NBA (DR) / Pierre Haessig
If Tony Parker has often been in the Finals with Spurs, he is not the only Frenchman to have reached this stage of the competition. Mickaël Piétrus also achieved this with the Magic in 2008-09, eliminating the Cavaliers of a certain LeBron James in the process. Guest of the First Team“Air France” also returned to its face-to-face meeting with the King.
A little step back in time is necessary. In 2008-09, LeBron James has just won his first regular season MVP trophy and intends to return to the Finals, two years after his failure against the Spurs. To make the context even more epic, it is Kobe Bryant’s Lakers who rise to the top of the Western Conference. A duel between the Chosen One and the Mamba seems inevitable.
Except that Orlando doesn’t see it that way and will eliminate Cleveland in six games in the conference finals. A big surprise in everyone’s eyes, no one having thought that the poster between Cavs and Lakers could be avoided. Teammate of Dwight Howard & co. at that time, Mickaël Piétrus also derived a certain satisfaction from it, as he recounted during an excellent interview with the First Team :
Mickaël Piétrus recounts his playoff series against LeBron in 2009
I’m proud, that’s one of the reasons that motivated me. I remember at the time, Nike was advertising Kobe vs LeBron. I was watching it on TV and I was like, “I’m going to disrupt their plan.” With the guys we said to ourselves: “Is this what they want? We’re going to thwart them. »And we come across Cleveland after Philly and Boston and so my mission is the King. I said to myself: “The King, on this series he is not going to wear the crown. I’ll leave with it. »
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In fact, LBJ still achieved monstrous stats. 38.5 points at 49% shooting success, more than 8 rebounds and 8 assists on average over six games, that’s huge and even more so at a time when the pace of play was very slow. “Air France” therefore still had all the difficulty in the world to contain it… But the Floridians were just more complete and this was quickly felt during the series:
It’s very hot, first match we win and the second match he gives us a buzzer beater. I said to myself afterwards that at home, it was necessary… I knew that outside, the King played differently than at home. And so I said to myself that we can have them. So we start playing and my mission is LeBron, he’s very physical, he’s strong… Honestly, it’s impressive. When it arrives in front of you it’s really impressive.
We see a build like that, a guy like that, he can jump… So there you have it, we foiled the King, we foiled, I wouldn’t say the NBA’s plan… Today I regret, why? Because Kobe is dead. I would also have liked to see this duel between them in the Finals, between LeBron and Kobe. I think Kobe would have won. I’m sorry, but I’m happy to have foiled the plan.
Finishing four out of six games with at least 40 points on the clock was not enough for LeBron James, whom Mickaël Piétrus’ Magic prevented from going against the Lakers in 2009. A legendary face-to-face fell to the water and of which the Frenchman has memorable memories, having been on the good side of the results.
2023-09-22 20:30:00
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