As the playoff series between the Lakers and Grizzlies intensifies, so does the individual battle between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks.
If you're keeping track at home, it only took two games for things to get chippy between the two wings in this series.
During the third quarter of Memphis' Game 2 win over the LA, the two exchanged words following back-to-back buckets from James. Brooks then stared down James after making a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter that stretched the lead back to double figures.
If that wasn't enough, Brooks didn't hold back when asked about their back-and-forth postgame.
"I don't care. He's old," Brooks said. "You know what I mean? I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."
Oh, and there's more.
"He's not at the same level that he was when he was on Cleveland winning championships, Miami," Brooks continued. "I wish I got to see that. It would have been a harder task, but I'm playing with what I've got."
James got a bit of revenge on Saturday night as the Lakers secured a 111-101 victory to take a 2-1 series lead. The beef took another turn when Brooks was ejected early in the second half after receiving a Flagrant 2 foul for hitting James in the groin. James finished the game with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
MORE: Dillon Brooks blames media, fans for 'villain' reputation after Game 3 ejection
We looked at the on-court history between James and Brooks heading into the series. Has Brooks been as effective as he makes it sound?
LeBron James vs. Dillon Brooks stats
Here's what James is averaging against the Grizzlies through three games of the first-round series:
- 36.3 minutes per game
- 24.7 points per game
- 10.7 rebounds per game
- 4.3 assists per game
- 1.7 blocks per game
- 1.5 steals per game
- 3.0 turnovers per game
- 50.7 percent field goal shooting
- 16.7 percent 3-point shooting
- 65.5 percent free throw shooting
According to the matchup data, James did most of his damage in the first two games of the series with Brooks as his primary defender.
| Defender | Minutes | Points | Assists | Turnovers | FGM-FGA |
| Dillon Brooks | 12:52 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 11-18 |
| David Roddy | 4:38 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3-7 |
| Xavier Tillman | 3:43 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2-6 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 2:37 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5-8 |
| Desmond Bane | 1:40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2-5 |
| Luke Kennard | 1:02 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2-3 |
| Santi Aldama | 0:25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 |
MORE: How Clippers vs. Suns schedule could impact Los Angeles
Dillon Brooks says LeBron James 'can't' take him one-on-one
There are a couple more interesting things Brooks said about James postgame.
The first: “I just let him know that you can’t take me one-on-one. You haven’t. You go look at the film. He doesn’t really take me one on one until that moment. Then when he got subbed out he was tired. So I did my job.”
By my count, James has scored nine baskets with Brooks as his primary defender through two games, not 11.
Here's each one of those buckets:
Brooks isn't wrong that James hasn't scored a lot against him in one-on-one situations.
James didn't score as much in isolation this season as he has in years past, but he's gone from averaging 4.0 isolation possessions per game in the regular season to 1.5 in the playoffs. He is posting up slightly less as well, from 2.6 possessions per game in the regular season to 2.0 in the playoffs.
While James is getting fewer isolation and post-up opportunities, his spot-up and transition possessions are up so far in the series. He's always been a one-man wrecking crew in the open court, but the Grizzlies will likely live with him spotting up more if it means he's not getting downhill.
The chart could look very different by the end of the series, of course. James has a history of feeling out games at the start of a series and the Lakers didn't need a particularly big night from him to steal Game 1. Also, James was more aggressive in attacking Brooks in Game 2 than he was in Game 1. That could very well be a precursor for the rest of the series.
That brings us to the second interesting thing Brooks said after Game 2: "Just wear and tear on him throughout a seven-game series and see if he can take it — see if he wants to play the one-on-one battle, or if he wants to be out on the sideline.”
Brooks is playing the long game by thinking he can wear James out over the course of a seven-game series. It's a smart strategy with James being in his 20th season and not far removed from suffering a foot injury that sidelined him for a month. Him challenging and playing mind games with James could backfire, of course, but if anything, it's a reminder of how much the Lakers need Anthony Davis to assert himself to win this series.
