They gotta get started with the NBA where don't look now, but the Los Angeles Lakers have climbed all the way up to the top two seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers swept two games against the Clippers Friday and Sunday. The Lakers have now won six straight games and twelve of the last fourteen. There's six and two With Luka Doncic in the lineup in Lebron James is putting up numbers reminiscent of his MVP season. The Lakers on a roll, and many are starting to wonder if they can win
the West. I'm here to tell you they can win the West. But it's not just because of Lebron James. It's not because you're expecting and anticipating that Luka Doncic's gonna go berserk. It's because of the way the Lakers are playing defense. That brings us to JJ Reddick. Did you know that over the last six and a half week, the Lakers are the number one defensive team in the NBA efficiency wise, Number one? That is special. Nobody anticipated that.
So we gotta give love where it's due. Respect Where's do it? We gotta start contemplating whether or not the Lakers gonna d come out of the West. Now, when I think about Okac, I'm thinking about Shay Gil just Alexander. I'm thinking about Jayalen Williams. I'm thinking about Ched Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. I'm thinking about the brothers that they got playing on that squad. Youthful, exuberant athleticism, three point
shooting ability, shot blocking ability, defensive prowess. They've got like nine different categories that they're number one in. All of those things play a role. The question is will their youth get the better of them, particularly going up against some more experienced teams there. I say the Los Angeles Lakers. We look at Memphis, they struggle shooting the ball. We look at Houston, they're too young. We look at Denver,
they don't have a bench. We look at the Clippers, we see what the Lakers have already done to them. We look at the Phoenix Suns. They're non existent. They've lost like twelve of their last fourteen. Despite Kevin Duran and Devin Book are both averaging over twenty six points a game, they can't win a game to save their
damn life. The Minnesota Timberwolves are winning games, But do you really really wonder whether or not Anthony Edwards is gonna have the help he needs from a Rudy Gobert, from a Julius Randall and others to really make some noise out in the Western Conference. Now, of course there is the Dallas Mavericks who everybody believes could make some noise. But then again, Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford is out. When are they coming back? And when they do come back,
how ready are they going to be. There's a whole bunch of things to point too throughout the Western Conference. And we can't forget the Golden State Warriors either, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. Those boys whole bunch of things to point too. But here's the bottom line. The Lakers got Luca, they got Lebron, and now they got a defense. Damn they can take the West. They really really can. Now forgive me for transitioning to another NBA topic, but
I want to follow up on a conversation from last week. Well, Lebron James wondered why anyone would want to be the face of the NBA. James essentially blame the media for being critical of the players in the game who are compared to the legends in the sport. I gave my thoughts on the issue last Friday, and then my buddy the god Father, the one and only Michael Wilbon from PTI, part of the Interruption, weighed in on the subject himself. Take a listen to what my man Wilbond had to say.
There's a lot of layers here, and there's some stuff I might agree with him. And I watched Channing Fry have this rant and it was insightful, and I disagree with Channing, who I know and like tremendously. And if I was sitting with Channing and or Lebron, I would say hold on for a second. First of all, we live in a world now in which those guys are particularly Lebron, they know how to use and manipulate social media. But it goes both ways. It cuts both ways, and
that's where a great part of the negativity is. All right, so you engage in this. We live in a world that is largely negative, having nothing to do with sports. That that's the world we live in and you live in it. And in Lebron's case, though, when you've been praised justifiably, you've earned the praise and the hundreds of millions of dollars that have started since you were eight years old when you put a crown on your head. Do you actually believe that the rest of us are
just in your kingdom to serve you. Sorry, there's criticism that comes with that. There's comparison that comes with that. I don't know that Lebron feels this way because I haven't asked him. I'd like to ask him, is he referring to the constant comparisons to Michael Jordan? Because if he doesn't like that, too, damn bad. The comparison, the constant attention, that's how you get all that money. It
doesn't come from fannies in seats. It comes from attention and eyeballs and viewership and listenership and all of that. Tony and I just wonder, really, do you think that we're supposed to just be there in public relations terms? Went out on your payroll? When out there just to praise you?
Do I need to say any more? Do I need the sanny damn Moore? He said it right there for you. We're not on Lebron James payroll. But guess that's what we damn sure help elevate his payroll because by talking about him so much and praising him and recognizing him and popularizing him, it's facilitated him making money. There is no question that he is one of the greatest players ever and he deserves all the credit for that. We didn't train for him, We didn't you know, we didn't
provide his nutrition. We weren't the ones in the weight room like he was taking care of his body, spending more than a million and a half dollars a year on taking care of his health. All of that stuff is absolutely positively true. But in the end, by talking about him, by prioritizing him with our coverage, we've assisted
in that. But we're hating because God forbid that you had to audacity to unmitigated gall or say that one player out of the thousands upon thousands of players that have played in the NBA throughout its history could possible be better than Lebron James. All we do is talk shit about him. That's what he says. I'll tell you what's talking about him, calling his ass too sensitive, that's what's talking shit about him, which I just did because it's true.