RealGM

I took a look at the cesspool that's the game thread, and I HAD to start this thread. Consider it a public service announcement.

If you want Lebron to shoot more, you
* have absolutely no knowledge of how Lebron played with the Cavs and what the results were (despite them being amongst the favorites year after year after year)
AND/OR
* have a very poor understanding of the game of basketball

Let me quickly explain it to you: with the Cavs Lebron had to do everything, especially on the offensive end. He'd initiate the offense, and he'd start with the ball in his hand at the top of the 3p line most of the time. He'd get 30-35 points, but his team would lose.

Now let's look at this game for a second: Lebron didn't shoot much, but he posted up, drawing double teams which left the shooters open. And check out the result.

Lebron needs to catch the ball on the move, post-up and in general don't allow the defense to get set, which is what happens when he dribbles for 8 seconds at the top of the 3p line.

And if we're here, if you want Lebron to defend Parker an entire game you:
* didn't see the 2011 finals
OR
* you have at most a superficial understanding of the game of basketball.

A tired Lebron might as well be a rested Battier. But a rested Battier leading your team won't win you many games in the playoffs or the NBA Finals.

I heard this LeBron James guy is pretty smart in the game of basketball

great posting truthiness. Like you I came here around the 3rd quarter then had to leave because the posts were that bad. LeBron was making all the right basketball plays. Scoring is only one facet of the game. He was setting up others, setting hard screens, making the smart play. I knew he'd come around in the 4th and the role players were great

It's amazing how he let Norris Cole and Chalmers handle the ball and make plays.

It's obvious he planned this in advanced with them and told them to use him as a screener to make plays.

Pop has an entire defensive game plan built to stop LeBron, but it's not built to stop everybody else. LeBron knows this. He's good at basketball.

Tien wrote:It's amazing how he let Norris Cole and Chalmers handle the ball and make plays.

It's obvious he planned this in advanced with them and told them to use him as a screener to make plays.

Pop has an entire defensive game plan built to stop LeBron, but it's not built to stop everybody else. LeBron knows this. He's good at basketball.

Yeap, pretty much.

That's why I liked it more in g1 when Wade handled the ball. I didn't want Lebron to dribble-dribble-dribble for 10-12 seconds at mid court before attempting a penetration for which the entire Spurs D is already in position and, even worse, they got a few seconds to rest, because nobody else from the Heat was moving around, they were just watching Lebron.

Lebron starting with the ball at the top of the 3p line is ineffective and inefficient. And quite PREDICTABLE.
Lebron posting up or catching the ball on the move is nearly unstoppable.

So yeah, give Cole/Chalmers/Wade the ball and have Lebron move around a bit till he gets in a good position to receive it and attack.

BTW, Lebron wasn't that much involved in the offense at first because he wasn't needed that much. But then , he got really aggressive. But I guess if it doesn't show up in the boxscore, it means he was passive ...

That screen and role play with him and Rio is a big problem for how the spurs want to defend.

It will be interesting to see how pop adjusts. If he is going to met Rio have those lanes Rio could end up finals mvp which would be hilarious.

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If you watch carefully the entire Spurs team knows what to do to stop LeBron when he has the ball.

Sometimes they would zone up with available bigs to collapse the paint. Just like Chicago, have every single perimeter defender backed up with 1-2 bigs ready to collapse.

After watching the regular season, why would any playoff coach allow LeBron to average 27/8/7 on 56% shooting?

Pop seems like he is doing the same thing that Chicago did. It seems like Lebron vs pop put there lol. Game 1 pop won. Game 2 Lebron.

Tien wrote:After watching the regular season, why would any playoff coach allow LeBron to average 27/8/7 on 56% shooting?

A better question is: when Lebron posting up is such a devastating move, why would any coach allow him to initiate the offense for the entire game 1 ?

And we didn't even touch on the added benefits of not having Lebron initiate the offense: Wade and Bosh are more involved offensively which gives them more rhythm and keeps them in the game both offensively and defensively.

Most people who lobby for LeBron to shoot more are pure LeBron homers who want him to get his stats first. Other than that, there's no reason for him to do so if we can get better looks, even for LB himself, by using mismatches and putting the players in the best possible situation to score against the respective defensive schemes. We didn't always do that against Indiana and didn't do that in game 1 against San Antonio and seem to have learned some.

we need him to be more aggressive. and also today we got away with the win...coz ray allen chalmers mm were hitting their shots.

as long as the end result is miami win, thats what matters.but i feel that with lebron being aggressive and scoring we stand higher chance then him playing fascilitator role.especially our role players could be sucking any minute. ask battier.

We needed a thread to discuss this?

DWadeno3 wrote:Most people who lobby for LeBron to shoot more are pure LeBron homers who want him to get his stats first. Other than that, there's no reason for him to do so if we can get better looks, even for LB himself, by using mismatches and putting the players in the best possible situation to score against the respective defensive schemes. We didn't always do that against Indiana and didn't do that in game 1 against San Antonio and seem to have learned some.

I don't think this is true. I think most people that lobby for him to shoot more are people who saw him do awesome stuff in the Regular Season and think that he could do it again to save us from the lackluster or sporadic performances of the rest of the team. Whether he can or not, who knows. But calling players "homers" and crap is just creating a negative atmosphere that's unnecessary and uncalled for. Save it for the GB.

krikor wrote:we need him to be more aggressive. and also today we got away with the win...coz ray allen chalmers mm were hitting their shots.

as long as the end result is miami win, thats what matters.but i feel that with lebron being aggressive and scoring we stand higher chance then him playing fascilitator role.especially our role players could be sucking any minute. ask battier.

Playing team ball is the only way we beat Spurs. Why do you think LeBron isn't being aggressive? He tried to be at a point and then prioritized efficiency over forcing things. Spurs are defending him individually and collectively very well. There is no point in him being a ball hog just to make a statement that he can still score on them.

LeBron playing hero ball is only the last resort when none of our other stars and support cast are able to do well in the flow of offense. Of course it has happened a little too often this playoffs, I don't want to see any of that again though.