The Los Angeles Lakers improved their record to 8-6 after their recent 105-104 win against the Houston Rockets. LeBron James‘ heroics on the court earned the LA side a narrow victory to move up to the sixth spot on the Western Conference table. However, FS1 host Skip Bayless had a cautionary message for James despite his remarkable 37-point showing against Houston.
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During his usual rant on UNDISPUTED today, Skip Bayless decided to focus on LeBron’s three-point shooting. The veteran journalist started his monologue by stating that the best stat he has noticed about the Lakers superstar’s game is that his three-point attempts have gone down from eight/game to five/game. “He [James] falls in love with the three too much. And we all agree that he is a below-average three-point shooter,” Bayless said.
The 71-year-old pointed out LBJ’s career three-point percentage of 34.5% to substantiate his argument. In fact, he even predicted that LeBron’s three-point percentage will actually deteriorate as the season progresses, “He will regress to the mean…He’s not going to shoot 40% because he has never come close to shooting 40% from three over the duration of an entire season.”
Can LeBron maintain his early-season 3-pt shooting success throughout the year?
@RealSkipBayless doesn’t think it’s possible 👀 pic.twitter.com/twOmmoSyLM— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 21, 2023
“The point is, at this age…you can’t fall in love and take 10 threes a game-sometimes he just goes crazy and he will have a 2-for-10 night,” Bayless added. The FS1 host underlined his belief that LeBron should stick to his five three-point attempts a game and not go overboard with it as he approaches 40. Only then would the Lakers have a realistic chance of winning ball games.
Skip Bayless asks LeBron James to be more conservative with his shooting
During his breakdown of LeBron James’ game against the Rockets, Skip Bayless highlighted the four-time NBA Champion’s greatness as a driver of the basketball. Bayless pointed out that LeBron is a freight train driving the basketball and his strength, athleticism, size and awareness of spacing makes it impossible to guard him in the paint.
The former ESPN host also brought up James’ elite passing and advised the King to fixate his arsenal around these skill set which are his greatest strengths. In other words, Bayless wants LeBron to focus on the basics with the latter turning 39 next month.
While it’s true that taking tough shots to eventually turn the ball over in a close game is never a wise option for the best player on the team. However, LeBron’s athleticism might see a steep decline in the near future as he nears 40.
Even though the old King looks as fresh as a spring chicken on the court till date, it is unrealistic to believe that this kind of production for 35 minutes every game is sustainable throughout the season. Therefore, relying on the three-ball might not be the worst option for James going forward, especially if Anthony Davis continues to shirk the responsibility of being the first option of the team.
