The Los Angeles Lakers are undoubtedly one of the best teams in the NBA, but according to Stephen A. Smith, no one truly fears them.
According to Smith, the reason why is because teams around the league think that the Lakers are soft.
“No one questions the talent of the Los Angeles Lakers,” Smith began. “You have two of the top five players in the world. Anthony Davis is clearly a top-five player on the planet. You know what they bring to the table talent-wise, but nobody fears them because you have people literally saying, ‘They’re soft.’ That, ‘We can get at them.’
“‘We believe we can go at them, get physical with them, compromise them a little bit, if not flat out take their heart. That’s what we believe about the Los Angeles Lakers. I’m telling you what I’ve been told. I’m not saying that, this is what I have been told by players.”
This is a pretty absurd thing to say about a team that has lost just seven games so far this season.
In reality, the only players who have any reason to hold such a belief are those who play for the Los Angeles Clippers.
In two games this season, the Clippers have managed to get physical with LeBron James and Davis. As a result, the Clippers currently own a 2-0 record on the season versus the Lakers.
Beyond that, Smith also recently reported that Clippers star Kawhi Leonard already believes that James is afraid to guard him.
With just over half of the 2019-20 regular season left to be played, the Lakers have two more games yet to be played against the Clippers.
If the Lakers can win both games to even the series in the regular season, there’s little doubt that the top teams in the NBA will have second thoughts about calling the Lakers soft entering the postseason.
