Lakers News: LeBron James Ready For Golden State's Best Punch In Game 5

LA's future Hall of Fame small forward is gearing up for a battle tonight.

Following an exciting 104-101 Game 4 victory against the Golden State Warriors, your underdog Los Angeles Lakers now possess a 3-1 record in their ongoing second round series against the reigning champions.

All-Star Lakers small forward LeBron James knows that, despite the fact LA is just one game away from advancing, the team can't look ahead, and must dial in to try to wrap up the series as they prepare to square off tonight in San Francisco. A Lakers win in Game 5 would mean Los Angeles moves on to the Western Conference Finals, and must await the winner of the Denver Nuggets' matchup against the Phoenix Suns (Denver leads the series 3-2). An LA loss on the road would send the series back to Crypto.com Arena for a sixth bout on Friday.

“When you play Golden State you can’t relax.” LeBron James expects the Warriors to come out strong in Game 5 in San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/7dUl0ZbFSw

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) May 9, 2023

"We had a little experience in Round 1, and went on the road and didn't play up to our abilities in Game 5 in Memphis," James said. "Every game for us is another opportunity for us to experience something that we just haven't had as a group. We're a relatively young group... So every game for us throughout this postseason has been an opportunity to grow and see how we can be better. Tonight was another moment."

"Whenever Game 5 is, it'll be another opportunity for us to continue to grow as a ball club," James noted. "I think we'll be ready. One thing about when you play Golden State, you don’t have an opportunity to relax. You just don't, so I'm not worried about us going in there comfortable. You just can't do it versus Golden State, it's not possible.”

The Warriors, along with the Kawhi Leonard/Tim Duncan-era San Antonio Spurs, have proven to be James' great playoff rival in his storied career. This is his fifth playoff series against Golden State, and sixth postseason bout if you count their 2021 play-in game. James is currently just 2-3 against the Dubs in postseason matchups to date (albeit just 1-3 in playoff series). He knows a thing or two about just how tough the reigning champs can be.

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