The LeBron Thread 2021 Off-Season Edition

[trickshot]

Having no wing depth was always moronic. Was the plan to have the likes of Nunn, Monk and Melo guarding Giannis and Luka in the playoffs? Not enough attention paid to matchupability and defense. Would be wise to remember even the Nets big 3 when they first joined up were finding it difficult to win while their defense was still giving up 140. Lebron and AD will elevate the D but won't fix it alone. I see tweaks being made if they are to win this year. Dare I say it's non-negotiable.

[JN61]

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Doesn't quite make sense he's turning 37.

Well using a million per year on those hair transplant surgeries and beard fillers does makes him look way younger.

[mitrandil20]

So, I stopped playing team basketball some years ago and switched to [olympic] weightlifting and one of the channels I follow is Sika Strength, where a bunch of strong and well known to the community Irish lads started doing "reaction" videos to different sports/athletes training. I bumped into one on LeBron's and wanted to share it. I know a lot of people will/do comment on the lines of "he spends millions on his body, so he must know the correct stuff to do", but it's interesting to see the points of discrepancy from the perspective of athletes from other disciplines in matters that tend to converge (strength, power, stability etc training). Here it is:

Watch on YouTube

[Greyhound]

So, I stopped playing team basketball some years ago and switched to [olympic] weightlifting and one of the channels I follow is Sika Strength, where a bunch of strong and well known to the community Irish lads started doing "reaction" videos to different sports/athletes training. I bumped into one on LeBron's and wanted to share it. I know a lot of people will/do comment on the lines of "he spends millions on his body, so he must know the correct stuff to do", but it's interesting to see the points of discrepancy from the perspective of athletes from other disciplines in matters that tend to converge (strength, power, stability etc training). Here it is:

Watch on YouTube

LeBron has been a durable, elite professional athlete for almost two decades. Whatever he is doing is working for him.

He wins this debate without giving it a second thought. He knows his own biomechanics, and no matter how goofy his movements may look, they have been extreme successful for him.

I will side with LeBron on this particular issue over any weightlifter, bodybuilder, power lifter, keg thrower, shot putter, whoever.

LeBron is the expert on LeBron workouts, and the proof is in both the quality and length of success.

[mitrandil20]

So, I stopped playing team basketball some years ago and switched to [olympic] weightlifting and one of the channels I follow is Sika Strength, where a bunch of strong and well known to the community Irish lads started doing "reaction" videos to different sports/athletes training. I bumped into one on LeBron's and wanted to share it. I know a lot of people will/do comment on the lines of "he spends millions on his body, so he must know the correct stuff to do", but it's interesting to see the points of discrepancy from the perspective of athletes from other disciplines in matters that tend to converge (strength, power, stability etc training). Here it is:

Watch on YouTube

LeBron has been a durable, elite professional athlete for almost two decades. Whatever he is doing is working for him.

He wins this debate without giving it a second thought. He knows his own biomechanics, and no matter how goofy his movements may look, they have been extreme successful for him.

I will side with LeBron on this particular issue over any weightlifter, bodybuilder, power lifter, keg thrower, shot putter, whoever.

LeBron is the expert on LeBron workouts, and the proof is in both the quality and length of success.

I mostly agree with the sentiment, and also the guys in the video appreciate _almost all_ of the exercises and for the rest they comment that they don't and cannot know the real context in which they are performed. Their comments where there is some discrepancy is geared towards the absolute value of the exercise itself in most applicable settings for us genetically ungifted lifters (because I think we can agree that LeBron physically is a genetic outlier**2 also in terms of longevity and durability without any workout to support him).
I don't think there is anything wrong in pointing out, after having tried to extrapolate the end goal of the dubious exercise at interest, that something more efficient could be done instead - and build a debate on that. Then again, if the end goal of the exercise is revealed and is different than predicted and the exercise is certain to be the best for that context, the whole structure of the debate falls down, of course.

By the way, thanks for the reply

[dcstanley]

I'm banking on THT being traded for a wing before the deadline. This roster's flaws will be glaring by then.

[falcolombardi]

bill simmons recency bias ks insane. (also the standards for other players to get "crowned" are so much lower but that is another topic)

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[nzahir]

I'm banking on THT being traded for a wing before the deadline. This roster's flaws will be glaring by then.

I think it would make sense, but I don't think the FO gives up on him tbh

If we move on from THT it would make losing AC even worse lol

Would make a lot of sense though

[toodles23]

Been watching some full games of LeBron from his 2010 season and amazed at how much I had forgotten about his game.

- I don't know why I remember him being this ball pounder during his initial Cleveland stint. Not only did he mostly play off-ball, but when he did catch it (usually through some off-ball action), he was quick to make a move with it. His game seemed a lot more instinctual than what it later became. More decisive and less over-thinking. He was looking to make plays pretty much all the time. A significant part of it I'm sure was just due to him being this godly physical specimen. Why don't I remember him possessing an elite first step?? I never saw him as that guy, but he was. He was blowing past the initial line of defense at will. And his body was rubbery enough to change direction and elude defenses even after that. There was no way to keep him in front of you. Teams pretty much always had 3 guys shadowing him on every possession. That ceased to exist from 2011 onward. He simply wasn't THAT threatening off the dribble for teams to guard him like that. Well, that and better teammates/spacing.

I know 2010 basically gets forgotten as his peak because of 1 subpar series, but I think it's right up there with 2009 as his 2 best seasons. The more I re-watch his career, the more I'm convinced he peaked before The Decision. His game was already polished enough by that point and whatever improvements he made later on - post play and jumper - simply weren't substantial enough to offset his big edge in athleticism and motor.

His athleticism really was completely astonishing those last couple of Cleveland years, I appreciate it more in retrospect than I did at the time because I was so used to it. I mean look at this ****

Watch on YouTube

That first step and general quickness/ability to dart through tight spaces was gone in Miami.

[mcraft]

Been watching some full games of LeBron from his 2010 season and amazed at how much I had forgotten about his game.

- I don't know why I remember him being this ball pounder during his initial Cleveland stint. Not only did he mostly play off-ball, but when he did catch it (usually through some off-ball action), he was quick to make a move with it. His game seemed a lot more instinctual than what it later became. More decisive and less over-thinking. He was looking to make plays pretty much all the time. A significant part of it I'm sure was just due to him being this godly physical specimen. Why don't I remember him possessing an elite first step?? I never saw him as that guy, but he was. He was blowing past the initial line of defense at will. And his body was rubbery enough to change direction and elude defenses even after that. There was no way to keep him in front of you. Teams pretty much always had 3 guys shadowing him on every possession. That ceased to exist from 2011 onward. He simply wasn't THAT threatening off the dribble for teams to guard him like that. Well, that and better teammates/spacing.

I know 2010 basically gets forgotten as his peak because of 1 subpar series, but I think it's right up there with 2009 as his 2 best seasons. The more I re-watch his career, the more I'm convinced he peaked before The Decision. His game was already polished enough by that point and whatever improvements he made later on - post play and jumper - simply weren't substantial enough to offset his big edge in athleticism and motor.

His athleticism really was completely astonishing those last couple of Cleveland years, I appreciate it more in retrospect than I did at the time because I was so used to it. I mean look at this ****

Watch on YouTube

That first step and general quickness/ability to dart through tight spaces was gone in Miami.

It’s always mind blowing to me when I go back and watch him from the first Cleveland stint. He’s been an amazing athlete his entire career but back then his explosiveness and speed was unreal.

[thebigbird]

bill simmons recency bias ks insane. (also the standards for other players to get "crowned" are so much lower but that is another topic)

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I don’t think Bill Simmons even watches the NBA. He just word vomits for clicks. He talks about how lebron “couldn’t do what Giannis did the last two rounds.” The Bucks were tied 2-2 against Atlanta and then Giannis missed the next two games. Milwaukee won them both.

[Fadeaway_J]

Don't know why I'm always surprised to learn people still listen to Simmons.

[trickshot]

bill simmons recency bias ks insane. (also the standards for other players to get "crowned" are so much lower but that is another topic)

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Lol KD's performance was amazing but he lost in the 2nd round. The average blackmark on lebron's legacy is beating the east and losing in the finals. There's levels. Even if you're strictly speaking about current rankings nothing in last year's eastern run was significant enough to form a tier of its own for any of the concerned superstars.

I don't even have Lebron as my best in the league anymore but it has to be said he's still in that tier. One good half season where he reminds the media and they'll be back proclaiming him the best. The gap between the top 3 is barely a gap.

[falcolombardi]

bill simmons recency bias ks insane. (also the standards for other players to get "crowned" are so much lower but that is another topic)

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Lol KD's performance was amazing but he lost in the 2nd round. The average blackmark on lebron's legacy is beating the east and losing in the finals. There's levels.

depending on who you are talking to even winning a ring can be a black Mark if he didnt have a perfect series every time

hell, the simple fact people are still criticizing him for not having been the best player in the league at 36

[trickshot]

bill simmons recency bias ks insane. (also the standards for other players to get "crowned" are so much lower but that is another topic)

Read on Twitter

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Lol KD's performance was amazing but he lost in the 2nd round. The average blackmark on lebron's legacy is beating the east and losing in the finals. There's levels.

depending on who you are talking to even winning a ring can be a black Mark if he didnt have a perfect series every time

hell, the simple fact people are still criticizing him for not having been the best player in the league at 36

Giannis is actually my defacto best player in the league, defacto not undisputed because he won the chip on an amazing finals display but also because I thought KD looked like the better player when both guys were on the court. Another wrinkle is that the last time we saw Lebron healthy he was a lead MVP candidate among all 3. We're talking some very fine margins when we compare them.

Each guy has something in their favour. I know there's a desire to move past Lebron but guys like Simmons need to put their dicks back in their holster and let father time take care of it. When he stops being in the conversation it will be obvious, you won't need logical leaps to convince everyone.

[Mos_Heat]

bill simmons recency bias ks insane. (also the standards for other players to get "crowned" are so much lower but that is another topic)

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Simmons is a Skip Baylees level hater, but he's right that Giannis and Durant are better than Lebron. Not really that controversial

[Run DLC]

I don’t care where they want to rank him. The very fact that he’s in the conversation at the age of 37 and completely out of his physical prime really solidified his greatness and durability. It sucks that he can’t play at the same intense athletic level he used to, he’s still managed to be a top-tier player with his IQ by picking his spots and overall know how to systematically break opposing teams apart. Doesn’t matter if he wins a ring or not this year, still the #2 GOAT and arguably #1 GOAT. Looking forward to witness milestone, 35k 10k 10k this season.

[homecourtloss]

Well LeBron and Westbrook look really bad out there shooting it in the first quarter but both played with defensive energy. Westbrook channeling play into defense could be something. Bazemore was much better on rotations with LeBron on court directing things. Even washed up DeAndre was pretty good defensively. Lots of rim pressure and threes for the Lakers ever though they haven’t made anything in the first.

With Ariza out I’m assuming they’ll start Jordan.

Jordan
Davis
James
Bazemore
Westbrook

Would be awful offensively.

Davis
James
Ariza
Monk or Bazemore
Westbrook

Would be pretty good.

[trickshot]

Was a bit shocked how good their defense was in the first quarter. Lebron and Westbrook really make a world of difference especially the latter when he tries. However the offense, playing a traditional 5 with Westbrook doesn't look great. Rockets unlocked Westbrook after ditching starting bigs, Lakers might have to do the same. It's just not the same player when opposing bigs gets to camp in the paint. Or maybe the Warriors are just a really good defensive team. They were reading and breaking up lobs, kick outs and dump offs for run

[zimpy27]

They just having fun, blowing out some cobwebs first game back. Will be fun to watch this team this year I think. Last year kind of sucked.