It was an interesting battle last night, as the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Los Angeles Clippers, which ended in favor of the Clips. Although the Lakers had the better team on paper, they were dominated from start to finish.
The Clippers never gave up the lead, thanks to stellar play-calling late in the game. The Lakers had several opportunities to steal the lead, but unproductive offensive possessions and the Clippers’ three-point superiority were factors that ruined their plans.
In the post-game presser, LeBron James was asked about the Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue about his progress, and James had this to say (7:50):
“T Lue is great. Simple as that. Obviously, you guys know I played for him and you know, what we were able to do. T Lue is great. he is great at every facet of the game. As a coach, he doesn’t have a weakness.”
LeBron was the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers team that won the 2016 NBA Finals over the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. While LBJ was the leader on the court, Lue was the master planner. He led the Cavs to three consecutive Finals appearances, winning the championship once.
With the 119-115 victory over the Lakers, Lue went 4-0 against the Lakers since becoming head coach at Clippers, giving up the lead only once, which lasted for under two minutes.
LeBron, who just returned from a health and safety protocol that lasted two days because of a false positive result, was not his best self. He rightfully said he sucked at defense and was not much help offensively either.
The margin was close mainly because of an offensive burst from Malik Monk. He finished the first quarter with 0 points but registered 20 in the second half, knocking down four three-pointers in eight attempts.
LBJ finished the game with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. He spoke on his frustrations regarding his enforced quarantine, which might have affected his performance as he said he did not touch a basketball until Friday morning.
