Stephen A Smith believes that the LeBron James era has come to an end because of the LA Lakers even though the 4x champion is playing his best.
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The Los Angeles Clippers just won the battle of LA without Kawhi Leonard against a healthy Lakers team. Although it was a close game, Paul George and co managed to maintain the lead for the most part. Lakers committed turnovers in crucial moments in the fourth and the Clippers took complete advantage of it.
Luke Kennard ultimately hit the game-winner that sealed the deal. LeBron James had a poor night from the field scoring 23 points on 9-23 shooting. Anthony Davis on the other hand concluded the night with 27 on 66.7% FG and 10 rebounds. Russell Westbrook although efficient did not take as many shots. He only scored 10 points and 9 assists.
The Lakers have not won more than 2 games since October and it doesn’t look like things are getting any better.
Steven A Smith believes LeBron James and the Lakers must be afraid of Warriors and Suns
The loss to LA Clippers without their best player is a huge concern for the Lakers. A team that has Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James should not be struggling to win against Kings, Pistons, and OKC Thunder. They are barely staying above the .500 mark in the west.
Without the 36-year old, Lakers are 5-7 losing to lottery teams. A month into the 2021-22 season, it looks like they will make it to the play-in tournament at best. All the lineup experiments by Frank Vogel have hurt them just as much as the lack of depth in the team. Apart from the big 3 of AD, LeBron and Russ, the Lakers do not have any reliable players.
.@stephenasmith says the Lakers need to be afraid of the Suns 👀
“The Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of putting an emphatic exclamation point to the era of LeBron James. There is no such thing as ‘the LeBron James era’ if you ain’t in the Finals!” pic.twitter.com/iB5VHGwyag
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 3, 2021
Steven A Smith had this take prior to the Clippers game and the Friday night loss only validates it. At the 7th position in the western conference, they should fear the Suns and Warriors and not the other way around.
“Want me to tell you where fear is applicable? Fear is applicable when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers. They’re the ones who should fear the [Phoenix] Suns. They’re the ones who should fear the [Golden State] Warriors”
“There is no such thing as the LeBron James era if you ain’t in the Finals. … It ain’t LeBron James’ fault. When that brother is healthy, we know what he brings to the table, but because of the rest of the team, the Lakers are on the verge of being irrelevant in the championship equation.”
Although Steven A is famous for wildly bad takes, he is not entirely wrong on this one. The Lakers have a tough schedule coming up and it is their only chance to put some fear in the top-seeded teams.
