The Los Angeles Lakers got the narrative shifting in their direction after beating the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the NBA suspending the 2019-20 season.
Beyond the usual greatness from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Avery Bradley was the X-factor in that game as he scored 24 points on 6-of-12 from the three-point line in that game and was excellent defensively.
This win — accompanied with the win against the Milwaukee Bucks in the same weekend — made a statement the Lakers should be taken seriously not just as championship contenders, but as favorites. It also helped to solidify James’ case as the 2019-20 NBA Most Valuable Player, which will be a discussion should play resume.
Bradley spoke about what he learned from beating the Clippers as a guest on ‘Inside the Green Room’ podcast with Danny Green — an episode that was filmed before the NBA went on hiatus:
“Well, I can say that in the first two meetings, we didn’t play to our potential. In the last game, I felt like we were just a much better team. I mean, we knew we were better than what we played the two previous games and we knew we had room for improvement. We made that room and we still have much more room for improvement, but we just came out with the mindset of being the tougher team. The team that was going to be able to execute. The team that was going to be able to fight through the adversity and be able to respond throughout the entire game. I feel like we did a great job doing that and our leaders at the end of the game, they led us. The way LeBron [James] and [Anthony Davis] were playing in the fourth quarter, that’s the way you always want your superstars to be to finish a game and it was just amazing. It’s amazing to see LeBron be able to play at this level.”
It seems that Bradley and the Lakers really wanted to make a statement with this win. He also clearly is proud of what they did to win, saying they beat them by simply being the better team.
The hope is that this could translate to a seven-game series in the eventual 2020 NBA playoffs and that the Lakers can win by being the better team.
It always felt like this season was gearing up towards a Lakers vs. Clippers matchup in the Western Conference Finals and now they have the confidence to handle that pressure.