The Lebron Thread

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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#81 » by toodles23 » Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:48 am

Don't have time to go into any depth, but I loved what I saw from Lebron tonight.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#82 » by SideshowBob » Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:57 am

Didn't catch much aside from the fourth quarter and a couple plays early. Loved his confidence in the 4th and caught a nice spin to the basket, though I couldn't tell whether it was in transition or not
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#83 » by SideshowBob » Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:37 am

My memory just caught up with me. IG2, were you also the poster on RealCavsFans that tried to argue that Lebron was gaining too much upper body mass and it would eventually lead to a loss in explosiveness back in early 09-10? Just wondering because it just popped into my head
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#84 » by SideshowBob » Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:38 pm

Alright, just caught the highlights. Obviously, they didn't show any of his misses, but I can get an idea.

Biggest thing I saw was finishing in traffic like I haven't seen in ages. I wouldn't have expected him to convert that lob from Battier in the third quarter, considering he had 2 or three guys hounding him right underneath the basket. Drive in the halfcourt with the spin move was definitely reminiscent of his old days.

Looked excellent in the post, really comfortable down there and he was mixing it up; I don't think I saw the same move twice. Obviously it can be refined, but it was good to see him look for that as his first option on offense in the fourth. On the other hand, he was being guarded by Evan Turner, so I certainly wouldn't expect this yet, night in and night out.
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#85 » by IG2 » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:11 pm

SideshowBob wrote:My memory just caught up with me. IG2, were you also the poster on RealCavsFans that tried to argue that Lebron was gaining too much upper body mass and it would eventually lead to a loss in explosiveness back in early 09-10? Just wondering because it just popped into my head


Probably was :lol:. If anyone's whining about LeBron's size on the net, very likely it's me. I'm also registered on RCF(haven't posted there in ages though).

09-10 LeBron got off to a very slow start athletically, if you remember. He couldn't jump and his half-court athleticism was no different than current LeBron. But all those issues pretty much disappeared by January. It was very weird.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#86 » by SideshowBob » Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:13 pm

IG2 wrote:
SideshowBob wrote:My memory just caught up with me. IG2, were you also the poster on RealCavsFans that tried to argue that Lebron was gaining too much upper body mass and it would eventually lead to a loss in explosiveness back in early 09-10? Just wondering because it just popped into my head


Probably was :lol:. If anyone's whining about LeBron's size on the net, very likely it's me. I'm also registered on RCF(haven't posted there in ages though).

09-10 LeBron got off to a very slow start athletically, if you remember. He couldn't jump and his half-court athleticism was no different than current LeBron. But all those issues pretty much disappeared by January. It was very weird.


I'm certain it was you then :)

Yes I do indeed remember. He was basically a jumpshooter through the first few months, and the biggest thing I remember was a blown layup to win it against Chicago in the 6th game of the season. In the back of my head, my thought was, that dude was on point.
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#87 » by IG2 » Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:48 am

Didn't mind LeBron's performance today, even with the 4-point 4th qtr. He showed intent and was trying to get something going, but Skiles knows how to get his team to play D. They shaded him hard and forced him into passing all game, and nobody else could make a shot.

I would like to see him mix it up a bit more though. He fell way too in-love with his inside game today. Miami could have used some catch n shoots from him.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#88 » by bballcool34 » Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:23 am

This decline business is overblown.

He isn't as quick--which is completely normal given his mileage--- but is still a monster. It's more to do with his increased bulk then anything else.
Damn
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#89 » by SideshowBob » Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:29 am

bballcool34 wrote:This decline business is overblown.

He isn't as quick--which is completely normal given his mileage--- but is still a monster. It's more to do with his increased bulk then anything else.


That's pretty much what we've been discussing. He's also less explosive in the halfcourt because of it
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#90 » by SideshowBob » Wed Jan 25, 2012 2:55 am

Only saw parts of the game, but looked like Lebron didn't really come to play. Didn't see him attack the rim much, and wasn't really looking to set up his jumper either, more of just settling
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#91 » by IG2 » Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:04 am

^ Everything we said about last season? Well, that was him today. Just looked slow as hell(fatigue?), and was hesitant to take the jumper once he missed a few. This game was easily the worst athletically he's looked all season.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#92 » by toodles23 » Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:06 am

SideshowBob wrote:Only saw parts of the game, but looked like Lebron didn't really come to play. Didn't see him attack the rim much, and wasn't really looking to set up his jumper either, more of just settling

He looked pretty slow tonight, very passive, no hustle. At this point, I expect him to miss his layup every time he tries to drive to the hoop 1v1 with a live dribble, and that's what happened several times tonight.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#93 » by SideshowBob » Wed Jan 25, 2012 3:10 am

He definitely looked slow, but really he just didn't look into the game today. He looked like he didn't care in the first quarter. Frustration from not being able to do what he could? Maybe, but I doubt it
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#94 » by toodles23 » Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:40 am

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD35qrTh-vs[/youtube]

Just watched this. What happened to the quickness :cry:
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#95 » by SideshowBob » Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:45 am

Lord I remember that game. What better way to break a triple double streak than to have a 50 point game.

That guy would've torched Dallas in the Finals
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#96 » by dream_catcher_9 » Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:22 am

I don't think he lost athleticism, he just got bigger/stronger. Granted, he doesn't use his strength like he should.....
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#97 » by Rerisen » Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:54 am

Is LeBron's athletic status a game to game thing now? I don't mean to offend anyone but I find it kind of fascinating, if odd, that we have a thread that breaks down every single game LeBron plays and commenting on if, "He looked fast tonight," or "He looked slow tonight."

His athleticism is probably going to be the same for the whole year, barring injuries.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#98 » by toodles23 » Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:10 am

Rerisen wrote:Is LeBron's athletic status a game to game thing now? I don't mean to offend anyone but I find it kind of fascinating, if odd, that we have a thread that breaks down every single game LeBron plays and commenting on if, "He looked fast tonight," or "He looked slow tonight."

Most of the time I think it has to do with how engaged he is in the game, but tonight he legitimately looked a step slower than usual. After the game he even implied that he had dead legs.
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#99 » by SideshowBob » Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:05 am

These past three games have been some of the most boring games I've seen out of Lebron in a while
But in his home dwelling...the hi-top faded warrior is revered. *Smack!* The sound of his palm blocking the basketball... the sound of thousands rising, roaring... the sound of "get that sugar honey iced tea outta here!"
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Re: Lebron's athletic decline, Cleveland vs. Miami 

Post#100 » by IG2 » Thu Jan 26, 2012 3:18 am

^ Indeed. Another Heat game where I had a hard time staying awake. LeBron's mostly playing off ball these last few games and needless to say, he's not very fun when he does that, because he spends large portions of the game doing nothing.

Only positive thing about tonight's game was he made big free throws down the stretch to close it out. On the downside, still looks scared to shoot jumpers late. Still looks very clumsy and slow when he puts it on the floor. I just don't see how he's the league's best player. The game looks like a real grind for him. Nothing comes easy.

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