BUT LET ME SPEAK ❗ Shannon Sharpe takes on JJ Redick & Stephen A. in a Lakers debate | First Take

BUT LET ME SPEAK ❗ Shannon Sharpe takes on JJ Redick & Stephen A. in a Lakers debate | First Take

James almost got a triple double before letting the bench play in the final 6 minutes of the game as the Lakers beat the conference leading Thunder 116 to 104 the team’s 10th victory in 14 games now the West playin standings are tight with only two and a half games

Separating the 10th Place Lakers and the sixth place Suns the Lakers playoff chances are up to 60% for ESPN analytics and a reminder that the sixth seed gets to avoid the play in completely ad how are you feeling about this postseason we don’t really care what you know CVN we

Proven that last year it doesn’t matter um I think this goes like anyone you know you just try to get in and then you know play else as a different animal so um you know we don’t look at it as you know we want to we rather have this

Match up than this match up you know for us it’s just about getting in and uh tackling each opponent there all right Stephen I’m going to start with you on this one do you think the Lakers are a legit threat in the West no not at this

Particular moment in time and the reason why is because I was just in La Saturday uh JJ you saw me there you know what I’m saying you you were you were there you know doing a great job calling game by the way congratulations you darb Mike

Bre all that other stuff you look so happy you look so happy JJ I mean sh Shay he was he was there I was there and we saw the Lakers once again fall to the reigning defending NBA champion Devon nuggets can’t beat him lost eight straight how am I supposed to consider

You a serious threat when the reigning defending NBA champions continuously abuses you at every turn I understand that the Lakers could beat almost anybody else I get that part and I guess because of that you can label them a contender per se a legitimate threat in

The west I just don’t feel that way I’m not sold on them right now and I could be wrong I understand that but I just don’t feel like I’m too sold on them right now even though I look at them last night and you beat Shay Gil just

Alexander who didn’t have the greatest game and the gold and the Oklahoma City Thunder I’m looking at them I know you what you’ve done against the Clippers this particular regular season but I’ve seen the deficits that you’ve come back from I’m I just look at the Lakers and I

Find myself saying JJ and Shay I’m like yo they they can ball I get it they can’t beat the Denver Nuggets that’s their tonight and to me that’s the measuring stick for me I just look at them against Denver and to lose eight straight to the Denver Nuggets is just

Bothersome for me and if we’re talking about a legitimate threat well a reigning defending NBA champion are in the west you got to go through them and you’ve shown no willingness or ability to beat them that’s where I’m at with it guys Oklahoma City had had a tough game

Sunday night in Phoenix then they turn around and they’ve got to play the Lakers on a back-to-back they had the worst shooting first half of their entire season Y they are a legit threat I think Minnesota’s a legit threat I think the Clippers are a legit threat

But we can sort of stopped the entire conversation when we talk about them winning the Western Conference the Lakers winning the Western Conference because of what Stephen A said I do not think that was but that was they can beat the Denver Nuggets but see why do you why do people

Make all these concessions oh it was a tough backto back it was a this or that you make concessions for I’ll let you speak I I know you always you do a great job of contextualizing but let me speak the problem the problem that I have with you

And others is that you make concessions for every other team in the west not name the Lakers if the Lakers had lost on a back to back you would have said they’re all and tired well let me ask you this who are Phoenix Wing stoppers

On the on the defensive in we saw LeBron hunt kawh Leonard we saw LeBron James do what he did who’s going to guard LeBron James for the Clippers who’s going to guard LeBron James LeBron James LeBron James didn’t hunt Kawhi Leonard in that fourth quarter Clippers switched more

Than any team put him in the pick R they put Daniel Ty on LeBron James in that fourth quarter he hit two transition threes they messed up they messed up the first three they messed up the switch on Horn’s chest they messed up the the switch on Horn’s chest then he hits two

Transition threes then he hits a three over Daniel Ty now all of a sudden they’re forced to double he was not hunting kawh Leonard shanon let me ask you question Ka Leonard is what hold on if kawh lard is what you said why didn’t he fight harder over that pick see

That’s what the guy that’s what Kobe did that’s what Jordan did that’s what LeBron did when he was in his prime he fought over picks so answer that question Mr contextualization J you’re you’re going to have to ask tyo that question cuz again that is their defensive strategy

That has I don’t have Ty in front of me that has been the strategy for the Los Angeles Clippers I I’m I’m telling you that is the the defensive strategy for the Los Angeles Clippers he is comfortable switching his bigs onto perimeter players I played against the

Clippers in 21 I was injured rather but I was on the Dallas Mavericks for seven games he switched zubot on Del Luca he was comfortable living in those matchups it’s not a it’s not a question for me it’s not a comparison to Kobe and Jordan like the whole thing with the NBA right

Now Shannon let me let me explain something to you the whole thing with the NBA right now is exploitation of matchups the smartest coaches look to exploit matchups and that’s all the playoffs is that’s what mou all it is that’s that’s what Joe Missoula is so great at that’s what the best coaches

Are so great at they’re looking to create advantageous matchups and then exploit that put two on the ball whatever it may be so your question is should be for tyo why do they switch so much I don’t have the answer that’s his defensive strategy let me say this first of all

You’re right about the Lakers defensively you’re right about the Lakers defensely they’re 21st in defensive efficiency right now I don’t like that at all I got to look at that secondly I’m not getting caught up at what transpired last night because I’ve seen Oklahoma City I’ve never seen

Oklahoma City look this bad this season and I haven’t seen every one of their games so I missed one forgive me but I haven’t seen them look as bad as they they they tired they didn’t they just looked lethargic last night and Shay Gil just Alexander what was that his first

Time in about what is it you the last eight games or so he didn’t score at least 30 and we know they go where he takes them so I take that into consideration as well but Shannon it’s nothing wrong because you do this Shannon there’s absolutely positively

Nothing wrong with me looking at one team looking at one team Shannon and going like this yeah they can’t beat those guys now I understand that you know theoretically speaking look at them if you’re in the mix outside of Denver you look at everybody and you say

Themselves they can be had I can look at Minnesota and look at them as an elite defensive team who are not that great offensively but against the Lakers because the Lakers are so deficient defensively at times with with Minnesota being able to exploit them offensively potentially we know how Elite

Minnesota’s defense could be so that might neutralize the Los Angeles Lakers so that’s a potential loss the Clippers obviously is a potential loss OKC is no joke you can’t summarily dismiss them if Bradley Bill gets back healthy with KD with Devin Booker who knows what that

Can be I’m just looking at the Los Angeles Lakers and I say to myself damn when you lose to a team like the Denver Nuggets eight straight times and you show no ability to figure them out whatsoever that does compromise my level of faith in you Shannon that’s what I’m

Saying about the Los Angeles Lakers every other point that you’re making about the other teams the Lakers could go up against the West I get that but I’m looking at them against the team that swept them and you’re still getting your ass kicked by them all the time

That bothers me so let me ask you so if they make it to the Western Conference Finals you wouldn’t deem that as a threat I’m not now if they go out in the first round that’s one thing but if they make it all the way to the Western

Conference Finals as they did last year as the eighth seed that’s still LeBron James that’s still Anthony Davis and you’re right if they can shoot the ball like they did look I get told now see this is what I get I get told nobody really plays defense on a nightly basis

It’s all about exploiting matchups it’s all about putting the ball in the basket now all of a sudden the Lakers don’t play defense are they the only team in the Western Conference that doesn’t play defense know I would say this to you coach Darin ham who I spoke to Saturday night he’s

Very concerned about how they’ve been playing defense and he can’t wait for Jared Vanderbilt to get back and when JJ brings upand when he when he when he brings up that bringing back Vanderbilt might compromise them offensively while elevating them defensively that’s one of the things that the Lakers going to have

To figure out I don’t think any of us can escape that shanon shanon I’m concerned I’m concerned about his match his lineups go ahead JJ go ahead no you I say as it pertains to the Lakers like you you can do sort of breakdowns on each team right what they’re good at

Defensively what they’re bad at defensively so you’re talking about this is where this is where again I don’t want to I don’t want to go over people’s head I’m not trying to be like smart here but some of the modern NBA Beyond just like hey people don’t play defense

Offenses are so good there there is a math element to this so as it pertains to the Lakers they don’t take a lot of Threes so they’re behind the eightball a little bit there okay they give up a lot of Threes And team shoot a high percentage against they do that they’re

Bottom three in the NBA in giving up threes and bottom eight the NBA in three-point percentage for their opponents they also don’t defend the rim they’re a bottom five team defending the rim Anthony Davis has been excellent defensively this year outside of him they can’t defend the rim so in the

Playoffs if you’re dragging Anthony Davis out into space yeah I have question marks about their defense and I think that’s fair all right got to leave it there move on to the NFL JJ we’ll see you a little bit Later

BUT LET ME SPEAK ❗ Shannon Sharpe takes on JJ Redick & Stephen A. in a Lakers debate | First Take

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, JJ Redick and Shannon Sharpe debate whether LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers are a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.

0:00 Are the Lakers a legit threat?
2:35 Redick weighs in
5:35 Stephen A.’s thoughts on the Lakers and Thunder

#espn #nba #firsttake

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