LeBron James helped his Los Angeles Lakers to a win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday.
The four-time NBA champion scored 23 points with nine rebounds, nine assists, three steals and two blocks in the 110-106 win.
It sets up a first-round series against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets starting Saturday evening in Colorado. It’s also a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals, a series that saw Denver sweep out Los Angeles en route to hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
A lot has been made about this one versus eight matchup. Can the Lakers pull off what would be a remarkable upset? If not, is this the end of the line for King James in Los Angeles? He’s likely going to opt out of his contract and test NBA free agency this coming summer.
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For his part, James is downplaying the rematch in comparison to what we’re seeing from others around the NBA.
“I think you’re putting a little bit too much emphasis on it. This is our first-round matchup. I mean, we’re looking forward to the postseason. But I haven’t been, like, looking forward to the rematch. The game is played how it’s being played, and this is the matchup. So we’re looking forward to that challenge.”
LeBron James said on Thursday, via ESPN.com
The Lakers were somewhat competitive in their loss to Denver in last season’s Western Conference Finals. The team just didn’t have enough all-around talent behind James and Anthony Davis to make it a series.
Whether that’s the case moving into the 2024 NBA Playoffs this weekend remains to be seen. Denver sits second behind the Boston Celtics at +160 to win the Title. The Los Angeles Lakers’ odds sit at +3000. That seems like a daunting task for James and Co.
- LeBron James stats (2023-24): 25.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 8.3 APG
Despite James’ advanced age of 39, he’s still playing at an extremely high level. It’s now up to others to step up behind him if the Lakers are going to pull off an epic comeback.
As for whether the future Hall of Famer is looking for revenge, he provided a veteran response.
“It shouldn’t be personal at all,” James said. “I think you allow yourself to get away from the game plan when you make it too personal.”