"Gods have tapped LeBron James on shoulder": Skip Bayless backtracks on Lakers criticism with a silver lining visible ahead of Nuggets showdown
After securing the seventh seed in the Western Conference, the LA Lakers are slated to face off against the Denver Nuggets. As this conference finals rematch gets ready to begin, one analyst had a change of heart on the result.
During a recent episode of "Undisputed," Skip Bayless talked about this series with Paul Pierce and Keyshawn Johnson. Despite being heavily critical of LA all year, he is now picking them to beat the defending champions in six games.
"The Lakes are going to win tomorrow night, and they're going to win this series in six games," Bayless said. "Because I believe the basketball Gods have tapped LeBron James on the shoulder. I believe they have blessed him."
Bayless' argument has less to with LA and more with how the Nuggets have played as of late. He thinks an upset is possible now following Denver's loss to a lowly San Antonio Spurs team on April 12.
This series is going to kick off Saturday night in Denver on prime time. Game 1 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will air on ABC.
How did the LA Lakers fare against the Denver Nuggets in the regular season?
Skip Bayless might feel the LA Lakers are capable of taking down the Denver Nuggets, but recent history doesn't back him up. Dating back to last year, they've struggled greatly to take down Nikola Jokic and company.
These teams faced off last postseason in the Western Conference finals. Denver won the series in a sweep en route to winning a championship. Since then, they've carried that dominance into this season.
In the season series, the Nuggets won all three matchups. They first faced off on opening night when Denver received their rings. Jokic notched a triple-double to lead his team to a 119-107 victory.
The Nuggets and Lakers didn't face off again until Feb. 8 in LA. Jamal Murray went off a for big game (29 points, 11 assists) en route to a 114-106 win for the defending champs.
March 2 was the final regular-season meeting between these teams, and Denver once again won by double digits. Jokic, Murray and Michael Porter Jr. all notched at least 24 points to complete the season sweep.
If the LA Lakers want any shot at getting revenge against the Nuggets, they'll need strong performances from LeBron James and Anthony Davis. During the regular season, LeBron averaged 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists against Denver. As for AD, he posted averages of 22.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG and 3.0 APG.
Seeing that many analysts have penciled in the Nuggets to reach the finals again this year, Bayless is on his own with this bold prediction.