NBA — All signs point to Lakers, Warriors being past their primes

The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA title four years ago. Since then, they have a regular season record of 148-144.

The Golden State Warriors won the NBA title two years ago. Since then, they are 71-64 in the regular season.

In his first five full seasons as a Laker, LeBron James led Los Angeles to six playoff victories. Over the previous five years, he led his teams to 16 series victories.

Over the last four playoffs, Stephen Curry and the Warriors have won five series. The previous four years, Curry had led them to 14 series victories.

These facts make last week's story by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne about Golden State reaching out to the Lakers about a possible James trade more revealing. The move implied the Warriors weren't sure they had enough for another championship run and suspected James didn't think the Lakers did either.

It was just another sign that both teams as currently constituted are likely past their prime. They have been, if we put it charitably, slightly above average for some time now. When we look at the Western Conference standings – where the Lakers are in ninth place and the Warriors are in 10th – we could even consider them favorites.

But when it comes to the Lakers and Warriors, it can be easy to push back given the disadvantages and long odds. James and Curry have done it before and still seem to believe they can do it again, whether reality agrees or not.

The two teams continue their clash on Thursday in San Francisco, a game James will miss with tendinopathy in his left ankle, as they scramble to avoid a potential clash in the April play-in tournament. .

Such a matchup would be enticing in a single-game elimination situation. With huge off-season stakes and the precious final stages of Curry and James' careers, this would be the biggest play-in game since…the last time they faced each other in the play-in ago is three years old.

The Lakers held out at the trade deadline at the risk of angering James, in part because they wanted to protect their trade options for the summer. By June, the Lakers will be allowed to trade up to three first-round picks and some of their players' contracts will be one season shorter, making them more attractive in potential trades. There are already some expectations that regardless of how the season ends, the Lakers could try to trade for a big-name player.

Of course, there's also the James situation. For the first time since 2018, he has the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent. Although he has made it clear that he prefers to stay in Los Angeles and that the Lakers could offer him another nine-figure contract that would take him into his 40s, he has repeatedly suggested that he will leave his options open .

The Warriors also face tough decisions. Head coach Steve Kerr and veteran guards Klay Thompson and Chris Paul can become free agents this summer, and third-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, in the midst of a breakout season, is eligible for an extension. The Warriors, after paying $350 million in salary and luxury taxes last season and nearly $400 million this season, are hinting at finally trying to cut costs. Owner Joe Lacob said last week on “The TK Show” podcast that the team plans to completely eliminate the tax by next season, which leaves the legacy in question.

These two big-market, big-brand teams loaded with future Hall of Famers remain at the center of the NBA's consciousness. They cannot be ignored because of their talent, both pulling off a surprise in the playoffs last season.

In their only meeting so far this season, on January 27 at Chase Center, they put together one of the best games the league has seen this year. And one of the most memorable matches in the long-running James-Curry rivalry.

The Lakers won 145-144 in double overtime. Curry tore his jersey in frustration as he left the floor after his 46 points weren't enough. James, as usual, looked at it with hindsight, imagining telling his future grandchildren about his triple-double of 36 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, including the winning free throw.

“I hope I can be cool when my grandchildren [are] at that time,” James said, referring to his clash with Curry, which James knows is popular with younger fans.

“You look forward to the fights,” Curry said after the game, “but you also enjoy the mutual respect of what it takes to continue to do what you do at this level.”

They're not the only ones who appreciate it.

The game was one of the highest-rated non-Christmas regular season games over the past five years, averaging four million viewers and peaking at 5.24 million, according to Nielsen.

Last spring, Game 1 of the Laker-Warriors playoff series attracted 7.3 million viewers, the largest cable audience for the first rounds of the NBA playoffs in 11 years.

Both teams come out of the All-Star break tied in the loss column with three regular season games left against each other, making the matchups doubly important and leaving the potentially valuable tiebreaker uncertain .

It's not the same era as when Curry and James met in four straight NBA Finals, but neither has given up on the idea. Thanks to an offensive tear, the Lakers have won eight of their last 11 games by an average of 126 points over that stretch. It was their most prolific offensive performance over an 11-game span since the “Showtime” Lakers in 1987, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Warriors are 8-2 since that frustrating loss to the Lakers on Jan. 27, a night when Kerr vowed his team would turn its season around after seeing progress in that game. Kerr then made a big move by benching Thompson late in close games before removing him from the starting lineup before the All-Star break.

Kerr looked at a starting lineup with rookie guard Brandin Podziemski and Kuminga, neither of whom started early in the season.

That's a lot of facets and perceived enthusiasm for two teams that could easily find themselves in the middle of failed seasons. Both have expensive rosters built around aging stars, and their flaws have repeatedly cost them winnable games. Lakers coach Darvin Ham has been criticized — despite having strong support from the front office, according to team sources — at times this season.

And Kerr's contract status leaves his future uncertain. With Monty Williams, Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich taking turns resetting the coaching salary cap over the past nine months, keeping Kerr is going to cost a lot of money for a team that openly talks about cost cutting.

This is the basis that is laid for the summer. The Lakers and Warriors will be closely watched by fans for the remainder of the season. Once this match is over, they will be closely watched by league rivals.