LeBron's dominance inciting confidence in Lakers' playoff chances
When LeBron James passed Karl Malone to move into second on the NBA's all-time scoring list, his former teammate Kevin Love was understandably happy.
Love responded to James' celebratory Instagram post regarding the milestone on Saturday night, commenting, "Want to be there when you hold up the 1" on a picture of James hoisting two fingers in the air.
But after James returned to his home state to take on Love and his Cavaliers Monday night, Loves' perspective on his previous comments may have been altered.
Love was wholly present for every bit of James' brilliance, as he became the oldest player to record a 30-point triple-double, posting a 38-point, 12-assist, 11-rebound masterpiece.
His scoring forge included 13 points in the fourth quarter to help guide L.A. to a 131-120 victory, but the highlight of the King's regal night was a captivating one hand jam — right over his former teammate Love.
"Oh. My. Lord," was the way Spectrum SportsNet analyst Stu Lantz described the throw-down, as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse erupted into an absolute frenzy.
As for Love himself — who laid sprawled out on the hardwood in the moments following James' picturesque play — had a few choice words for his good buddy after the game.
"To be completely honest, I hated that it had to be him," James said post-game. "He's my guy. That's my brother. And I hope I'm still invited to the wedding. That's not even in my all-time dunks, so I'll take it out. I didn't mean it. K-Love. I love you and I take it back.
"I wish I could take those two points back and we still win the game by nine."
Love represents just another casualty left in the wake of James' historic run as of late.
His 38-piece was his second straight, while he's amassed 30 points or more in seven of his last nine outings, including two 50-point games, and two separate triple-doubles.
Simply put, he's been unstoppable, so much so that Chris Broussard refuses to count James' Lakers out when it comes to postseason legitimacy.
"You cannot tell me that the Lakers don't have a puncher's chance," Broussard said Tuesday on "First Things First."
"Puncher's chance isn't a prediction of victory, it's not saying they're winning the championship. It is just saying they are dangerous still and they have a shot. That they're Deontay Wilder, and if they connect, they can knock you out."
For Broussard, like many, the Lakers' chances are contingent on one player's return.
"Obviously, this all depends on Anthony Davis getting back. If they add Davis, they'll be one of two teams with two top 10 players in the NBA. His first year there, they win the championship. Second year, they're 21-6 when AD gets hurt. He comes back right before the playoffs, and they have Phoenix down 2-1 when AD gets injured early in Game 4. If AD comes back healthy, I'm leaving room on the ‘puncher’s chance' corner."
Nick Wright, however, wasn't left with positive feelings from James' performance.
"I was angry watching this basketball game last night," Wright expressed.
"This is the most points he's scored in a game without hitting a 3 since 2010. In fact, it's the most points he's ever scored in a game without hitting a 3, and getting fewer than 10 FTs. It made me mad. It's incredibly frustrating to see that LeBron can still do that to Kevin Love, can still score 38 points almost all at the rim and on those beloved fadeaway jumpers, and it's for nothing. It's for a good night of basketball, and that's it."
In the end, unfortunately for Love, he'll remain on the losing end of James' timeless moment, and it appears that James will add a few more players to his hit list by the season's end if he can still leap like that.
And if Love is in the building to see James pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record, he's likely hoping that it'll be as a spectator and not an opponent.
