NBA playoffs: LeBron James sidesteps Dillon Brooks' trash talk, says 'I'm not here for the bulls***'
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James isn't going to waste his time getting into a war of words with Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks. James refused to throw fuel on the fire when asked about Brooks' trash talk after beating the Lakers in Game 2.
Brooks and James stared each other down and exchanged words during the Grizzlies' 103-93 win in Game 2 that evened the first-round NBA playoff series 1-1. Following the game, Brooks said he wasn't worried about provoking James. Brooks also called James "old."
James was asked about those comments Friday, and brushed them off with one-word answers.
LeBron James has little to say about Dillon Brooks’ trash talking pic.twitter.com/ZEjOsCBu6Z
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) April 21, 2023
After shaking his head and saying no to a question about whether he had a response to Brooks' comments, James elaborated more when asked whether trash talk has ever influenced the outcome of a playoff series.
"The game is won in between the four lines. Always has, always will be," he said.
At the end of the media availability, James seemed to indirectly address his thoughts on Brooks' comments. James announced he was done speaking, and stated he's "not here for the bulls***" before walking away.
After generally side stepping questions about Dillon Brooks’ comments, LeBron James cut off his media availability with a simple message. pic.twitter.com/yVcWNWf5g4
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 21, 2023
Despite James' brevity, his message was pretty clear. He's not interested in verbal exchanges with Brooks. Instead, James will take out any anger or frustration he has on the court, or "between the four lines," as he put it.
That's probably a bad thing for the Grizzlies. It was easy for Brooks to talk trash following the Grizzlies' win in Game 2. It's going to be much harder for him to do that if James takes control of the game while leading the Lakers to a win in Game 3 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).