“‘Remember me? I’m still LeBron James, so I’m going to upstage the playoffs’” - Skip Bayless believes LeBron James has “attention-deficit disorder,” says missing the playoffs is eating him alive
LA Lakers superstar LeBron James has been criticized for hosting a 'Q and A' on Twitter by members of the media as they believe it was an attempt at upstaging the playoffs.
On Fox Sports' morning show "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," sports media personality Skip Bayless lambasted James for trying to steal the show from the postseason as he believes that James needs attention. Bayless said:
"Playoffs are just starting to heat up and this came across as - Remember me? I’m still LeBron James, so I’m going to upstage the playoffs.
"I'm going to upstage and I'm going to do a Q&A, come one, come all. Because I think it is eating him alive that he is not involved in these playoffs because he sees the light at the end of the tunnel. To me, this was classic LeBron who has attention deficit disorder."
In the 'Q and A,' LeBron James made even more news by calling Luka Doncic his favorite player under the age of 25. He has also made it no secret that he wants to play with his son, Bronny in the NBA.
"It's eating LeBron alive that he's not involved in these playoffs. He sees the light at the end of the tunnel of his career. LeBron has to remind everybody: 'I'm still here.'"
— @RealSkipBayless on LeBron's Twitter Q&A with fans yesterday https://t.co/8vBCIsHZ4S
Is LeBron James at fault for the failures of the Lakers this season?
The LA Lakers had a tumultuous campaign after failing to even make the play-in tournament despite coming into the season with championship aspirations. This has led many to place the blame on LeBron James for their shortcomings.
James vied for the scoring title, but fell just short of Joel Embiid as the four-time champion suffered injuries towards the end of the regular season.
Nevertheless, he averaged 30.3 points per game while shooting 52.4%, including 35.9% from beyond the arc. James, who has six triple-doubles and 21 double-doubles, also averaged 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
Through 37,000, LeBron James is now the youngest player to reach every round number milestone in pts:
1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, 6K, 7K, 8K, 9K, 10K, 11K, 12K, 13K, 14K, 15K, 16K, 17K, 18K, 19K, 20K, 21K, 22K, 23K, 24K, 25K, 26K, 27K, 28K, 29K, 30K, 31K, 32K, 33K, 34K, 35K, 36K, 37K https://t.co/esbAUuLoia
While his performances were borderline flawless, at least on offense, roster construction is where James gets attributed the most blame. Passing on DeMar DeRozan and Buddy Hield to get Westbrook backfired tremendously.
The duo failed to establish chemistry and the former OKC Thunder superstar's performances in general have been disappointing, especially when James needed him to play at an All-Star level with Anthony Davis missing so many games.
Another major problem for the Lakers has been their defense. The league's oldest roster simply cannot stay with the youthfulness and energy of other teams. They were ranked 21st in defensive rating during the regular season.
All these factors have contributed to the downfall of the Lakers. But leveling most of the blame on just James is premature. His performances on the court have been faultless, even if his decisions off the court have not been.