Lakers PG Dennis Schroder Sounds Off On Devin Booker Ejection
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 22: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates a play with Dennis Schroder #17 during a 116-109 LA Clippers win in the season opening game at Staples Center on December 22, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Things got a bit chippy at the end of Thursday night's game between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers, as Devin Booker shoved an airborne Dennis Schroder with less than a minute remaining.
Los Angeles had Game 3 in the bag when Booker shoved Schroder. Obviously, that kind of act isn't going to fly with the Lakers' coaches or players.
Several players, such as Anthony Davis and LeBron James, came to Schroder's defense after he was shoved. Booker, meanwhile, was ejected because his foul was ruled a Flagrant 2.
Following the Game 3 win, Schroder spoke to the media about that incident with Booker. He revealed that he's not going to back down from any player on the Suns.
"My mom raised me right," Schroder said, via ESPN. "When somebody talks to me first, I'm gonna talk back. It don't matter who it is. If somebody talks to me disrespectfully, I'm going to do the same thing, so at the end of the day, we're going to battle then."
Schroder also told reporters that his trash talk struck a nerve with Booker.
"Nobody's going to disrespect me. The end of the day, I just talked back and somebody took it too sensitive and fouled me."
While there's no doubt that Dennis Schroder has gotten under Booker's skin this series, let's not dismiss his production on the court. He's averaging 19.3 points per game this series.
It'll be interesting to see how the Lakers and Suns behave in Game 4. If tempers flare immediately after the ball is tipped, the officiating crew may need to send out a few warnings.
