What's Wright - Warriors-Lakers Reaction: Steph Curry & LeBron James PUT ON SHOW, NBA Playoff preview?

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but that's not actually where I'm focused. I'm focused on an appreciation for Lebron James and Steph Curry and what they have given us as sports fans for the last decade, because it should be impossible. Lebron James and Steph Curry first met in the NBA Finals nine years and ten months ago. June of twenty fifteen was our first Steph Lebron Cavs Warriors, and Steph had already had obviously a

nice career up to that point. That year, he had already won his first MVP, He had had some unbelievable moments becoming a superstar and becoming one of and then all of a sudden, catapulting himself into the discussion for not just one of the best players in the league, but a top three player, a top two player, fully flirted with top one player in some quarters, and Lebron already had built a top ten all time player resume.

When these two guys first played in the finals, which was again ten years ago, Lebron had already played seven years with the Cavs. Took him to a finals left his entire heat career had come and gone, not five,

not six, not seven. The press conference of the Decision four League MVPs five finals appearances, two championships, Lebron had already done all of that before he and Steph started this last decade of professional basketball being the face of the league and the other face of the league being the two guys who set the standard for what not only being a superstar in the NBA ideally would look like, but what being a professional would look like, what being

a titan of industry almost would look like. Zero off court mistakes, zero controversy. The worst thing Steph ever did his entire career was throw his mouth guard into the front row. The worst thing Lebron ever did his entire career was a maybe preemptive celebratory press conference.

thirty three on just fifteen field goal attempts. After not looking quite like Lebron since coming back from the groin injury, but he did last night, because these guys deliver and they answer the bell unlike any duo we have seen since Magic and Bird. But here's the thing, this is so much, so different than Magic and Bird. Here's why Magic and Bird we got them for the first decade of their career.

Let's pretend Lebron's thirty seven, like Steph, is this age playing at this level. Complete list NBA history of people who after their age thirty five season has have averaged twenty three plus a game. That list is five people long, and two of those people joined that group this year. It is Karl Malone, Kareem in eighty six, Kevin Durant this year, Steph Curry this year, and Lebron James each of the last five years. That's the list. Steph Curry's

thirty seven years old. Lebron is forty years old. The late great Kobe Bryant played in his final career playoff game at age thirty three. Michael Jordan played his final game with the Bulls at age thirty six. Larry Bird won one playoff series one after age thirty one. Think about that, and now you have Stepped at thirty seven and Lebron at forty as right now the most reliable players in STEP's case, undeniably the best player on his team.

In Lebron's case, Lucas should be the best for Lebron's right now, the most reliable on legitimate contenders on the teams with what the third and fifth or fourth and fifth or fourth and third best odds to win the championship. It was utterly remarkable when Kareem in nineteen eighty six gave us one more all time year. And it was really really special when Carl Malone in the lockout shortened season in ninety nine two thousand, at age thirty six,

gave us one more great year. Steph, at the beginning of this season, it looked like, Okay, most guys remember they peak at twenty seven, hold on to that peak for a few years, and then slowly slowed downward tick. And at the beginning of this year, when he was averaging twenty to a game, when he had a couple single digit point games, you were, Okay, he's to a

different place, which he should be. They had that amazing These two guys had that amazing Olympic moment together, Lebron carrying the team through the first few rounds, Steph having the brilliant gold medal game, performance like that that maybe was for Steph and Lebron their final time playing for real stakes, championship stakes, and they got to do it together. And then we now there's the Jimmy trade, there's the Luca trade. Steph post Jimmy trade has been almost vintage.

Steph Lebron just came off pre groin injury, winning Western Conference Player of the Month. There's still not three guys in the league that you could say you definitively would rather have than either of these two guys.

profound appreciation for these guys. And it also not joh last night hit a game winner, and then he did the postgame interview and called someone a pigeon, And it is very very hard for me not to juxtapose how Lebron and Steph have carried this torch and have had more scrutiny, in Lebron's case, more pressure than anyone could possibly imagine, and never stepped out of line and never embarrassed the league and never had an incident and not be frustrated.

legends trading haymakers. Now to the actual game itself, it's not all that complex on the Lakers end, really interesting, Austin Reeves game awesome, the first three minutes, unbelievable, the final quarter and not much else. But with thirty one on sixteen shots, Lebron was I think hoping Luca would get going early. Lebron's zero first quarter points saw Luca didn't have it. Finishes with thirty three.

Luca's not Luca, You're gonna lose. It was insane. The Lakers had not really a chance to steal it, but a chance to have a chance at stealing it late. I am fully and entirely confident that Luca come the postseason, will be playoff Luca, because that's all he's ever been. But last night was a game that I thought because of the stakes of it, because they had had a couple days off that we'd see great Luca and we

saw far from it. And so Lakers win the season series on the Warriors three to one, so they do still have that tiebreaker, and that could really matter because it's now forty five and thirty one for the Warriors, forty six and thirty for the Lakers. You won wonder what the Warriors will look like tonight as they host Denver. Denver having had a night off after a couple brutal losses, and the Warriors the rest of the way they've got the next two are tough and then a nice soft

landing until the final game of the year. So the Warriors home for Denver, home for the Rockets, at Phoenix, home for San Antonio, at Portland home for the Clippers. You would think in those six games that four and two is a fair result for them, So that would put them at forty nine wins. The Lakers, on the other hand, they're a tough one to figure because they seemingly play their worst against bad teams. But the Lakers New Orleans, then at OKC, at OKC at Dallas in

what should be absolute theater. It is a shame that game is the second night of a back to back. But if I were, if I were running the Lakers rotations, just me personally, you gotta win tonight against New Orleans. I would go for it Sunday against the Thunder, and then I would give everybody the night off on the front end of a back to back Tuesday against the Thunder.

Punt that one, because that Dallas game is gonna mean a lot to Luca and it's also obviously the far more winnable spot of your two of your back to back, and then after that home for Houston, which is a huge one, and then at Portland the final game of the year. If they win tonight, it is very, very difficult for me to see how the Warriors could possibly catch them. They win tonight, they get to forty seven.

The Portland win has to be a win the Portland game, I should say, because Portland's not even gonna it's the game eighty two. They're not even gonna want to win. Portland's gonna play. You know, Portland's gonna want the draft position. So that puts you at forty eight wins, and then you just need one. If I'm right that the Warriors are gonna go four and two now, that could I could be wrong. You would just need one of Oka

see OKAC Dallas Houston so Western conference standings. If the playoffs were to start today, we'd get Warriors Lakers in round one. Gosh, that's a series that would be a bummer to have in round one. If I could set the bracket, I would. It's very, very difficult to get them to where they could play in round two, is I guess the problem?

So Lakers, Warriors, Nuggets, they're all just starting from right now, a two game losing streak from potentially being right in the play in and so for the Lakers purposes, you would love a bracket that goes OKC one, Houston two, Lakers three, Denver, Golden State four five, Memphis six, Timberwolves, seven, Clippers eight, or vice versa. That's the ideal bracket for the Lakers. The ideal bracket for the Warriors is the exact one I just said. You just flipped the Lakers

and the Warriors. I think it's gonna be really hard for the Warriors though, to catch the Lakers unless they can go five and one are better in their last six. And with the fact that I would, I would be surprised if Steph plays tonight. I think this, well, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. I wonder what the line is for that game.