Skip Bayless did not criticize James for the poor start in the league, and according to him, the absence of James’ in the practice session of the Clippers was one of the reasons for the poor gameplay in the initial matches. The James Harden trade drama was over, and he got traded to the Los Angeles Clippers just a week before the start of the league. There was a lot of buzz around this trade. The Clipper exchanged Robert Covington, Marcus Morris Sr., KJ Martin, and Nic Batum to get Harden on the team.
The Clipper’s start has not been that good, and the team is not looking at its best. In the debut Clippers game, James Harden scored 17 points but ended up on the losing side. A lot of people are blaming James for the poor start, but NBA analyst Skip Bayless was one of them who came in support of James during his show “Undisputed.”
"What I saw was a basketball player who is beyond gifted. James Harden had no camp and stepped on the floor against a hard-playing Knicks team at the Garden." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/vR0wyDkgb4
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 7, 2023
James Harden and Russell Westbrook teammates for the third time
This is the third time that Russell and James are playing together in an NBA season. The two were part of the Oklahoma City Thunders in the 2011-12 NBA season. After that, Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets in the 2012 season. The two reunited again when Russell was traded from OKC to the Houston Rockets in 2019. The duo did great for the Oklahoma City Thunders and was one of the most dangerous combinations in the entire NBA at that time. Kevin, Russell, and James were the “OKC’s big three” at that time.
Skip Bayless’ pal showed confidence in the James-Russell duo
On the show “Undisputed”, Skip Bayless expressed his belief in James Harden and defended his poor Clippers debut game too. Skip said that it was the first time that he was distracted from the LeBron James game (James and LeBron were playing different games at the same time).
Like all the other fans, Skip Bayless was also excited to see James playing for the Clippers. The other people on the show also seem to have the same opinion about Harden. Keyshawn Johnson expressed his belief in the James and Russell duo. Since both the players have done quite well for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Keyshawn believes that there is a better understanding between the two.
.@keyshawn has faith in Russell Westbrook and James Harden being on the same team again:
“This is not their first rodeo. They understand each other’s attitude. Ty Lue understands what Harden brings to the table.” pic.twitter.com/8q6lAeHgFN
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) November 2, 2023
The season has not been that good for the Clippers so far. Despite having the 4 All-Stars, the team still needs to perform better. Let’s hope that the duo of Russell and James bring some change. Both played brilliantly for the OKC, and the Clippers must be expecting the same performance from them.
