LeBron James isn’t fazed by the pressure tagged on him and the Los Angeles Lakers as they enter this year’s postseason stage being considered as the seventh-placers of the barbaric Western Conference.
Ahead of their Game 1 first-round matchup against the top-two team Grizzlies in Memphis, the four-time MVP, who will mark his 15th-year year appearance in the playoffs, dusted off any sort of worries about not having a home-court advantage at their side.
“It’s 16 teams in the postseason, and there’s opportunity for all 16,” James said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Everyone’s record is 0-0 now and we’re playing against a very worthy opponent and we respect them a lot. So we just got to be ready for the challenge.”
The challenge that will be presented by Grizzlies is truly daunting. The promising club is bannered by the explosive star in Ja Morant who tallied 26.2 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.9 boards this season. They are also anchored by the Defensive Player of the Year finalist in Jaren Jackson Jr., who averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 boards, and led the league with a career-high 3.0 blocks this 2022-23.
Despite being set to miss the service of Steven Adams (knee) and Brandon Clarke (Achilles), Memphis still possesses well-rounded units, as Desmond Bane, Tyus Jones, and Luke Kennard are set to provide added scoring punch while Dillon Brooks and Xavier Tillman get the dirty work done.
As they are facing those huge odds against the young Grizzlies squad, Anthony Davis doesn’t also perceive themselves as overwhelmed by the tasks at hand.
“I think seeding doesn’t matter,” Davis said. “Once you get in, it’s all about matchups and things like that. We don’t look at ourselves as underdogs, obviously.”
