This is the first time a Lebron James team has ever been bounced from the playoffs in the first round. After winning the title last year in the Covid bubble, Lebron, Anthony Davis and the Lakers couldn’t overcome a season of injuries to make it interesting this year.
Lebron is starting to show his age, and Davis rarely stays healthy. That said, the Lakers can easily compete again if they can find the right third star to join the party next season.
Is everyone over those stories about the NFL being in decline? Sure, they had some serious controversies last year with the protests, and the NBA was on fire with the Cavs – Warriors battles. College football also created quite a buzz with their new playoff as well starting in 2014.
But suddenly we’ve seen the ratings do a u-turn. NFL ratings are back up again this year, while the NBA is suddenly dipping as the Lebron James versus the Warriors story starts to get old. Superteams are good for a sport . . . but only for a while. Aren’t you sick of the Warriors stockpiling all stars? Meanwhile, the College Football Playoff has lost a little of its luster with Alabama and Clemson being annual locks to play in the final four.
If you’ve been watching Lebron James this season, you’re seeing an all-time great actually improve his game. Lebron is shooting the ball so much better this season, and you see a greater emphasis at times with posting up and using the fade-away jumper. And then you see him hitting his threes.
This article explains how Lebron has committed himself to improving his shot. The results have been impressive – “This season he is shooting 58.5 percent from the field, 42.7 percent from beyond the arc and 78.2 percent from the foul line — all career-bests.”
I think having Kyle Korver as a teammate has helped as well. Lebron was always the hardest worker on the team, but now he has Korver as well – someone who is obsessive about working on his game and his shot.
Kyrie Irving did it again on Christmas day, and the Golden State Warriors have to be thinking about how they can stop this guy in crunch time. And that’s after dealing with Lebron James and Kevin Love as well.
For all the hype about Kevin Durant, we’re seeing the Cavs playing together like a real team, and that has to be scary for the Warriors and the rest of the NBA.
The folks at First Take posed an interesting question the other day by asking whether Kyrie Irving or Dwyane Wade was the better teammate for Lebron James.
Both are great players, and both were great teammates, and your answer will likely depend on which traits you value more.
I’ll side with Kyrie Irving at this point, as his game compliments Lebron’s game perfectly with his ability to hit three-pointers and take on late-game shots. Wade was incredible as well, but he and Lebron have similar games.
