The Denver Nuggets are in a favorable position to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for two consecutive NBA seasons. The Lakers lost Game 3 and will have to leave the playoffs early. Currently, the Denver Nuggets lead the Los Angeles Lakers 0-3 in the NBA playoffs. Following the Lakers’ 105-112 loss against the Denver Nuggets, Stephen A. Smith, an American sports television personality and NBA analyst, made some bold statements regarding D’Angelo Russell.

Smith said that LeBron James doesn’t deserve a teammate like D’Angelo Russell. He bounced back in the second game with an impressive performance, scoring 23 points and providing six assists in 38 minutes of play.

Despite his hopes for a successful game in Los Angeles, Russell failed to score any points and missed all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc in game 3. Russell faced criticism from fans and NBA analysts after a poor performance in the last game against the Nuggets.

D’Angelo Russell is expected to decline the player option and become a free agent this summer

During a recent episode of the podcast ‘First Take,’ Stephen A. Smith criticized D’Angelo Russell by saying that King James doesn’t deserve a teammate like him.

“D’Angelo Russell, what a disgrace, embarrassment. Denver snatched their heart. I feel bad for LeBron James and Anthony Davis; they are averaging 58.7 points and 59% shooting from the field in this series. The rest of the Lakers had 43.7 points on 39% shooting. Austin Reaves hadn’t done much before yesterday. D’Angelo Russell didn’t show up in game 1, showed up in game not when it counted after the 20-point lead deteriorated.

D’Angelo Russell, Stephen A. Smith (Image source Getty Images)

Last night, you embarrassed yourself in front of the Lakers fans at the crypto.com arena. It is an absolute disgrace. They lost to Sacramento, and he wasn’t aware of what was at stake with the seeding and everything like that. You might been able to avoid the Denver Nuggets had you paid attention, had you been on top of it. LeBron James doesn’t deserve a teammate like that. Somebody that is not that focused, get rid of him,” Stephen A. Smith said during the recent episode of ‘First Take.’

According to ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst, D’Angelo Russell is expected to decline the player option and become a free agent this summer. It will be intriguing to see which team he will join next season.