Next record for LeBron James: Lakers rush through NBA playoff round

Next record for LeBron James
Lakers race through NBA playoff round at breakneck speed

04/29/2023, 09:25 am

Dennis Schröder, the captain of the German national basketball team, is in the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in eight years. With his Los Angeles Lakers, he dominates the Memphis Grizzlies and ends the best-of-seven series prematurely. LeBron James equals another record.

NBA record champions Los Angeles Lakers convincingly defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs and are in the semifinals of the Western Conference for the first time since the title three years ago. The team around the basketball stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well as national team captain Dennis Schröder got the necessary fourth win in the series in front of their own fans in Los Angeles with a clear 125:85. The Lakers won the series 4-2.

“To win in the playoffs at 40 against a team I’ve never had in my career,” said Schröder. “And then against such a strong team. They are very good.” His team only qualified for the finals through the playin tournament, and now they can continue to dream of the 18th NBA title in franchise history.

The Lakers face either defending champions Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings in the next round. A 118-99 win forced the Kings into a seventh game of the series on Sunday. “Of course we’ll watch the game and play a bit of cards to cultivate team chemistry. Then we’ll see who we’re playing against. But it doesn’t really matter,” said Schröder. The first duel in the semi-finals of the Western Conference is scheduled for the German night on Wednesday.

“We came out with energy,” said Anthony Davis on the ESPN mic after the Lakers made it through a playoff round for the first time since winning the 2020 title. “We came out with a sense of urgency that we’re not going to get them into our arena and force a seventh game.”

Dennis Schröder for the first time since 2015

The Grizzlies were significantly higher seeded than the Lakers as the second best main round team in the west. Two days after the 99-116 loss in Memphis, the Lakers showed an aggressive attitude from the start of game six. Anthony Davis in particular excelled on defense and had a strong 5 blocks as well as 14 rebounds and 16 points. The best pitcher was D’Angelo Russell with 31 points.

Meanwhile, superstar LeBron James, who had 22 points, five rebounds and six assists, set another record: With the recent win over the Grizzlies, the 38-year-old clinched his 40th consecutive win in the playoffs, drawing with the five-time NBA -Champion Derek Fisher same. With a 32-point lead, Lakers coach Darvin Ham put his stars on the bench and brought on the reserves with nine minutes to go.

In addition to two steals, Schröder contributed five assists and has now survived the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2015. At that time he reached the finals of the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Hawks. Since then, the 29-year-old from Braunschweig and his teams have either missed the playoffs completely or dropped out in the first round.