LeBron, Lakers respond to trash talk on the court
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes LeBron James and the Lakers responded in their own way to Dillon Brooks in Game 3 as they look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead Monday.
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1. LeBron, Lakers respond to trash talk on the court
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes LeBron James and the Lakers responded in their own way to Dillon Brooks in Game 2 as they look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead Monday.
Technically, LeBron James responded to Dillon Brooks.
And why shouldn’t he? Brooks disrespectfully described the Lakers’ 38-year star “as old.” The Memphis Grizzlies forward added he doesn’t respect anyone “until they come and give me 40” points. So, three days after Brooks said those comments, James approached him during pre-game warmups.
They stared at each other face-to-face. James mostly spoke. Brooks also talked. And during the dialogue, James either smiled or maintained a stoic expression.
Did the two clear the air? Did Brooks apologize? Did James make light of it all? Who knows. The television cameras may have caught the exchange. They did not catch the dialogue, though.
“It wasn’t private because everybody caught it,” James said. “Everybody saw it. There wasn’t anything private about it. It was very, very public. I like it that way.”
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2. Kings blow multi-goal lead, fall in overtime as Oilers even series
The Sporting Tribune's Derek Lee was at Crypto.com Arena this weekend and recaps the Kings' Game 4 overtime loss to the Oilers to tie their first round series, 2-2.
Looking to take a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers, the Kings built off their solid start from Game 3 and came out of the gates firing in Game 4. A quick 3-0 lead ended Stuart Skinner’s night for Edmonton, with former King Jack Campbell replacing him in net to begin the second.
“I felt like our team needed a little bit of change in momentum,” said Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft after the game on his decision to pull Skinner after the first period. Woodcroft said the only debate he had about the move was whether to do it at the end of the first or after the Kings had scored their third goal. “We decided to wait until we could get into the (locker) room. Once we did that, (it) kind of took off from there.”
While Campbell’s play didn’t look stellar by any means, he made the saves that he needed to in order to keep Edmonton in the game. As it has all series, the Oilers capitalized on their power play opportunities. Evan Bouchard scored his second game of the series, a slap shot from the point that rang off the post and in.
The Kings had a chance to increase their lead off the back of an odd-man rush between Viktor Arvidsson and Phillip Danault, but Campbell did enough to ensure that neither Arvidsson nor Danault could get the puck past him.
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3. Will Clippers & Kawhi ever catch a health break?
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina wonders if the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard will ever be fully healthy in the postseason. Leonard and Paul George were sidelined in the Clippers losses in Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles and are expected to miss Tuesday’s Game 5, which could end the Clippers’ season.
The Clippers’ star moved gracefully without limping or even showing much discomfort. Too bad that Kawhi Leonard walked that way through an arena hallway in street clothes instead of running down the court in a uniform.
“He desperately, desperately wants to play,” said Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations. “This is the playoffs.”
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4. Julie Ertz debuts for Angel City as San Diego Wave surge to victory
Angel City lost to their rivals, the San Diego Wave, but they welcomed their latest addition to the squad in the process. The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia has more from Julie Ertz’s debut for Angel City.
"Derby Day" for Angel City and the San Diego Wave is always special. Large crowds (often sellouts), smoke in the air, and passion from the fans create an exciting atmosphere. And when the ball is kicked off, the stadium is always buzzing.
But this time, the Angel City fans were even more excited. And that was because midfielder Julie Ertz was starting the game. After being signed earlier this week, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) star was making her Angel City debut.
Ertz’s first appearance came after nearly two years after she last played in the NWSL, and she grew into the game against the Wave.
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5. The evolution of Taylor Ward’s swing: ‘It’s about simplifying’
The Sporting Tribune’s Taylor Arrey writes that Taylor Ward is looking for a career season.
The offensive transformation of Angels outfielder Taylor Ward last year resulted in a breakout season at the plate. Almost six years after he made the initial decision to change up his swing, the Angels leadoff hitter said he’s looking for another stellar record this year.
The key to that success? He said it’s about refining his approach and staying consistent with the basics.
“It's just really simplifying all your moves,” said Ward. “If you get 700 plate appearances every year, you want to be able to repeat what you do every single time in the box. So that's really the biggest thing — eliminating inefficiencies with movement.”
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6. Something eerily similar about Golden Knights
After squandering leads of 2-0 and 4-1, the Golden Knights survived a double overtime scare in Winnipeg by defeating the Jets, 5-4. Vegas now take a 2-1 series lead into Monday’s game in Winnipeg and The Sporting Tribune’s W.G. Ramirez has more on the Golden Knights.
It was going to be extremely disastrous, or a sigh of relief for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Fortunately for them, the latter came through Saturday afternoon, albeit on thin ice.
Michael Amadio's goal at 3:40 of the second overtime gave Vegas a critical 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets and a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
Vegas squandered leads of 2-0 and 4-1 before re-securing home-ice advantage with the win.
And after seeing a dominating rendition of the Golden Knights in Game 2, and the survival-mode version they've resembled throughout this season in Game 3, there's something eerily familiar about this band of brothers.
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7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets in the area if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:30 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels – $5
7:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers – $220
9. On the Air presented by Coca-Cola
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
6:30 p.m. – Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels – Bally Sports West
6:30 p.m. – Vegas Golden Knights at Winnipeg Jets – ESPN
7:00 p.m. – Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers – Spectrum SportsNet & TNT
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
On Friday’s show, the crew was joined by hall of fame photographer Andy Bernstein, who interviewed David Robinson in this week’s episode of Legends of Sport Friday.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Fan in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!