LeBron James had not has this bad of a Playoff series in about 12 years. If you don’t dive deep into his numbers against the Nuggets in Games 1 and 2, they are far better than his meltdown against the Mavs in the 2011 Finals. However, Skip Bayless is here to tell us exactly why this is the 4x Finals MVP’s worst Playoff series.
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Coming into the Playoffs, James was shooting quite well from distance. According to ESPN, he was 40% from the 3-point line in his last 10 games before entering the post-season. Since then, in 14 games, he has shot just over 23% from the perimeter.
That did not affect them too much in the 1st and 2nd rounds. But, two games into the Conference Finals, it has dug the Lakers a hole too deep to come out of. And so, Bayless believes that the King must stop shooting 3s and drive more.
Skip Bayless brings up an astonishing record to belittle LeBron James
It’s rare for the 71-year-old analyst to back his typical rant up against the 19x All-Star. But this time he has brought in some statistics to prove how lousy of a shooter, the “greatest driver” of the basketball is.
“LEBRON FANS: Did you know he just set yet another NBA playoff record. Since stats were kept, no player has ever missed 17 straight playoff three-point shots. Now LeBron (James) has! And I’m being too hard on him when I say the greatest driver of the ball ever is a lousy 3-pt shooter???” Bayless asked fans on Twitter.
LEBRON FANS: Did you know he just set yet another NBA playoff record. Since stats were kept, no player has ever missed 17 straight playoff three-point shots. Now LeBron has! And I’m being too hard on him when I say the greatest driver of the ball ever is a lousy 3-pt shooter???
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 20, 2023
Admittedly, when you forget where it is coming from, this isn’t bad advice at all. Given the Nuggets’ lack of big men who could defend the post, both LeBron and Davis must indeed put their heads down and take it to the rim whenever they do have the ball. So, all in all, Skip Bayless isn’t wrong at all. However, this isn’t the only problem the Lakers currently face.
The Lakers have got some problems
First, they have to stop putting Anthony Davis on Jamal Murray. The Lakers have to start defending the Nuggets’ guard like they did Stephen Curry. After all, as good as Nikola Jokic has been, Murray is the one, who is running away with it in 4th quarter.
Additionally, they need to stop doubling the Joker, despite him ripping them apart on offense. After all, that only open the team up for a cut from someone else. And knowing Jokic, he can more than deliver the perfect pass to make it count.
However, above all else, they have to believe Anthony Davis will get the better of Jokic in the remaining games if given the chance. After all, so far the big man has played excellent defense on the Nuggets MVP. Really, the Joker has only made the lion’s share of his shots due to miraculous plays. However, if that’s the only reason the Joker is winning this matchup, the tables will be turning very, very soon. All LA needs to do is believe it will happen.
