Even though All-Star Los Angeles Lakers small forward LeBron James returned to the hardwood to play the visiting Chicago Bulls yesterday in something of a last-minute surprise, he did not start.
It marked only the second time in his entire NBA career that James came off the bench. He registered a +4 plus-minus during his minutes on the hardwood. The Bulls won, 115-105, in large part thanks to a surprisingly robust defensive approach on the perimeter and some efficient three-point shooting.
LA's actual starting small forward yesterday, ex-Bull Troy Brown Jr., broke down how Chicago disrupted what the Lakers wanted to do.
"I felt like they were more aggressive than us tonight, from the jump. Defensively they crawled up in us early, made sure we weren't getting the easy shots, easy looks. Off of pick-and-rolls, I felt like they were jamming us and fighting over screens. That causes the big to be able to stay with AD so we weren't getting lobs early, just stuff like that where I felt like it was messing up our flow early on."Â
"At the end of the day, we've got to do our job, but we get another chance at redemption [on Wednesday] at least against them. Obviously we don't have any games to waste right now."
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