Welcome Back To The LeBron James Show!
By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist
In theory, there were other things to write about today. There is a lot going on in sports and there were other options. There always are.
This column could have addressed Tim Tebow formally inking a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a crucial step in his improbable bid to return to the National Football League as a tight end.
It could have focused in on Corey Kluber’s no-hitter for the New York Yankees, the sixth no-no of the still-young season, putting baseball on a historic pace for feats of pitching excellence.
It could have taken a more obscure route and looked at how Jake Paul has seemingly secured a major television deal, making him a far more famous boxer than guys who are, you know, actual boxers.
All worthy topics. All were under consideration. And then … LeBron James.
James and the Los Angeles Lakers capped off Wednesday night’s postseason teaser in exactly the same way they plan to execute their run through the playoffs. Front and center, not just winning but doing so in a way that they’re the only thing people are going to be talking about.
The Lakers’ play-in game victory over the Golden State Warriors had an embarrassment of riches squeezed into 48 minutes. What was this, 2016? After all, it had "The Shot," although this time it was James finding the bottom of the net, not Kyrie Irving. There was a key block. And there was Stephen Curry on the other side, pouring in 37 points only to still see his team come up short.
Suddenly, the Lakers are on their way.
"It was good to get that first punch," James told reporters. "Mike Tyson always said, ‘Everybody has got a plan until you get in the ring and get punched.’ We did that, and it felt good."
It wasn’t a Game 7, but it might have been the best chance to clip the Lakers’ wings going into the most crucial time on the NBA calendar. For Los Angeles looked poor at times at Staples Center, often disjointed and vulnerable to rapid movement and innovative schemes.
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Chris Broussard believes the Lakers are more vulnerable than recently expected heading into the rest of the playoffs.
James, coming off a long absence with a high ankle sprain, still looked somewhat rusty and so did Anthony Davis. For much of the evening it appeared like a hot hand – Curry’s - would thrust the Lakers into a do-or-die showdown against the Memphis Grizzlies with only one chance to save their season.
Even more than that, a Warriors win would have put the Lakers – even assuming a "second chance" win over Memphis - into the toxic upper part of the West bracket, where the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz, local rival LA Clippers and the Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks reside.
But no longer. Not after the late heroics. Not after James, vision blurred from a heavy collision with Draymond Green, found a way to tuck victory into his pocket and stride forward with it.
James will presumably get stronger, at least once he starts seeing clearly again. A healthy Davis is a nightmare to defend and a defensive nightmare all wrapped in one. The Lakers' supporting parts are reminding themselves how to play with the big guys. It’s coming together, and now they’ve got some margin for error, and with seven-game series from here on, phew, that’s a tough out for anyone.
James added: "We’ve got a few days now before Phoenix."
This, of course, means a few days to talk more about the Lakers, now listed at +350 to win it all, per FOX Bet. They are second favorites behind the Brooklyn Nets to repeat as champions. The Suns series is a good one and worthy of discussion with James going up against his close friend Chris Paul, who is in a superb form that merited MVP consideration.
Everyone’s still going to be looking in the rearview for a while after Wednesday’s juicy offering. The 3-pointer James lofted as the shot clock expired with a minute remaining will be replayed often now and often in the future, an instant part of his legacy, even if some questioned whether its rushed nature made it somewhat fortuitous.
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Nick Wright decides if LeBron's game-winning shot was a stroke of luck, of a clutch shot from the most clutch player in the history of the NBA.
"In no universe, besides the one with this specific player, would that be considered luck," FS1’s Nick Wright said on "First Things First." "This is the definition of a clutch shot by the most clutch performer in NBA history."
The Lakers and James, almost always, are the biggest story in the NBA. They’re going to be the biggest story of this season and they’re the biggest story of the postseason. That was pretty much a given – they just had to get into it.
There are other things to write about, other things to talk about. But when you get a combination of the league’s most dominant player, on its most famous team, doing highlight-worthy things in clutch moments, it’s always going to steal the headlines.
We should be used to it by now.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. You can subscribe to the daily newsletter here.