Lance & LeBron: still a better love story than Twilight

This year, the Cleveland Cavaliers are battling the Indiana Pacers in a desperate attempt to not get eliminated in round 1 of the 2018 NBA Playoff. And the Pacers are sincerely making the Cavs fight to the death. But among the drama of the series is a long-standing feud that’s reared its ugly head again. Lance Stephenson is back in LeBron James’ face this season, desperately trying to get a rise out of the King. And it’s hilariously obnoxious to watch.

The feud started back in 2012 during the playoff series between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. LeBron James missed a free throw and Stephenson put both hands around his neck making a “choking sign” from the bench. Then in Game 5 of 2014 Eastern Conference Finals Stephenson infamously blew in LeBron’s ear. And the feud has been reignited every run-in since always instigated by Lance Stephenson.

Jealousy is a choice, and Lance Stephenson is proving his stance by choosing childish antics versus real basketball talent to overcome the King. This season has been a really exciting playoff run in the NBA so far. The Eastern conference series has kept us on the edge of our seats and not just because of the drama in every matchup. In the Pacer’s Game 1 victory over Cleveland, Stephenson was at his cheap shots to divert LeBron’s focus again. Right off the bat in the first quarter, Stephenson fouled LeBron, swiping at him as he was backing him down in the post. He smacked him on the head in the third quarter as LeBron drove to the basket. He also bumped into LeBron on the free throw line. This was just the beginning.

He continued to pester James in every game of the series so far in various silly ways. But Stephenson is at a disadvantage here. He’s the inferior player left with the seemingly impossible task of guarding a far superior player. In turn, he’s spent the series creating diversions for LeBron to get distracted, frustrated or miss. The back-and-forth between the two players really intensified by Game 4. Stephenson has been really annoying at guarding LeBron and obviously driving him crazy. As a result, LeBron was given a technical foul for shoving Stephenson in a moment of weakened frustration.

With two games left in the series who knows how much more dramatic this feud can get. It’s inevitably going to get worse as the pressure to win intensifies. Will Stephenson and James ever get along? Nah.