Subscribe
Follow Us
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith didn't hold back in his rebuttal to LeBron James after the Los Angeles Lakers star accused reporters of trying to set him up to bash Russell Westbrook.
On Sunday after the Lakers' 106-104 loss to the Blazers, James was asked about Westbrook's ill-advised shot with 30 seconds left in the game when they were up 102-101. Westbrook was clearly angling for the 2-for-1 possession at that time, but he botched his jumper to give Portland the possession and the opportunity to take the lead–which they did via a Damian Lillard triple.
Russ could have let the clock trickle down at that point and opt for a better shot since scoring then would have given them a 3-point lead and put more pressure on the Blazers. In the end, the missed shot proved to be what doomed them in the contest.
Instead of answering the question, though, James refused to comment on the situation as he said he feels like the interview is “trying to set me up to say something.”
"I feel like this an interview of trying to set me up to say something… You guys can write about Russ and all the things you guys want to try to talk about Russ. I'm not up here to do that. I won't do it. I've said it over and over. It's not who I am."
— LeBron James pic.twitter.com/DzOIpeolUH
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 24, 2022
After seeing LeBron James' comment, though, Stephen A. Smith fired back at the Lakers star during his appearance on ESPN's First Take and emphasized that it was LeBron who set himself up for that question. Stephen A. reminded James that he was the one who said after their season opener that shooting is a big problem for them. Naturally, those comments pushed everyone to focus on Russell Westbrook, who has never been a good 3-point shooter.
"Don't think you're that damn smart that you get to navigate through this. We, talking about the media setting you up to get at Russell Westbrook: No, my brother. You did that… You gotta own that my brother."@stephenasmith's message to LeBron James 👀pic.twitter.com/n5siIqO0Gq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 24, 2022
Stephen A. Smith certainly makes a good point. James has been criticizing the team's shooting woes, so he can't be picky now and accuse the media of trying to set him up when they asked about a player and his bad decision to shoot.
Regardless, though, LeBron and the Lakers have no time to be affected by their critics. At 0-3 on the season, they really need to figure out a way to turn things around as fast as possible.
