Undisputed’s own Skip Bayless has added to his list of controversial tweets aimed at LeBron James after Monday night’s Cavaliers 112-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons. The Cavaliers played a great all-round game with their young players including Larry Nance Jr, Rodney Hood and Cedi Osman stepping up to the plate and playing great basketball.
LeBron James led the way with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and one steal as he had an entertaining duel with Pistons superstar power forward Blake Griffin. Both players had great shooting performances as the King went 11 of 17 from the field and 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, and BG23 went 10 of 22 from the field and 3 of 5 from downtown.
However, LeBron and his team won the duel, breaking out to a big lead before the fourth quarter which allowed ‘the chosen one’ time to rest out the fourth quarter. However, this great performance didn’t hide LeBron James from all criticism, as Skip Bayless took to his Twitter to have a regular dig at King James.
Bayless suggests LeBron’s a stat hunter
Stat hunting has been a common theme in recent seasons with players like Russell Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James having huge all-around performances with triple doubles galore. A great statline always looks great on ESPN or all over Instagram feeds after the game, so players aim to have the best stats they can have, but often they are caught grabbing easy rebounds that their teammates let them have, or putting up points or assists in garbage time when they don’t need to be on the court, and it has resulted in them being called ‘stat hunters’.
LeBron has been filling up the stat sheet recently, averaging a triple double over the past 30 days, however instead of being praised for it, Fox Sports’ big name Skip Bayless has taken a critical approach to it. After playing just three quarters in a game he could’ve easily played in the fourth quarter to chase a triple double, LeBron finished with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists as his team dominated the Pistons.
Right after the game, Skip Bayless tweeted his mind.
Great job by LeBron James limiting himself to just 29 minutes tonight instead of doing what he usually does -- play late into a blowout just to get his triple double, prioritizing legacy stats over saving himself for the playoffs.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 6, 2018
Legacy talk
A lot of people look at championships and MVP’s when defining players’ legacies, however statistics in the regular season, and triple double performances go a long way in having people appreciate your greatness even more.
With players like Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson recording many triple doubles in their careers, and the Big O and Russell Westbrook averaging a triple double over a season, it shows stats will certainly play into ranking the legacy of a player. But does LeBron actually care about his stats as Skip thinks? Or does he just get them because he plays a great all-around game, as he has been doing for the past 15 plus years?
