Skip Bayless Calls LeBron James ‘Chicken’ For Passing In Lakers’ Overtime Loss To Rockets
“LeBron James failed to close what became yet another loss – this one the worst loss of a lost season,” the famously outspoken pundit said.
The Los Angeles Lakers lowlights keep on rolling, the most recent being a 139-130 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets.
LeBron James, who recently had his highest-scoring performance as a Laker with 56 points against the Golden State Warriors, made a solid overall showing. ESPN reports that he posted 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season.
However, he also shot 9-for-26 overall (1-9 from 3), gave up five turnovers, and made a split-second decision that some are criticizing.
The Lakers could have won the game in regulation when James drove for a potential layup with the score tied at 120-120 in the final seconds. Instead, he passed it to forward Carmelo Anthony, who missed a 22-foot-jumpshot at the buzzer. Watch the moment above.
As BroBible notes, ever outspoken sports pundit Skip Bayless was one of many fans who took issue with James’ modest move.
“Chicken,” Bayless tweeted before sending a multi-tweet critique of James and the Lakers.
James, however, stood by the decision.
“I was a little bit off-balance and I could have forced a reverse layup, but I wasn’t in the position to feel like I could have got a great look,” James said. “I could have got a decent look and I feel like Melo’s look was a lot better than mine.”
Despite the result, fellow Lakers star Russell Westbrook delivered one of his best performances of the year, nabbing 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting (7-of-8 free throws), eight rebounds, six assists, and just a single turnover.
The loss is the Lakers’ sixth in seven since the All-Star break and puts LA at nine games below .500—their lowest win-loss ratio of the season.
“I probably would be in uniform no matter what,” James said. “No matter if we were nine games under .500 or nine games above .500. It’s just all dependent on how [the knee] feels. So my love for the game and the way I play the game and me suiting up has nothing to do with records and things of that nature. That’s just not me.”
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