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Kawhi Leonard

LeBron James Shows Why He’s Still the MVP and Best Player on the Planet

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No disrespect to Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kawhi Leonard but LeBron James took over Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals and showed the world why, at 35-years old, he’s still the MVP and best player on the planet.

While Antetokounmpo’s Bucks and Leonard’s Clippers succumbed to the perils of the bubble, LeBron’s Lakers rolled through three straight tough opponents with five-game series wins and are headed to the NBA Finals. While a flawed Giannis and Bucks team crumbled in five to the Heat and a overhyped Kawhi and Clippers team blew a 3–1 lead to the Nuggets, LeBron and the Lakers showed how true champions perform in the playoffs.

While Giannis and Kawhi stumbled in the clutch, LeBron closed the Lakers’ final two wins against the Nuggets with four straight stops defending Jamal Murray in Game 4 and four straight baskets to clinch the series in Game 5. LeBron dished out 19 dimes with only 2 turnovers in those two games. He finished Game 5 with 38 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and his 27th playoff triple-double, trailing only Magic’s 30 postseason triple-doubles.

Smartly pacing himself through the playoffs, those last two games were the first in these playoffs where LeBron James played more than 40 minutes, testament to the Lakers’ depth and Frank Vogel’s fine rotation management. These Finals will be James’ 10th as a player, which is more than 27 of the 30 franchises in the league can claim. For the Lakers as a franchise, this will be their 32nd Finals appearance and, if they win, their 17th championship.

As LeBron James again reminded us as he sat relaxed on the floor with the confetti falling as the Lakers accepted the Western Conference Finals trophy, we’re now “one step closer to the goal but the job is still not done.” Standing between the Lakers and their league leading 17th championship are whomever wins the Eastern Conference Finals, in which the 5th seed Miami Heat hold a 3 games to 2 lead over the 3rd seed Boston Celtics.

The emergence of Playoff LeBron has been a transformative moment that could change the historic legacies for him, his superstar teammate Anthony Davis, and the franchise he inherited after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant. The 2020 NBA Playoffs will be momentous to LeBron James’ quest to be the GOAT, Anthony Davis’ odyssey to take the mantle from the King, and the LA Lakers’ challenge to surpass the Boston Celtics for most championships.

With all that on the line, LeBron, AD, and the Lakers only need four more wins to turn the greatest playoff challenge an NBA team has ever faced into the most satisfying and rewarding championship in the league history.

What Should Lakers Fans Be Looking For in Tonight’s Laker/Clippers Game?

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Now that the four month coronavirus hiatus is finally over and professional basketball is back, here’s a short list of what Lakers fans should be looking for in tonight’s season restart game between the LA Lakers and LA Clippers:

1. Who wins the battle of the superstars?

Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis looked to be in mid-season form in the two scrimmages they played while Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard shot just 32% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc. How well each team’s superstars play will likely determines who wins the last regular season matchup between the Lakers and the Clippers. The key to watch will be who on each team defends the other team’s superstars.

2. Who wins the battle of the role players?

The Lakers lost Avery Bradley to family issues and Rajon Rondo to injury but replaced them with Dion Waiters and JR Smith while the Clippers will be missing services of Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and Patrick Beverley. Should the teams’ superstars battle to a standoff, the Lakers should have a big advantage when it comes to role players considering how important Williams, Harrell, and Beverley have been to the Clippers’ success.

3. Who wins the battle of the coaching staffs?

Doc Rivers is considered to be one of the top head coaches in the NBA and has done an outstanding job juggling lineups and rotations as the Clippers deployed extensive load management for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Frank Vogel has also done an excellent job as Lakers head coach and had the team peaking with a back-to-back weekend sweep of the Bucks and Clippers before the shut down as he outcoached Budenholzer and Rivers.

4. Who cares more about winning the game?

The Lakers are going to want to even up the season series with the Clippers at two games apiece while the Clippers are more likely to see the game as not important and focus on the playoffs since they will be shorthanded. LeBron, AD, and the Lakers will want to send a message about how serious they are about winning this championship so it would not be surprising to see them make this a statement game and rout the Clippers tonight.

Why Lou Williams’ Visit to Strip Club Wouldn’t Have Happened on Lakers!

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One thing clear from the start is winning a championship in the Orlando bubble is going to test the mettle and character and challenge the will and discipline to win of NBA players like no other title in league history.

While Lou Williams being forced to quarantine for 10 days for violating protocol and visiting a strip club while excused from the bubble seems like a minor offense, it could have had serious consequences. Players not taking the coronavirus threat seriously is the kind of behavior that could have ended up compromising the Clippers’ opportunity to win a championship and/or the league’s ability to finish the 2020 season.

While I’m not trying to demonize Lou Williams, it’s hard for me to imagine the same thing happening with any player on the Lakers, not with a team leader like LeBron James setting the tone and tenor for his teammates. Pursuing an NBA championship in the harsh environment of the Orlando bubble demands a level of dedication and commitment inconsistent with visiting a strip club when on leave to attend a relative’s memorial services.

As NBA analyst Rafael Barlowe said in yesterday’s Lakers Fast Break podcast, it would have been different had it been 23-year old Landry Shamet who got caught instead of the Clippers’ 33-year old team leader. The incident raises legitimate questions about the Clippers’ leadership and commitment to win. Playing in the bubble is going to separate the players who are serious about winning from those who lack the dedication.

Imagine LeBron’s response had one of the Lakers’ young players broken containment and risked exposure to coronavirus by visiting a strip club? The King’s anger and displeasure would have been scalding and immediate. Yet we hear nothing from Clippers’ superstars Kawhi Leonard or Paul George and just a weak joking rebuke from head coach Doc Rivers, which highlights the difference between the Lakers’ and Clippers’ approaches.

Contrast Lou Williams’ decision with Alex Caruso choice to miss his sister’s wedding because of how a possible 10-day quarantine could adversely impact his Lakers team’s ability to get in sync for the upcoming playoffs. There’s no question LeBron James’ serious all-business approach to the NBA’s season restart weighed heavily on Alex Caruso’s mind when he made his personal decision not to leave the bubble for his sister’s wedding.

While the Lakers seem primed for the restart of the NBA season with all 17 roster players now in the bubble and cleared to play, the Clippers are still struggling to get all of their players to Orlando and out of quarantine. Williams was not the only Clipper player who left the bubble for personal reasons. Opting not to bring their two-way players to Orlando, the Clippers were only able to suit up 10 of 15 players for a scrimmage last week.

NBA players are human but playing in a bubble in a pandemic in Orlando creates an entirely different dynamic when it comes to committing to remain in isolation for a couple of months while pursuing a championship. We’re going to see lots of players not willing to make the personal sacrifices the bubble demands. There are going to be teams that, when they get down 0–2 in the playoffs, are just going to throw in the towell and go home.

Having a championship veteran leader like LeBron James clearly gives the Lakers a huge mental advantage over the competition when facing a unique and challenging situation like this season’s playoffs in the Orlando bubble.

Who’ll Take the Throne from LeBron? Can Kawhi Leonard Rule Next Decade?

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This is the 2nd in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here is a link to our previous article covering Giannis Antetokounmpo.

As the reigning Finals MVP and a two-time NBA champion, Kawhi Leonard is another superstar whom, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, certain analysts believe has now passed LeBron James as the best player in the NBA.

After spurning an opportunity last summer to join the Lakers and play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard instead charted his own path and recruited Paul George to join him in signing with the Clippers. Having already shown he can win at the highest level by leading the Spurs and the Raptors to NBA championships, Kawhi has demonstrated he’s not afraid to take risks or make controversial decisions to further his career.

The 6′ 7″, 225 lb 28-year old Kawhi Leonard, who is now on his third team in his nine NBA seasons, will need to avoid injury, stay healthy, and play at a high level for many more years to become the best player of this decade. Unlike Giannis and LeBron, who have never suffered a major injury, Kawhi missed almost all of the 2017-18 NBA season due to a serious quad injury and has needed extensive load management to play the last two seasons.

Avoiding another major injury and remaining healthy will be a major factor in Leonard’s quest to supplant LeBron James as the best player in the NBA over the next decade and likely why he’s not favored over Antetokounmpo. Kawhi faces a daunting challenge to become the NBA’s best player for the next decade as he will have to both overtake a still resilient LeBron James while holding back the challenge of a younger Giannis Antetokounmpo

If Kawhi can dodge injuries and elevate his game and lead the Clippers to overcome LeBron and the Lakers and Giannis and the Bucks the next two years, he would have a good start to being King of the NBA for the 2020’s.