This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Charles Curtis is filling in for Andy Nesbitt today.
It was a week ago that LeBron James posted a lengthy caption on his latest Instagram, a shot of him seemingly alone in the middle of the Staples Center floor.
“It is not the critic who counts,” it began, quoting Theodore Roosevelt, with the key phrase being, “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
It was one of those messages to the haters as the playoffs neared, perhaps to motivate himself to make yet another postseason run. He was pushing out the noise, and there was plenty of it after the Lakers took down the Golden State Warriors in the play-in game some thought Steph Curry could win.
James and Anthony Davis had missed so much time during the regular season and were coming into a postseason as a No. 7 seed to face a very talented Phoenix Suns squad. The questions about whether they could pull off a series win swirled.
Yet there they were on Thursday night, coasting to a 109-95 victory in Game 3, with James going 21-6-9. It felt like he was toying with Jae Crowder, and his ankle injury hasn’t been a factor so far. They haven’t won the series yet … but it sure looks like they will.
Which brings me to my point: why did we ever even think about James and the Lakers as underdogs?
Maybe this series would be different if Chris Paul was healthy (side note: I hate that it’s once again a thing that CP3 is hobbled in the postseason). But it’s time to start wondering if the Lakers are poised to make a run even as the 7th seed. Davis, too, looks like he’s back to his dominant self, and when he and James are playing like this, it’s near impossible to stop them.
Ankle injuries, age, supporting cast, whatever. The concerns about James have once again disappeared, and until we see a team take him and the Lakers down, we should stop doubting and boldly declaring L.A. is done, and that includes the guy writing today’s newsletter.
I have learned my lesson. Credit to the man in the arena.
Quick hits: Tim Tebow looks huge again … the wildest baseball play you will ever see … the story behind one of the best NASCAR trophies … and more.
— Tim Tebow once again looks like he’s bulked up to play tight end for the Jaguars.
— If you haven’t seen the unbelievable Javier Baez play from Pirates-Cubs, stop what you’re doing and watch now.
— The awesome story behind the vintage Coca-Cola machines that are give out to the winner of the Coca-Cola 600.
— The things we learned from the Friends reunion.