ESPN has a story about LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors with the headline, “Cavs’ LeBron James: ‘Don’t think we have a rival in our game today.'”
In a preview link, the headline reads, “LeBron: Warriors ‘dangerous,’ but not Cavs’ rival.”
Sounds inflammatory, right?
But it’s really not.
James is getting asked questions about the Warriors, because they will square off Monday after playing in the past two NBA Finals with the Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead in the most recent one. So if you read the headline, you might think James means the Cavs lack a peer; he just means the Warriors aren’t rivals.
Here’s the full quote from the interview:
“I don’t think we have a rival in our game today,” James said after Cavs practice Sunday, a day before Cleveland will meet Golden State again for the second of two regular-season meetings. “We’ve had two great Finals appearances the last two years, but I had the same with San Antonio when I was in Miami. We weren’t rivals. And I think I played those guys more, so I wouldn’t look at it as rivals.”
Rival can mean one of two things depending on the context.
1. When it comes to choking in the NBA Finals, the Warriors having the best record in league history then blowing a 3-1 lead with two of the final three games of the series at home does not have a rival.
2. The Giants played and defeated the Patriots in two Super Bowls over four years but Eli Manning does not consider the Patriots a rival because they don’t play often enough.
James clearly means the second thing when it comes to the Warriors. If anything, it’s a shot at all the teams in the East the Cavs play way more often. ESPN choosing to frame James quote that way is odd, especially when this matchup doesn’t need any juicing.
(ESPN)
