CLEVELAND – Detroit Pistons forward Stanley Johnson is one brash rookie.
But some of that confidence is misguided, as is sometimes the case with 19 year olds.
Following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 107-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons – a game in which Cavs star LeBron James scored 27 points on 12-for-18 shooting – Johnson said, “I’m definitely in his head, that’s for sure.”
The rookie is wrong. It's the opposite. James is in his head.
In two playoff games against Detroit, James is averaging 24.5 points, seven assists and six rebounds and shooting 60% from the field.
The Pistons, down 2-0 in the series, are focused on the wrong things and talking about the wrong things.
Here’s more of Johnson talking about James:
- “He jabbers and moves his mouth sometimes – their whole team does, like they're cheerleaders on the bench.”
- “I wish he would just talk when it’s 0-0, not when he’s up 16 and already got it going. That means something. That means you're confident in yourself.”
James knows what he’s doing, too. In playoff gamesmanship, he gave Johnson a little shoulder bump early in Game 2, and it irritated Johnson. He called James' move "a cheap-ass shot, a cheap-ass bump."
Later, after finishing a dunk, James gave Johnson a long stare.
The James-Johnson battle goes back two summers to the LeBron Skills Academy in Las Vegas, just before Johnson’s freshman season at Arizona and right before James decided to return to the Cavaliers.
At the camp, Johnson wanted to guard James, and by accounts from those in attendance, Johnson held his own for a few possessions.
Both players probably remember that. They have some history.
But Johnson wasn’t the only player trying to throw James off his game on Wednesday. With about six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Cavs leading 94-76 and the Pistons frustrated, Detroit’s Andre Drummond gave James a forearm to the back and teammate Marcus Morris gave James a forearm to the ribs in a matter of seconds.
James was not happy. After watching the video replay several times and trying to read James’ lips, it appears James said he was going to mess someone up. In mostly polite conversation here, his exact words were more profane.
“I know for a fact he wasn’t talking to me, and you can quote me on that,” Morris said.
Throughout this series, James has avoided responding to whatever the Pistons say about him. After Game 2, James downplayed the shots he took from Drummond and Morris even though he clearly was upset when it happened.
“There hasn’t been one dirty play in this series,” James said. “I’m the last person that will allow physical play to go to the other side. I know how much I mean to my team, and I understand what this is all about. I will make sure that our guys understand that we’re here to play basketball. Everything else is irrelevant.
“We want to play physical, we want to get up into those guys, make it tough on them, but like I said, the game is played in between the four lines. A video here, a video there, it means absolutely nothing. I took a shot, I’m OK. I’m still standing tall. I’ll be ready for Friday.”
This back-and-forth – if you want to call it that – started with Game 1 on Sunday when Van Gundy told ABC’s Lisa Salters during an in-game interview that James gets to do what he wants. Johnson also expressed his displeasure about a foul that was called on him.
On Tuesday, reporters asked James about the comments made by Johnson and Stan Van Gundy.
“I’m not having an individual matchup with Stan or an individual matchup with Stanley or any other Stan they may possess,” James said.
James has played in 180 playoff games – against Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Joakim Noah and Joe Johnson among others. Johnson has played in two.
“Listen, I’m 31 years old, man,” James said. “I don’t get caught up in no shenanigans.”
It's not the first time an inexperienced team has lost sight of the task at hand. It's part of the learning experience.
James has been here before. Most of these Pistons have not. And it’s showing.
2016 NBA playoffs: Best of the first round
