LeBron James recently twisted his ankle and now, he will have to miss "several weeks" with the injury. This is awful news for the Los Angeles Lakers who are currently battling for a top spot in the Western Conference standings. With Anthony Davis and LeBron James out of the lineup, there are plenty of other teams who stand to benefit, including the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Clippers.
While speaking on ESPN's First Take today, Stephen A. Smith had some strong words about LeBron's injury and how some of the other teams in the league should be reacting. In fact, Smith issued a challenge to the likes of Kawhi Leonard, saying that the star should be looking to guide the Clippers to a deep playoff run.
"You demanded that the Los Angeles Clippers pay the farm, mortgage the farm and everything else in between just so you could get Paul George," Smith said. "This is not about his numbers. This is about willingness to lead, to galvanize, to maximize the potential surrounding you so that you can take this organization to heights it has never seen before."
Leonard and the Clippers had a disappointing end to their season all the way back in 2020 and moving forward, they're going to want to prove that their superteam is worthy of attention. If Kawhi accepts Smith's challenge, we could be seeing a motivated Clippers squad to end out the year.
