LeBron James' demand that Los Angeles Lakers center Tristan Thompson should be "prepared to dust the cobwebs off" against the Golden State Warriors has proved prophetic - but not in the way it was planned.
Thompson, 32, became an NBA champion alongside James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and are now reunited after LA signed the center on the last day of the regular season. The veteran was available as a free agent after leaving the Chicago Bulls at the end of last season.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka signed Thompson after working out with the team towards the end of the season to add depth to their front court. The center then made an unexpected appearance in Game Two - but only because their hopes of winning were over.
With the Lakers trailing by 30 points, head coach Darvin Ham pulled their starters out of the game for the fourth quarter. As a result, Thompson replaced Anthony Davis and played for the first time in purple and gold.
The center scored five points and corralled four rebounds in the final 12 minutes as the Lakers reduced the final margin of defeat to 27. That was not quite what James had in mind when telling TNT sideline reporter Chris Haynes before the first game of the series that he told Thompson to "be prepared to dust the cobwebs off".
Before the series, Pelinka described Thompson as an asset in the film room. The center contributed to their preparation, having faced the Warriors in four straight NBA Finals.
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"The experience is invaluable," Pelinka told Spectrum Sportsnet inside Chase Center before Game One, which the Lakers won 117-112. "We have coaches (long-time Cavs assistant coach Phil Handy), LeBron, Tristan Thompson, guys that have been in series' before with the Golden State Warriors.
"The combination of that collective knowledge base that they have was really evident in the film room yesterday. At our practise facility, it was evident in shootaround this morning, just by talking through the tendencies, the off-ball screens, some of the set plays they run and just their overall strategy.
"So, we feel prepared. To have that institutional, real-life experience and knowledge, I think, is going to help us with our chess moves throughout this series."
Ham must make some chess moves in Game Three as the tied series moves to Los Angeles. After edging the rebound battle in Game One, the Warriors held a 15-board advantage in Game Two, despite center Kevon Looney, who has been a rebounding machine in these playoffs, being unwell.
The Lakers also lived in the paint during the team's first meeting, scoring 54 of their 117 points on the inside. In Game Two, the Warriors out-scored them in the paint 48-42.
The team also did not get to the free throw line anywhere near as often in Game One. The Lakers made just ten of 17 from the stripe, compared to 25 out of 29 attempts in the series opener.
