NBA

LeBron James Just Became The NBA’s Best Hope At Stopping The Lakers

Most NBA fans would tell you they hate the idea of “super teams.” Most NBA fans would most likely tell you that because 28.5 cities (Los Angeles accounts for the decimal) of fans are without a “super team.” We had the the Heat, and now we’ve got the Lakers. If parity is what keeps the NBA interesting, David Stern’s league just took a big hit at first glance.

But upon further review, the storylines just got more interesting.

“I don’t think there’s much point to the season now”

—Overheard water cooler talk at SportsGrid HQ

Yes, it is assumed that the 2013 NBA Finals will be played between the Heat and the Lakers. Maybe ESPN should already begin story-boarding creative montages incorporating the various aesthetics both cities have to offer. Maybe it’s time for the likes of Mike Wilbon, Jon Barry, Magic Johnson, and Chris Broussard to prepare their talking points about the drool-inducing matchup of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

Maybe these predictable, yet infuriating storylines will deter the NBA fan of one of those second-tier 28.5 cities.

But from the perspective of pure entertainment value, the NBA just struck gold.

It’s going to be showtime again in Los Angeles. And it’s going to be fun to watch.

I’m not saying I’m going to root for the Lakers. I’m not saying you should even consider rooting for the Lakers. (Seriously, please don’t jump ship to root for a super-team. That’s the worst kind of ship-jumping.) But the product the Lakers are going to produce next season is going to be entertaining as hell. It’s going to be a starting five—including Dwight Howard—that has combined for 33 All-Star appearances, and three Most Valuable Player Awards. It’s a team with big-time firepower, and a maestro at point guard (Steve Nash) who should orchestrate a video-game-esque offense.

People will watch.

When the Lakers come to town, more tickets will be sold (even in Charlotte). Gold and purple number 12, Dwight Howard jerseys will fly off the racks (according to Darren Rovell, Howard’s jersey was the 14th most popular in the league last year during a complete debacle of a PR season), and Howard’s jersey will most likely be a top-10 seller in the league. Television ratings will be high. So will the buzz, the interest, and the marketability.

Mark Heisler, Hall of Fame Laker writer, estimates with new cable deal, LAL will make a profit of $150-170M this year. No team even close.

— NetsDaily.com (@NetsDaily) August 10, 2012

In that overarching “business” sense, this deal was an absolute home run. Envious, NBA-conspiracy, jealous thoughts aside, I am genuinely intrigued by the potential of this Lakers team.

And then there’s the Miami Heat.

Last night, when the Dwight Howard trade finally become “official,” the Lakers were all the buzz. It almost made me forget that after winning an NBA Championship, the Heat went out and signed Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis – almost.

But I’m going to pause now, and ask a very serious, very plausible question:

Did LeBron James just change roles from the NBA’s biggest villain to the NBA’s biggest hope?

It’s weird to think of the typical NBA fan rooting against anyone more than LeBron James. At 27 years old, James is undoubtedly the best player on the planet. (The only people that would disagree are Kobe fans, and, there’s no arguing with a Kobe fan.) James’ game could still be reaching new heights, as the three-time MVP finally captured an NBA championship, something Magic Johnson felt would help LeBron to become an even better player.

And now, LeBron faces a new challenge. Only this time, it won’t be hm against the world. LeBron James might now be the only thing standing between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Larry O’Brien trophy. And if it came down to the Miami Heat or the Los Angeles Lakers, which team would you root for?

First of all, the possibility of of a Heat-Lakers Finals is even more enticing than the prospect of what this Lakers lineup can do. Last year’s Finals, even though it only went five games, was outstanding, and on paper (because that’s all we can go by in mid-August), a Heat-Lakers Finals given the teams’ current rosters could be even more entertaining. We’d get Kobe versus LeBron. We’d get super-team versus super-team. And the NBA, the television networks, and the fan with no allegiance to either team would get a remarkable product.

It wouldn’t be the first time LeBron James was thrust into the role of underdog. In fact, LeBron James was an underdog almost his entire career until he landed in Miami. It was LeBron James featuring the lowly Cavaliers against the world. It was James who single-handedly turned in one of the great postseason performances of all-time against the Pistons. It was LeBron James who walked off the court dejectedly at age 22 after being swept away by the Spurs in the NBA Finals. And it was LeBron James who, for the longest time, was going to have to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland “by himself,” or at least without the cast of characters he has in Miami.

Now, the shoe is on the other foot.

You might not be penciling in a Lakers-Heat Finals just yet. It could very well happen… but the Thunder could also beat the Lakers in the playoffs. So could 13 other teams in the Western Conference. And the Heat could even be dethroned in the East. But if the two teams are on an inevitable crash course to a meeting in the 2013 NBA Finals, did LeBron James just become our last hope at stopping the Lakers?

The ill feelings toward LeBron will without a doubt somewhat go away this season. James did what everyone said he couldn’t do: he won, and because of that, the Heat were still presumably public enemy number one heading into this season. But in true Commodus fashion, the Lakers reasserted themselves to the status of emperor with one evil act. I don’t know if that makes LeBron James the Russell Crowe of this battle, but he’s certainly a lot closer to there than he was yesterday.

Lakers photo via imgur

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