After playing the Golden State Warriors in four consecutive NBA Finals, LeBron James is looking for better results with the Los Angeles Lakers over the next four seasons.
Armed with a young core and $38 million in salary cap space for 2019 free agency, James may not be able to immediately challenge the Warriors, but the Lakers are in prime position to eventually dethrone them.
While James could have continued his dominance in the Eastern Conference with eight consecutive Finals appearances, he likes the challenge of leading the Lakers back to their championship ways.
As the Lakers are set for a Christmas Day matchup in Oakland, James remains focused on improving each and every month during the 2018-19 NBA season.
“We can’t measure ourselves versus them. This team has won three out of four championships in the last four years, so you can’t measure yourself versus them,” James explained.
“We just need to continue to try and get better. I feel we took a little step backwards today, so we want to get better on Tuesday. It’s not a measuring stick for us.”
Whether it is fair or not, the media has placed championship expectations on James and the young core in Year 1. However, at 19-14 and fourth in the Western Conference, the Lakers could be a team no one wants to play come April.
As James has experienced every situation possible in his career, it will be interesting to see how Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and Lonzo Ball respond in a hostile environment. Despite only being in their second and third seasons, they have shown a competitive spirit in previous matchups against the Warriors.
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