The Los Angeles Lakers cruised to victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but LeBron James knows that they still have a lot of work to do.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported on Thursday that James had to tell his Lakers teammates to tone down their sideline antics in the opening game blowout against the Miami Heat. In the second half, Anthony Davis was yelling, “It’s over” to family and friends in attendance. Dwight Howard, meanwhile, led other players in doing multiple glasses celebrations to emphasize the team’s strong court vision.
“Hey, hey! Stop it! Stay locked in!” said James to his teammates in the huddle, per Haynes. “This s— ain’t over, man.”
The four-time MVP would later reference the 2011 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks in his postgame press conference. That year, James and the Miami Heat won Game 1 and were up 15 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Dallas erased the deficit though, won Game 2, and eventually won the series in six games.
James has had a stoic approach to this entire playoff run and knows how quickly a series can change. Thus, he is not taking the Heat for granted despite the fact that the Lakers look very much in control right now.
