Pistons rookie rips LeBron 'cheap shot,' says he's 'in his head'
Stanley Johnson is either crazy brave, or just plain crazy.
The Detroit Pistons rookie called out LeBron James after Wednesday night's Game 2 of their first-round playoff series, which the Cavs lead 2-0 after a 107-90 win.
Johnson ripped the Cavs and their captain for talking trash and said "I'm definitely in his head" after James bumped shoulders with him in Game 2.
"Their whole team talks," Johnson said. "All those guys on the bench, they're like cheerleaders. Only seven to eight guys are playing, but they're all talking. They might as well be in the stands."
Of James, he said: "I just wish he would talk when it is 0-0, not when he's up 16."
Johnson and the Pistons clearly aren't worried about waking up a sleeping LeBron. Coach Stan Van Gundy complained James gets too many calls during Game 1, Marcus Morris got James' attention with an elbow late in Game 2, and Johnson riled up the King, too. James backed down the rookie aggressively several times and delivered a physical message of his own.
"I was walking in a straight line," Johnson said of the shoulder bump. "I didn't bump him, he bumped me. It was a cheap-ass shot, a cheap-ass bump."
James, who scored 27 points, shrugged off the suggestion that the series has devolved into dirty plays.
"There hasn't been one dirty play in the series," James said. "I will make sure my guys understand that we're here to play basketball; everything else is irrelevant. There's a video here, a video there -- means absolutely nothing. I took a shot, but I'm OK, I'm still standing tall."
The Pistons, who have lost 10 straight playoff games against Cleveland, may be headed to a sweep, but they're not gonna go quietly. And before it's all said and done, some guy named Stanley Johnson may bring something legendary out of LeBron James.
LeBron has 15 points on 7-9 FG with Stanley Johnson as his primary defender this series (13 Pts, 6-6 FG in Game 2). https://t.co/Ns3td71YBX
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 21, 2016
Somewhere, Steph Curry's ankle just started throbbing a little harder.
