LeBron James held responsible for LA Lakers loss by Skip Bayless in extraordinary rant: “HAVE SOME GUTS, NO CLUTCH GENE”
LeBron James received a lot of heat once again from none other than the notorious Skip Bayless.
NBA analysts blamed James for the LA Lakers' loss against the Boston Celtics last night. Bayless called out James for not stepping up to close the game and win it for his team.
He went on social media to rant about how LeBron James 'doesn't have the guts' and lacks the 'clutch gene'.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO," Bayless exclaimed. "LEBRON. NOT AGAIN. YOU FAILED TO CLOSE AGAIN. ANOTHER MISSED GAME-WINNER, AN AWKWARD THREE WHEN YOU COULD'VE DRIVEN IT AND MADE JUST ONE FREE THROW TO WIN. HAVE SOME GUTS! NO CLUTCH GENE."
NOOOOOOOOOOOO, LEBRON. NOT AGAIN. YOU FAILED TO CLOSE AGAIN. ANOTHER MISSED GAME-WINNER, AN AWKWARD THREE WHEN YOU COULD'VE DRIVEN IT AND MADE JUST ONE FREE THROW TO WIN. HAVE SOME GUTS! NO CLUTCH GENE.
A few days ago, Bayless had ripped James for the same sentiments on his show. He called James"Choke City" and said that he's incomparable with Michael Jordan. For someone who claims that he's not a LeBron James hater, Bayless sure does love talking smack about the player.
LeBron James and LA Lakers fall to Boston Celtics in dramatic overtime finish
LeBron James ended up taking the last shot in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
The score was tied at 110-110 after a big mid-range jumper from Jayson Tatum. What infuriated Bayless was the fact that James decided to take a 3-point shot rather than drive down the lane and possibly get sent to the line instead. However, it's probably unfair for Bayless to put the blame on James.
Looking at the stats, none of the players outside of the LA Lakers' big three put up any significant figures on the night. The player who scored the most outside the big three was Lonnie Walker, who had only seven points and three rebounds. It was Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook who did most of the scoring on the night, with the trio combining for 90 of LA's 118 points.
Davis was in double-double figures once again with 37 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. James nearly achieved a triple-double with 33 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. Like Davis, Westbrook also had a double-double outing, putting up 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
Bayless might be making a point when he said that James should've taken the shot inside rather than forcing a three. However, he might be forgetting that basketball is a team sport. If anyone should be taking the blame for the loss, it should be the Lakers' role players. As coach Darvin Ham said a month ago, the bench needs to step up and help their big dogs win games.