Several months ago, LeBron James was a fan of the NBA’s play-in tournament. He said that those teams at the bottom should try and play it out to see who got a playoff spot. Obviously, his Los Angeles Lakers were sitting at the top of the Western Conference at the time.
It’s not a surprise to see that The King has changed his stance recently, as the Lakers are on the verge of going through the play-in tournament, and – even though it seems unlikely – they’re in jeopardy of missing the playoffs.
And, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, there are valid reasons to be quite concerned about this instance, as Stephen Curry is the last person you’d want to see in a one-off situation and a playoff berth on the line.
Brian Windhorst Says The Lakers Don’t Want To Face Stephen Curry
“Max, it’s different this year,” Windhorst started. “We have the play-in tournament. We have a one-off situation. And while I’d argue LeBron is one of the greatest players and performers of all time, in a one-off, one-game situation, you do not want to see Stephen Curry coming into your building. You especially don’t want to see him when he’s this hot.”
“So, while I think the Lakers are making it into that top-8 and I don’t see them losing twice in a row at home, I am really concerned when Steph Curry comes in in a one-off situation. The Warriors are a flawed team. I don’t they’re making a run in the postseason in a seven-game series. Maybe Steph gets hot once, twice, three times; probably doesn’t overcome. But man, watch out at Staples Center next week if that’s what goes down,” he concluded.
Windhorst makes quite a valid point right here. The Warriors are peaking at the right time and have beaten multiple contenders over the past two weeks, while Curry is en route to win the Scoring title.
Also, if you take into notice that Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, and the aforementioned Curry already beat LeBron in the playoffs 3 out of 4 times, it’s normal to think that they should be cautious when dealing with those guys again.