Fans with tickets to Tuesday night’s Lakers-Spurs game weren’t the only ones upset about the lack of star power in Los Angeles’ uniforms.
During “First Take” on Wednesday morning, Stephen A. Smith went out with JJ Redick for having LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart all on the same night.
“A star [Victor Wembanyama] walked into the building, in Tinsel Town, and none of the stars of the purple and gold Los Angeles Lakers were in uniform ready to play,” Smith said.
“That’s disgraceful.”
All five Los Angeles players were dealing with nagging injuries, and with the Lakers having just played a tough game against the Thunder on Monday night, Redick opted to rest them all against San Antonio.
The Lakers ended up starting Kobe Bufkin, Luke Kennard, Jaxson Hayes, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura, and they were blown out at Crypto.com Arena, 136-108.
Smith said he wouldn’t have minded if Redick had given just a few of his entrees this evening, but all five were just too much for his taste.
“Everyone?” he said on ESPN’s morning show. “That’s disrespectful, insensitive and dismissive of the fans. And someone has to say it, so damn it, I’ll say it.”
Smith added that he didn’t mean to single out the Lakers, explaining that he was “annoyed with Steve Kerr” for making similar decisions in Golden State, but he said it’s a growing NBA problem that needs to be addressed quickly.
“This is the kind of thing that makes people, especially old-schoolers and others they ingratiate themselves with, hate the product,” he said. “This is what makes the competition so crazy. Because from a creative or curative standpoint, you have to do all kinds of things to come up with things to make up for what shouldn’t be happening.”
“You have to show up for work.”
The Lakers have one more game on the schedule before the NBA’s All-Star break: a home game on Thursday night against the Mavericks. It is not yet clear which, if any, Lakers starters will be back in uniform for the game.
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