about whether they had any plans or if Memphis just outplayed them. He replied by saying, “I felt like we were prepared. We just didn’t execute as well as we did in Game one,” he said.
The series now moves to Los Angeles as the Lakers are all set to play in front of their home crowd. The team has played really good basketball post the mid-season phase and will look to make the series 3-1 while playing at home.
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, have been one of the most dominant teams this season. They are not one of those that give up easily, as they are ranked second in the West. With the series tied at one game apiece, it will be intriguing to see how both of these teams perform in the following games.
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Ritvik Malhotra
(1085 Articles Published)