Skip Bayless sets LeBron James up for failure with absurd Lakers take

The Los Angeles Lakers won an entertaining game in the Play-In Tournament to clinch their spot in the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. LeBron James didn't shoot the ball particularly well but nearly had a triple-double in the victory as he was just one rebound and one assist shy.

The Lakers' reward for winning this Play-In Game is a matchup against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the first round. It's a nightmarish scenario for a Lakers team that has lost each of its last eight meetings against Denver including a series sweep in last season's Western Conference Finals.

It's good that they made the playoffs, but this matchup is one Lakers fans dread, and for good reason. Denver should handle them rather easily. Or so most people think. Fox Sports' Skip Bayless shockingly came up with a take of his own. He's picking the Lakers.

Skip Bayless picking the Lakers is only setting LeBron James up for failure

Nowadays, it feels like every sports talk show host has his own schtick. Stephen A. Smith always makes fun of the Dallas Cowboys. Nick Wright is always going to back his Kansas City Chiefs no matter what. Skip Bayless' schtick is being anti-Lebron James. No matter what, he's going to find a way to discredit something that LeBron James does.

It's a tired act. LeBron is in year 21 and remains one of the five best basketball players on the planet. Just this past season he shot a career-best 41.0% from three-point range. He's finding ways to improve even at 39 years old.

Bayless picking the Lakers to win this series has absolutely nothing to do with him actually thinking that the Lakers will win. It's Bayless setting the stage for himself to crucify LeBron for failing to pull off something that he "thinks" should happen.

Not just that, but Bayless predicts the Lakers win it all by defeating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals!

This first-round series will likely not be close. Denver is a far better team and is in a position to make another run to the NBA Finals. The Lakers are just not nearly as good. LeBron might be good enough to win a game or two, but four? If NBA analysts don't pick the Lakers to win this series how in the world does Skip Bayless think they're good enough? Even if the Lakers do pull off the upset, all Bayless will say is this was supposed to happen, rather than give him the credit he'll deserve.

It's a win for LeBron and the Lakers if this series goes six or seven games. Picking them to win when it's more likely to just be a Denver rout is setting LeBron up for failure. At this point, it's easy to see right through Skip and his antics.