If Damian Lillard and Skip Bayless had a relationship status on Facebook, it would say ‘It’s complicated.’
Things are a bit rocky between the Trail Blazers franchise point guard and the TV pundit.
One can remember up to two days ago when both Lillard and Bayless spared on social media, and you can understand why.
Lillard took those words of heart about Bayless in principle criticism of “Lady Time” and his doubts about his capacity as a player after the loss against the Clippers.
I never bought anything about your girl. You’re kidding. And after our private convoy full of back pedals you will never have my respect 🤡 https://t.co/do0yxFgUju
– Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) August 10, 2020
Since then, Lillard has been playing on a very different planet.
In the last two games, Lillard has scored a combined 112 points, is the first Blazer ever with back-to-back 50-point games, and is the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to have three 60-point games in a season.
On Wednesday, Lillard and the Trail Blazers woke up to become 8th in the West due to Lillard’s other worldwide appearances.
If the Blazers had lost, they would have dropped all the way to 11th place and potentially out of the playoff controversy.
One would think that after these last two games Bayless would bite his tongue, eat croissants and apologize to Lillard.
You thought wrong.
Instead, Bayless sent a series of tweets in search of the smallest details to give the credit to Lillard that he deserves in the first place.
Damian Lillard plays like he’s crazy about one.
– Skip Shipless (@RealSkipBayless) August 12, 2020
How lucky was Damian Lillard? Lady Dollar missed the money j, and was then in the right place at the right time to run over for an offensive foul that canceled out the three that made her man.
– Skip Shipless (@RealSkipBayless) August 12, 2020
Now I want to see Damian Lillard close it out against Dangerous Nets, then win just one of potential two games vs play-in team, then TAKE IT TO THE LAKERS and refine for his shockingly restless 4th quarter vs no-KD Warriors in the end year finale of the West.
– Skip Shipless (@RealSkipBayless) August 12, 2020
Bayless did not stop there. On Wednesday morning’s ‘Undisputed’, Bayless dug an even bigger hole, discrediting Lillard, despite a career-high 61 points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfMMeuwMbmc
It was 46 and a half minutes “Lady Time”, and then it was not. – Shipless bays
Cherry without bay chose, apparently ignored all of Lillard’s 61 points, 8 assists and 5 rebound performances and instead focused on Lillard not being a “superstar” in the final remaining minutes of the game.
He mainly focused on Lillard missing a defensive assignment against Dorian Finney-Smith.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLwSY29nXGE
It resulted in Lillard getting an offensive foul against Trey Burke and the score did not count, but Bayless felt like it was enough to scare at Lillard’s historic performance that kept the Blazers alive.
Bayless is a plugin. He has made a career out of rilling athletes to feed him.
But, this is not a hill on which the FS1 commentator should die.
Bayless can say what he wants, but anyone with healthy working eyes can see that Lillard is on a different level since the NBA reboot.
The Blazers are still on the hunt, giving more games to prove to Bayless that he’s just wrong about his take on Lillard and the Blazers.
This is not the first time Bayless has gone wrong before, so let’s look back at the whole time Mark Cuban decided to own him on his show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9w_XUQyJJQ
Skip, you’re wrong.
[Listen to the latest Talkin’ Blazers Podcast with hosts Channing Frye and Dan Sheldon!]