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  • in the second half of the NBA season, resuming tonight.

  • So let's check out the standings.

  • The 76 are sitting on top of the East, but barely with the Nets, only half a game back.

  • The Bucks are in third in the West, the Lakers struggling without a D in third place behind the Red hot Jazz and the Suns.

  • LeBron and the Crew, of course, trying to repeat as NBA champions seven time NBA champ Robert Ory.

  • Still here with the ladies in China, I want to ask you, who do you think is the biggest threat to the Lakers in the West?

  • Well, I love first and foremost.

  • Let me say this.

  • I love what the Utah Jazz have done.

  • I mean, they're one of the most balanced teams, you know, on both ends of the floor.

  • I think they're the only team this season that has been top five in both offensive and defensive rating.

  • They have, you know, an offensive captain, an All Star Donovan Mitchell, a defensive captain in Rudy Gobert, who's number two and blocks number two and rebounds 13 rebounds a game.

  • I also love what the Phoenix Suns have done.

  • You know, Chris Paul walks into the building into the locker room and guess what.

  • He makes Everyone have this expectation to win.

  • And I think you know Devin Booker is obviously, you know, right next to Damian Lillard.

  • Per what?

  • LeBron James tweeted one of the most disrespected but most feared guys, you know when it when it comes to his shooting ability.

  • I say all of that to still say that it's the Los Angeles Clippers that are probably, you know, the same team in the same town right here where I'm at in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Clippers that are probably the biggest rival you know to the Lakers in the West.

  • Just because what I love about them is they have two sure fire talent.

  • And I know a lot of people want to talk about what you know Paul George did last year in the playoffs.

  • I hate all y'all's nicknames, the way off all that type of stuff.

  • What he has done this season has been super impressive, very close to having a 50 40 90 type of season shooting the ball extremely well, tag teaming with Kawhi Leonard, who obviously you know when it comes to the playoffs one healthy and 100% and rested as a guy that a lot of people, no, he knows how to win.

  • So that dynamic duo on both ends just being able to match up with LeBron James and potentially challenged Anthony Davis when he comes back.

  • I'm looking at the Clippers, still, largely because they made this big gamble in switching their head coaches from Doc Rivers to tile.

  • Ooh, to sort of help Paul George be great again, right?

  • Paul, George said.

  • Like these pin downs, that's not my speed.

  • That's not my style.

  • They made that big gamble, and it's sort of paid off when it comes to Paul Georges game so far, you know this season.

  • So I really do think it will come down to the city of L.

  • A.

  • Even though I love what you know.

  • Utah has been able to do so far this season.

  • They will make noise based on the, you know, confidence they're building in the regular season, but right now they have a combination of defense of offense, of now coaching that sort of is helping their stars get over the mental humps and I do think that there is still the biggest threat to the Lakers in the West.

  • You know, if I'm Donovan Mitchell and I'm sitting at home, I don't know if he's upright on, but if I'm sitting at home, I'm listening to right now because she started off right.

  • Start off right.

  • Talking about all the ways that Utah this, you know, between Rudy Gobert me, Donovan Mitchell, like even my colleague Perfect setup guy.

  • And then we went, We veered and start talking about some other people.

  • Like what?

  • Do the standing stay right now?

  • Like, uh and so here's the thing.

  • Like LeBron even trying to throw shade like No, no shade by shade to the Utah Jazz.

  • Like recently, like, What's the deal with Utah?

  • Somebody tell me, what is the problem?

  • Why can't we just give them their props when they're do?

  • Why we got the flashy lights of L.

  • A.

  • No, Utah, Utah, that if I'm the Lakers and I'm a team, if I'm LeBron and I'm like, Oh, I gotta hold this together while you know until it gets back.

  • Yeah, Like, put some respect on their name.

  • What's going on?

  • Uh, no, No, no.

  • First of all, Donovan Mitchell is my guy.

  • Three stripes, life family.

  • Okay, Kimberly, is he Will he still be with his stuff?

  • Because I know that what I say will motivate him to do what he needs to do when it comes to the playoffs.

  • I can't really.

  • This was all about motivation.

  • This was all about motivation.

  • That was it.

  • Motivation works two ways.

  • You know, the motivation works two ways, and now you sit here in LeBron's watching this, too.

  • And to think about the biggest threat to the Lakers is health.

  • That's the biggest threat.

  • Because if a D cannot get healthy and stay healthy, that is the only thing that's going to derail the Lakers.

  • And it's not gonna be because of LeBron is not gonna be because 80 it's going because all the other guys on the team, Dennis The Menace, is playing extremely world Montrezl Harrell, who they took from the Clippers who I thought were going to be there.

  • The biggest threat is not the biggest threat.

  • And Utah Jazz.

  • You know, Utah Jazz reminds me of that team out East called the Milwaukee Bucks.

  • You have a great season you do all these things, but the playoffs is a different beast.

  • I'm telling you, the Lakers have won a championship and and they know the only way to be thought of as a great team is to go back to back.

  • You know, if you think about all the teams throughout the NBA history Oh, that's nice.

  • They want the NBA championship, but they're not considered great until they go back to back.

  • And that's what LeBron and A D wants to do.

  • So they are motivated and it doesn't matter where they finished because it's covid.

  • We don't know what's going on, the protocol for people coming into the arenas.

  • We know Utah, they have fans and they're gonna need their fans because they are not the Lakers biggest threat.

  • And I love Rudy Gobert.

  • I think he's one of the best players, and defensively he's underrated.

  • But the biggest threat to the Lakers is health.

  • Nobody else in the West.

  • Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.

in the second half of the NBA season, resuming tonight.

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