Skip Bayless is arguably one of the most vocal ones to publicly criticize and find shortcomings in LeBron James. In a recent episode of The Undisputed, the veteran analyst called out James for sitting out in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Unfortunately, the Lakers fell short against the Wolves, losing with a 118-111 scoreline.
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LeBron James was sidelined from the game after it was reported he picked a left ankle tendinitis injury in the previous game against the Chicago Bulls. James admitted that physical, emotional, and ‘grind-of-the-season’ fatigue caused him to fall short.
Skip Bayless, however, bashed the 4x champion, “Six times already this season, he has played 39 or more minutes as he approaches age 39. He is 31st in overall minutes played, almost in Top 30 in the NBA which is insane! He made winning the In-Season Tournament a priority which required him to play an extra game which doesn’t even count in the standings.”
Bayless has constantly criticized the Lakers for winning the In-Season Tournament Cup and compared the King with Michael Jordan if he had ever played IST. The 72-year-old analyst, once again, brought out a comparison of James against MJ, highlighting the Lakers’ fourth straight loss in the season since winning the In-Season Tournament. In an invigorated manner, Bayless exclaimed,
“WHAT IN THE NAME OF MICHAEL JORDAN IS LEBRON JAMES DOING? I thought the plan was to pace himself this season. Year 21, turns 39 on December 30th, so he could be much readier for the play-offs than he was last season.”
Skip Bayless added that LeBron James is now trying to build an excuse, just in case the Lakers blow another playoff series like last season against the Denver Nuggets. To an extent, Skip Bayless might be right in questioning LeBron James’ increased minutes of play, which is quite detrimental to his form at this age.
However, if LeBron James were to sit out or fall drastically in form, it could mean quite precarious for the Lakers to contend for the playoffs this season. Currently, the Lakers stand 10th in the Western Conference standings, with a 15-14 record. The Lakers only stand eligible for a Play-In seed and might want to improve their record to earn at least a top-six seed for the playoffs.
LeBron James has been playing more minutes than required this season
Since winning the In-Season Tournament, the Lakers have only won one game and have lost five straight games in that span. At the beginning of this season, it seemed clear that LeBron James would be playing on a 29-30-minute restriction. However, that doesn’t seem to be happening, as James has played in games for more than 39 minutes at least six times this season.
Skip Bayless has regularly pointed this out and claimed that James will run out of gas by the time of the playoffs. Given that James is now sitting out on games due to picking injuries, Bayless’s prediction might seem horrifically close as the Lakers struggle to contend for a top playoff seed in the Western Conference.
