He is no longer with the Cavaliers, he no longer travels to the old Oracle in Oakland, in the hard side of the baybut to the glittering Chase Center of the downtown from San Francisco. And he no longer plays for the ring, because it will be difficult for him to do so this season unless his Lakers sign one of the most unlikely resurrections in the history of the sport. But the night, even with all that, there was something special about him. Those four years of fighting LeBron-Warriors, Cavaliers-Splash Brothers. One of the greatest rivalries the NBA has seen. The Warriors won (117-115), as in three of the four Finals in which they met, LeBron vs Curry y Klay. But the fact is that the Lakers, in full fire, were able to win. Almost they should to win. Until she returned to give the feeling that they have forgotten how to do it. As tragic as it sounds.
Things are so badly off (26-31, ninth in the West and five games with 50% wins) that coming close to winning and leaving a good image seems enough, while the days are counted until the break of the All Star: one game left, in LA against the Utah Jazz. After (convulsive days) the beating of the Bucks, the ridicule in Portland, of the freezing of shipments in the closing of the market and of the rumors of civil war on all fronts (Rob Pelinka-Frank Vogel-big three), the Lakers at least they didn’t drag or get swept off the court by the second-best team in the NBA (42-15, four and a half games behind the Suns). It shouldn’t be enough, it shouldn’t be the goal… but here we are. It is what it is.
The point is that the Lakers lose. If they play poorly, they are overwhelmed. If they play well… they don’t get it right, they don’t finish off, they don’t have the last stroke of talent or luck. Westbrook’s triple in Charlotte, Davis’ suspension against the Clippers… any. This time, at 117-114, the referees called a dubious foul on LeBron James at the three-point line. But LeBron, with the option to tie, missed the first free throw, ended the extra time option and threw the third to miss, without a miracle on the rebound. And defeat. Despite the fact that the team played well, within what there is: plugged in and with criteria, with intensity. And after coming back 15 points (41-26), it was 103-109 in the last four minutes.
There, with the game in his hand, he accumulated failures: layups, free throws… meanwhile, Klay Thompson scored three triples, Andrew Wiggins another and Stephen Curry, who had not been good at all, added a basket 47 seconds from the end. When it was necessary, the antithesis this time of a LeBron who stayed at 1/10 in the fourth quarter, took the blame for the loss and assured that he saw the team “connected” after leaving behind the rumors and jaleos prior to the market close. He finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists but 9/27 shooting for that very bad ending that condemned his team. Yes indeed, He continues adding figures of legend, overwhelming: he is already (44,157) the highest scorer ever if regular season and playoffs are added. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trails behind (44.149) but is still ahead in the great numberthe regular season points. The official measure. LeBron, who first has to overtake Karl Malone, is getting closer.
LeBron, the old battlecould not with Curry (24 points but 1/8 in triples) nor, with Draymond Green injured, the best Klay Thompson of the season: 33 points, his first game over 30 since the damn night of the sixth game of the 2019 Finals, the one with the knee injury that started his nightmare. Klay, above all, scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and saved the team from him, who relied on the work of Wiggins and the increasingly productive rookie Kuminga (18 + 9).
The Lakers needed a victory like this that was in their hands, but they are not capable of adjusting the key defenses, hitting the decisive shots… Anthony Davis (16+7 and 3 blocks) was weak and he has shot three times in the last two quarters, two pinpoint losses against the Blazers and Warriors. Bad signal. Russell Westbrook, weird as ever on defense, was solid: 19+7+5 and 7/13 shooting. This time it had more to do with his team being able to win than the final loss. And there was a push off the bench with Monk (12 points), the brilliant rookie Reaves (13) and Talen Horton-Tucker (17+7+3). Good news muted by another defeat, by the certainty that always missing to cross the finish line. Sometimes a kilometer, sometimes a simple step… but it’s always missing. If they play like this time, at least the Lakers could cruise low-key and drama-free toward the end of this terrible season. To him thinking corner of the summer. But, of course, victories would also be needed, some at least. And not only moral, which right now seems to be worth it. That’s how bad things are. So much so that it is spoken of as reinforcement via buyout en… Dennis Schroeder. Ahirony lives on in this world.
