LA Lakers News Roundup: Spurs rookie clarifies Russell Westbrook comments, LeBron James defends Jayson Tatum, and more | July 19th, 2022

San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan quickly clarified his gaffe after responding "bricks" to a question regarding LA Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook. The video soon went viral, which prompted a few NBA players to call out Sochan's disrespect.

LeBron James defended young Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum from criticism of his NBA Finals performance. The four-time MVP explained the similarities between Tatum's first championship series and his display against the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.

Russell Westbrook became a screen setter for LeBron James last season. Zach Lowe provided a stat that showed the point guard did not complete this task.

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Jeremy Sochan didn't mean to disrespect LA Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook in a game

Jeremy Sochan surprised even himself with his answer to a Westbrook question. [Photo: FirstSportz]

San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan grabbed headlines before playing a minute in the NBA. He caught a firestorm of reactions for a game he played with his teammate, fellow rookie Malaki Branham.

Following backlash from current NBA players such as Bobby Portis and Larry Nance Jr., the former Baylor freshman clarified his jibe:

“It’s banter, I was not intending on being disrespectful. heat of the moment, I was playing a game baby.”

The video, which went viral, showed Malaki Branham and Sochan playing a game called "post-up." Branham was giving him a clue, "Russell Westbrook gets them a lot." The answer was a triple-double, but Sochan guessed "Bricks!"

The game went on, and the 9th pick of the NBA draft eventually figured out the answer. His first reply, though, created so much buzz that he had to come out and clarify his answer.

There are currently rumors linking the Spurs as the third team in a possible Westbrook deal between the LA Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. Mr. Triple-Double and the rookie could cross paths earlier than expected.

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LeBron James defends Jayson Tatum from critics

LeBron James hits back at Jayson Tatum critics. [Photo: Fadeaway World]

The LA Lakers franchise player defended the young Boston Celtics star following the latter's underwhelming performance in the NBA Finals. Many fans were disappointed and frustrated with Jayson Tatum.

JT was at the center of social media criticism. LeBron James, on an episode of The Shop, came to Tatum's defense:

“Jayson Tatum is a beast. He didn’t play to his standards. But to the regular sh*t standards that everybody only people that’s comfortable. Like man, he had a hell of a season. And that guy’s not even 25 yet. He’ll be back. And he got nothing to hang his hat on.”

James and Tatum battled in the East, so the veteran knew the Celtics had someone special. LeBron went through a similar experience after his first Finals appearance against Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs. James said:

“He played against the same team of my first Finals. I played against the Spurs. It’s the same sh*t. The same sh*t. And they took advantage of me not knowing much.”

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Russell Westbrook failed as a screen setter last season for LeBron James

Russell Westbrook didn't do his job as a screen setter for LeBron James and the LA Lakers. [Photo: Sporting News]

The biggest question when the LA Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook was how he would fit around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Former coach Frank Vogel wouldn't take the ball out of James' hands, so he made Westbrook a screen setter.

In that regard, he failed. In his podcast, Zach Lowe showed the stats behind that inability to change his game for the LA Lakers:

“Screen for LeBron. You could tell they had a team meeting about Russ screening for LeBron before the second game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies. Screened 8 times for LeBron in that game, it went pretty well!

“After that game … He didn’t set more than two until March! He didn’t set more than 4 in any other game in the entire season.”

Many LA Lakers fans bashed Vogel for not involving Westbrook more on offense. He stood around the perimeter most of the time, waiting for kick-outs and for plays to break down.

The job of setting screens could have opened up opportunities for him and the team. He refused to adapt his game to the situation. Maybe Darvin Ham can push Russell Westbrook to buy into the team concept.