Skip Bayless dubbed yesterday night’s NBA action to be a ‘LeBron James vs James Harden‘ contest. Even though the two guards from Los Angeles’ two NBA teams didn’t play against each other, Bayless saw an invisible competition between the two because their games were being broadcast simultaneously. In fact, the veteran FS1 host emphatically admitted during his monologue on UNDISPUTED a while ago that he had to miss LeBron’s game against the Miami Heat to witness James Harden’s first game with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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Skip Bayless is widely known in NBA circles as a consummate ‘LeBron hater’. However, there’s no denying that the 71-year-old watches King James’ games religiously even if it be with the intent to find flaws in the four-time NBA Champion’s game. But Bayless chose to watch the Clippers take on the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, thereby missing out on the Los Angeles Lakers’ thrilling encounter with the Heat.
However, it seemed like he didn’t regret his decision to do so. “For the first time in all my years of carefully watching LeBron games since 2004 on National TV, I was more fixated on the Harden game just because of the curiosity factor, ‘What will he look like!'” Bayless declared.
The former ESPN host was not disappointed with the Beard’s performance. On the contrary, he was surprisingly impressed by Harden’s 17-point outing in New York. “What I saw was a basketball player who was gifted beyond gifted…How do you just roll out of bed and play 31 minutes!’ Bayless added.
“What I saw was a basketball player who is beyond gifted. James Harden had no camp and stepped on the floor against a hard-playing Knicks team at the Garden.” — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/vR0wyDkgb4
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 7, 2023
The veteran analyst was surprised by Harden tallying 17 points and six assists in his 31 minutes on the floor. The 2018 MVP didn’t play preseason games like the other players in the league and mostly sat out the first few games of the season in the wake of his feud with the Philadelphia 76ers’ management. Therefore, his decent output after such a prolonged hiatus managed to shock Bayless. However, Harden’s performance couldn’t save the Clippers from defeat as they had to settle for a 14-point loss on the road.
Skip Bayless talks about the Clippers’ tandem with James Harden on the floor
Bayless also addressed the Clippers’ ‘Big Four’ playing together. With two dominant ball-handlers on the team in Russell Westbrook and James Harden, many analysts had expressed their concerns about the strategy of the LA side going forward.
Meanwhile, Bayless declared Harden to be a better passer of the basketball than Westbrook. He tacitly also implied his preference for the former Philadelphia 76ers guard being the playmaker for the Clippers.
However, things are not as simple as that. Head Coach Ty Lue has to devise a system for the four stars to function smoothly within the team structure. Paul George recently opened up on what Coach Lue intends to do with the newly formed tandem. That will surely be the million-dollar problem for the Clips to solve this season.
