The Lebron '20 Thread (Pt. 7)

[Dupp]

Kyrie throwing shade at lebron saying kd is the only guys he’s ever played with that can hit shots down the stretch. He also seems to be undermining Nash a little.

Think this Brooklyn team could be a fun watch in a meltdown kind of way.

Bron throwing it right back

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Lmao

[1993Playoffs]

We’re people this salty in the 2016 win? Jesus some people are really mad he’s about to win lol

[Run DLC]

11 assists shy of surpassing John Stockton for the #2 spot in playoffs assists. He’s definitely getting that triple-double tomorrow. I hope he drops 30+ points as well.

[Greyhound]

Markiefs catch and shoot efficiency on threes has been insane in the post season. Having him play “small ball” at the 5 has also been huge for their success.


One of the all time best mid season pickups ever.

He absolutely must be retained for next season.

[Dupp]

We’re people this salty in the 2016 win? Jesus some people are really mad he’s about to win lol

I feel like 2016 was the only time most people got around a lebron team. A mutual hate for the warriors brought everyone together. It was beautiful.

[Heej]

LeBron needs to just be able to play at an MVP level come playoffs for a couple more years... Put this man in the cryo chamber every time he's not on the court.

Vince Carter's trend of athleticism retention and LeBron's trend of doing better with continuity gives me hope. I think Dwight should remain effective in a Robert Parish role for a few more years too since him and Bron are a year apart and comparable genetic freaks. I'd say a 40yo VC was a 75th to 80th percentile athlete in the league, so Bron and Dwight should be right around that. And Bron should play better the next 2 years imo as his shot gets better and he gets fed more easy looks.

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[dreamshake]

Could be wrong, but I suspect other teams are going to be pretty aggressive trying to lure Dwight away from the Lakers. Both because he's played well enough to be valuable to them, and also to weaken the Lakers. Would it be worth the full MLE if thats what it takes to keep him?

As far as offseason moves in general I think the priority will rightfully be on continuity and keeping all the key pieces aboard. The one thing I'd love to see is somehow adding a shooter that's not a total zero on defense. Joe Harris would be the dream for me but doubt that will happen.

[Homer38]

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[Baski]

Wait why does anyone think they'll win anywhere close to 70 games if they win? Like with 2014 and 2017 they're gonna throw away a lot of games as defending champs and drop significantly in wins. I'd be surprised if they even top the conference. 60 wins will be possible but 70? After a title? Nah

I think they're going for 70 because they romped thru this postseason, so it wasn't as mentally damaging; and being in front of fans vs being in the bubble will energize them. And lastly just the disrespect man. There's a lotta people that are gonna disrespect them as champions like we did to the Warriors so they'll have the rare combination that the Raptors also had this year of championship pedigree and a chip on their shoulders.

Plus they were going for 70 before the 4-game skid and they're gonna be even better next year. Bron knows he doesn't have too many chances at a 70 win season.

Meh we've seen this before with Lebron-led teams. Hype after the title and looking like the best versions of themselves then some mid-season collapse to ruin everything they built up to that point.

If this were Harden or Curry I'd expect it. Lebron just dont give a **** sometimes
I've said it before but Lebron drops non-essential goals FAST. He might go for it in the beginning but he sure as hell isn't going balls to the wall to maintain the pace when it's looking shaky. 60 wins will be near their upper limit if you ask me. 70 lmao forget it. Let's also not forget you don't want AD going hard for 82 games. Recipe for disaster.

[KTM_2813]

I think that a shortened season next year would give LeBron a last-ditch chance at MVP. I don't think he has the mental or physical energy to win the award over 82 games, but if the season is shortened to 50 games without a crazy amount of back-to-backs? Maybe.

70 wins or even a 70-win pace though is highly unlikely.

[DatAsh]

I big part of Lebron's longevity is definitely genetic. He just might be the most durable player ever. But, I feel that a big part of his incredible longevity is due to his work ethic.

I was watching some games from the 08-10 era recently, and it's clear that he's lost a ton of speed and vertical leap since then. But, it's also clear that his game was so much more limited (in terms of skill set) back then than it is now. Young Lebron often didn't even need help to beat his man off the dribble, but his skill set was mostly drive and kick, drive and dunk, step back midrange, or pull up three. Old Lebron isn't quite as effective with those first two skills, but he has so much in his tool belt now that he can go to when teams start countering his skills over the course of a series. I see young Lebron as a better floor raiser, old Lebron as a better ceiling raiser.

People that say Lebron isn't portable now are just wrong. I agree that he used to have portability problems(which were laid bare in 2011), but since then, he's added to his skillset every year to the point that now he's (imo) one of the most portable superstar players in the league. He just has so many different ways he can play and be super effective.

Most players basically keep the same style of play and skillset. They get better and better at it until about 30, and then slowly start to get worse at it after that until they're forced out of the league. Lebron has evolved his skillset perfectly to counter his declining athleticism, in a way that's super rare(kinda like Jason Kidd).

[Dupp]

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This actually sounds a lot like KD with Steph..

[Dupp]

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[Dupp]

Could be wrong, but I suspect other teams are going to be pretty aggressive trying to lure Dwight away from the Lakers. Both because he's played well enough to be valuable to them, and also to weaken the Lakers. Would it be worth the full MLE if thats what it takes to keep him?

As far as offseason moves in general I think the priority will rightfully be on continuity and keeping all the key pieces aboard. The one thing I'd love to see is somehow adding a shooter that's not a total zero on defense. Joe Harris would be the dream for me but doubt that will happen.

Been thinking about this too. Definitely think losing Dwight is a huge possibility. Which would be bad for LA.

[JLei]

If they win the title, and bring back the majority of their rotation, my guess is the start really hot. IIRC the 2017 Cavs started like 26-7 before completely going in to coast mode and finishing the year 25-24, actually were 40-14 before the ASB then went a horrific 11-17 to finish the season.

Don't think the Lakers would slide down to that level, but I could see something similar going on. My prediction would be 58-24 with around a 5.5 or 6 SRS.

Nah they are too good defensively to just lose games like that. Even in coast mode.

Cavs lost a lot of regular season games because they basically just let people walk to the basket and left everyone wide open.

[Homer38]

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LBJ don't make his teammates better....

[limbo]

I'm excited to see if Kuzma can come in to next year a better player, if Caruso can improve his shot, and if THT can become a rotation guy. I would honestly run it back with the same group next year. Don't try to make and major shake up in the roster. The question is will Dwight and Rondo return, and if so, will they have the same motivation?

I think you ALWAYS need to bring at least one or two decent players every year.

Not only because there's no reason not to try and improve, but you absolutely need to keep role players on their toes. If you run it back with the same group, certain players might start getting complacent and lack the motivation/focus...

We've seen this countless times... Dwight might be motivated now because he's on the precipice of winning a title, but who's to say he'll be this disciplined again next year? Some players are just happy winning a ring, saying they've achieved that goal in life, and start dialing it back.

[limbo]

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How polite of LeBron to use the pronoun 'we'... as if LeBron had anything to be jealous about Kyrie.

[limbo]

We’re people this salty in the 2016 win? Jesus some people are really mad he’s about to win lol

I don't think so because the comeback win was so epic it was hard to be anything but in awe... Although some people obviously went straight towards the ''Warriors choked'', ''Steph was injured'', ''Draymond shouldn't have been suspended'' narratives.

This one has a different type of salt to it because there is basically no resistance for LeBron on the path to a title, which is unprecedented. He's just mowing down all competition with ease. Usually LeBron always had to pull off miracles to win titles. So know that he's cruising to a title at 36 people need to find some type of excuse to rationalize it.

[HeartBreakKid]

I'm excited to see if Kuzma can come in to next year a better player, if Caruso can improve his shot, and if THT can become a rotation guy. I would honestly run it back with the same group next year. Don't try to make and major shake up in the roster. The question is will Dwight and Rondo return, and if so, will they have the same motivation?

I think you ALWAYS need to bring at least one or two decent players every year.

I think this is generally true for most good teams in the NBA. If you are not getting better than you are getting worse in the NBA. Teams are always reloading, so if you don't reload you theoretically will fall behind.