LeBron James on his left shoulder: “I’ll be ready for Game 2.”

The Phoenix Suns knocked out the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their series, 99-90. Led by Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton who tallied a combined 51 points and 23 rebounds. 

Just like what happened last year, the Lakers lost their playoff opener. LeBron James has lost 6 of his last 9 Game 1s, including today. Yet, he was able to win 4 of the last 5 series he fell behind in. 

James recorded 18 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists for L.A. Meanwhile, his partner Anthony Davis had a game to forget with 13 points, 7 rebound and 3 blocks.
There was an incident in the game where there was an altercation between Cameron Payne, Alex Caruso and Montrezl Harrell. This was after Chris Paul's loose ball foul on LeBron James in which LeBron had a suspected shoulder injury.

“I’ll be ready for Game 2.” James when asked about his left shoulder and the Chris Paul box out. 

“We feel great. We look forward to breaking it down. The team will be better in Game 2.” James on the chemistry and the connectivity of the Lakers. 

The defending champions only made 7 out of 26 from beyond the arc with 26.9%. They also gave a ton of multiple offensive boards to the Phoenix Suns with a total of 16 offensive rebounds. 

“It’s never just one guy, but I love when (Anthony Davis) puts that pressure on himself. We’re a better team when he is aggressive, when he demands the ball, but we all got to do our jobs a lot better as well. Tonight was a good opportunity for us to play better.” LeBron’s statement on Anthony Davis’ struggles.