LeBron James Talks Lakers' Turnover Issues in Game 1, Handling Rockets' Speed

Paul KasabianSenior ContributorSeptember 5, 2020

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals to the Houston Rockets 112-97 on Friday.

L.A. committed 17 turnovers, 13 of which were courtesy of Rockets steals.

After the game, James spoke about the Lakers' issues counteracting the Rockets' speed, per Mark Medina of USA Today:

Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
LeBron James said he struggled with containing the Rockets’ speed, but he believed the Lakers will get a better feel for handling that heading into Game 2

James also compared the Rockets to the late 1990s/early 2000s St. Louis Rams, nicknamed the "Greatest Show on Turf" for their electric, fast-paced and high-scoring offense:

Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Lakers’ LeBron James compared small ball Rockets to the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams of the early 2000s: “There’s no way you can simulate that speed.” https://t.co/TdSlacMbCK

The Rockets were seemingly everywhere on defense, using their length and speed to get into passing lanes and turn great defensive plays into quick buckets on the other end:

Houston Rockets @HoustonRockets
You love to see it https://t.co/0wQ6JphZsG

Houston Rockets @HoustonRockets
🔒➡️🏀 https://t.co/YhjNwPdE8R

The Lakers notably went scoreless for a 4:12 stretch in the fourth quarter. During that time, Houston scored 14 points to take a 101-82 lead and salt away the game.

All Lakers other than James and Anthony Davis scored a combined 52 points on 18-of-52 shooting.

Game 2 is on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET, with ABC televising the action.

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