Buckle up, it's LeBron vs. the Warriors all over again

Remember when it seemed like LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors couldn't avoid each other, drawn together like neutron stars on an annual basis to signify the real start of summer?

For four years, like clockwork, the NBA Finals operated like a single narrative split into evolving chapters that you could give catchy titles to, like The Shot, The Block, The Phone Call, or, if you were being flowery, KD's Unstoppable Joyride.

It became the lore of the era in hardwood circles, how Stephen Curry and the Warriors started to build a dynasty only for James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, thanks to a solid from Kyrie Irving, to chew off their bid for back-to-back titles after a 73-9 campaign.

And then, so the somewhat dubious tale goes, how Draymond Green placed a call to Kevin Durant – from the Oracle Arena parking lot, no less – and started the process that would lead to two more Golden State championships, both at James' expense.

Feels like a long time ago, doesn't it? So long as if to be part of a different time, never to be replicated.

Well, not so fast. Because here we go again.

In the conference semifinals, not the NBA Finals. With James in the purple-and-gold of the Los Angeles Lakers, not his hometown wine-and-gold. With both parties having taken on some bumps and bruises in the intervening years.

But still, here it is, the most bone-rattling, nerve-jangling, chest-puffing rivalry we've seen in basketball in recent times, rebooted for at least one more go-round.

Worth the wait? You'd better believe it.

[Steph Curry, LeBron James relishing opportunity to renew rivalry]

Looking back now, of course it had to be this matchup, with these two teams. James and a group of colleagues in which he may or may not have ultimate belief against the Warriors core that dashed his hopes so frequently between 2015-18.

It didn't always seem so obvious that this would be the showdown that transpired this postseason, not when the Sacramento Kings, choice of the romantics and so earnestly competitive, took a 2-0 lead on the Warriors. It began to feel a lot more obvious once Curry started raining buckets last Sunday.

The magnetism that drew James and the Warriors together for all those years, well, it appears to be back, and hostilities commence on Tuesday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

It is a pull strong enough to have created the first six-versus-seven playoff meeting in the NBA since 1987. It isn't a feel-good story; it is just juicy. Big name franchises, star-topped rosters, a heavyweight tussle between a pair of teams that know how to brawl.

Since the last time James and his nemeses met at this kind of level, there have been fits and starts and years of unwitting avoidance. Since James took his talents to Hollywood, the Lakers and Warriors have sometimes often been bad, sometimes been good, and have never both found even reasonable success at the same time.

When the Lakers missed the postseason during James' first L.A. year, the Warriors made it to the Finals and fell to Toronto. When Los Angeles won the bubble title in 2020 their foes from the Bay Area weren't even invited to the generously enlarged bubble party in Orlando, ravaged by injuries. As Curry and company took the title last year, the Lakers were already deep into summer break, thanks in part to a dismal collapse down the stretch.

They know what's on the line here. Curry and his core pals Klay Thompson and Green each have four titles. So does James. Whatever the seedings say, James might have it in his mind that this is the toughest challenge he could possibly face if he aspires to add a fifth.

"You can't make a mistake," James told reporters, when asked to describe duking it out against Golden State. "You just can't. They'll make you pay. It's literally that simple."

The current version of these teams aren't juggernauts, but flawed squads that got it right, just in time. The Warriors, 11-30 on the road and operating under a complicated formula whereby each additional hotel rewards point seemed to equate to an increased opposition scoring tally, confounded all that by dominating in Sacramento in a Game 7 that will be remembered for Curry's fab 50.

The Lakers started horribly, 2-10 early, and still out of the playoff numbers as recently as late March, before the long-awaited trade of Russell Westbrook saw some pieces start to fall into place.

James will need established cohorts like Anthony Davis to shine, but perhaps even more for less heralded ones like Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt to prove their playoff worth.

"It is special to [think about] the first series we played LeBron in 2014-15 to, we're blessed to [still] be playing at this level," Curry said. "Two teams trying to keep their season alive and chase a championship."

Ultimately, there can be no holding back. Neither team is going to give any quarter and intensity will be coursing through every play. It is the can't-miss-it series of this postseason and you just know it's going to be memorable, one way or another. It's not the kind of battle to take a passing interest in. It is time to get invested.

For the players, there is only one way to tackle it, and James knows what it is.

"You've got to be super-duper locked in," he said.

The same, naturally goes for the Warriors. And, truth be told, for the audience.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.