Remember me
The Houston Rockets' Jabari Smith Jr. keeps giving LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers plenty of incentive to win their best-of-seven playoff series, but L.A. keeps failing to take advantage.
Ahead of the series, Houston found themselves as a strong favorite to oust King James, since his squad lacked starters Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves due to injuries. However, the Rockets had their own injury issues, specifically with their star Kevin Durant, who missed multiple games due to knee and sprained ankle issues.
Reaves returned for the Lakers, but that hasn't mattered too much, yet. Meanwhile, Smith Jr. called the Rockets the better team just a few games ago, and since that statement, they have been.
His team dominated the second half against the Lakers in Los Angeles in Game 5 to stave off elimination and send the series to Houston for Friday's Game 6.
More news: Dyson Daniels Calls Out Mitchell Robinson After Hawks-Knicks Scuffle
Now, Smith and company have another must-win game, but this time on their home court. Smith's latest claim is another bold one, as he made a strong statement about his team's ability to tie things up.
"We're not thinking about Game 7. We'll think about it tonight, when we've got to pack our bags. Not now," he told reporters ahead of Game 6.
If that's not the sort of pre-game statement that fires a team up, it's hard to say what it is. LeBron was asked about Smith's previous remarks about being the "better team" and told reporters he couldn't care less about that, but maybe he should.
Maybe it's time for LeBron to take this personally and prove he can close out this series, rather than let a hungrier squad fight their way back.
Many of the all-time greats would've made Smith regret those statements, such as Michael Jordan and the late, great Kobe Bryant, who would've used those words to show they could will their squads to wins. However, LeBron's nonchalant attitude about handling business on the court doesn't seem to be helping, especially when he's the team's clear leader right now.
Then again, he may want to turn back the clock and put on another surprising performance to help the Lakers take care of business, but he's yet to power this team to the first-round series close-out they need with Doncic watching from the bench.
Game 6 arrives Friday night in Houston, with all eyes watching to see if Jabari Smith Jr. is right once again.
More news: Carmelo Anthony Delivers Blunt Reality Check for Celtics’ Playoff Run
For more about the NBA Playoffs, head over to Newsweek Sports.