The Sunday night scuffle between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart at the homes of the Pistons has drawn reactions from a lot of basketball fans. Adult film star Kendra Lust also had something to say, albeit directed at Anthony Davis.
The topic came up on TNT's Inside The NBA before tip-off at Madison Square Garden, where the New York Knicks hosted the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron missed the game because he was serving his one-game suspension, and the Lakers failed to win without him.
Speaking on the issue, NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal discredited talks of LeBron being a dirty player, but also could not fault Stewart for his reaction (1:45)
"LeBron has been in the league, what? 18, 17 years, and he's never been that guy."
"Now Stewart reacted like he was supposed to react. You hit somebody in the face, I wanna fight you."
When asked if that was not an over the top reaction, he responded:
"No no. somebody hit you in the face, you either gotta hit him back, or act like you wanna hit him back. There's only two options."
Shaq is one of the most dominant centers in league history, and he subscribes to the school of thought of asserting your dominance on the floor, by any means necessary. In the altercation between Nikola Jokic and Markieff Morris, he was on the side of Jokic for retaliating in the manner he did.
LeBron has served his one-game suspension and will be ready for action in the Lakers' last road game against the Indiana Pacers. It will be his 9th appearance for the team in 20 games. Without him, the Lakers have gone on a 4-7 run.
The Lakers need to go on a winning run, and LeBron is the man to help them achieve that. Besides LeBron's absence, the Lakers might have other issues that need addressing.
Shaq has pointed out that the Lakers lack a championship mentality and are relying so much on their experience. The Lakers need to make some changes, and soon if they hope to compete for the 2022 NBA title.
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