25 April 2023 , 12:43
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Before the end of the regular season, LeBron James was concerned about the lack of chemistry within the Los Angeles Lakers roster.
After returning from a month out on the sidelines, James backed his Lakers side to make a play-off run due to their winning desire, but did admit that he noticed a lack of chemistry within the side. Fast forward to the present day and the Lakers lead the Memphis Grizzlies 3-1 in the first-round of the play-offs, and their connection on the court couldn't be stronger.
Maybe it was a ploy from James all along, or perhaps Darvin Ham's team have come together at the perfect time. But either way, Anthony Davis has now brought up James' initial concerns and put any negativity to rest.
The Lakers needed overtime to see off the Grizzlies, and it was James that scored a late bucket to level the game before the end of regulation. They then powered on to win 117-111, and now need just one more win to advance to the next round.
"We got that chemistry," Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. "Obviously, it was a performance for me tonight on the offensive end. He [James] just took over down the stretch. Got us a bucket to go into overtime. D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] with two huge threes to get us back in the game. To cut it to one.
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"Dennis [Schroder] playing through his pain. Austin [Reaves], Rui [Hachimura], all our guys, man. It was a good team effort. This team is not going to go away. It was a must-win game for us, and we played well down the stretch and just covered for one another."
Davis opened up about James' concerns in his post-match press conference (NBA)Davis' comments came off the back of James' concerns at the start of the month, after it was brought up in the post-match interview. After returning from injury, James said: "We just want to put ourselves in a position to be able to compete for a championship.
"It's a journey, and obviously, we don't have as much chemistry as a lot of other teams trying to compete for a championship or that have aspirations to win a championship, but I like what we've been building over the last month or so. Even when I was out for the four weeks, I liked what we've been building, and I'm happy to be back in the mix.
"We got to continue to build what we've been building over the last month or so. So, we'll see what happens." What's happening is that the Lakers are looking the strongest they have all season, and could be a major threat further down the line.