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“LeBron, You Don’t Get to Scape!”: Stephen A. Smith Blames LeBron James for the Downfall of Lakers in a Scathing Take

Published 10/22/2022, 6:30 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The Los Angeles Lakers are clearly not off to a great start. And that is excluding their 1-5 pre-season record. LeBron James and co. have lost the first two games in a row at the start of the season and the front office is seemingly not making the best of changes for the team. And as expected, NBA analysts around the league are looking for someone to blame. 

The Lakers lost their opening night game against the Golden State Warriors and then they lost to their neighborhood rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. Both losses undoubtedly stung Lakers fans.

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And on top of that, it seems like NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith is pinning the blame on Lakers superstar LeBron James. This was following their loss to the Clippers where Russell Westbrook had a horrible game. 

USA Today via Reuters

Stephen A. Smith tears into LeBron James

After Westbrook’s poor performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, LeBron James made a statement regarding his game. He said, “Flush it down the toilet and get ready for Sunday. I thought he played a great game. Defensively he was in tune.”

Even the fans clapped back, speculating that Russell Westbrook will be traded soon. Recently, the Lakers’ front office is in talks with free agent Maurice Harkless to add to the roster. And fans don’t seem too happy about that either, given the number of choices that are available in the free agency.

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Stephen A. Smith snapped back at LeBron’s post-game comments and said, “LeBron, you don’t get to scape. You don’t get up to sit there and say, ‘Well guess what, I’m not gonna sit up here and lament what we’re not all season long.’” 

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Smith was having none of it with what LeBron James had to say. The Los Angeles Lakers shot 9-45 from beyond the arc with a 20% three-point average for the game. 

Smith pointed out how James had shooters who could make consistent shots from the three-point line in 2020 but chose to pursue Russell Westbrook nonetheless. Smith said, “By the way LeBron, you had Kyle Kuzma, you had Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They were members of the championship team who by the way, can put up buckets from the perimeter.” 

Watch This Story – Whom will LeBron James trade before the deadline

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He also added, “And you were one of the people who encouraged the Lakers to unload them so you can get a brother in Russell Westbrook.” 

What did you make of Stephen A. Smith’s comments? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Abhishek Dhariwal

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Abhishek Dhariwal is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He earned his bachelor's degree in English Honors from St. Xavier's College and his master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from AAFT School of Mass Communication and Journalism.
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Edited by:

Veer Badani