In just a few hours, LeBron James and the Lakers will face their biggest challenger. And while the Lakers may have the better record, everyone knows which team has the deeper, more talented roster.
It goes without saying that if the Lakers are to beat their inter-city rivals in the postseason, they will need a heroic effort from their two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The problem? Statistically, James has not played very well at all against the Clippers. The numbers show a pretty sharp decline in performance the games against the Clips this season.
LeBron has struggled against the Clippers this season…
Regular season stats:
25.6 PPG | 49.9 FG% | 34.7 3PT%
Stats vs. Clips:
20.5 PPG | 37.2 FG% | 17.6 3PT%
Will he figure it out today?
(@MetroByTMobile) https://t.co/D8fm1XTksA
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 8, 2020
It’s almost inevitable that these two teams will meet in May — no other team in the West has the fire-power they do.
But it makes sense that James would struggle against this team in particular. The Clippers are loaded with athletic, defensive wings that can be thrown at Bron to slow him down.
It will be interesting to see if, and how, James overcomes these challenges this afternoon as he and his team look to come out with an important victory.