FIRST TAKE | Lakers have no answer for stopping Nuggets’ Jokic – Stephen A on LeBron reaches 40K Pts

FIRST TAKE | Lakers have no answer for stopping Nuggets’ Jokic – Stephen A on LeBron reaches 40K Pts

Reach 40,000 points in a career he started the night just nine points shy of 40K he definitely came dressed for the occasion uh the Lakers hosting the defending Champion nuggets Nicole yic joked with him before the game he said we’re going to stop you from getting

Nine we’re going to hold you to eight uh that didn’t quite work and Joker was totally laughing uh there’s first bucket so he’s seven points away the family’s there or most of the family and then here in the corner over Joker for three so now he’s four point shy we go to the

Second quarter Lakers are up LeBron back door and one he would miss the free throw so still just two points away from 40,000 about a minute later it’s LeBron question was when and how would he get it there it is strong Drive leftand finish we’ll show you one more time the crowd was

Expecting it standing ovations all around as you would expect especially fromont the home crowd LeBron 11 points in the first half he’s like this is the ball thank you very much and then you know what anybody want it anybody want this ball I’ll give you this ball I’mma kick no just kidding

That Z yeah no come uh his team was up 6658 at the break third quarter nuggets now have the lead come on Joker just throwing it up because the shot clock was winding down Banks it in he had 13 points in the third quarter that’s main

Reason the game was tied at 89 going to the fourth nuggets up one Michael Porter Jr finished with 25 first player in NBA history to go 10 for 10 from the field including five of five from three nuggets up four LeBron 26 points nine assists La back up

Two less than four to play nuggets looking to respond Aaron Gordon in the corner for three diers up one we come back down Nuggets next possession Joker come on YMCA game in full effect 35 points 10 boards seven assist nuggets up three then Jamal Murray he went for 24 and 11

Assist yic like oh LeBron got 40K but we got the win 124 114 but LeBron 40K dog that’s a lot much respect and much loyalty to the Laker fan base for showing me that love during the timeout and um know being the first player to do something it’s it’s

Pretty cool in this league because you just know the history you know the great that’s come through the leades and then you see some of the greats on the floor tonight it was just great to compete versus that so um but for me the main

Thing is always the main thing in us to win and I hated that you know had to happen in in a in a in a defeat especially versus a team that you know plays extremely well basketball we play some good basketball tonight but was able to close it out so um Bittersweet

You know but um very I enjoyed every moment tonight though while on the floor all right much more on LeBron’s Milestone a little bit later but consider this right it it seems to be maybe impossible for anyone to catch LeBron’s scoring Mark at this point I mean closest active player Kevin Durant

He’s still shy 30,000 some other unreachable records in major sports Jerry Rice only player with 22,000 receiving yards in a career Nolan Ryan only one with 5,000 and he got 5,700 strikeouts and Wayne Gretzky only player to reach 2,000 points and he’s almost at three time to welcome in former NBA

Champion Kendrick Perkins perk you played both with LeBron James and against LeBron James you know him more than most how do you fathom him scoring 40,000 points yeah I mean we could debate the go conversation for another day right now he’s my goat but you know

I think about LeBron and his story his movie you know the most pressured athlete to ever you know step foot on the basketball court and when I think about oh know brbr right from Spring Hill projects out of akan Ohio his story actually began you know first televised

Game on ESPN in high school and we started to witness greatness and now he’s sitting at the top alone when it comes to points in the 40K Club it’s a beautiful thing to see you know Braun and I go back since Middle School the 8th grade where he actually competed

When he was with the Ohio shooting stars I played with the Houston Hoops I was literally able to witness his entire story this movie that we’re watching and I’m just cherishing these moments right cuz the game is going to miss him when he’s gone but what he’s doing right now

And what he’s did in his career I mean I can’t even put it in words what to say about this man what about these Denver Nuggets I mean remarkable dominant over the Lakers now eight straight times they’ve beat the Los Angeles Lakers how do you explain it perk well well

Mentally they just got them in their back pocket but we we talk about the Boston Celtics and you know how dangerous they are the Minnesota timber woods and the Oklahoma City Thunder and we talk about all these Duos around the league but you know who we don’t talk

About we don’t talk about joic and Murray enough these guys actually did it last year they made it happen and what we saw tonight we saw them weather the storm and they kept their composure and the the the tenacity the passion that yish played with tonight I haven’t seen

That out of him in a long time and so when I think about the Duos around the League this is the best duo in basketball yeah it’s really a shame the Lakers didn’t go out at the trade deadline and get some more help yeah Braun was trying to tell them and nobody

Was listening but sorry for they loss yep yeah perk always makes me crack up thank you for joining us on Sports C always the one and only Stephen A Smith Bob Myers the architect of the four-time champion Golden State Warriors NBA champion Kendrick Perkins I’m Malika Andrew the Denver Nuggets they escape

With the win 124 114 and Bob you and I were talking about just how well Denver closes games it really proves why they’re the champs yeah they um six and0 since the break Malika and when you win a championship uh yes you’re become the hunted right that that happens you’re

The defending champ everybody’s coming after you but there’s a confidence that comes with winning the championship which they now have and in the closing moments of games when when everything’s on the line this unit and usually is even better with cwell po best in the NBA best fiveman unit in the NBA this

Denver starting five they know how to close games they have a confidence in themselves they don’t worry if they’re up two down two Lakers made a run here and the Nuggets responded and just put them away I mean it wasn’t even close at the end they made play after play after

Play they run everything through joic um he makes a great play for himself or someone else so they look to me that to be the best team in the west at least right now and so it’s fun to watch them coales one concern with them I only have

One concern this guys stay healthy that’s it yeah they got to stay healthy they look like the best team in the West can I switch gears and go in a different direction because I’m quite disgusted um and I’d like to say that to the American people right now uh open at night the

Lakers open the season they lose to the nuggets the night that Kobe statues revealed they lose that night tonight LeBron jamesp passes 40,000 points the only play in NBA history to ever do it they lose that game seem like the big moments the Lakers don’t measure up to

That’s number one number two we look at Angelo Russell let me dissect this didn’t I applaud that brother in the first half with 13 points Four Points the second half Four Points that’s number two number three let me get to the biggest point the biggest point that

I want to make because see LeBron James had 26 and N LeBron James shot 60% from the field what did I say big perk what have I been saying I said you ain’t G to stop joic which didn’t happen but what you have to do if your Anthony Davis is

Nullify what he gives you by making sure you give the same you can’t have Nicole yic dropping 35 and Anthony Davis answering was 17 you just can’t do it if you are the Los Angeles Lakers and you’ve got Championship aspirations the big boy who is an Allstar and a

Superstar talent in this game has to show up and give me a little bit extra when that other Superstar who’s a reigning defending and NBA champion okay when that brother shows up I didn’t see that tonight and I don’t like it particularly when you’re also getting Michael Porter Jr Stephen a shooting a

Perfect 10 of 10 from the field for 25 points to add on to all of that yeah but to pick it back off of Stephen A’s Point uh and it was a great Point Anthony Davis had more attitude with me and Stephen A today before the game than he

Actually did in the game did that to with me I thought I my point is my point is my point is that that’s fine but it’s no way that yic and I was just talking to Bob about this he was playing this game with a certain level of of passion and tenacity

Did you see it on his face a guy that never shows emotion well and you heard him before the game joking with LeBron James oh we’re not going to let you get past eight buddy but really they did but also came out and you know ruined the

Rest of the night and I said this before the game as well look credit to Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown credit to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant Anthony Davis and LeBron the best duo in basketball is Jamal Murray and joic and the way that they feed off each other that twom man

Game is Unstoppable but tonight they had 34 assists the Denver Nuggets as a whole yic and Murray accounted for 50% of those assists meaning that they’re trusting the others no cwell Pope guess what we trust you Aaron holiday we’re going to continue to make the extra pass

Aaron G that connection between him and joic is is probably the most Unstoppable thing in basketball they yic is the best player in the NBA right now is he your without without MB if MB was playing I have to second that yeah he he just you

Know why when we used to play against when I was with the Warriors you play against LeBron James when you play against somebody that good what you realize is they will get you a great possession every time now a great possession could be LeBron scoring or passing or C teammate joic is the

Closest I’ve seen in the NBA I think Jason Tatum is a great player I think Giannis is a great player they can’t do that one thing they cannot guarantee you a great possession every time down as much as a yic could and LeBron can still for the most part so they’re a scary

Team um what they’re doing with Murray it’s not in my opinion because Murray is is at that level of some of the other number twos on other teams but their cohesiveness how they played it that dribble hand off how they know each other it’s it’s pretty amazing to watch

I I don’t use the word scary you know what scary to me is when you’re creeping up on people you’re lurking and oh my goodness you know what you have the opportunity to to throw no these are the champions they’re the Champions and so they’re playing like Champions they just

Been hanging around all year long well everybody get excited Oklahoma City go ahead and get excited Minnesota go ahead and get excited Clippers go ahead and get excited we’re right there and we’re just creeping up on you this is what we do cuz we’ve been there we’ve done it we

Know what it takes okay you know something about that with the championships with the Golden State Warriors you’re the Los Angeles Lakers you’re supposed to have a clue LeBron James is a four-time champion Anthony Davis finally won a championship in the bubble year when you have a guy like jic

Showing up right that’s your position and you’re going like this I’mma bust your living you know what conversation with Rob Linka before the game and he was talking about the value that Jared Vanderbilt and G Vincent bring to the table the listen listen the point of attack right like guarding the ball I’m

Not talking about stopping joic but you if you going to if the Lakers are going to ever beat the Denver Nuggets for getting the playoff series get a win in a regular season they’re going to have to defend and that’s part of the reason why Lebron James was giving those

Signals during the trade deadline and I know how valuable Austin Reeves is I know D’Angelo Russell elevated his game but a guy like Deonte Murray right providing that defense cono somewhat slowing down to Jamal Murray gives them a better shot but if like Darin Han told me before the game if you’re

Anticipating that vanderbild is going to be back within the next couple of weeks that’s justification for not making a move and keeping the nucleus of the team intact if that if your concern is defense it still doesn’t fade away from my point yic is a monster he’s the

Defending Champion the road to the finals is going to have to go through him who is more better equipped to go up against him and to negate what he brings to the table than an Anthony Davis if you bring your A game you you you heard

The other night well they don’t give me R let me tell you something you heard I respect him but he Anthony wait wait we saw the other night Draymond Green You could argue is still one of the best defenders in the NBA absolutely yic went into their court and Draymond Green said

For the game I couldn’t do anything with this guy but not the size I understand I understand but Anthony Davis is a different kind of Defender than Draymond Green you’re talking about two of the best defenders and look what joic did to them isn’t that why you need to contain

Everybody else why Michael he that’s why can drop 35 Anthony Davis can drop 35 was you paying attention to the big man segment pregame we allay ATT the point but the point I was making was this you’re not going to stop Y no one is okay but the way that Anthony Davis

Could kind of neutralize Y is go give him that work on the other end and you just see him like just fade away with that I don’t care type attitude oh well just another game no it’s not just another game cuz you know why they’re

Sitting in a tth spot I’ll tell you I’ll tell you what else when you lose to a team in your conference eight times in a row and you’re trying to win a championship you you played on I want to take off my bill right no no listen when

You when you lose a team eight eight times in a row you’re in that locker room right now as a Laker as as anybody on the Laker organization you’re going I don’t no right I and they didn’t have kavus call yeah and you say well we’ll

Get him next game and then you go we haven’t beat him in eight games yeah at what point has that become sort of the elephant in the room yeah and it’s and it can we be that’s the question well listen it’s eight games but four of them came courtesy of broomsticks being

Brought out in the Western Conference Finals when they swept them for nothing they played them better in those games though yeah they played him closer well and we also saw LeBron James particularly in game four take that defensive assignment of nicok and say you know what it’s my turn now let me

Take him a little bit but the fact of the matter is this is another loss for the Los Angeles Lakers who are in the playin currently and if you put up their next 10 games we talked about this being an opportunity for them they do not leave the state of California Stephen A

Which is important for LeBron James in year 21 less travel until the 26th of March right but look how tell the audience why you’re asking me that question Maliki asking me that question because I talked about this on countdown I only see two pretty much guaranteed wins the Hawks and 76ers and

That’s pushing it they could lose all them damn games the Thunder the Kings the Bucks the Timberwolves the Kings again on the road the Warriors and then the Pacers to to to end it on the 24th oh the Lakers could lose all of those games do I think they will of course not

But they could none of those none you can legitimately say each of those teams could be a favorite against the Lakers respect the fact of the matter is no matter what their record is going to be whether they go 500 or whatever the case may be in my opinion they’re still going

To be in the playin tournament but being in a two- win scenario in the play in and versus a one- win scenario in the play in is a much different it don’t matter because when they get to the postseason I still don’t have confidence that they could beat the Denver Nuggets

And we know why they cannot beat the Minnesota timberwoods I don’t care what nobody say and they they cannot beat the Clippers in the seven gam but I want I I would love to see them against a young team like the temple wolves to see what

The temple are made up in terms of their experience because obviously that’s unfamiliar territory I think the only team they might not be able to beat is the team they just play yeah I I I I mean when you when you make when you say something like that you’re just saying

We’re not beating that team they’re not going to say that but I might say that’s the team other Teams foree Spee h first an enemy has been defeated your team has destroyed a tower our is under attack get over here victory for foree Spee Foree foree spee fore spe for foree you could totally trust Me First Blood you got to roll with the punches Son you been defeated an ally Deated an enemy has been defeated s down double kill an ally has been defeated you have defeated an enemy time an ally has been defeated Strictly Business nothing personal you have defeated an enemy double kill is your team has destroyed a tower an enemy has been defeated show me your an enemy has been defeated your tower has been destroyed an ally has been defeated

FIRST TAKE | Lakers have no answer for stopping the Nuggets’ Jokic – Stephen A on LeBron James reaches 40K points