Lakers Critic Stephen A Smith Confirms He's Rooting for LA in Postseason

The Lakers have a fan once they get to the postseason.

Dec 21, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Stephen A. Smith , American sports television personality, walks on the field before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't playing their best basketball at the moment. They have slid into a tie for fifth in the Western Conference after trying to fight for the second seed.

Part of that has been because they haven't been fully healthy. They have had to deal with multiple absences from their starting lineup in the last couple of weeks.

One of their biggest critics this season has been ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith. Smith has been critical of the Lakers in multiple aspects this season, especially of Bronny James.

The criticism of Bronny is what caused LeBron James to have a confrontation with Smith during a game. That was a very public confontation.

Read more: Luka Doncic Offers Brutal Honesty on Lakers’ Recent Rough Stretch

Despite the criticism that Smith has had for the Lakers this season, he says that he will be rooting for them in the playoffs. They aren't his favorite team, but he will still be looking at them to do well.

“Listen, Rob Pelinka rolled up on me at the Lakers game a couple weeks ago,” Smith said. “He like, ‘We know you rooting for us. We know where you wanna be in June.’ I said, ‘You’re damn right.’ I ain’t apologizing for it to nobody. Everybody know my dream matchup is the Lakers versus Miami strictly for social reasons. Obviously, the Miami Heat ain’t gonna be able to do that for me this year, okay, but I’m still holding out hope for the Lakers.”

Smith is still on the bad side of some Lakers fans. It's going to take a while for them to forgive him based on what he's said in the last few weeks.

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Los Angeles needs to get healthy if they want to do anything in the playoffs. James just returned from his groin strain, so he'll need a couple of games to get re-acclimated into the flow of things.

Luka Doncic continues to deal with some injuries that have kept him out of two of the last ten games. Both of their best players have to be fully healthy for this team to be a contender to win it all.

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For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.