Name: Lakers vs. Jazz is a 'statement game' for LeBron - JWill says L.A. needs a staple win vs. Utah | KJZ
Uploaded: 2021-02-24T18:35:17.000Z
Duration: 6 min 15 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Tonight is a statement game for the Lakers and LeBron James.

And it is this because there's this old saying, Zubin, that my AU coach used to say back to me when I was younger.

Well, I've seen LeBron James beat five players.

And as we talk about a team who is on a three game losing streak, a chance to stop the skid on the road at Utah, the hottest team in the league at full strength.

LeBron James is out there with a whole bunch of meeting use.

Talented player comes off the bench teller.

But not having Dennis Shooter who's out again due to contact tracing.

Not having Anthony Davis, a top five player in the league.

If LeBron James can put the Lakers on his back tonight and get a staple win, I think it will set the tone that.

Even at 36 years old, I can still do what I used to do 5, 10 years ago.

Look, they don't need to get the win for me.

Well, I'm not expecting LeBron James to put the team on his back the way that he did in the Eastern Conference when the Eastern Conference wasn't as strong as the West is right now.

Um, yes, he knows that he needs his running mate in Anthony Davis.

Long term to be really successful in this situation.

And Dennis Schroder is there for him in terms of being a defensive player, high volume shooter, all of those sort of things.

What they want to do is not get run out of the building.

They want to keep it as close as possible.

And if they can, if they could keep it as close as possible in still a victory.

If you lose by a you know, a handful of points because free throws was shot in the in and the score looks a little lopsided because of that, Okay, just don't get run out of the building from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.

Then we would start to say, Oh, God, oh my God, they certainly have got to have this much like that, McMenamin said.

This is an opportunity for people to go at LeBron what they've been waiting to do.

If he doesn't win without his running mates, it's an excuse for people to say, See, he's not this.

He's not that we all know that he needs a D.

Once they get him back healthy, let's have that conversation.

Well, that's been Yeah, look, LeBron ultimately will be judged when this team is at full health, but they have lost their last four or five games, right?

So it is a storyline that we'll be talking about three out of four out of five, three out of four.

Why do you keep saying three out of four?

Then they lost the Brooklyn Miami in Washington.

All I'm saying is that look, and then vice versa on the opposite side.

Casual fans don't know the name Donovan Mitchell.

Okay, LeBron James is there by himself tonight, pretty much without a D and Dennis Schroder.

Prove that you're the best team and I'm not talking about Beat the Lakers by a couple of free throws.

Set a tone to let them know that, Yes, we are the best team in the West.

And even when you are full health, if we beat you by 20 tonight, maybe it will be a game when a D and dinner shooter come back.

But without those guys, you don't belong on the same court with us.

That's what the Utah Jazz need to prove this evening.

Jay, Why have the Jazz been so good this season?

And it's got to be more than Mitchell like what has allowed them to play like this Rudy Gobert guy who's won multiple defensive player of the years.

He's an All star this year named You've Got guys like Bogan Bogdanovich.

He came in that trade from Indiana, knocking down threes.

They hit threes at an incredible rate because of their floor spacing.

And Quin Snyder, who was associate coach at Duke when I was being recruited there, then went to the G League, now the head coach of the Utah Jazz, one of the all time best coaches in the game.

Here's what Erik Spoelstra was a couple of years ago that people are starting to recognize his brilliance and also Donovan Mitchell.

He's playing like a top 10 player in the league.

Ever since Shock has challenged him, he's continued to step up and rise to the challenge.

Well, we'll see what Utah use, but here's the thing.

It's just We're finally going to see them on the national stage against an iconic star to see where they stand.

We, we we know Donovan Mitchell has been on fire.

We know that Rudy go bears there and clogging the whole way.

We get all that, but we'll see what they are against the hobble Laker team tonight.

It's just, and we'll be able to judge tonight what they are and have a conversation about it tomorrow.

Utah Jazz fan and I know their fans over the years have been accused of going over the line.

There have been some incidents there in Utah, but they have an incredibly passionate fan base.

It's the only major professional team in the entire state.

You have to think about it from this perspective.