“Steve Kerr Fell Into the Same Trap”: Skip Bayless Scoffs at Team USA’s Mistake of Benching ‘Most Effective’ Star, Like LeBron James’ Lakers

In the field of competitive sports, the job of head coach is a ruthless one, purely due to the dynamics of a team. So, in periods of crisis, that person gets shouldered all the blame before often it results in departure. Steve Kerr is the latest addition to the list as Skip Bayless criticized him for repeating the mistake of the Los Angeles Lakers of LeBron James.

The NBA analyst pointed out the head coach’s error of judgment in benching one of the stars of the team. Team USA had an influential figure in their roster but went against starting him, drawing criticism from Bayless.

What did Skip Bayless say?

Team USA’s dream of winning the gold medal in the FIBA World Cup 2023 came to an end with a semi-final loss. They fell short to Germany as the latter won in a closely contested 113-111 game. Team USA received major criticism in various areas for their exit, with coach Kerr’s decision-making being one of them.

In the recent episode of UNDISPUTED, Skip mentioned how benching Austin Reaves backfired for the team. “Steve Kerr fell into the same trap your Lakers did last year,” he stated, blaming Kerr for not learning from the Lakers. According to the 71-year-old, “He [Reaves] became the most effective player on this team,” alongside the likes of Anthony Edwards.

Bayless believed that Steve’s mistake was considering Reaves as a “fire starter,” coming off the bench. “He needs to be in the starting lineup…play higher minutes,” the analyst highlighted, putting Team USA under the bus.

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The Lakers figured out their mistake, Skip mentioned before claiming the national team should have done the same. And this makes us wonder about one thing.

Would the teammate of LeBron James have made the difference?

Coming off the bench, the 25-year-old scored 21 points from a field goal percentage of an impressive 70%. He made 3/5 threes in just around 25 minutes. The shooting guard was one of the key reasons why the match was dragged to a close finish.

The Lakers star showcased this ability last season for his franchise too. The Hillbilly Kobe has a unique quality of shifting momentum of the matches when required. Thus, Skip showed his faith in the youngster. The numbers at least displayed that the NBA analyst was not wrong to do so.

The possibility of the game going in the opposite way with Austin starting was always there. Then again, Steve Kerr had his own ideas related to game management. It’s impossible to point figures at a 4-time NBA champion coach. At the same time, it’s hard to neglect the facts.

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Do you agree with Skip’s words? Let us know in the comments.