🏀 Lakers-Clippers Was Just The Start

Sunday’s epic showdown in L.A. set the stage for what should be an absolutely spectacular NBA stretch run and postseason. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The Lakers and Clippers give us a taste of the NBA playoffs ... breaking down what we learned from the last weekend of the college hoops regular season ... and the road to WrestleMania kicks into high gear. The biggest thing to come out of one of the best games of the NBA season wasn’t related to LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard. It wasn’t about home-noise advantage or bragging rights. It wasn’t about timely X-factors like Avery Bradley and not about Patrick Beverley’s mouth, nor the culling of the Los Angeles Clippers’ six-game win streak against their neighbors, the Lakers. More than anything, it was about one thing: Anticipation. Our anticipation. Sunday’s blockbuster slugfest was something special in its own right, but it quadrupled in value because it gifted us a promise of what is hopefully to come. The Lakers’ 112-103 victory at a Staples Center firmly in its favor, despite this being technically a Clippers home game, was a precursor. [STORY IMAGE 1] It was passionately fought and intensely battled, played with fervor and commitment and a desire to prove who is boss. It was quality basketball, not just on a technical level but at that perfect kind of state when you know both teams really, truly want it. Best of all, and as good as it was, it was a sneak peak. At some point past the middle section of April (most likely in the back half of May), the Lakers and the Clippers are likely to do it again. Just like this, but different, better and much, much longer. These two heavyweights are powerful enough that 48 minutes allows for a ton of storylines to play out; imagine what a seven-game series spread over a couple of weeks would look like. Did you just think something along the lines of “that would be pretty cool,” with perhaps a naughty word mixed in for good measure? Yeah, me too. For all the Lakers’ excellence, and regardless of the outstanding individual seasons being put together by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, there were still some questions surrounding them going into their pair of games over the weekend, first against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night and then the Clippers on Sunday. [STORY IMAGE 2] The nagging bits revolved primarily around whether they could get it done against the biggest and best teams when it mattered most. In truth, such solutions will only truly be found come playoff time, but the weekend’s double dose of victory will certainly quell the critics for a while, and with good reason. “It was very important, just to quiet the doubters,” Lakers center JaVale McGee told reporters. “The Lake Show … the best team in the world right now.” There are differing philosophies at play, especially amid the weird and wonderful dynamic going on at Staples. It is the stuff soap operas are made of that two of the best teams in the league play out of the same building and are structured around wildly opposing mindsets. The blue-collar Clippers are all about ultimate championship victory at whatever cost, including sacrificing wins and conference position in the regular season by carefully handling the workloads of Leonard and Paul George. The Lakers, this season, are all guns blazing, and are trying to ride the juggernaut all the way to a championship. Which, in part, is a major reason why Sunday’s game meant something greater than simply another "W" in the column. [STORY IMAGE 3] “They had to win this game,” former NBA champion [Stephen Jackson told First Things First on FS1](. “It was a statement game. They got beat twice against the Clippers the last two games. LeBron heard all the talk. They wanted to shut the Clippers up and let them know the first two games they were not in their right mind.” And now, after such a massive weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to win the NBA championship, at +260, according to FOX Bet, followed closely by the Bucks at +275 and the Clippers at +350. Those three are in a class all by themselves, with the Houston Rockets next at +1300. Sorry to wish time away, but can we get to May already? Can we get to the Western Conference finals, which is where, assuming the Clippers can summon enough interest in the final few weeks of the campaign to avoid dropping to the four-seed, they would meet? [STORY IMAGE 4] By then, with any luck, we won’t be talking about viruses or stock crashes and can focus on the election race that sports fans care most about … who gets sworn in as the kings of L.A. It will be gritty and ferocious, and you just know there will be some serious beef that gets stirred up. There will be swings and fluctuations and, even now, can you really imagine it not going at least six games? It will be one of the highlights of this year’s sporting calendar, for devout basketball supporters and for plenty of others on the fandom’s fringes. All that needs to happen now is for them both to take care of business to make the duel of duels a reality. “We’ll see them again,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. Let’s hope so. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Ramona Shelburne, ESPN: “Whether or not James did enough this weekend to change the course of the MVP race, which Antetokounmpo is favored to win again, remains to be seen. But James and the Lakers made some very loud statements this weekend. They beat the team with the best record in the league and the only team that had beaten them twice this season. James won individual matchups against the reigning regular-season MVP (Antetokounmpo) and reigning Finals MVP (Leonard). The Lakers made their statements at the time of the season when a team needs to start believing in its strengths, not dwelling on its weaknesses.” Paolo Uggetti, The Ringer: “Physically, it doesn’t make sense that a player who has played over 48,000 regular-season minutes can still look as potent, fresh, and dominant as LeBron does. In Year 17, James is still averaging 25 points and nearly eight rebounds a game while also posting a career-high (and league-leading) 10.6 assists per contest. The longer LeBron plays, the more it feels like someone should have caught up by now—and physically, they have. Mentally and tactically, though, perhaps no one ever will until he calls it quits.” Jas Kang, SB Nation: “Even if the signage on the arena exterior showed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, make no mistake about it: This was a home game for the Lakers, and their fans acted like it. Lakers fans have been hearing all season from the doubters that their team couldn’t beat the crosstown rival Clippers. On top of that, Laker supporters who reside in Southern California are forced to drive past all the billboards and ads that litter the city, talking up the Clippers’ supposedly superior grit. Daily reminders that they hadn’t beaten Kawhi Leonard and Co. yet. Those voices have been silenced, for now.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Speaking of Kawhi Leonard — the Toronto Raptors lost the superstar in free agency and somehow got even better defensively. [Will Gottlieb at Bleacher Report analyzes how](. - The NCAA Tournament is right around the corner. [Sports Illustrated’s Molly Geary details]( six things we learned from the last weekend of the college hoops regular season. - [The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Alex Schiffer go inside]( all that went into the Nets and head coach Kenny Atkinson’s surprising parting of ways. [THE BRADY HUNCH] [THE BRADY HUNCH]( Friends, we officially know where Tom Brady’s going next! ... off of the football field, anyway, where [he’s teaming with the directors]( “Avengers: Endgame” to launch a production company. Here’s hoping he joins forces with John Cena sooner than later. But on the football front, it sounds like we’re all in fact waiting on Brady himself. ESPN’s Field Yates reports that the onus is on TB12 to tell the Patriots what he’s looking for in a new deal, at which point both sides can negotiate. But for now, Brady’s testing the market, and there’s no indication he’s in any rush to make a decision. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( “Babe, you take care of our Gigi, and I got Nati, Bibi, and Koko. We’re still the best team.” Those words were among the most moving voiced by Vanessa Bryant at the Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gigi — and to see Vanessa with Natalia, Bianka and Capri in front of a tribute to those two is almost too much. The Bryant women recently visited a mural to Kobe and Gigi, where Vanessa snapped pictures of Natalia [that she shared on Instagram]( with the hashtags #winterformal, #together, and #family. Here’s hoping they never take down any of the murals. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) Former WWE champion Edge returns with revenge on his mind after nursing the devastating injuries delivered by Randy Orton, and the Road to WrestleMania heats up in the wake of Sunday’s exciting Elimination Chamber. Milwaukee Bucks at Denver Nuggets (NBA TV, 9 p.m. ET) Two of the NBA’s top teams look to shake off their recent struggles, although the Bucks will be without reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee). RB Leipzig vs. Tottenham (Tuesday, TNT, 4:00 p.m. ET) After an impressive first leg and with Tottenham missing their two star attackers, Leipzig have proven they’re not fazed by the Champions League knockout stages. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( NBA Championship winner Los Angeles Lakers: +260 Milwaukee Bucks: +275 Los Angeles Clippers: +350 Houston Rockets: +1300 Toronto Raptors: +1800 What a difference a weekend can make, huh? Before the Lakers’ rampage across the top of the NBA, the Bucks were your betting favorites to win the championship this season. But as we sit here on Monday, LeBron’s squad is now the team that’s most likely to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Also of note — the Rockets were +1200 to win the Finals just three weeks ago, but the championship odds keep getting more and more top-heavy as the Lakers flex their dominance and the Clippers get healthy. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. [WHAT THEY SAID] “So many people along the way, whatever it is you aspire to do, will tell you it can’t be done. But all it takes is imagination. You dream. You plan. You reach.” — Michael Phelps [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. Amazon, Fire, and all related marks are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 FOX Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. FOX.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900