The Lakers have one of the most passionate fanbases in the NBA, but as Isaac Newton taught us, each action has an equal and opposite reaction. For as fervent as those who bleed purple and gold are, there are just as many people out there who pray on the Lakers’ downfall.
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Laker-hating is not just limited to regular fans. A startling number of media members seem to delight in every Laker loss, and although L.A. is one of the top teams in the league this year according to the standings, that hasn’t stopped people from writing them off as frauds.
In some ways, the Lakers have brought this upon themselves, as their never-ending carousel of drama has continued to turn. The team has succeeded despite having a subpar defense, and while their wins have been many, their losses have been loud, often by double digits.
Charles Barkley has expressed his skepticism of the Lakers all season long, and he was at it again before Saturday’s Nuggets-Lakers matchup. “My worst nightmare is the Lakers winning tonight, and I have to listen to all the cr*p on Monday on all the talk shows how the Lakers are contenders,” he said.
“They’re not a contender,” he said. “Please, please don’t let them win. I’m gonna be nail-biting all night tonight, ’cause they’re gonna be talking about it all day Monday. Thank God I’ll be in Dayton.”
Barkley will be in Dayton to cover the First Four of the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately for him, the Lakers did win, and they did it in thrilling overtime fashion, with major contributions from Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James.
On today’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith took Barkley to task for writing the Lakers off. “Charles needs to calm down. Stop whining,” he said. “You got a good job, you’re looking good, you’re feeling good, you’re getting ready to do the NCAA Tournament, you’re getting paid lovely, you’re chilling in Atlanta and now you’re going to Dayton. Just relax, calm the brakes. A top-three seed in a conference is a contender. You know this.”
Stephen A. brought up the Lakers’ improved 3-point shooting since the All-Star Break as one reason they need to be taken seriously, but he also brought up the individual talent that head coach JJ Redick has at his disposal.
“You look at the way Austin Reaves is playing, you look at a Luka Doncic playing, you see what LeBron and how effective he is. We all talk about the man is a basketball savant, he’ll figure it out. LeBron is not going to hurt you when all is said and done. He’ll figure out a way to be an asset, even at 41 years of age in his 23rd season in the league. This is who he is.“
It is a bit funny that Stephen A. is attacking the Lakers, because this is the same guy who will gleefully wear a 10-gallon hat when Dak Prescott has a bad game, just so he can troll the Cowboys.
It’s all part of the bit, though, just as attacking Barkley is. That’s what being a wrestling heel is all about — switching allegiances to provoke maximum outrage. Stephen A. even aligned himself with LeBron in this argument, despite the long-standing beef he has with the four-time MVP.
The Lakers’ stellar recent play has catapulted them up to third in the West, but there are a bunch of teams nipping at their heels. The Rockets, Nuggets, Wolves and Suns are all within three games of them, and with 15 games left in the Lakers’ schedule, they’ll need to finish strong to hold them off. Even that likely won’t sway Barkley though, not unless they also make a run in the playoffs.
Whatever the Lakers end up doing, this certainly won’t be the last bit of back-and-forth we see from Barkley and Stephen A. Barkley will be covering March Madness for the next few weeks, which should give him plenty of time to come up with his retort.
