Skip Bayless is surprisingly optimistic about the Lakers' prospects in Game 5 against the Nuggets.
G4, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets with one win in the current first-round series, their first win since December 2022.
The Lakers have taken double-digit leads in every game so far in this series, but in the first three games, they have all given up those leads in epic fashion, meaning it is widely believed that it is not safe for Los Angeles to go into halftime with a 13-point advantage against the Nuggets in G4.
This time, however, James and his teammates were able to avoid the third-quarter disaster that had plagued them throughout the series and stuck with the victory, sending the game back to Denver, the "City of Elevations," for Game 5, which is scheduled for Monday night.
Among those who are at least somewhat optimistic about the Lakers' prospects in that game is FS1 sports media personality and professional James opponent Skip Bayless, who made some comments on his X account after the Lakers' victory on Saturday night local time.
"Could the Lakers have won on Monday night in Denver? They could have won the game in the fourth quarter of Game 1...... If LeBron doesn't quit the game...... They should have won in the fourth quarter of Game 2...... LeBron missed a completely unguarded three-pointer to win," Bayless wrote.
In fact, James had a completely unguarded three-pointer in the final seconds on Monday night, but he missed, which also led to a stunner from the Nuggets' Jamal Murray on the other end.
Bayless also pointed out James' dominance in this series.
"When LeBron James is in offensive mode, don't worry about free throws, no one can stop him from hitting the basket. And certainly not the Nuggets," Bayless wrote.
Can the Lakers make history and pull off the Nuggets 3-0?
Probably not, and the more likely explanation for Saturday's Game 4 win is that the Nuggets simply missed the open opportunities they would normally be able to hit. Although Nikola Jokic once again filled out the data sheet, his own efficiency metrics were relatively mediocre.
If the Lakers count on Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter and Aaron Gordon to all hit less than 50 percent of the shots from the floor, their season is likely not to last long.
However, there is some justification for the Lakers to hold the lead so consistently in this series, and the Nuggets have so far been unable to stop Anthony Davis or LeBron James in the half-court or transition offense.
Instead, it was the Nuggets' role players who have outlawfully beaten the Lakers so far in this series, even though Austin Reaves and Hachimura both had their best games of the series on Saturday, which was one of the big reasons why the Lakers were able to win in the end.
Game 5 will start on Monday night local time on the court, and the Lakers still have a big chance of winning.
Not to mention anything else, Skip's support alone is enough to make the Lakers full of confidence, after all, Skip is a world-famous James black fan, and he is generally very optimistic about LeBron James and the Lakers.
Now that Skip admits that James' offense is great, then the Lakers can rest assured that G5 has a big chance of winning and will play G6.