No Stephen A. Smith on First Take? Let the chaos begin. If you ever thought he was the reason the show was heated, you better think again. Shannon Sharpe is known for being an avid Lakers fan. I mean, don’t his ‘Lakers in 5′ quips deserve their own segments? So you could guess how ecstatic he’d have been after they swept table-toppers OKC 126-99. But Kendrick Perkins’ takes on the game got Sharpe as livid as he could ever get.

Don’t forget, just a few days back when LeBron James called out ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, it was Perkins who took a stand for his colleagues against the NBA’s veteran star. “LeBron needs to stop,” KP said. “I am so sick of him with this ‘oh, how the league is covered’ because he wanted to be covered a certain way… Everything that came out of LeBron’s mouth ain’t the d*** gospel.” Now, even though the Lakers beat the Thunder, KP took the driving seat in Smith’s absence and spoke his mind. Something Sharpe—an outspoken Laker—did not like, perhaps.

“Since Stephen A is not here today, da-n it, I’m taking over.” KP knew he was gonna bring the heat with their flagship analyst absent on the set for the evening. The win over Thunder was massively important for the Lakers. While ‘onto the next’ is a good mentality to have from their perspective, Perkins’ perspective really bummed the buzz around it. “We need to see ’em do it again… The playoffs are right around the corner… [You can find your consistency] by actually playing the game of basketball… Find to see how you can be more consistent on the defensive side of things,” said KP on the show.

Fair enough—the Lakers’ defense has been their point of concern. But restricting a free-flowing OKC team to just 99 points and their worst defeat of the season is a sign of progress. Regardless, what Perkins said is true—it only matters if the same result is translated into the playoffs. Can they beat the Thunder in a 7-game series? The former OKC center thinks they’ll have to get to the Conference finals to prove that, which in itself is apparently a tall task.

This put Shay-Shay in disbelief. According to him, there’s no way a win like such was completely disregarded by future prospects. “LeBron said that they tryna find their identity… Tryna find it is not just about the OKC, it’s about tryna find in the rest of the remaining regular season,” said Perkins. Shannon’s WiFi had disconnected during this time, so his true reactions were unfortunately just kept to himself.

But this isn’t the end of the debate. Kendrick Perkins’ takes on the contenders for the NBA championship might’ve been the deal breaker for Sharpe.

Shannon Sharpe nearly called quits over Perkins’ Lakers disrespect

Stephen A. Smith’s absence really gave us something special. Not only did Shannon Sharpe and Kendrick Perkins virtually go toe-to-toe, but Perkins’ constant disrespect for the Lakers‘ title hopes nearly had Sharpe calling his analyst career off before it even peaked.

After their discussion on the Thunder win, KP proceeds to name his top 5 NBA contenders for the season. And guess what? The Lake Show didn’t make an appearance on Big Perk’s A-List. Who did make the list were the Celtics, Thunder, Warriors, Cavaliers, and the Clippers. You can guess Shay-Shay’s infuriation hereon.

“And I wish [ESPN] hadn’t given you a list. That’s terrible. How can you do that, Perk?” Sharpe does have a point, though. He lets KP know of the head-to-head with the Golden State and the Lob City this season. “We owned them.” OKC and Celtics? Championship contenders for sure, says Sharpe. “But them other three? Not on they best day…. If [ESPN] give Perk another chance to run a list while I’m on here, I’m out.”

I don’t think you can blame Shannon Sharpe for his outburst. Kendrick Perkins might’ve been right about the Lakers needing to show their quality in the playoffs. But maybe we all learned a lesson today—Stephen A. Smith deserves more credit than he gets for keeping this show intact.