The Lebron Thread (2015-16 Pt. 3)

[kayess]

I think it's super funny that Kevin Love is still undefeated in the playoffs and he was criticized as a non-winner/stat-padder.

I think some of the criticism for him being positioned optimally for getting the rebound, rather than challenging the shot was warranted. Aside from that - well, who else was going to score on those TWolves teams? So I think the stat-padder criticism had some truth to it, but doesn't come with the usual "not a high IQ guy" baggage it seems to imply. Only a handful of players would've taken those TWolves teams to the playoffs, so the non-winner thing's clearly winning bias.

His rebound numbers are down, but his defense has improved, and I'm willing to bet that bears out in the +/- data. Just today alone, he looked like a different player out there on D - challenging shots near the rim, hustling out on the perimeter... And on O, making the right passes and making the most out of his touches.

Very similar to what we saw happened with Bosh, except he was probably a better defender at the start of his transition.

[PCProductions]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/733495241412612096[/tweet]

Kinda crazy that it's Kareem stopping LeBron, not the other way around. LeBron's getting up there in rarefied air.

Especially Kareem who epitomizes the "old man yelling at cloud"

[RSCD3_]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/733495241412612096[/tweet]

Kinda crazy that it's Kareem stopping LeBron, not the other way around. LeBron's getting up there in rarefied air.

Especially Kareem who epitomizes the "old man yelling at cloud"

Kareem probably wants lebron to beat curry because he's closer to his era or something. Picking the lesser of two evils so to speak, although I think he knows lebron is clearly up there with the greats.

Also passed shaq for 4th all time playoff scoring.
Now 3 assists away from passing Kidd for third in Career playoff assists.
He'll get really close to jordan's WS total if he can win even 2 games in the finals.

[colts18]

Kareem probably wants lebron to beat curry because he's closer to his era or something. Picking the lesser of two evils so to speak,

So you are saying that the man behind JordanBulls is Kareem?

[LivingLegend]

Kareem probably wants lebron to beat curry because he's closer to his era or something. Picking the lesser of two evils so to speak,

So you are saying that the man behind JordanBulls is Kareem?

Bro, Jimmy Butler is the only player in NBA history that can stop LeBron.

[RSCD3_]

Kareem probably wants lebron to beat curry because he's closer to his era or something. Picking the lesser of two evils so to speak,

So you are saying that the man behind JordanBulls is Kareem?

Spoiler:

[youtube]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Jqu70c6XE[/youtube]

[HeartBreakKid]

I think it's super funny that Kevin Love is still undefeated in the playoffs and he was criticized as a non-winner/stat-padder.

Erm...he's not the best player on his team, his team hasn't faced a great team yet, this is pretty much his only post season run he's ever had, and he's already 27 years old - are we really going to get all gitty?

[Dr Positivity]

Don't know what to say for the Eastern Conference. It is what it is. There were some interesting matchups in the east such as Pacers-Raps or both Miami series, but frankly it's all a tier lower than LeBron James, and it's been this way for a half decade now.

At this point I think it is more about Lebron's level of play during the years than the Eastern Conference being extremely weak. After losing in 08 to the Celtics I think it was clear to him that he needed more stars around him if he was ever going to win a title. Ala Miami Heat and the return to Cleveland with Kyrie and Love. As a result he has had the better teams through the years but it is Lebron who elevates his team to the different level they are on now.

The East needs some more stars. The best seasons in the East after Bron this year were like Lowry, Millsap, George, Butler. Lowry was the only East player other than LBJ top 10 in either RPM or WS. Just not good enough compared to Curry, Draymond, Kawhi, Westbrook, Durant, Paul, Harden, etc. The only East players to finish top 5 in MVP over the last 5 years are LBJ, Melo and Noah

The Cavs have almost the GOAT in his prime, perennial all-star talents as 2nd/3rd best players, a 106 million payroll's worth of depth and the 2nd best player in the conference this year was Lowry... wtf are you gonna do?

[Dupp]

So fourth all time playoff scoring already, pretty amazing.

Looking forward his jumper is really starting to look very ugly again...

Delly time

Hasnt been enough of this in the playoffs


Edit - Just realised lebron is gonna move to 4th all time scoring, 3rd assists and top 10 playoff rebounds in nba history this post season... insane.

Also no one really talks about his midrange game gone awol but thats a much bigger loss than his 3 imo.

[JulesWinnfield]

Some quick thoughts...

1. His confidence is so beyond shook in his jumper right now, another 3-4 instances last night where he is over passing and giving up open jumpers that the defense gives him, shots that he should 100% be taking under normal circumstances in the flow of the offense. Not to mention his free throw shooting. Ugh

2. The raptors are so comically overmatched and they know it. Frustration is only going to build and I really fear their mindset going forward could just be to take a chunk out of the Cavs on their way out the door. Hopefully Cleveland gets out of this unscathed from any dirty/chippy play

3. I don't care about records and srs, I have less respect for this raptor team than I have any other Lebron conference finals opponent in years gone by. With the way they have been playing this postseason this one-sided farce was 100% foreseeable. Valencunas wouldn't have made a difference either

4. Could you lose any more respect for Kyle Lowry? I mean c'mon now. Kyrie Irving is not only completely disemboweling him, but robbing him of his will to compete it has been so bad. What's up with him leaving the court just to "blow off steam"? I know he has had an elbow issue or whatever, but so much of this has been mental and between he and Derozan I have never come across an all star duo that I trust less. There is still time for them in this era to salvage their dignity, but through the summer they deserve to be branded wholly untrustworthy in postseason play. It's funny but my opinion of them has actually gone DOWN in the midst of their deepest playoff run in franchise history. They are unwatchably bad for most of this run and highly fortunate just to be here

[RSCD3_]

Some quick thoughts...

1. His confidence is so beyond shook in his jumper right now, another 3-4 instances last night where he is over passing and giving up open jumpers that the defense gives him, shots that he should 100% be taking under normal circumstances in the flow of the offense. Not to mention his free throw shooting. Ugh

2. The raptors are so comically overmatched and they know it. Frustration is only going to build and I really fear their mindset going forward could just be to take a chunk out of the Cavs on their way out the door. Hopefully Cleveland gets out of this unscathed from any dirty/chippy play

3. I don't care about records and srs, I have less respect for this raptor team than I have any other Lebron conference finals opponent in years gone by. With the way they have been playing this postseason this one-sided farce was 100% foreseeable. Valencunas wouldn't have made a difference either

4. Could you lose any more respect for Kyle Lowry? I mean c'mon now. Kyrie Irving is not only completely disemboweling him, but robbing him of his will to compete it has been so bad. What's up with him leaving the court just to "blow off steam"? I know he has had an elbow issue or whatever, but so much of this has been mental and between he and Derozan I have never come across an all star duo that I trust less. There is still time for them in this era to salvage their dignity, but through the summer they deserve to be branded wholly untrustworthy in postseason play. It's funny but my opinion of them has actually gone DOWN in the midst of their deepest playoff run in franchise history. They are unwatchably bad for most of this run and highly fortunate just to be here

Valanciunas would have made a difference, he would have eaten love or frye alive on offense

[JulesWinnfield]

Some quick thoughts...

1. His confidence is so beyond shook in his jumper right now, another 3-4 instances last night where he is over passing and giving up open jumpers that the defense gives him, shots that he should 100% be taking under normal circumstances in the flow of the offense. Not to mention his free throw shooting. Ugh

2. The raptors are so comically overmatched and they know it. Frustration is only going to build and I really fear their mindset going forward could just be to take a chunk out of the Cavs on their way out the door. Hopefully Cleveland gets out of this unscathed from any dirty/chippy play

3. I don't care about records and srs, I have less respect for this raptor team than I have any other Lebron conference finals opponent in years gone by. With the way they have been playing this postseason this one-sided farce was 100% foreseeable. Valencunas wouldn't have made a difference either

4. Could you lose any more respect for Kyle Lowry? I mean c'mon now. Kyrie Irving is not only completely disemboweling him, but robbing him of his will to compete it has been so bad. What's up with him leaving the court just to "blow off steam"? I know he has had an elbow issue or whatever, but so much of this has been mental and between he and Derozan I have never come across an all star duo that I trust less. There is still time for them in this era to salvage their dignity, but through the summer they deserve to be branded wholly untrustworthy in postseason play. It's funny but my opinion of them has actually gone DOWN in the midst of their deepest playoff run in franchise history. They are unwatchably bad for most of this run and highly fortunate just to be here

Valanciunas would have made a difference, he would have eaten love or frye alive on offense

Absolutely no difference whatsoever in terms of their ability to have any sliver of a chance. They would not compete in this series regardless. And defensively they would have wayyyy more problems than they're even currently having with him out there for big minutes, and they're currently allowing an O-rating of 121 with a clearly superior defensive lineup out there than they would have fielded with Jonas. The notion that he gives them any chance is totally unsupportable.

They were going to get murdered here all along, especially if Kyle Lowry was going to continue to be such a postseason dog save for a couple rare examples late in the Miami series

[RSCD3_]

Some quick thoughts...

1. His confidence is so beyond shook in his jumper right now, another 3-4 instances last night where he is over passing and giving up open jumpers that the defense gives him, shots that he should 100% be taking under normal circumstances in the flow of the offense. Not to mention his free throw shooting. Ugh

2. The raptors are so comically overmatched and they know it. Frustration is only going to build and I really fear their mindset going forward could just be to take a chunk out of the Cavs on their way out the door. Hopefully Cleveland gets out of this unscathed from any dirty/chippy play

3. I don't care about records and srs, I have less respect for this raptor team than I have any other Lebron conference finals opponent in years gone by. With the way they have been playing this postseason this one-sided farce was 100% foreseeable. Valencunas wouldn't have made a difference either

4. Could you lose any more respect for Kyle Lowry? I mean c'mon now. Kyrie Irving is not only completely disemboweling him, but robbing him of his will to compete it has been so bad. What's up with him leaving the court just to "blow off steam"? I know he has had an elbow issue or whatever, but so much of this has been mental and between he and Derozan I have never come across an all star duo that I trust less. There is still time for them in this era to salvage their dignity, but through the summer they deserve to be branded wholly untrustworthy in postseason play. It's funny but my opinion of them has actually gone DOWN in the midst of their deepest playoff run in franchise history. They are unwatchably bad for most of this run and highly fortunate just to be here

Valanciunas would have made a difference, he would have eaten love or frye alive on offense

Absolutely no difference whatsoever in terms of their ability to have any sliver of a chance. They would not compete in this series regardless. And defensively they would have wayyyy more problems than they're even currently having with him out there for big minutes, and they're currently allowing an O-rating of 121 with a clearly superior defensive lineup out there than they would have fielded with Jonas. The notion that he gives them any chance is totally unsupportable.

They were going to get murdered here all along, especially if Kyle Lowry was going to continue to be such a postseason dog save for a couple rare examples late in the Miami series

It would be a lot closer.

[Heej]

Love and Frye are surprisingly stout post defenders and rebounders (especially Frye is a better rebounder than people realize). However many PPP Love/Frye would give up to Valanciunas on post ups and putbacks they'd repay that in spades on offense

[colts18]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/733677780257415169[/tweet]

[G35]

Valanciunas would have made a difference, he would have eaten love or frye alive on offense

Absolutely no difference whatsoever in terms of their ability to have any sliver of a chance. They would not compete in this series regardless. And defensively they would have wayyyy more problems than they're even currently having with him out there for big minutes, and they're currently allowing an O-rating of 121 with a clearly superior defensive lineup out there than they would have fielded with Jonas. The notion that he gives them any chance is totally unsupportable.

They were going to get murdered here all along, especially if Kyle Lowry was going to continue to be such a postseason dog save for a couple rare examples late in the Miami series

It would be a lot closer.

G1
CLE 115
TOR 84
Winning margin 31 points

G2
CLE 108
TOR 89
Winning margin 19 points

AVG margin of victory is 25 points. So if Val was playing you think maybe they only lose by 15 points per game, maybe 10 if he's on fire?.....

[PaulieWal]

This jumper mystery is so bizarre. So after 3 straight above average seasons of 3 point shooting in Miami he goes to Cleveland and kind of becomes average in the RS before completely losing it in the PS. Then he starts this year even colder and shoots in the low 20s from the 3. In the second half of the season he starts knocking it down more and his jumper looks to be back. Then in the playoffs his jumper goes MIA again.

I mean WT*.....that's all I can say. I have never seen this kinda up and down trajectory with a guy's J where you go from 40% one year to 25-30% 2 years later. Get it back for a couple of months and then in the playoffs become a brick bro from outside the paint lol.....

Edit: I forgot at some point during the RS this year he was the worst shooter outside the paint in the league right?

[JulesWinnfield]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/mrmichaellee/status/733622918060617729[/tweet]

[Arman_tanzarian]

Some quick thoughts...

1. His confidence is so beyond shook in his jumper right now, another 3-4 instances last night where he is over passing and giving up open jumpers that the defense gives him, shots that he should 100% be taking under normal circumstances in the flow of the offense. Not to mention his free throw shooting. Ugh

2. The raptors are so comically overmatched and they know it. Frustration is only going to build and I really fear their mindset going forward could just be to take a chunk out of the Cavs on their way out the door. Hopefully Cleveland gets out of this unscathed from any dirty/chippy play

3. I don't care about records and srs, I have less respect for this raptor team than I have any other Lebron conference finals opponent in years gone by. With the way they have been playing this postseason this one-sided farce was 100% foreseeable. Valencunas wouldn't have made a difference either

4. Could you lose any more respect for Kyle Lowry? I mean c'mon now. Kyrie Irving is not only completely disemboweling him, but robbing him of his will to compete it has been so bad. What's up with him leaving the court just to "blow off steam"? I know he has had an elbow issue or whatever, but so much of this has been mental and between he and Derozan I have never come across an all star duo that I trust less. There is still time for them in this era to salvage their dignity, but through the summer they deserve to be branded wholly untrustworthy in postseason play. It's funny but my opinion of them has actually gone DOWN in the midst of their deepest playoff run in franchise history. They are unwatchably bad for most of this run and highly fortunate just to be here

Our top dogs are delusional basketball players. Only JV and role players like Carroll, Biz keep it real. The top dudes think they are lebron/kyrie tier.

[PaulieWal]

Our top dogs are delusional basketball players. Only JV and role players like Carroll, Biz keep it real. The top dudes think they are lebron/kyrie tier.

I don't even think that DD/Lowry think that they are LBJ/Kyrie tier. They are both (more so DD) very flawed players and in the playoffs fail to perform because their games can be easily gameplanned for.

If I am Masai there's no way I am offering DD the max. If Lakers/Philly or some other crap team wants to give him the max then so be it. You can use that capspace on better role players while keeping the same ceiling in the East as a playoff team which loses in the 2nd round/ECF.