It's St. Patrick's Day, so it's the perfect time to start looking ahead to the NBA Finals and concocting a dream matchup. Appearing on Get Up Monday, Stephen A. Smith shared what he would really like to see, and it just so happens that it'd be an enormous ratings swoon for ESPN/ABC.
"Cleveland versus the Los Angeles Lakers," Smith said. "LeBron James going to Cleveland trying to prevent Cleveland from capturing an NBA championship."
"LeBron James going to Cleveland trying to prevent Cleveland from capturing an NBA championship. ... That would be epic." 🍿
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 17, 2025
—@stephenasmith's wishlist for the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/H0jJnZ9Hhg
Yep, that would be pretty good. And potentially better from a neutral observer/storyline enthusiast perspective than yet another edition of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry with everything on the line. Especially if one shares Smith's opinion that a Boston-Los Angeles Finals would be over before it starts.
"Here's the reason why I would put that over L.A.-Boston," Smith said. "I don't believe the Lakers have a chance against the Boston Celtics. I think the Boston Celtics would run them out of the building. Cleveland is a different matter because they haven't been there, they haven't proven it."
It's nice to daydream and look ahead. But there are plenty of regular season games left to play and the Lakers have taken a step back following James's injury. They currently occupy the No. 5 seed in the West, meaning they'd have to do a tremendous amount of work on the road in order to make it to Smith's dream series.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith's Dream NBA Finals Scenario Would Be Incredible Theater.
