LeBron James Comments on Matchup with Warriors, Says They Aren't a Rival of Cavs
LeBron James made it clear his Cleveland Cavaliers will be facing the NBA's best team—but not a rival—when they play the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
"We don't look at it as a rival," James said Friday night, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "They're a great team. They've been the best team the last couple years, last three years."
In theory, the Cavaliers and Warriors aren't traditional rivals, as Cleveland plays in the Eastern Conference and Golden State is in the West. Cleveland has more long-term history with teams such as the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, and Golden State can say the same of the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
However, the current versions of the Cavaliers and Warriors have been intricately tied to each other over the past few seasons, and Vardon stressed they "are rivals."
Cleveland beat Golden State in last season's NBA Finals and prevented the 73-win Warriors from being remembered as arguably the best team in NBA history. The Warriors won the previous Finals on Cleveland's home floor, and the last five regular-season MVP trophies have been awarded to Cleveland's James and Golden State's Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, who joined the Warriors in the offseason.
The rivalry goes beyond the immense skill level on the floor, and Vardon pointed out the "smack talk" between the two sides.
James made headlines for hosting a Halloween party that poked fun at the Warriors' blowing a 3-1 lead in the Finals complete with mock tombstones for Klay Thompson and Curry, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders shared:
ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin noted party guests had to step over a "dummy dressed up like Curry on the floor."
Thompson took notice when he appeared on USA Today's NBA A to Z podcast with Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt.
"It's obviously not respectful, so it's got to be on the other side of the spectrum, so that's fine with us," Thompson said. "They can do that childish stuff. It doesn't matter to us. All we've got to do is handle it on the court, you know?"
While Thompson appeared to take the high road with those comments, Vardon pointed out the Warriors guard "is the one who, before Game 5, told James on the podium that the NBA was a 'man's league.'"
Vardon also noted Curry said he wondered if the locker room in Cleveland still smelled like champagne from Golden State's victory at Quicken Loans Arena two years ago.
The rivalry took center stage again on Christmas Day, when the Cavaliers overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat Golden State, 109-108. The two teams will take the floor Monday with the league's best record (Golden State at 34-6) and the Eastern Conference's best mark (Cleveland's 29-10) and appear to be on a collision course for an NBA Finals rubber match.
James preached caution to anyone who wants to draw too many conclusions from Monday's outcome, per Vardon: "It's just the next game, it's Golden State. They're a helluva team, like I said the best team in the league, and they've been that way the last three years, four years, however long it's been, I'm not quite sure. But, listen, you guys know, we don't put all our eggs in one basket for one game."
Although James' side has won the last four meetings, his caution is smart, considering the Warriors beat Cleveland seven times in a row from the 2015 Finals through Game 2 of the 2016 Finals before the Cavaliers ultimately overcame a 3-1 deficit.
The talent that shines through on the biggest stage will be what matters. While Monday's game is highly anticipated, there are likely more important showdowns awaiting the two rivals in June.
