Was LeBron James vs. Steph Curry the game of the year? ‘HELL YEAH!’ – Perk | NBA Today

Was LeBron James vs. Steph Curry the game of the year? ‘HELL YEAH!’ – Perk | NBA Today

It’s something that you will take all in when you’re done playing and be able to watch with your grandkids James what a pass to Russell you know and say that I played against one of the best players to ever play this game crossover beats him like a drum and ties the game every

Year that we get to do this it’s it’s insane game sping away it’s up got it you look forward to the battles but you also appreciate the mutual like respect respect Factor off the charts doing this bro two legends two champions and boy do they battle here

Tonight oh I mean what an epic game we got this weekend between Steph Curry and LeBron James it couldn’t be contained a regulation or even just one overtime we have to get two almost went three I know an epic showdown welcome to NBA today when the game is at good Tim legler he

Has to come to town Ramona shelburn Kendrick Perkins Brian windhorse they’re here with us as well I’m Malika Andrews let’s take a listen to LeBron James on this epic showdown it’s something that you will um truly take all in when you’re done playing and be able to watch with your

Grandkids you know and say that I played against one of the best players that ever play this game um you know and Steph after the game came to me and said how does it keep getting better you know how do we keep getting better and you

Know I think it’s just a true Testament to us uh putting the work in in the game being true to the game and the game just continue to get back to us just you look forward to the battles but you also appreciate you know the mutual like

Respect of what it takes to keep doing what you’re doing at this level cuz only a few people know how hard it is after the horn sound of the night like there was a little laugh of you know who can’t like imagine a scenario where a game like tonight

Happens no you really can’t perk was this the game of the year so far hell yeah and they wasn’t lying look let me explain something to you the league has been great we’ve been watching 70 pieces put up by people we’ve been watching people go for 60 pieces that’s like like the circus

That’s like you go to the circus and say oh I seen the elephant standing on one leg but when it comes down to Braun and Steph matching up it’s like Disney World the magical ride Space Jams and then you want to talk about the extra talk about

The food right the Mickey beignet and the oey gooey toffee cakes and the Mickey prel like this is yeah Magical Kingdom at his finest right when these two match up and it was everything and more you Watching Two Old heads right one is a senior citizen and one is on

The verge of being one still look like they’re in Prim giving us the best moment of Saturday going Toe to Toe it was everything that was Disney World so wait I’m supposed to follow ouie gooey elephant on one leg I how many other references you had in there perk that’s

Hard to follow that man but look I’m I’m GNA agree from just a sheer entertainment standpoint here’s what it had in addition to the individual Great Performances out of these two players it had two teams that need to win yeah so the ramifications of each possession right and the weight that they were

Carrying on these trips and these big moments and these these shots that had to be made at that time in the game in order to win the game that’s what it had to that element as well look there’s some other games I would probably put you know as nominees for best game of

The year I thought Denver Boston EXC a lower scoring game that to me just absolutely looked like a Finals game this looked like two teams in a regular season desperate to try to win with two great players rising to the occasion to give us another one of those

Electrifying moments that are going to be indelibly matching our matching our heads yeah for the rest of their careers and that’s what they gave us and so let’s appreciate it it’s not the first time that we’ve seen them go head-to-head though Tim with something

On the line if we count and I know this goes out into the statistical ether but if we were to count that 2021 playin game right uh that’s this would be the 50th time right that these two have gone head tohe head Brian wior you’ve had a

Front row seat to many of these I’m not going to say all 50 of them but in the words of LeBron James how do they keep doing this yeah well I’m going to count that play in game Malika and I’m going to talk to you about the most memorable

Times they matched up and by the way a lot of them were in overtime and it was just really uh so fitting it goes all the way back I’m going to take you back to the first Finals game they played against each other in 2015 that game went to overtime to with

The Warriors winning that had 13 lead changes 11 to LeBron had 44 points back when scoring 40 points meant something he and Curry back and forth in the fourth quarter of this game throwing Haymakers LeBron almost wanted it the buzzer it ended up being the start of an

Intense series then the next year who could forget game seven 2016 finals the greatest game probably in the NBA of the last decade LeBron and Steph going back and forth with their teams really launched a whole bunch of things then let’s go to one of the games that’s easy

To forget was alltime classic 20 8 another overtime game this is remembered as the J.R Smith meme game but LeBron had 51 in this game 51 again back when that was a real thing then how about the 2021 uh playin game you might forget Steph had 37 LeBron had a triple double

Getting into the playoffs ended the Warriors Season that was obviously a big- Time memorable game and then this one that we just had on Saturday this has got to go into the list the double overtime LeBron goes for 30 20 10 first type of that game for the Lakers since

The 70s with Kareem Steph is awesome throughout the game uh they go all the way down to overtime look like Steph was going to win it then LeBron makes the play at the end and of course these two guys are going to remember this one for

A long time yeah I mean the fact that this is already going on the Mount Rushmore of games that we’ve seen these two guys play you can see head-to-head where all of this totals up Steph having the edge with wi 27 of their 50 meetings between the regular season the playoffs

The playin including a 17 to 11 Edge in the postseason but LeBron James and the Lakers they walked away with a win in this latest Showdown Steph remember he hit a go-ahead three with like 5.2 seconds left to put the Warriors up by one this is how Steph Curry exited the

Court after LeBron James went to the line made those free throws essentially sealed the game he ripped his jersey on the way off we don’t usually see this type of emotion on the L from Steph Curry he was asked about his frustration after the game our whole season we’ve

Had you know some tough breaks some self-inflicted wounds some games that you know obviously you should have should have won and there’s disappointment walking off the floor and like tonight is a night where you feel like you played well enough to win almost like the sack

Game and again have nothing to show for it you know it just shows we we really want it we’re playing with a little bit of desperation trying to you know change the tide of our season and just don’t have nothing to show for right now serona last week you said that

Nothing is going to happen in Golden State until Steph Curry is cool with it but when you look at that frustration is this the point that he should be cool with it that something’s going to happen I actually think that that game was very encouraging for the Warriors and I I

I’ll I’ll stand on that that I don’t think anything happens in Golden State without Steph Curry you know I don’t know if he says it if he says it directly with a wink or nod through his agent whatever it is but they’re not going to make any moves to that core and

Break up that that dynastic team unless he’s on board with that idea um Brian you and I have covered LeBron so many years you know I I think they operate a little differently when it comes time to make really hard decisions and I don’t think Steph wants to be involved in

Those decisions right now but I thought Klay Thompson was good in that game he made a huge shot in that game Draymond looked great in that game he said he you know all behind every single one of those step threes was a Draymond bone crushing screen setting that up he also

Allows them to play kaminga and Andrew Wiggins together I think that you can’t normally do that when play those two guys together when you can when you have a player as smart as Draymond Green and so I think I think Steph like as much as you saw that frustr I’ve never seen him

Rip his jersey I’ve see him throw the mouthpiece yeah mouthpiece that’s that’s why Tim it stood out to he’s done a little arm workor you can see right he looked a little bit jacked in yeah he was but he didn’t get all the way down couldn’t get all the way through

He was exhausted like when you were watching that game 10 didn’t you think he he looked he would sit on the bench during timeouts like oh my God I need these 30 seconds to recover man I felt sorry for him I really did I had empathy

For him watching the game and and this right here this reaction what that is is what the stat they just put at the bottom of the screen when he was speaking 32 of these games they’ve been in 32 games one possession games late more than any other team in the NBA and

They have come up short too many times in games that they are used to winning so what that doeses is it’s it’s a gut punch it’s one more gut punch and in a night when he played that way and made that many big plays down the stretch historically since Steph Curry got there

They win those kind of games and they’re not anymore and I think that’s where the frustration is coming out because it’s been too often this year he feels like what more can he possibly do and they walk off the floor frustrated in a late game defeat that’s what that was I agree

With Ramona though I I just think your options are limited in what you’re going to do I got to tell you though I don’t think that Kendrick Perkins is as patient as you am I right about that perk I’m not because my next question is what’s next right okay if Steph could go

Out there and put up a 46 piece wing dinner and they still lose and you see his frustration then what’s next if he’s not going to go to the front office and he’s not going to want to make these hard these hard tough decisions then what’s next you’re just going to let the

Season ride out and say you know what we going to make this our last run we know we not going anywhere but let’s continue to bring uh bring along Jonathan kaminga and teach him the game we cannot continue to waste steep Curry Prime and we’re seeing this man do everything and

More that he possibly can to try to just get one win and right now when I look at I’m like damn they only one game above the Memphis Grizzlies right now who have been missing damn near day and tire star lineup and so I’m thinking about it I’m

Like okay if it’s not going to a trade if Steph is not going to voice his opinion then what the hell is next for the Golden State Warriors this season what is next Brian yeah so perk and I have been on the opposite sides of this for a month

Or so now perk has been saying like this is over break it up I’ve been preaching patience I got to admit my case is weakening perk my case is weakening they’re five games under 500 I do think Ramona is right you know you look at their last two losses they lost by one

To the Kings and they lost by you know two to the Lakers it’s not like they’re getting blown off the court the problem is is that the most tradable piece they have really is Wiggins Wiggins is playing average to below average basketball right now if they traded him

They’d either have to incentivize or they’d get back average-ish players and I’m not sure it’s truly an upgrade so I’m not saying that they’re that you know that they that there’s something that can be done I just don’t think there’s a better option other than hoping that that record turns around and

Getting Chris Paul back and I know that hoping isn’t what you want to say at the end of January but I think it’s the best of a lot of bad options yeah I think listen here’s the problem when you start talking about breaking it up you have to

Be realistic about what the return is going to be and what that’s going to look like so I understand we might think that hey this team can’t contend for a championship and you got Steph Curry on your roster you’re supposed to be doing that the problem is what are we talking

About jettisoning off you Draymond Green Klay Thompson kaminga like anybody’s for sale and if that’s the case what are you getting back younger players less accomplished players that are going to take more time to season alongside Steph Curry and that that pushes this thing out even further into the future so

That’s where I just think it’s a really tough spot to be in and I don’t think these internal conversations start easily when you start talking about Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and what they’ve meant to the organization particularly clay I mean despite how he’s played this year some players in

What they’ve meant to the organization they outlive those conversations they almost surpassed the ability to even initiate those because it’s just what it is the guys meant too much to them and unfortunately they’re not good enough to compete or contend but what you’re going to get back won’t put you there either

Perk I don’t believe so so no but but my question but my question again is what’s the answer because to me it it looked like they’re steady going down a downward slope they play the 76s tomorrow and then they going on this on the road trip that they’re about to

Start so my thing is it’s not not like they’re trending up with and it’s no more victories when it comes down to the Warriors I don’t care if they lost by one or or lost by 100 a loss is a loss and they don’t have room to be losing

Games in a tough Western Conference yeah the West right now there is just no room for error particularly for the Golden State Warriors as they’re clawing to get back even into just play In Contention hey before we go to break some breaking news here out of the Eastern Conference

Joel embiid he was we were wondering if we were going to see him tonight against the Portland Tre lasers but Ramona now that’s not the case what more can you tell us yeah he you know he’s just managing this knee injury and and I think he fully intended to try to play

In Denver he was the one who said to the team I’m playing don’t even put me on the injury report but that KNE is is a is an issue that he’s going to have to manage for the rest of the season and there’s swelling in there he couldn’t

Even jump before the Denver game I know he took a lot of flack for all that but he’s not going to play again against Portland they have a back toback so it’s Portland tonight Golden State the next game and and every time we talk about whether he plays or not plays we’re

We’re subtracting from that 65 game total we’re inching towards that at this point he can only miss five more games to still be eligible for the MVP [Applause] Award

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Brian Windhorst, Kendrick Perkins, Ramona Shelburne and Tim Legler join me on NBA Today to react to the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Golden State Warriors and breaking news that Joel Embiid will be out for the Philadelphia 76ers vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.

0:00 LeBron James vs. Steph Curry
2:00 Lakers-Warriors reaction
4:15 Windhorst’s top LeBron-Curry moments
6:27 Steph Curry’s reaction after game
9:48 What’s next for the Warriors?
13:37 Breaking news: Joel Embiid out vs. Trail Blazers