NBA Finals: LeBron laughs off hurt feelings over trash talking

OAKLAND, USA – Cleveland’s LeBron James laughed off the notion Sunday that his feelings were hurt in an NBA Finals trash-talking exchange with Draymond Green, but the Golden State Warriors might have the last laugh.

The defending champion Warriors, who lead the best-of-seven series 3-1, will try to finish off the Cavaliers with a home victory Monday, June 13 (Tuesday Manila time).

But they will be without starting forward Green, who was issued a one-game ban by the league Sunday when a foul for a flailing hand to the groin of James late in Game 4 Friday was upgraded to a flagrant foul, giving him a suspension for playoff accumulation of such fouls.

James said after the game he was less upset by the contact than by Green’s comments, which he called “a little bit overboard,” prompting a response Sunday from Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson.

“I saw them barking at each other, but it’s nothing – I mean, guys talk trash in this league all the time,” Thompson said. “I’m just kind of shocked some guys take it so personal. It’s a man’s league and I’ve heard a lot of bad things on that court. Trash talk is a part of the game.

“I don’t know how the man feels, but obviously people have feelings and people’s feelings get hurt even if they’re called a bad word. I guess his feelings just got hurt. We’ve all been called plenty of bad words on the basketball court before. Some guys just react to it differently. I just try to ignore it or let it fuel the fire, but I don’t carry it with me when the job is done.”

When told of Thompson’s comments, James began laughing and said, “Oh my goodness,” but declined to elaborate in detail.

“I’m not going to comment on what Klay said, because I know where it can go from this,” James said. “It’s so hard to take the high road. I’ve been doing it for 13 years. It’s so hard to continue to do it, and I’m going to do it again.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to go out and show up and play better and if we don’t, then they’re going to be back-to-back champion and that’s it. But I’ve taken the high road again.”

Critics joked that by “high road,” James meant the path that led him to step over Green rather than walk around him after they became tangled and Green fell to the court in Friday’s 108-97 Warriors win at Cleveland.

“Draymond thought it was disrespectful and wanted to get up and say something, so that was his reaction to it. I would have probably done the same thing,” Warriors star guard Stephen Curry said.

“I don’t think it crossed the line in that regard. But trash talking is part of the game. You’ve got to give it. You’ve got to be able to take it. It’s just you don’t want it to see it ever cross the line and become personal.”

Family not OK in trash talk

Thompson said players know there are “unwritten rules” to trash talk.

“You don’t really talk about anybody’s family. That’s probably the biggest rule,” Thompson said. “That’s the only time it really crosses the line or talking about race or gender or something. But when it’s just bad words or some cuss words, that’s emotions. You let it go and you let it stay on the court.”

James said people know when too much is said.

“We know what words cross the line, male or female,” James said. “He crossed the line last game. He felt like I crossed the line. We said what we had to say.”

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said there is less trash talk now than in his playing days.

“Some guys, they thrive off talking stuff on the floor. A lot of things are said on the floor that are not right. But it’s just part of the game,” Lue said. – Rappler.com