“LeBron is a SHREWD operator!” Skip Bayless goes on FURIOUS tirade over referees for controversial call in Lakers vs Suns

NBA analyst Skip Bayless calls out LeBron James a "Shrewd" operator for the timeout against the Phoenix Suns.

“LeBron is a SHREWD operator!” Skip Bayless goes on FURIOUS tirade over referees for controversial call in Lakers vs Suns

LeBron James, Skip Bayless and Devin Booker ( via Sports Illustrated).

In light of a recent matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers against the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers eeked their way to a 106-103 victory with LeBron James leading the Lakers by dropping an impressive performance. However, in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, many fans and critics were furious over a controversial call by the refs which may have deprived the Phoenix Suns of tying or winning the game against the Lakers. NBA analyst Skip Bayless calls out the Lakers’ superstar as a “Shrewd” operator for the timeout that was granted by the refs on his request which got fans and critics like Bayless wonder.

In the last few seconds of the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers were awarded a timeout asked by LeBron James with 7.4 seconds left on the clock even though Austin Reaves was seen to be double-teamed by Booker and Kevin Durant, but Reaves lost the ball yet the Lakers were given a timeout and analyst Skip Bayless called out the referees for a sudden timeout like that.

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Skip Bayless on Undisputed shed light on his take on the situation given at hand and said,

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LeBron is a shrewd operator, he does not want to catch the ball and bounce because he wants Austin Reaves to go to the free throw line on the other end, its the idea of the final play, so LeBron inbounds the ball and Austin Reaves makes a big swoop, passed LeBron and it’s a very a dangerous pass that LeBron pulls off beautifully.

Skip describes the play that took place and asserts that the foul should have been called.

Post the game, Josh Tiven from the crew gave an elaborate explanation on why the Los Angeles Lakers were allowed a timeout and said,

During live play, the official felt that LA still had possession of the ball when LeBron James requested the timeout. Through postgame video review in slow motion replay, we did see that Austin Reaves had his left hand on the ball while it’s pinned against his left leg, which does constitute control.

An explanation like that didn’t seem sufficient by the Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel. He commented that the call by the refs has to be put on a review and this is no proper explanation considering the technicalities.

The LA Lakers go against the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas In season semifinals

The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James are ready to join the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas for the semi-finals of the ongoing In-season Tournament. The Lakers and the Bucks have been one of the most competitive contenders in the Western and Eastern conference standings respectively. The LA Lakers are placed in 4th position in the standings and the Milwaukee Bucks are placed at second.

LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo
LeBron James ( via Spors Illustrated) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (via The Guardian).

The two strong contending teams have been fierce throughout the games so far in the in-season tournaments. Bucks’s Antetakumpo in a media interaction said:

Game by game we are getting more comfortable. As we play more minutes, we're going to be more comfortable together. At the end of the day, I think me and him are setting the tone for the whole team.

The Milwaukee Bucks achieved a comfortable victory against the Knicks with a 146-122 scoreline. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been one of the key elements for the team combined with guard Damian Lillard. Antetokounmpo dropped 35 points including eight rebounds and 10 assists against the Knicks.

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