The Los Angeles Lakers lost their last game to the Miami Heat by 110-96 game, capping off a three-game losing streak for the Lakers. A horrendous performance from LeBron James drew an equally berating response from veteran NBA analyst Skip Bayless as he went on X (formerly Twitter) to call out The King.
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The Lakers were a fan-favourite to win the game against the Heat as the Miami were playing without their star man Jimmy Butler. Bayless even went on X to encourage and inspire James, hoping that he would take over the game.
Around half-time, Bayless tweeted, “Come on, Bron, these are the Heat without Jimmy Butler. You were 6 1/2 point favorites tonight. Snap out of it. Get it in gear. Take this nationally televised home game over. No way you should lose to these guys.”
Despite Bayless’ best efforts to fire up the 39-year-old Lakers star, Los Angeles was not able to seal the deal and defend home court. After this humiliating loss, the Undisputed analyst immediately went on X to give his two cents regarding the game.
Good Lord, Bron, you just let your team get outscored 38-29 in the 4th to lose by 14 to the Heat without Jimmy Butler! You lost to Duncan Robinson, who looks like a high-school algebra teacher! You were 0-6 from 3, inspiring your team to shoot 13% from 3. Your team is now 17-18!
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 4, 2024
The Miami Heat were able to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers without one of their leading scorers, Jimmy Butler. In the absence of Butler, the Heat did an excellent job at dividing the offensive load amongst themselves. Miami had eight players who scored in double-digits, including all five starters and three players off the bench as well.
Skip Bayless even took a shot at the Heat’s guard, Duncan Robinson, stating,
“You lost to Duncan Robinson, who looks like a high-school algebra teacher!”
Robinson came off the bench and provided crucial points despite having an off-night (3-12) from beyond the arc as well.
LeBron James finished the game with a mere 12-point performance. He shot 6-18 from the field and had no luck beyond the arc, going 0-6 from long range. It seemed as if James’ inadequacy from the three rubbed off on his teammates as the Lakers shot a horrendous 4-30, finishing the game with a 13.3 three-point shooting percentage.
LeBron James and the Lakers continue to struggle
The Los Angeles Lakers seemed to have enough problems sinking the long-range shot while trying to defend home court. To add insult to injury, LA had a whopping 21 turnovers as opposed to the Heat’s 8 turnovers for the game.
The Heat made the most of the Lakers’ turnovers, nabbing 14 steals for the matchup while the Lakers only had 3. No wonder Skip Bayless went off on Bron after the Lakers lost a game that seemed to be well in their bag.
Going into the matchup against the Miami Heat, Bayless was optimistic about Los Angeles’ current situation. The 72-year-old analyst believed that LeBron James and the Lakers only had to ‘flip another switch’ and get back some momentum going forward.
Alas, this loss brings the Lakers’ current season record to 17-18, placing them at the 10th spot in the Western Conference. If Los Angeles is hoping to make it to the playoffs, the team needs to pick up the pace soon enough.
