Brooklyn Nets forward and flopper/cheap shot artist extraordinaire Reggie Evans may be a great rebounder, but he’s also one of the NBA’s most annoying players. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that he’d say something dumb about LeBron James and the defending champion Miami Heat, who will make their Barclay’s Center debut Wednesday night:
“It doesn’t prove nothing. That was a lockout season,” Evans told the New York Daily News on Wednesday when asked whether beating the defending champs would prove something to the rest of the NBA.
As for what he thinks about LeBron, Evans disagreed with head coach P.J. Carlesimo’s assessment that the reigning MVP is “unguardable”:
“Our team is defending the Miami Heat. If our team has to defend one person, LeBron isn’t going to score nothing. LeBron is no different from Joe Johnson or Andray Blatche. No different,” Evans told the Daily News. “People need help (on defense). Some people don’t need help. Everybody has to be double-teamed, it doesn’t matter who you are. You just have to stop LeBron in transition.
“He’s quick in transition. If you look at Joe Johnson — Joe Johnson has two or three people trying to stop him. Whoever is guarding him.”
Although Evans’ comments hardly warranted a response, LeBron fired back anyway, expressing his thoughts on Brooklyn’s recent success under Carlesimo:
“Their offense hasn’t changed, their defense,” James said of the Nets on Wednesday. “They just picked up the intensity level. You can tell that they like to play for P.J.”
“It sucks that Avery (Johnson) had to take the hit of them not wanting to play at a high level,” James added.
And then there’s this, from Wednesday afternoon:
Just keep throwing rocks at the throne, don’t matter cause nothing can break my zone
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 30, 2013
Considering Miami won the previous two meetings this season by a combined 43 points, the following bears repeating: if you come at the King, you best not miss.
[ESPNNY]
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