"The end for LeBron" - Skip Bayless shuts narratives around LeBron James' career
With the Lakers' season on the line tonight against the Nuggets, the online discourse has resulted to debating about the future of LeBron James.
ESPN's Briand Windhorst, in particular, sent a text to Skip Bayless saying, "this is the end for Lebron." Bayless spoke on "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" to discuss his thoughts regarding LeBron James.
"Do I see him going away? Is this the end for LeBron? No," Bayless said. "In large part because of him, they crushed Memphis and then they put it on Golden State. I'm picking them tonight and I think this is the kind of night where LeBron says 'watch this.'"
With pivotal Game 4 for LeBron James and the Lakers, Skip Bayless thinks James will shut down the online narratives tonight. He has played well in this series against the Nuggets but on the same level as he did against the Warriors.
In this third-round series, LeBron is averaging 23.7 points (48.1% shooting), 10.3 assists, and 9.3 rebounds.
James, who is 38 years of age and in his 20th NBA season, is still playing at an incredible pace with his scoring and precise decision-making. However, LeBron is not the same player as back in his Cleveland and Miami days.
Even with some slight differences in his production, LeBron has showcased time and time again that he still has more left in the tank to offer. In this year's postseason run, he is averaging 23.5 ppg (48.9% shooting), 9.9 RPG, and 6.3 APG.
LeBron James on making history down 3-0
After the disappointing Game 3 loss, LeBron James was asked if there was still some hope within the team to pull off a historic comeback.
"It should be. I hope so," James said. "I can't speak for the guys right now, because I don't know what's going on through all their minds right now, but I still do... My mindset is always locked in as if it's a Game 1."
With backs against the wall, James doesn't consider it any new territory. In the 2016 Finals against the Warriors, LeBron led the Cavaliers to an incredible comeback, down 3-1.
3-0 is a much bigger deficit than 3-1 and will require four straight high-level basketball for the Lakers to pull this one off.
For LeBron, it's one game at a time, and the rest will follow, as this is still a best-of-seven series against the Nuggets.