“Come Back Soon, LeBron James”: Skip Bayless Sends Message for Lakers Star After 87–97 Loss to Timberwolves

The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 87–97 tonight in the team’s second straight game without LeBron James. In the King’s absence, the Lakers struggled to get any offense going against the defensively stout Timberwolves. The team’s lackluster performance prompted a post from Skip Bayless, calling for LBJ’s return.

Bayless, known as James’ biggest critic, quite surprisingly, requested James to return as soon as possible amid the Lakers’ recent struggles. “Come back soon, LeBron … from Germany or wherever you’ve gone during your “personal time” off. Lakers lose at Minnesota, need a refortified you,” Bayless wrote on X.

Come back soon, LeBron … from Germany or wherever you’ve gone during your “personal time” off. Lakers lose at Minnesota, need a refortified you.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 14, 2024

While the extent of Bayless’ concern is debatable, the 73-year-old does make a valid point. The Lakers’ pitiful showing tonight underlined just how imperative LeBron is to the team’s success. LBJ is no longer a defensive standout, but his three-level scoring and playmaking abilities were sorely missed during a game in which neither team could buy a bucket.

Neither squad cracking 100 points is enough evidence that this was an old-school, grinding matchup between two teams relying on their defense for a win. Los Angeles was mostly able to contain Minnesota’s two biggest scoring threats, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who combined for just 43 points on 16-36 shooting.

But the Purple and Gold’s inability to create open looks or capitalize on mistakes canceled out any positives from this contest.

Anthony Davis, despite posting dominant performances for much of the year, hasn’t proven capable of leading the team in LeBron’s absence. The Brow struggled to an ineffective 23 points, 11 rebounds and an assist in James’ stead on Friday, all dips from his season averages.

Bayless probably wants James back in order to implicate him for the Lakers’ woes. But what the longtime sports personality pointed out is true. Los Angeles indeed needs a rejuvenated LeBron in order to achieve any form of success this season.

The Lakers have planned a rest period for LeBron

LeBron has now missed a pair of contests after playing in all of the Lakers’ first 23 games. But this was all an internal idea as the team planned a rest period for LBJ during the NBA’s In-Season tournament, which has allowed many squads throughout the league to catch an extra break. The added respite for the 39-year-old gives him an eight-day rest period, which is undoubtedly needed with 22 seasons of NBA basketball on his legs.

James may be taking a mid-season break from the Lakers, but he should be ready to come back soon. The future Hall of Famer could return as soon as Sunday against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.