EL REY ESTÁ DE VUELTA / KING IS BACK
Making a parenthesis between my publications concerning the major leagues of baseball (MLB), I want to show in my publications another of my passions which is the NBA basketball, and I do not want to miss the opportunity to talk about the confrontation between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers who are having in the semifinals of the ''West'' conference in favor at this time of the Lakers 2 games to 1, and more for the players involved, Steve Curry and LeBron James, two living legends, so I have nicknamed them both, for all they have achieved in this sport, that I think and believe that for one like them to come, many years will pass, I think almost the same since Michael Jordan retired, and other players will arrive on the scene to be part of a post-Jordan transition.
CARA A CARA / FACE TO FACE
When you say that someone is back is that he had an absent period, we could also say that this person is back because he has returned to his old self, in sports terms it is something similar, using this word is to refer to an athlete in this case, basketball player who has returned to his best physical condition that has led him to compete as in the past, and at 38 years of age Lebron James is in a state that is impacting the performance of his team the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in full swing against the reigning champions Golden State Warriors.
And this is how we see the ''King'' LeBron face this series now in a different way to what we are used to, first he understands that he can not do the same as before, his almost 40 years have not passed in vain and second, he takes into account the collective performance of his team, and it is more reflected in the field, the records so far in these 3 commitments of the series, have let us know that James has been playing more for his teammates before him, being a strong point that some do not understand.
To do this he has relied on the talent of his other teammates such as Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell, who in addition to presenting very good performances from inside and outside the paint, average numbers that only lead us to see one thing, statistically they are the records that any team, teammates and coaches need to carry out the necessary strategies, and thus be able to face a team as good and very fast, as well as experienced as the Golden State Warriors.
That between 3 players averages more than 70 points, is extremely valuable, and more when they do it in a constant way, what does this mean? That they are giving you a guarantee that this will happen every night in which you are going to compete and what these three talented players have in particular and without making much noise, is that they have a profile that is very consistent with the positions that are most important in this sport, center forward (Davis) shooting guard and pilot (Russell) and pilot and strong forward (James) the latter can play several positions and support his other 2 teammates in different situations of the game.
Something that I really like is Russell's left-handed profile, it is a slow and determined style that makes the offensive game more dynamic and versatile, he passes the ball well and goes well when attacking the basket, this type of player has the particularity that when he goes from one side, especially on the right, he disarticulates the defense a little, because more than 90% of the players in this sport are right-handed, forcing the defender to change position a little in terms of his hands.
When we talk about the other pair of players, who complete the bulk of this team of the Los Angeles Lakers, we see that Davis, does his job well, a strong position, plus physical that due to his height has fit very well with James, typical of a player in this location of the board and not to mention James himself, who thanks to his versatility, and now in a role more of set, without neglecting his personal record that is not bad at all, averaging more than 20 per night give him that touch that have brought them here, and have cleared a lot of doubts that reigned around this team since the beginning of the season.
QUE PASARÁ EN EL JUEGO 4.? / WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN GAME 4.?
I would have to have a crystal ball to know, but in terms of performances, I think it will be a tough fight again, the same or similar to game number 3, the Warriors team started that joust as they have always done, for a moment I thought they were destined to do what they always do, and finish executing their rivals, passing the ball in a very fast and very effective way, that drives you crazy, until the ball arrives to a shooter with a good shooting position and he ends up annihilating you from the three point area.
Pero si vemos el ajuste defensivo que hizo el conjunto de los Ángeles Lakers en ese juego, pudimos observar que neutralizaron ese pase de balones muy rápidos de los de Golden State, algo que los llevó a voltear el marcador y sacar adelante un partido que ya lo tenían perdido, por así decirlo, y si combinamos estos 2 desempeños, tanto el de Golden State como el del quinteto de los Ángeles, sin duda será un 4to juego muy bueno y entretenido para los amantes de este deporte, pero ojo con algo, el ajuste defensivo de los Lakers podría ser determinante si lo logran mantener para este cuarto choque, y si lo combinan con su ofensiva acostumbrada podrian dar un gran paso en estas instancias, ‘‘hay buen baloncesto en esta serie’’
But if we look at the defensive adjustment made by the Los Angeles Lakers in that game, we could see that they neutralized the very fast ball passing of Golden State, something that led them to turn the scoreboard and take forward a game that they had already lost, so to speak, and if we combine these 2 performances, both Golden State and Los Angeles, without a doubt it will be a very good and entertaining game 4 for the lovers of this sport, but be careful with something, the defensive adjustment of the Lakers could be decisive if they manage to keep it for this fourth clash and if they combine it with their usual offense they could take a big step in these instances, ''there is good basketball in this series''.
HASTA LA PRÓXIMA / SEE YOU NEXT TIME
Mi Twitter: @EnirsonPirela
Imagen editada en Canva / Image edited in Canva Source