Don’t tell LeBron James that the Lakers-Clippers is the next big NBA rivalry.
“It’s the first game,” James told reporters after his Los Angeles Lakers lost 112-102 to Kawhi Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their respective seasons on Tuesday night at Staples Center. “The NBA is back and that’s where everybody is trying to have a narrative of a rivalry game and a huge test. Both teams are not where they want to be.”
James also said it will take time for the new-look Lakers to gel as a group.
“We have a lot of room to improve,” said James, who scored 18 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists. “We’re a new group that’s coming together and a new coaching staff. We have a new system. It’s not a rivalry. We’re trying to get better every single day. We can be as great as we can be.
“We did some good things tonight. We did some not so good things. That happens in a Game 1, especially for a new club. We look forward to getting into the film room tomorrow and seeing some of the mistakes that we made where we could have been better.”
Before the loss James discussed what it felt like failing to recruit Leonard, who scored 30 points, to the Lakers.
“You ask me was I getting excited about it? I don’t get too excited until things actually happen, but I thought we had a chance,” James told ESPN.com.
“That’s all you can ask for. We put ourselves in position to have a chance to get [Leonard]. When he went to the Clippers, I thought that was just as cool. It was great for our league, and he had to do what was best for him. And we all respect that.”
Though James downplayed rivalry talk, the fans seem to be already buying into that narrative. It was on early with a male fan shouting “Go Lakers!” during the national anthem, drawing big cheers while Clippers fans booed.
— with AP