Magic look forward to chance to face off with James, Lakers
Nikola Vucevic has a message for LeBron James:
“Well, I would expect since I’ve been wearing his shoes for seven years now, for him to ask Nike to send me some nice Colorways so I don’t get the Classic ones, but it hasn’t happened, so I’m waiting,” Vucevic said of the LeBron line of Nike basketball shoes.
Vooch can ask LeBron in person on Saturday night when King James invades Amway Center for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
“They’re good shoes. He’s a great player. I don’t have an issue with it. Nowadays, most shoes the guys wear are from certain players, but I’ve been wearing his shoes for a long time. So hopefully he recognizes that and hopefully he goes to Nike,” Vucevic continued. “I’m sure he has a strong relationship with them. They only pay him like a billion, so I’m sure he can ask them to give me a couple of these nice colors … and it’ll be a nice touch, so we’ll see.”
All kidding aside, Vucevic and the rest of the Magic know they have quite a task ahead of them. The Lakers come to town winners of their past four games and, since the addition of Tyson Chandler, they have been a completely different team than the one that started the season 0-3 and struggling — even with James.
Now they are rolling and the Magic players say they are up for the challenge, but they also know they can’t get too amped up about facing James or everything could backfire.
“Seeing LeBron … you’re seeing the best player in the world. He does everything on the court. Even in Year 16 for him he looks as good as he was in Year 5, 6, 7. He just had 44 the other night,” Vucevic said. “He really does it all for his team out there. He makes the other guys better. When he needs to score, he scores. He reads the game well. His IQ is just out of this world, that’s his biggest thing. He just knows the game so well, and that’s why it just makes it so hard for you to make adjustments on him defensively.
“If you double-team him, he’s going to tear you apart with his passing. If you help too much, same thing. If you don’t, then he’s just going to go and score. He’s just so good at reading the game that it makes it very hard for you. We’re going to prepare the best we can. … It’s going to be a fun game, for sure.”
Magic coach Steve Clifford said the Lakers are playing at rapid pace, quickly getting up and down the floor.
“They have versatility with their lineups and they have guys off the bench that can hurt you,” he said. “They’re playing really well, really well.”
And James is the biggest factor.
“He’s incredible. … It’s his skill level, it’s his basketball IQ, it’s his decisionmaking. … [He’s] extraordinary and he’s another guy who gets better every year,” Clifford said. “Of all the things he’s done, I thought getting [Cleveland] to the Finals last year was incredible, incredible. … To get to the Finals, I don’t think many people could have envisioned that when the playoffs started.”
James is averaging 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game this season and making his teammates better around him. That’s why after the slow start, Los Angeles has won eight games and lost just three.
Vucevic is urging his teammates not to get swept up in the hype surrounding the chance to face off with James.
“It’s a fun game. It’s a big game and you’re just gonna feel it because the crowd’s gonna be really into it, but as far as players, I think the first couple of minutes after that, it’s just another game,” he said. “You can’t get overexcited over that. It’s gonna be a great game. We’re playing against the greatest player in our league and in the world right now, and one of the greatest to ever do it, so you definitely want to bring your best. You have to, but as far as like extra excitement, I don’t think so.”