The LeBron in Winter

[SJ76]

Honestly,

The people who blast him for making a good basketball play and passing to open shooters instead of shooting over a triple team don’t understand basketball.

A bad shot is a bad shot. MJ and Kobe’s percentages in crunch time are not as good as people want to believe.

John Paxson or Kyle Korver for a wide open look is a better bet than a force by a superstar every single time.

Lebron doesn’t take many bad shots I’ll give him that.. he would rather just take a jump shot than go to the hole and there’s nothing wrong with that.

In crunch time LeBron wasn’t always the one shooting the ball. MJ and Kobe we knew they were always going to shoot that shot So yeah they probably taken more shots in crunch time

 

[SJ76]

LeBron was one of the best defenders in the league for 5-6 years.

And a very good one when he needed to be for most of the rest.

Similar deal with Kobe.

Has he ever been on the first team all defense in the NBA like Kobe?

 

[SJ76]

Not really. Lebron has never been a great shooter. His speed and athleticism combined with that size, has always been his greatest advantage. Settling for jumpers would remove much of that advantage.

He has always been a more willing passer than MJ or Kobe, so there were times where he would pass when MJ or Kobe would have driven to the hoop. In fact, you could argue But that's because his game has always favored Magic far more than MJ or Kobe.

Oh i agree he’s always has an advantage in size and speed but He most certainly hasn’t always taken advantage of that advantage

 

[tlance]

Has he ever been on the first team all defense in the NBA like Kobe?

5 times.

‘09 - ‘13

 

[SJ76]

5 times.

‘09 - ‘13

That’s it?? Lol

He’s probably the most talented player in the history of basketball. Different mentality different era and that’s why I said and continue to say we shouldn’t be comparing eras.

 

[trojanfan12]

Lets not forget Jordan was an outstanding defensive player to go with his talent. I don't think James or Bryant get close to that

MJ: 10x All Defensive 1st team, 1x All Defensive 2nd team, 1x Defensive Player of the Year

Kobe: 9x All Defensive 1st team, 1x All Defensive 2nd team

Lebron: 5x All Defensive 1st team, 3x All Defensive 2nd team

Turns out...all 3 were pretty darn good.

 

[tlance]

Lebron doesn’t take many bad shots I’ll give him that.. he would rather just take a jump shot than go to the hole and there’s nothing wrong with that.

In crunch time LeBron wasn’t always the one shooting the ball. MJ and Kobe we knew they were always going to shoot that shot So yeah they probably taken more shots in crunch time

Your perception of LeBron being a jump shooter is simply not true.

During his prime, he took about half of his shots at or near the rim.

Those percentages have declined over the years as he has gotten older, but same was true for Jordan and Kobe.

 

[tlance]

That’s it?? Lol

He’s probably the most talented player in the history of basketball. Different mentality different era and that’s why I said and continue to say we shouldn’t be comparing eras.

I agree comparing eras is silly at best.

But MJ only had 3 more all defense selections than LeBron.

AND…

It is generally a bit harder to earn them as a forward than a guard.

I don’t think LeBron was as good a defender as MJ was. But it was closer than most think.

 

[thunderc]

MJ: 10x All Defensive 1st team, 1x All Defensive 2nd team, 1x Defensive Player of the Year

Kobe: 9x All Defensive 1st team, 1x All Defensive 2nd team

Lebron: 5x All Defensive 1st team, 3x All Defensive 2nd team

Turns out...all 3 were pretty darn good.

Kareem 5x on 1st team and 6x on 2nd team. Widely regarded as one of the best defensive players of all time

 

[SJ76]

I agree comparing eras is silly at best.

But MJ only had 3 more all defense selections than LeBron.

AND…

It is generally a bit harder to earn them as a forward than a guard.

I don’t think LeBron was as good a defender as MJ was. But it was closer than most think.

I’m not saying Lebron wasn’t a good defender at all. Dude can obviously play. Again different position mentality and era. I just saw Lebron settle for jumpers a lot when I was yelling at the TV to go to the hole because of obvious mismatches and of course style of play in the league. MJ would shoot his fadeaway but overall the dude was going to the rim hard most of the time

 

[HurricaneDij39]

We've got some great young talent in this league (Ja Morant, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Haliburton, Scottie Barnes, etc.) that's all being shoved mercilessly to the wayside and all for the sake of LeBron and his hypothetical GOAT chase...

 

[trojanfan12]

Cane every time Lebron is menmtioned:

 

[bksballer89]

This thread blew up.

Summary please?

 

[DJ Fieri]

Actually yes. I can.

Kobe, after the Achilles injury, playing on very young teams that had little expectation to win, turned into "Uncle Kobe" and concentrated on mentoring some of the young Lakers and other young stars around the league. After his career, he commented on how much he enjoyed that. Obviously, he would have preferred being in the title hunt, but he knew the situation and made the best of it.

I don't think MJ was putting a lot of pressure on himself to win titles when he played for the Wizards. It was more about proving that at age 38-39 he could still be a viable NBA player.

For Lebron, this roster that he wanted has blown up on him and the Lakers told him at the ASB, this is your mess, we're not bailing you out by trying to make a trade that doesn't amount to much more than re-arranging the furniture and claiming you got new stuff. Doing that, along with AD still being out, effectively removed any pressure to win a title this year.

That allows him to play basketball just because he loves playing and he can chase individual records that he's never chased before. Seems getting to just play without pressure for the first time since his 2nd year in the league could be pretty fun.

This.

To add....he's being millions of dollars to play a game. Why shouldn't he be enjoying it? He's closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

 

[fightinfunbags]

This thread blew up.

Summary please?

Equal parts LeBron vs MJ plus the shut and dribble crowd reacting to his politics. LeBron thread gonna LeBron thread.

 

[thunderc]

T

Equal parts LeBron vs MJ plus the shut and dribble crowd reacting to his politics. LeBron thread gonna LeBron thread.

I made no mention of Lebrons politics, only his blatant hypocrisy on a few things.

 

[Batman]

Indeed, and LeBron is more outspoken and unafraid of alienating some folks. And that bugs people. Bugged them about Muhammad Ali and Bill Russell too.

And Kyrie.

 

[Wamu]

Interesting numbers. Shot made in the final 24 seconds & final 5 seconds of a game.


MJ: 9-18 (.500) in the final 24 seconds. 5-11 (.455) in the final 10 seconds

LeBron: 8-20 (.400) in the final 24 seconds. 6-10 (.600) in the final 10 seconds

Kobe: 7-28 (.250) in the final 24 seconds. 5-22 (.227) in the final 10 seconds


For some bizarre reason the article I found- who has the most game winners in history doesn't mention Kobe's playoff numbers but it does for MJ & LeBron. The last 5 seconds of a game.

MJ: 5-11 (.455)

LeBron: 7-15 (.467)


And total game winning shots for career.

Kobe- 26

MJ- 25

LeBron- 19


Kobe has the most game winning shots. But he also has the worst shooting percentage.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

LeBron is more outspoken on stuff than MJ and these guys don't like that

"These guys" also don't like it when you lose and don't take responsibility.

To fake an injury after losing the finals was a galactically embarrassing moment that some want to forget.

.

 

[Wamu]

"These guys" also don't like it when you lose and don't take responsibility.

To fake an injury after losing the finals was a galactically embarrassing moment that some want to forget.

.

It's funny you don't know what you're talking about.

Game one- '18 Finals. After the game, James punched a whiteboard with his shooting hand and suffered a sever bone contusion. James played the next three games with an injured right hand.

The Warriors didn't even know that happened until after the Finals. He didn't fake anything. But I can understand why the LeBron haters out there would want to believe something that's false.

Article- Warriors had no idea LeBron had injured his hand in 2018 Finals