By Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Sports journalist
After winning a third victory in a row this Wednesday, against Memphis, the Lakers must already turn to the trip to San Antonio which awaits them. This is what LeBron James has done with a heavy heart in recent hours.
The closer he gets to his 40th birthday, the better he seems to get. LeBron James would also undoubtedly be the first to validate a metaphor with wine, of which he places himself as a great lover and consumer. Anyway, its 22nd season in NBA has for the moment everything of a new great vintage. And it is certainly not his performance delivered this Wednesday evening, against the Grizzlies, which allows us to assert the opposite.
For the third consecutive meeting, the King, author of 35 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, finished with a triple-double synonymous with victory for the Lakers (128-123). It was therefore with a feeling of satisfaction that he was able to end his evening and answer questions from journalists in his team’s locker room. Questions which focused in particular on the poster which will oppose him this Friday… to Spurs.
LeBron James’ touching speech before facing the Spurs
For their first NBA Cup game of the season, the Lakers will travel to San Antonio and will face a Victor Wembanyama in full confidence. The young French interior is indeed coming out of a 50-point match against the Wizards and therefore risks offering great adversity to LeBron & Co. But rather than anticipating this, the latter preferred to dwell on the worrying news from a certain Gregg Popovich:
LeBron James : To be honest, I haven’t even thought about this match yet. Of course, I can’t wait to play him on Friday, since it’s never easy to win in San Antonio. But to me, there are much more important things going on out there right now, and they involve my dear friend, Coach Pop’. I’m going to think about him a lot during the trip to get there tomorrow.
I will also think of him during the match on Friday and I wish him the best with his health. I hope to see him again soon, without necessarily being at the sidelines. This is the most important for me.
Absent since the beginning of November for reasons long kept secret, Popovich was the subject of great concern within the league.
In the end, it turns out that the legendary Spurs coach suffered a “mild stroke”, which explains his absence from the field and the prolonged interim of his assistant, Mitch Johnson. For the moment, it is impossible to know when he will return to his duties. James and the Lakers should not cross his path in the coming hours, which does not prevent the Chosen One from sending him his thoughts.
Certainly determined to win in San Antonio on Friday, LeBron James admits, however, that he has not yet focused on the meeting that awaits him. In question, the state of health of Gregg Popovich, which worried him as much as all NBA fans recently.
