Zach Lowe

I still think Michael Jordan is the greatest player in the history of basketball.

I am not making a direct one-to-one comparison between SGA and Michael Jordan.

And that's partly my fault for not stating it as artfully and precisely as I should have.

Michael Jordan is the single most inevitable athlete of my life.

And I say that as someone who just as a neutral fan began cheering against the bulls late in their championship run, because I just wanted someone else to win.

And yet even cheering for those teams, you knew they were not going to beat Michael Jordan.

The only athlete that I can remember

who had that level of inevitability to them is another athlete that I began to cheer against frequently, was Mariano Rivera when he would come into games or even before when he was looming, when the Yankees were ahead by two runs in the sixth inning and you knew they can get two in the third out of Mariano Rivera in the playoffs.

There was an inevitability.

So just apologies for not being as precise, but 55% from a guard and clutch numbers that are outrageously good is Jordan-esque.

I would still vote for Shea, but I think the door is cracking open because when Benyama is finishing with this incredible kick, they never lose.

We know the defense.

You're right to cape for Jokic a little bit.

And Luka, the advanced stats are narrowing.

I don't think the... I think the first two months when the Lakers were trying to figure out their chemistry and whatever, and the defense and the whining to the refs were talking points, has hurt him.

But he has been...

this is maybe the best he's ever played in the last two months.

And it hasn't been three weeks or four weeks.

It's been a couple of months now.

And they are, I mean, they are legitimately pretty scary.