LeBron James is not playing in this year’s NBA playoffs, but he is still making his voice heard.
After the Western Conference play-in game, where the Pelicans beat the Clippers 105–101, James had praise for one particular coach, and it wasn’t the winning one. LeBron seemed to call Clippers coach Tyronn Lue “the best coach in the game.”
The Clippers were down 10 at halftime, but Los Angeles came out strong in the third quarter and outscored New Orleans by 20, which caused many people to praise Lue. However, the Clippers ran out of gas in the end as the Pelicans out-played them in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, Lue’s strong third quarter shows his strength in creating adjustments. Last postseason, the Clippers came back from down 2–0 in each of the first two rounds to advance to their first ever Conference Finals.
James and Lue of course have a relationship, when the pair led the Cavaliers to their first ever NBA championship in 2016. And in 2019, when the Lakers were looking for a new head coach, Lue was strongly considered for the job that ultimately went to Frank Vogel. Lue then went to the Clippers, first as an assistant and then becoming head coach when the team and Doc Rivers split.
Even though LeBron and Lue are on rival teams, there is still a clear respect between the two.
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