"It's almost Bron against them"- Austin Reaves reckons LeBron James remains focal point of matchups vs Warriors
LA Lakers veteran Austin Reaves has made a strong claim about LeBron James and one of his biggest NBA rivals. As the Lakers and Golden State Warriors get ready to start new eras with a new head coach and without one of their best players ever, respectively, Reaves said the Dubs still look at LeBron as a big menace after all their duels in the NBA Finals.
Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area, Austin Reaves explained that after all these years, whenever the Warriors see James, they are ready to bring their A-game to stop 'The King.'
“I really think it's almost Bron against them, just because they played against each other for so long,” Reaves said. “In the Finals, when you know you got Bron on the team, and you got Steph on [their] team, you're always going to get high-level basketball – especially against one another. They always want to play, you know, their best against one another.”
LeBron James faced the Warriors in the Finals four consecutive years, becoming rivals after fierce duels, marking an era for NBA fans. Now that he's with the Lakers and the Dubs aren't the same team they were 10 years ago, not much has changed when they clash.
They have had notable games in the play-in tournament and the playoffs, but nothing has come close to those Finals duels.
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Austin Reaves said 'it will be a lot of the same' because the Warriors still have key pieces that can make the team work.
“With Steve and Steph still being there, and obviously Draymond, I think it's going to be a lot of the same,” Reaves said. “They got Buddy now, so Buddy can shoot it. I haven't really looked into it in depth, but if you just plug Buddy into the Klay role, what that looks like. I'm not saying that that's what they're going to do, but it kind of makes sense at first glance.
“But anytime you got Steph on the team, you’ve got an opportunity to win, because he's such an amazing player.”
Golden State and Los Angeles have the same goal next season: returning to the Finals.