PRAISE FROM THE KING
James calls Harden and Westbrook worthy foes.
LeBron James used a couple of “A” words to describe Rockets stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook: “available” for the former and “assassin” for the latter.
Both descriptions were meant as compliments.
“What gets lost in translation with (Harden) is how available he is to his teammates night in and night out,” said the NBA luminary, whose Lakers meet the Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals at 8 p.m. Friday. “If you look at how many games he plays per year and how many minutes he’s played throughout the course of his career, pretty much he’s always been available.
“He’s always been in uniform, and he’s been doing this at a high level for a lot of years.”
Westbrook, in his first season with the Rockets, was not in uniform for the first four games of their opening-round series victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. But he returned from a strained quad muscle to play in the final three contests and shake some of the rust in time for the Lakers.
The fourth-seeded Rockets squeezed past the fifthseeded Thunder 104-102 in Game 7 Wednesday night to earn a shot at the top-seeded Lakers, who set aside the Portland Trail Blazers in five games and are plenty rested for the Rockets. The Rockets won the season series with the Lakers 2-1.
“Russ, he’s just an assassin,” James said, continuing to discuss the Rockets’ onetwo punch at guard with two future Hall of Famers. “He’s full-throttle, and he could not care less what anyone thinks about his game. He goes (out) and plays his way, and he’s been successful doing that.”
NBA fans simply are happy they get a star-studded conference semifinal series, with Harden, Westbrook, James and Lakers power forward Anthony Davis.
“They’re two great basketball players, two really good guys — great guys, more importantly,” James said of Harden and Westbrook. “They do what they do, they go out and take care of their business — and they pretty much don’t care what anyone says — by just the way they play.”
The Rockets traded center Clint Capela for forward Robert Covington in February and have since rolled with a small-ball approach in trying to win their first NBA title in 25 years. Davis said taking on the Rockets is a much different task than facing a more traditional lineup featuring a center.
“The entire team is good with their hands,” Davis said. “They like to strip the ball, be physical and get up under you, whereas a traditional big will kind of play off and try to use their length. (The Rockets’) advantage is playing low to the ground and using their hands. It’s going to be different for all of us, but I think the quicker (you) move, the harder it is for them to get up under you and be physical.
“It’s going to be a good matchup for us. We’ve been prepping for these guys.”
James derided the idea that playing a center-less squad, one that has been launching a record number of 3-pointers, might prompt a “strange” matchup for the Lakers in the postseason.
“It’s five guys versus five guys. It’s basketball,” James said. “It’s not the first time I went against five guys that shot 3s in my basketball life. I’ve played against all different types of lineups since I started playing basketball when I was 9 years old. There’s nothing strange about it. We have to prepare for it, and we have to be great every night to win.
“If we’re not, we’ll lose. It’s that simple.”
Frank Vogel, in his first year coaching the Lakers, is trying to lead the fabled franchise to an NBA title for the first time in a decade.
“It’s a different type of challenge, but to reach the ultimate goal, you’re going to have to win against different opponents and different styles of play,” Vogel said of combating the Pocket Rockets. “This is the contrast I’m referring to. Portland played with big guys, and these guys will be smaller and double-team and whatnot … (but) we’ll be prepared to handle anything they throw at us.”
The last time the franchises met in the playoffs, the Lakers prevailed 4-3 in the conference semifinals in 2009. That Lakers squad, led by Kobe Bryant, powered on to win its 15th of 16 NBA titles. The Boston Celtics hold the NBA record with 17.