LeBron James reacted like every Lakers fan to Michael Porter Jr.’s performance in the playoffs
They say if you stand inside of an empty Crypto.com Arena, you can still hear another Michael Porter Jr. 3-pointer go in against the Lakers.
What's the best way to heal from a traumatic defeat in the playoffs? While there are no right or wrong answers, humor can turn Lakers' tears of sorrow into tears of laughter.
When LeBron James and former NBA player, turned podcaster, turned coaching candidate JJ Redick discussed Michael Porter Jr.'s performance against the Lakers on their podcast Mind the Game, I couldn't help but chuckle at Bron's reaction to Porter Jr.’s game.
“Michael Porter Jr. is a f----- laser. I don’t know if it’s just cause he sees the Lakers or the gold or whatever but I feel like, verse us, that motherf----- don’t miss. He does not miss…You know how they say ‘Close the gap, get to his chest.’ He doesn’t even see you. He doesn’t even see you.”
It certainly felt like Porter Jr. became prime Steph Curry when he played the Lakers. He shot 55% from the field and 48% from deep for the series. He also went 5-7 from 3-point range to bury the Lakers for good in Game 5.
Against the Nuggets, the conversation revolved around how the Lakers had to be perfect to win a game. LeBron discussed this further during his podcast but made it clear that MPJ was the straw that broke the Lakers' back.
“Listen, Jamal hit two game-winners on us, but you look at his numbers, we did a hell of a job on Jamal as far as making it tough on him. He shot maybe high 30s, I don’t know the statistics, but maybe high 30s from the field in our series. Obviously, Joker’s going to do what he did. Michael Porter is the one who kicked our a–.”
It was a death of a thousand cuts for the Lakers as it felt like Denver got off ridiculous shot after ridiculous shot and every rotation player had an “are you kidding me?” bucket against the Lakers.
The series was never in doubt, with each defeat being painful, similar and different all at once. Now that the elimination is weeks old, it's still a bummer how things ended, but one can't help but chuckle at how the Nuggets were able to finish off the Darvin Ham era with Porter Jr. eviscerating the team.
I mean, it's funny, right? Or maybe I'm just using it as a coping mechanism to hide the realities of how far the Lakers are from contention. Perhaps I need to touch grass or, at the very least, download the Calm app.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.