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Nine months ago we asked on this blog if Lebron James was still the NBA’s best player? It was the Laker’s Lebron James, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, or LA Clipper’s Kawhi Leonard. We’re down to the Final 4 in the NBA playoffs, and Lebron James is the only one still standing.
Sure Giannis was injured and played hurt, but the fact is Milwaukee is out. It wasn’t his fault he got hurt. Kawhi Leonard was thought to be the missing piece for the LA Clippers as they looked to challenge the Lakers. It didn’t happen as the Clippers went down in stunning fashion to the Denver Nuggets. Up 3-1 in the series, Leonard and the Clippers lost 3 games in a row. Now there is talk of a lack of chemistry on the Clippers team. With the LA Lakers and Lebron James still playing, James has the opportunity to re-establish himself as the NBA’s best player. It’s all about titles. Giannis still doesn’t have one. Leonard has two, but James could be looking at his fourth. The Lakers will have to go through the upstart Denver Nuggets to get there.
The Lakers are 7 point favorites going into Game 1, which shouldn’t mean anything to the Nuggets, who have proven twice now it’s not so much about winning the first game of the series if you can find a way to get to and win your fourth – ask the Clippers about that.
From CNNSI in their preview of the series with Chris Webber
“I love that Denver is making people believe,” said Webber. “I love how deep they are, and hopefully Coach [Michael] Malone gets the credit he deserves. If you talk to players that have played for him, they’ll tell you how much they’ve enjoyed playing for him. They’re a great story.”
“It’s not foregone that the Lakers are going to win. I know everyone is disappointed, and so am I, that they’re not going to see the battle of LA, but don’t sleep on the Denver Nuggets.”
They are indeed a great story, and Nikola Jokic is one of the darlings of the playoffs. The Nuggets are confident and dangerous, but like the great ones in their prime – Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Michael Jordan etc. they took on all challengers. The Nuggets are the latest for Lebron James and his Laker’s team. Sorry Anthony Davis, you’re a great player, but this is James’s team.
Let’s see if James can add to his legacy and stake his claim as the NBA’s best player starting with the Western Conference Finals and the Denver Nuggets.
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