Home

NBA

“They Don’t Belong In The Playoffs”: NBA Analyst Makes a Bold Statement About the Portland Trail Blazers

Published 08/24/2020, 1:05 PM EDT

Follow Us

The Lakers and the Trail Blazers are playing out an exciting series in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs. So many fans wanted this fixture to happen and here we are! The Lakers currently have the lead in the series with a 2-1 advantage. It has not been a cakewalk so far for LeBron James and the team. As a result, Skip Bayless vented out his frustration at the purple and gold for not owning the stage. 

Some people predicted a Lakers sweep and Skip Bayless is one of them. His hopes were smashed right in Game 1, when the Blazers outplayed the Lakers to take the lead. A couple of games have followed since then and the Lakers are on a two-game winning streak. But, Skip expected more from Frank Vogel’s team. 

Skip Bayless destroys the Portland Trail Blazers

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

As far as the bubble is concerned, the Blazers are right up there as one of the best teams. They have fought an uphill battle to make it to the playoffs. However, Bayless thinks they are not worthy of it. 

Bayless criticized his co-host Shannon Sharpe and LeBron James for “gloating about doing anything the Trail Blazers who trail every game.” Furthermore, he showed the Blazers no mercy with his choice of words. 

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

“They don’t belong in the playoffs,” Bayless mentioned. He then began to offer some “perspective” on why he thinks that way. Skip Bayless briefed how the Blazers were almost sent home by the Nets in their final seeding game and then dropped straight into his point.

“Portland is by far the worst defensive team in the whole bubble,” he said. “Pathetic because they came into the bubble 29-37 and they were twelve games under 500 (win percentage) when they hit the bubble and now they are at a grand total of 35-39.”

Bayless feels the Lakers should have capitalized on the Blazers’ poor defense and used it to their advantage. “You’re over there gloating about a mismatch that should’ve been a sweep,” he said to Sharpe, who’s rooting for the Lakers. 

Bayless says he can’t find Damian Lillard in fourth quarters 

After bashing the Blazers as a unit, the outspoken analyst then moved on to pick on Damian Lillard. The 30-year-old was honored as the NBA bubble MVP for his incredible form during the seeding games. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Even though Dame Lillard is averaging 28.6 PPG in the series, Skip Bayless focused on his lack of efficiency in the fourth quarter. “Whatever happened to Dame Time. Can somebody explain to me? I’ve been hearing Dame Time, Dame Time,” Bayless mocked.  

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“In fourth quarters I can’t find him,” he continued. This time Bayless had the stats from Game 3 to back his statement up. “The other night in the fourth quarter, the game was still hanging in the balance and he goes 1-6 from the field and 0-3 from three.”

Bayless then began watching Lillard’s highlights from the fourth quarter and commented on his misfortunes. Skip Bayless sure does not hold back his thoughts on national television. It is really hard to get into his good books, because even an athlete like LeBron James gets ridiculed by 68-year-old Bayless.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Arjun Athreya

2,181Articles

One take at a time

Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing since early 2020. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, he pursued a Journalism degree and graduated from Madras Christian College. Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news pertaining to the NBA as well.
Show More>