NBA Today Full | LeBron & Lakers are still dangerous, Clippers looked shook; Embiid plans to return

NBA Today Full | LeBron & Lakers are still dangerous, Clippers looked shook; Embiid plans to return

NBA Today presented by in Credit Karma she is Chan AUM they are our senior writers Zack low Brian wior Zach you you were getting down to the beat before we came on camera it was a fun night in the NBA last night let’s go an excellent

Night in the NBA let’s get straight to it because how how many years have y’all been covering the NBA 21 21 years LeBron James doing what he did last night in year 21 showing zero signs of slowing down the king of the fourth I love that one took over

Last night well get this CH the Clippers are 235 and0 in franchise history when leading by 19 or more points heading into the fourth quarter they were up by that much last night and then LeBron J James said hold my beer I mean one of the best shooting performances we’ve

Seen even though he has these every year or so a couple times wouldn’t it be hold my wine for LeBron oh true true true true LeBron James the tier keep going up and up and up and he’s feeling it here Brian he’s literally been doing this for decades making three three-pointers in fourth

Quarter come back SS that’s a crazy shot by the way falling down left left side Bank Shot well he is Left-Handed D’Angelo Russell finds LeBron once again for the three you know he’s feeling it when he hits shots like that but watch this on this possession here watch

Daniel Ty just a little bit of a miscommunication here Zach yeah it’s not going to go well for Daniel Ty and they just couldn’t get the matchups right on LeBron it killed them on the offensive glass and killed them every possible way T got the start without aita zubot in

The lineup and LeBron James says uh you know what I don’t really care today yeah correct I mean I was surprised they left LeBron in an island and then when he was able to attack his teammates had his back and look at that the energy was contagious the Lakers coming all the way

Back from down 21 this one what happened ruy haimura every time they had a bad matchup they doubled and the trickle down effect this and this and this D’Angelo Russell tough shot hits it in the corner perfect pass lets everyone sitting Courtside know technically this was a Clippers game but still the

Clippers had a chance here Kawhi Leonard that’s who you want to have the ball in his hands gets it to go nailbiter down the stretch once again kawh Leonard going to work here elevates and all of a sudden it’s a two-point game Mr windhorse yep and at the end of the game

LeBron wanted him wanted the assignment there it is we’re going to get a little bit more into that matchup in just a little bit this would be the hammer the dagger the Lakers they come all the way back and get the win LeBron James doing this once again in year 21 the Lakers

Complete the comeback LeBron James what’s your superpower I know we we’ve kind of heard this you know what what it feels like to be in the zone you know in our in our Sport and um that’s just a feeling um when you feel like everything that you

Put up is is going in you know so my teammates did a great job of contining to front me you know and then I just try to dictate the tempo dictate the game you know as we started making a run for it and getting the game closer and

Closer and closer um so you know just as Zone that can’t really describe it you know durage you don’t you don’t feel anything you just just have a superpower I feel well when he’s in the zone James has now outscored the opposing team in the fourth quarter in 16 games in his career

That’s more than double any other player since 9798 Kobe Bryant he has the next most instances at seven followed by LeBron James friend Dwayne Wade so it’s really a tale as old as time here if you will LeBron James delivered when his team needed him the most you’ve been

Covering him for 21 years since he was in high school at 39 years old is he proving that he can carry this team in a deep playoff run I don’t know about that I think he’s proving that when you’re down and you’re in trouble you go to

LeBron with Shooters on the court I can remember games like this happening in 2005 when it was Damon Jones and Danielle Marshall in 2009 when it was Kyle corver or whoever actually it was later you know when it was Shane Bader and Ray Allen and and even other Lakers

In in in this run and so this is what you do you go to this and it’s an amazing moment and usually it happens Malika in games where he gets red hot from three-point range and maybe he’s outscored the opposition 16 times in the fourth quarter but I’ll bet there’s been

Dozens of times where he’s come close to it when he’s just gotten red hot from three I still think the Lakers were down 21 in this game to a team that was missing two starters and I still think they’re three games back in the loss column for the eighth seed but obviously

It was a dramatic and spectacular performance yeah I think a lot of people will look at the headline and say LeBron James outscored the Clippers down the stretch to bring home the win don’t focus on that focus on the confidence when he does this that it instills in

His teammates because if you really dissect that stretch LeBron James a lot of points his teammates in that time period four for six from three we’re talking about the Lakers who are third to last in made Theses that is his superpower he’s balling and guess what he brings everyone along with him again

In that same quarter they made almost as many threes as they make per game they made nine typically they average 11 that is LeBron James a oneoff then it’s just an awesome oneoff no it’s not it’s because when they see him go into the Zone people respond what I think back to

Is game four right at the Western Conference Finals LeBron James against the the Denver Nuggets and LeBron had 401 and nine and it still wasn’t enough he is spectacular he can be spectacular it’s a 22 series he can win that game five it’s a 3-3 series he can help you

Win that game seven but night in and night out it feels like this is actually a microcosm of what the Lakers season is can they even get to a series seriously can they even get to a series because right now they’re in ninth they got to

Do a lot of work just to get to a series right to get to a competitive series to get where he could get them with one dramatic performance into a position to win they got to do a lot of work to get to the second game of the playin

Tournament if the standings are as there now they’re three games out of eighth but they’re also only three games out of six it’s getting a little spicy in the west well and that’s why they needed that wind so much last night so diving a little bit closer into exactly what

Happened down the stretch we we were all sitting here last night and there was one moment that Zach who was sitting next to us he was quiet he had his headphones in he doesn’t like to talk to anybody when he’s watching games absolute kudin and then all of a sudden

We hear him peep up going holy word I can’t say on Disney Airwaves what was that moment holy bleep sitting right here watching the game on these monitors I I said something and I turned to you and I said oh it’s getting serious now and this was the moment LeBron said I

Want to guard Kawai give me Kawai not ruy me and look at him getting his St got getting mean and nasty forces a three he misses that g now they went down by more points after this and now here’s late in the game he still has qu

Guarded him the last 18 minutes of the game denied denied Deni deflect Lakers ball look they went down by more points after he took the the Kawai assignment I just felt watching the game the entire Vibe of the game changed when like the Lakers could have just said it’s a loss

Let go of the rope and and and LeBron said no give me Kawai I’m going to change the energy of the game and reminded me of the conference F you mentioned Denver when he said you know what I’m 39 I don’t have 48 minutes of

Great defense on Nicole yic in me but I got 10 put me on joic and he actually gave yic some problems he can still do it for short stints what was the most common matchup in the fourth quarter LeBron James on Kawai Leonard last night all right let’s pivot to the team who

Was on the losing end of all of litz let’s take a listen to tyou after blowing that 21-point lead to lose a 21o lead in the fourth quarter that’s not like us you know and so we got to be better than every guard you know it’s one game um played well

For three quarters didn’t finish the game you know I um I never like let one one loss or a bad loss you know take away from what we’ve been doing and what we’ve built it’s a tough loss cuz we you know up 21 points but this is a good

Team and when you take care of the basketball and you don’t do what you’re supposed to do you know you you’re going to lose okay we’re not pressing panic yet but just just noticing the Clippers have lost five of their last eight games after losing just five of their previous

31 games dating back to the start of December La has the 22nd best offense during this eight game stretch after posting the League’s best offense during that 26-5 runs so Chan you had the Clippers as your latest finals pick here they’ve lost as we just mentioned no PG

No zubot now Adrian wood raski has reported that Paul George is not expected to miss a lot of time here but any concerns why you put my business out there I said Western Conference Finals versus the nuggets and the nuggets are my favorite okay but it’s okay look I

Think that this is the hardest part of the year for Championship aspiration teams in the NBA yep post allar break where you got a little bit of sense of rest this team was connecting on all cylinders leading into All-Star break afterward and and by the way like Kawai

Has been available I know Paul George has been out they’ve had everything that they have wanted by Design leading into allar afterward it’s hard to not only sustain that energy knowing that this is a time to rest before the playoffs but then also too it’s just the positioning

Like games like yesterday mattered so much to the Lakers also the Clippers are realizing because this year we’re saying they’re favorites potentially to be in the Western Conference Finals they are feeling like the hunted teams are coming to beat them for the first time in a

Long time if you look at their losses in their last stretch OKC timber wolves Pelicans teams that are trying to protect their positioning and also have Rim protection yeah they were in first and the West for a hot second and now they’re fourth three games out of first

Three games out of second too they maybe just don’t care they’re fine being the fourth seed and the matchup chips fall where they may but I thought back last night watching them collapse in the fourth quarter to something Ty said during the five-game losing streak they had when Harden got there which I

Thought was the most incisive comment any coach has made about their team All Season he said we could not walk around on offense and in terms of just walking into actions they got back into that bad habit last night that did not have any juice and this kind of sequence was a

Disaster after disaster after disaster and that’s the one cat you want to put but there will be no real games when they have Westbrook Tucker and plumbley on the floor together and zero spacing unless something bad has happened injury-wise so chalk it up to that but I thought they’ve loost they’ve lost some

Juice lately maybe CH is right maybe it’s just the doldrums of the season they don’t care but they need to get back to move in with some Verve yeah they they lost that game last night because Lakers got Ultra hot from three and they had some turnover problems in

The fourth quarter they have at times had issues with teams that have good size and the Lakers have good size with hamur out there so that’s something to pay attention to as the season goes on they have an interesting stretch coming up here they have the the Wizards on

Friday but then they’re facing the Timberwolves the Bucks twice in this stretch coming up the Timberwolves again the Pelicans so it’s going to be interesting to see this might be a little off implications that calls for a little Coast to Coast we’re going to start in Memphis Anthony Edwards he

Dropped 34 points in a Wolves win so CH the wolves have won two playoff series in franchise history so will they match that number in one postseason alone this year it can happen it can really happen this is the best defense in the NBA you

Have to look at what a has done he’s shown a huge amount of toughness coming back from that ankle roll and it just feels like this is their time I think they’re they’re construed this way and this might be the tides turning oo the tides turning they’ve been at the top of

The West all season long heading to Toronto now Luca Donas he turned 25 in style he became the first player in NBA history to have a 30-point triple double on his birthday but Brian you had your eye on his running mate Kyrie Irving yeah big deal he has a 35 Point triple

30 point triple double almost every night these days Kyrie has 25 or more points in seven straight game this is becoming a dominant Superstar onew punch well especially in a tight Western Conference taking it to Chicago now the Bulls they outlasted the Cavs in double overtime thanks to outrebounding

Cleveland by 35 so Zack low the Bulls they have been infatic that they want to make the playoffs can you see them getting out of the play in tournament yeah I’m going to go no on that one credit to the Bulls for being frisky and kind of saving their season but to win

Two games from the 910 spot against Indiana Orlando Philly whoever it is tough sledding for the bull just off to Detroit in our trip Coast to Coast this is the last stop Indiana the Pacers they beat the Pelicans Tyrese halberton he’s technically celebrating his sixth birthday today on leap year and 13

Assists the Pacers eclipsed 30 assists as a team for the 37th time seven more than any other team in the NBA which is pretty remarkable the East playin race though I mean it really can’t get much tighter four teams take a look at this they are separated by just a half game

For the final two East playoff spots avoiding that play in tournament and look at where Philadelphia currently sits they are the sixth seed in all of this but the playin picture it might not stay the same for very long reigning MVP Joel embiid he had surgery to address an

Injury to that lateral meniscus in his left knee after this play you can see here this was against the warriors on January 30th so he’s missed the past 12 games remember the Sixers losing eight of those but he spoke for the first time since the injury earlier this

Afternoon I mean there’s there’s really no timeline uh like it all depends on you can never tell how the body reacts um especially once you start ring up um so I mean he all depends on how it feels and um and if it feels great then uh

That’s good and if it doesn’t feel like he’s right then we got to you know we got to keep go the plan is the plan I want to be on the floor as much as possible um I only have about 20 years to do this uh so any chances that I get

I want to be on the floor so it doesn’t matter where we are 4 5 3 I don’t know 7 8 9 10 11 uh doesn’t really matter where we are uh just want to play as much as we can and you know try to help us

Seeding doesn’t matter to Joel embiid he just wants to be back on the floor if he feels good enough senior Insider Adrien wowski is here with us as we dissect this Eastern Conference playoff picture here Brian how much of an impact could Joel’s return have on that race it’s a

Potential Borderline Disaster for one of these teams in the top of the standings who could end up getting a a seven or eight seeded Philly team that’s not really a seven or eight seed if Joel and B doesn’t get hurt this team might have been a two seed they could very easily I

Mean they’re pretty much already in the playin zone right now right they could easily slide out of that even if he comes back in a month or so they could still be into that and then all of a sudden uh-oh we got the two seed who do

We have in the first round oh we’ve got the Sixers that’s no good especially the Cavs the Cavs just lost twice the Sixers without in beat I think the question for Philly is not just is Joel embiid going to return can he return to an MVP level or maybe

An all NBA level or an All-Star level how long does it take him to do that the idea that you are going to just rev up get into the the playin tournament maybe after just 10 days or two weeks and that we’re going to see the player we saw

This season last season it is a lot to ask so it’s not just that they need embiid back they are built to they need a great Joel embiid to be able to really uh make a run in the postseason I’ll tell you why Joel embiid wants to play

It’s because he has suffered for a player to have so much success as an MVP and then a favorite even so before he had his injury he has suffered so much heartbreak in the postseason and I think he wants to build his confidence up I

Mean this is a team that I feel like when you think about Joel embiid you think about 2019 what Kawai did to his team and him being emotional about it he wants to build confidence so yeah the idea is that when he’s Peak performer yeah hopefully you can win a

Championship but more importantly I think he wants to win a championship in the future and so like look think about you know his past I I wrote it down 2019 game seven heartbreak 2020 swept in the first round by the Celtics 20 21 lost to Atlanta 2022 lost to the heat after you

Missed two games in that series 2023 you blew a series lead up 3-2 like he wants to get out there so that in the moments where he can build and find his confidence he knows that carries through so that he can actually capitalize on these Seasons moving forward now poor

Sixers fans they turn on the show and they just have Chen outlining their horrible playoff heartbreak history one by one by one look they’re they’re obviously a totally different team with Joel embiid W said it right and Joel embiid said it in his own work he said

You can never tell how your body is going to react so it’s going to be wait and see but it just can’t be emphasized enough this dude is averaging 35 points a game in 34 minutes a game you can argue about Wilt and Jordan and this on

A per minute basis this was the greatest scoring season in the history of professional basketball and they just have no answer without him it’s just praying that Tyrese Maxi hits a bunch of step back threes Tobias Harris who’s been in a slump but yeah these teams at

The top will be checking out and beats health and we’re Philly is because that would be a Titanic first round match up for anybody right I mean look at at the Sixers record with and without Joel embiid if the Milwaukee Bucks somehow creep up into this 7 eight matchup is

Against the Milwaukee Bucks I don’t know who I’m taking in that one but if it is the Cleveland Cavaliers or a team like that with no knock on C on Cleveland that’s a matchup for the Sixers I might like a little bit sticking in the Eastern Conference here W you broke some

News this morning out of Charlotte what more can you tell us yeah I’m told that the Charlotte Hornets are finalizing a deal with Brooklyn Nets executive Jeff Peterson to become their new head of basketball operations 35 years old it’s been a meteoric rise for Jeff Peterson in the NBA from Atlanta’s front office

Uh to Brooklyn he replaced Tran langon in Brooklyn who went on to become the GM uh from Shawn Marx’s group in New Orleans and now Jeff Peterson goes to a Charlotte team with new ownership Rick schn Gabe Plotkin you really trying to reh shaped that organization they picked

Up some first round picks some young players at the trade deadline and now Jeff Peterson leads that rebuild in Charlotte now 35 years old the youngest GM or the youngest head of basketball operations I should say in the league yeah just 35 years old and taking on this job and everything in Charlotte

Right now with Brandon Miller with lamelo Bal there they have been moving very quickly to make decisions to really uplift these stars because the future it might take a little bit of time but it can be very very bright in Charlotte W thank you so very much fair share of

Magical moments in Madison Square guard in the latest being breaking the three-point record but that was two years ago Jan this is a very different Warrior Squad what makes it so they have a plethora of perimeter players since we’re staying on the PS but let’s dive into their starting lineup okay so this

Is them the starters for the Warriors when healthy is this their strongest lineup would you use this lineup to close games I would I maybe not to close games but I think it’s rolling as a starting five I hope Andrew Wiggins can come back soon best to his family Clay’s

Rolling Off the Bench I like this lineup I like Draymond at Center we’re rolling so if Klay is having a heater you know he’s coming off the bench but you want him to close how would you do that Zach I probably gota I’m sorry Brandon psky

You’re awesome a great rookie year if I got to pick one of these guys because I need Wiggins defense I obviously need Draymond I need kinga’s offense and two-way play put clay in there that’s the old starting lineup before they switched it up I like that group gotcha

But one thing we have noticed as of late is that Steph might be a little bit of tired right he’s been shooting under 36% four out of the last five games so how do you sustain success with Steph off the floor so he can get his gas back up

Well this dude up here I think they call him the point God he just he just came back from from a long injury absence let’s give him some more minutes the whole reason they brought him here was to prop up the offense without step and gp2 if you need to shut somebody’s water

Off on defense throw him in a three guard lineup four guard lineup get crazy put for who would you put him in for I don’t know Wiggins kaminga pick just whoever just whoever this is Steve Kerr’s life he’s got a lot of choices now click look this is a lot of

Versatility we have here for Golden State Warriors they just got to get them win right they have a plethora of choices that they need to be making here so we’re going to see the Golden State Warriors in Madison Square Garden tonight taking on the Knicks remember no

Andrew Wiggins he will miss his second straight game due to personal reasons but that is not the only matchup that I know all of us have circled on our calendar as a marquee game that is on the schedule tonight the top two rookies squaring off for the third time Chad

Holgren and the Thunder has won both matchups against Victor w Yama and the San Antonio Spurs by an average of 31 points here but that hasn’t stopped odds makers at ESPN bet in the Rookie of the Year race Victor is the heavy favorite as you can see there against shett but

Let’s not forget these two have history they were Rivals before they even entered the NBA so what’s Victor’s mindset Brian headed into this one I think Victor’s mindset is the thunder have a lot better team than the Spurs and a year from now he’d like the Gap to

Be closed and and two years from now he’d like it to be really closed I one of the things that’s happened over the course of this season is Victor has played better and better put up more efficient and more impressive numbers shown that he can be durable shown he

Can place the center position which he wasn’t at the start of the season but he’s also made it clear he’s not thrilled with where the Spurs are this team is not as good as he expected it to be and frankly doesn’t have the Personnel to to compete and I don’t

Think the Spurs are going to be able to quote unquote get away with a slow long build like the Thunder have done quite frankly and chett sat in the sidelines his whole first season and entered a team with a much better shape I think the Spurs are going to face some

Some interest from Victor to start getting it going much sooner than maybe they would even prefer Victor is as competitive as anybody he wants to win the other day when he had that 5×5 in in crypto.com Arena and we told him afterwards I said you’re the first player since Michael Jordan to achieve

Uh this specific stat line for in two games in he said okay well did Michael Jordan win those games and I walked out with him and I said yeah I I I looked it up hate to tell you yeah he did win and he goes dang I’m jealous that is the

Kind of competitive fire he this season for Victor is not acceptable normally you’d see a rookie even a rookie of the year who wouldn’t be so stressed on wins and losses it really really bothers him it’s it’s it’s who he is and I obviously professional basketball players want to

Win I know that that’s not unusual but I don’t think it’s in his mindset to you know to keep this going when has exceeded the hype as a rookie I mean when you look at everything he’s doing on both ends of the floor and the way he’s surging toward the end of the

Season when a lot of rookies hit the rookie wall just an absolutely Sensational above expectations for me rookie season and the good news about what Brian is saying about how the Spurs might have to accelerate it is you can do that when you have a generational Superstar they don’t need to have too

Many bites at the Apple cuz this dude is that good they’ll have one other high pick this year and maybe that’s it and maybe that’s okay we saw that with LeBron you get a generational Prospect like this you don’t get to pick in the top 10 so many times because your guy is

That good I think this is an interesting summer for the Spurs I think they know they need better guard play they have picks to trade they have cap flexibility I’d expect them to be active at least looking around for upgrades and looking at that tandem it just make it reminds

Me like this was going to be one of the to the wire Rookie of the Year races right wemi is the Rookie of the Year in my opinion like watching what he has done exceed expectations in Zack L’s words but on top of that at one point

We’re saying well we need to see him get his rebounds up now he’s in double digit rebounds yeah oh we need to see him knock down threes now he’s getting in his bag in between the legs step back threes everything that I think we have

Said he should be able to do he’s added that to his game in one NBA season Midway to me that’s wild and he leads almost every statistical category there have only been two instances ever of a guy having 150 blocks 150 assists and 75 threes in a season Chad holgren and

Victor wanyama this year he might get another 5 by5 game before the end of the season he’s going to break the record for 5 by five games and then it’s going to come April and the San Antonio Spurs will not be playing and the Oklahoma

City Thunder will be so how far can OKC go in this postseason well they’ve been in first place they’re going back and forth with Minnesota in first place I know no one’s been paying attention outside Oklahoma City but they’ve only won six consecutive games by double figures they’re pounding teams and it’s

Not just Chad Chad’s been awesome it’s not just Shay who basically scores 30 points whether it’s rainy whether it’s snowing whether it’s sunny he scores 30 points every night then you got Jaylen Williams who is one of the most efficient scorers in the entire NBA who’s out there also defending like Mark

Dagal has like issues find finding which nine guys to use because thisam team is so deep I think the size is going to be an issue depending on their matchup but good luck thinking this is going to be an easy out in the postseason I’m not

Thinking it’s going to be an easy out FR not also necessarily thinking that they’re going to be going to the NBA finals or even the Western Conference finals and history says at least right now after the Warriors and the Cavs they faced each other in four straight NBA

Finals we’ve now seen five different NBA champions in the last five seasons most recently the Nuggets over the Heat last last June the Nuggets they face off for the first time since matching up in the finals with in tonight’s matchup right when we’re seeing the nuggets and the

And the Miami Heat do you think that this what’s the path back to the finals for the Nuggets here uh it’s going to be harder than it was last year the West is better top to bottom they’re third I think they’re okay being third and not having homec court all the way through

Like they did last year they learned they grew they know they can get through the playoffs but every round is perilous this year there’s not going to be any cakewalks for them and it’s going to be really really hard and really I mean depending on the matchups you just don’t

Know what every round is going to be and of course injuries who’s going to be able to stay healthy all the way through I hate to say that but that’s going to be a factor these teams are so tightly packed that an injury at a certain time

Could could impact who wins it and also I think what you’re going to see is size the way the size matches up because you’ve got some teams like Golden State like Phoenix that like to play small you’ve got some teams like Minnesota and Denver that like to play Big you’ve got

Some teams that struggle against size like the Clippers like the thunder so not only just you know individual matchups but size matchups are going to be a big factor in who gets through this conference and you know what the Miami Heat benefit from the East right they’re

8-2 in their last 10 games it’s like February it feels like the temperature goes up it’s like we’re ready to do what we always do show up what is it is it right so the path there it just seems like okay if this team keeps building

Are we about to it’s going to be hard to do exactly what they did going from the plane all the way to the NBA finals but still this squad I mean watch them this time of year because it feels like all those issues that they had before in

And out of lineup trying to figure out how to acclimate Terry Rosier all that type of stuff like okay we got it we got it it’s our time to shine now on the Nugget side though these guys are still my favorites I mean we watched them I

Think most of us were there uh across the street when we watched them play in person not too long ago yep they are long they are athletic they’ve got Shooters they’ve got the best player in joic like even though the West is better it’s still the Nuggets to lose we have

Enough they won in Sacramento the other night without six players they’re one game out of fourth right those Sly Boys in Miami here they come can’t you see them Zach in that second round playing the Celtics look can’t you see it happening again here’s the reaction of

Any good team in the East when they see Miami on the opposite side of the bracket oh God these guys this is going to be horrible physical nasty mean in the mud nobody wants I don’t care what their record is I don’t care what their seat is nobody wants to see these guys

Nobody wants to see Jimmy Butler beating people up bam beating people up and SPO on the sideline crafting zones and schemes and being one step ahead they’re a nightmare you know what this was this is my dream though this was not a nightmare this is what I absolutely

Unequivocally wanted to see ever since we saw Jimmy Butler on uh media day pull out the emo Jimmy uh yeah did you guys catch this Jimmy Butler is in the new Fallout Boy uh Prince Vibes music video there nice little D okay look at him go

I inspired by what Beyonce I mean emo Jimmy the alter ego the pride of Tombo Texas y’all that’s where I’m from all we got to get that outfit for you for somebody somebody needs that and you shall receive all right let’s check out today’s smart play brought to you by in

It Credit Karma Zach did you see this last night oh yeah Nicola yic what is happening here he fakes the charge gets the deflection and it leads to a steal he just still does stuff that surprises me he’s one step ahead at Trey LS doesn’t know what the hell’s going on to

Charge what do he doing his arm is there yo and then he’s and then it’s G he doesn’t know what the hell’s going on anything that makes Zach say yoink po Troy allows we got to show this five times I I don’t think he was faking the

Charge I think he’s just so fast that he reacted to the past everything in real time our ABC say are the best dunks since February 29th the last time around so first off this is top charges gone wrong John Morant you remember this one taking on Malik Beasley this was in 2022

In the playoffs oh my goodness oh no I mean and the photos of that were insane it is rude and then you former teammate your friend for more teammate that’s just embarrassing really really Wendy Wendy saying that one’s embarrassing oh this is that one caused physical pain through the screen I still cannot

Believe that that wasn’t chosen for upper room but sometime in the future maybe I will get over it all right right top acrobatics this is Terrence Ross this is against the Kings I remember this one don’t worry Terren will remind you that was tough J’s like how what are

The physics on that and then you have another Morant windmill okay a point guard catching lobs there ain’t a lot of those and then of course we had to have a little bit of a little bit of Zion in this one as well Zion Williamson in game doing that since high school that

Would get a 50 in the DK contest that’s me on a Nerf there last one top don’t jump with me Ant-Man oh no Utah watch go he just gets so high the elevation you know what sometimes you just have to take your losses and this

One here oh on jayen Smith oh God the Ben reaction I know this is this is a warning before you watch something like this oh and then of course we have Russell Westbrook was go oh my goodness the Lakers won after trailing by 19 points entering the fourth that is their fourth

Largest comeback win entering the final period in all of Lakers history but what else is up there this is the second largest comeback win in a fourth quarter by any team this season you remember the Suns right they came back from down 22 to beat the kings that was back in mid

January LeBron has played 1,4 473 career games the seventh most in NBA history and this was his fourth largest quarter comeback win in any of them as the Clippers left by 21 early in the 4th and this was the Lakers largest comeback when entering the fourth quarter since

April 2003 you remember this Kobe Bryant drained that midi jumper CH at the buzzer after trailing by 2 entering the fourth quarter yeah he had to let the people know but Brian you have seen so many incredible performances where does this rank in terms of regular season moments for

LeBron James not super duper hot I don’t even think it’s his best game this season which is incredible to say it was his best quarter this season it was I don’t think it was his best game I think it was the game in Golden State in January where it was double overtime 144

143 he goes for 36 20 12 makes the game-winning free throw like that was on the road double OT like this was this was his best quarter I mean but he had Brant quarter I mean I’ve seen a brilliant quarter from him literally a thousand times literally a thousand

Times in the regular season sure but how about how about in the playoffs Jan well he talked after the game about getting into the Zone this Flow State even Darin ham saying that’s his superpower and I mean we are quite I mean a little bit younger this only takes me back to 2012

Conference Finals LeBron James those are the eyes I’m about to take over 45 points what was it how many rebounds 15 rebounds when LeBron gets in this Zone it feels like no one can stop him and the fact that we’re saying 10 years later and some change he’s able to do the same

Thing in a different way in one quarter we’re witnessing greatness as Brian has talked about many times that is an ultimate NBA sliding doors game if that game goes the other way I don’t know what the heck happens in Miami but he’s had so many I mean look game one of the

2018 finals that’s known as the J.R Smith game I think that might be the best game I’ve ever seen an individual basketball player Play Just sheer quality the the the Cavs were drawing dead in that series and then underrated another game known for another player Ray Allen the Ray Allen

Shot game game six in 2013 they were down 11 late in the third quarter of that game there’s his stats he played 50 minutes and put up those stats but you watch watch that game seven numbers that series too by the way he’s flying around steals blocks making every Big Shot

Until the rayen shot underrated LeBron come back in we have seen LeBron achieve greatness over and over and over again we may be seeing it again in the next couple of days as he becomes the first player to hit 40,000 career points but we also know that the Lakers they have a

Job at hand that has nothing to do with those records and looking at their schedule over the next month they don’t leave the entire State of California until March 26th their only Road game is in Sacramento just a couple of hours North so Brian the Lakers could really

Use this home stretch here to make a real run can they get out of the yeah but look at those teams they’re playing okay tonight I don’t know about tonight but there’s a lot of very tough games in there like yes this is their payback for

Being on the road for weeks on end in December and early January but with where they are which is three games back of the Kings between eight and nine the difference between eight and nine is huge yeah obviously between six and seven is huge they’ve got to have a

Winning record in this stretch and you may say of course they’re going to have a winning record they’ve won eight of their last 11 or whatever it is but this is a real challenging stretch they don’t have to travel this is where they’re going to this is going to be defined about

Whether they’re going to be a playing Team whether they’ve still got a shot at that time to six uh three games behind the kings in the Lost column also three games behind the Pelicans for the six spot which is like the golden ticket that everybody wants in that race but

Look um that’s that’s they just have to string together a lot of quality performances and it’s really hard for them these wins are really hard for them to squeeze out but that Kings game keep an eye on that Kings game because these teams in the 910 range are rooting for

Somebody to fall and the kings are kind of up and down a little bit lat on all around and you’re also saying you know earlier Zach about what would have happened if LeBron James lost when he was with the Heat versus the Celtics right what would have happened if they

Lost yesterday because this is a point where that was a win where we can say hey we can do this we are good I mean it took literally every ounce of LeBron James but I’m not saying that LeBron has to do this every night but guys have to

Show up I mean you have no choice but playing that way when LeBron is doing that but ad is capable of having inseason tournament games more consistently like we did in the championship Reeves has been like that dog everyone saying you need a dog alongside LeBron James it’s probably got

To have to be Reeves if you can’t make it work after a night like that I mean it’s going to be a tough turn for the Lakers so who should Fe who should fear the Lakers Brian everybody when LeBron’s playing like that but can can LeBron can

The Lakers get into a position where LeBron can play one brilliant game that’s like almost the story of the rest of the season for them the second night of a back toback for the Lakers tonight as they host the Washington Wizards right across the street in crypto.com

Arena that’s going to do it for us here on MBA today thanks for spending a little of your afternoon with us and we will see you tomorrow enjoy tonight’s games I’m going to get you that Jimmy suit Williams has been absolutely brilliant there’s o for Def speech spe is so am is en

Will h First Blood an enemy has been defeated H an ally has been you have defeated an enemy you have defeated an enemy your team has destroyed a tower an ally has been defeated an enemy has been defeated double kill out of my way an enemy has been defeated victory pleas for for

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NBA Today Full | LeBron & Lakers are still dangerous, Clippers looked shook; Joel Embiid plans to return