"LEBRON WENT COLD, couldn't close and the Fakers blew a 20-point half-time lead" - Skip Bayless' scathing criticism of LeBron James after Lakers fall to Pelicans, asks whether Shannon Sharpe would show up for Undisputed

LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and the LA Lakers treated a game in March against the New Orleans Pelicans as a must-win NBA game. The Lakers’ intention showed right from the tip and for most of the first half as they took a 20-point halftime lead.

However, it all went downhill for the star-studded team starting the second half in a 116-108 loss.

The gritty Pelicans, who were playing the second night of a back-to-back, refused to give up and lashed back. The way the Lakers tried to hold off the Pels was almost comedic as they were thoroughly smoked in the second half. After leading 69-49 at halftime, James and the Tinseltown squad scored a total of 39 points in the last 24 minutes while New Orleans dropped 41 in the third quarter alone.

Skip Bayless, who was monitoring the game, minced no words in castigating James and his team of underachievers:

“UN. REAL. LEBRON WENT COLD, COULDN'T CLOSE AND THE FAKERS BLEW A 20-POINT HALFTIME LEAD AND GOT OUTSCORED IN THE 2ND HALF 67-39!!! LESHANNON SHARPE JUST LOST TWO MORE CASES OF DEW TO ME. WILL HE EVEN SHOW UP FOR TOMORROW'S UNDISPUTED???”

The veteran sports anlayst, who won his ongoing friendly bet with his "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" co-host Shannon Sharpe, was merciless in his post. Yet again, James was squarely in his sights for failing to lead and deliver a big win when it mattered the most.

James sat out Wednesday's 126-121 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers to rest his ailing left knee. The absence gave him roughly a week of rest for the crucial match against New Orleans. The four-time MVP looked fresh early on, which was one of the biggest reasons why they had a quick start and a big lead in the first half.

The fourth quarter was a different story for the four-time champion and the Lakers as a unit. James had a miserable final 12 minutes, shooting just 2-for-8, including three big misses from beyond the arc after hitting seven of them before the last quarter.

As James, who had 39 points, wilted, possibly due to his troublesome knee, so did the Lakers’ chances of avoiding another humiliating defeat.

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LeBron James and the LA Lakers drop to 10th in the standings and lose tiebreaker against the New Orleans Pelicans

The LA Lakers could embarrassingly miss even the play-in tournament.

The LA Lakers (31-43) fell a half-game behind the New Orleans Pelicans (32-43) on Sunday. Los Angeles is also just one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs (30-44), who are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

Regardless of what happens in the Lakers vs Pelicans matchup on Friday, New Orleans already owns the season series between the two teams by winning the first two games. If both teams end the regular season tied for the 10th-best record, New Orleans grabs the last play-in spot.

More worryingly for the LA Lakers is how tough the rest of their schedule is. Outside of facing the Phoenix Suns (61-14), they will also be battling teams who are jockeying for better playoff seedings. They will have to face the Dallas Mavericks (46-29), Utah Jazz (45-30), Denver Nuggets (44-31) twice and the Golden State Warriors (48-27).

If LeBron James’ knee is worse than the Lakers are letting on, they could have an embarrassingly long and uncertain summer.