UPDATED 1/8, 5:15 p.m. ET: Lou Williams responded to Stephen A. Smith's report with a cap emoji, implying that Kawhi never said that James is "scared" of guarding him.
See original story below.
More shots have reportedly been fired in the battle for Los Angeles.
On Wednesday's episode of First Take, Stephen A. Smith did his best to add fuel to the fire that is the rivalry between LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard.
"I was told by a very reliable source that Kawhi Leonard sat up there and said, 'Somebody tell LeBron stop being scared to guard me,'" Smith said. "That's what they said... That's the only basketball thing I've heard about the Lakers."
Kawhi Leonard entered the NBA as a defensive stopper. Over the years he's blossomed on the offensive side of the ball, requiring teams to plan for his scoring ability accordingly. The L.A. rivalry has been all Clippers so far, as they've won both of their head-to-head matchups against the Lakers. In the first game, Kawhi scored 30 points with Danny Green as his primary defender. On Christmas Day, the Lakers played more team defense against Kawhi but he still put up 35 points.
On the other side of the Staples Center, Kawhi has been James' primary defender for both games. Although he held LeBron to 18 points in their first meeting, James was one rebound shy of a 23-point triple-double on Christmas. With two games against each other left on the schedule, it now appears that Kawhi is ready for the Lakers to follow the Clippers' lead and give the fans the matchup they want to see heading into the playoffs.
