Media

LeBron James Explains How ‘Championship-Ready’ Lakers Are After They Advance Past Trail Blazers

Published by

Robert Marvi

August 30, 2020 5:21 am

Winning the NBA championship is a process, and LeBron James feels like his Los Angeles Lakers have made measurable progress towards that goal.

After leading the team to a Game 5 win against the Portland Trail Blazers to advance to the second round of the playoffs, James talked about how the Lakers have gotten better during the course of the series.

It looked like L.A. was in some trouble when it dropped Game 1, 100-93. But the Lakers won Game 2 easily, pulled away for a Game 3 win and blew out Portland in Game 4 by 20 points.

Suddenly, it was clear that the Lakers were the superior team.

In Game 5, Portland fought hard even though it was without the services of superstar Damian Lillard. It remained right on L.A.’s heels throughout and tied the contest at 109 on a Gary Trent Jr. 3-pointer with 6:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.

But almost in the blink of an eye, the Lakers took a 129-114 lead, and Rip City was done for the season.

Going on late runs like the one L.A. put on Portland in the fourth quarter is a common trait of championship teams past and present.

Robert Marvi

Robert is a native of Santa Monica, Calif., and a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been an avid NBA fan since he was a little kid in the mid '90s and fell in love with the Nick Van Exel-led Lakers teams. He truly cherishes the Kobe Bryant-era of Lakers basketball and the five world championships that came with it, and is looking forward to the team's next NBA title.