falcolombardi wrote:it is being discussed in another thread about greatest rim slashers but how good do you think lebron would be at it in the 70's-90's? (the jordan vs lebron best rim slashers thread)
my impression is that he would ve still the best in the league at it just like he was in the late 00's (except maybe for wade?) but many think the more bigger bodies and cramped spacing would limit him compared to smaller slashers like jordan
i have many doubts about the idea, generally smaller or more finnese Driven rim game is less efficient that raw power finishing where you can absorb the contact and finish without needing to make Extreme body contours (no matter how good you are at that)
the assumption seems to be that lebron never played against conparable rim protectors than jordan, but i find it questionable since jordan was not exactly playing against robinson or hakeem 100% of the time either, and based on efficiency against ewing knicks in playoffs it seems a safe bet that jordan was not impervious to great rim protectors (neither is lebron for that matter)
also the fact that lebron has comparable efficiency to prime jordan (sometimes better,s sometimes a bit worse but more often the former) with generally much worse free throw and junpshooting makes me assume lebron had a clear edge in either rim volume or rim efficiency
1. He'd still be the best in the league relatively speaking imo (or best after Shaq), just at a lower percentage than right now.
2. Is the bolded actually true? I've heard this from casuals and experts alike for years, but the past couple of days I've been looking at his efficiency around the rim against some of his tougher defensive competition and it's usually at bare minimum elite, if not ATG as usual.
(Please ignore the horribly inconsistent formatting I'm very tired and too lazy to edit).
07 Finals, his most notorious "wow he was ass that series" series, he shot 66% in the restricted area on 8.8 attempts per game. ATG.
08 SECF against Celtics 66% on 6 attempts per game. Elite.
09 ECF against Magic, 11 attempts per game on 62% shooting. ATG.
10 SECF against Celtics, 7 attempts per game on 67%, elite.
11 ECF against Bulls, 6 attempts per game on 61%. Meh.
12 SECF against the Pacers, 8 attempts on 71%. ATG.
12 ECF against the Celtics, 8 attempts on 79%. GOAT
13 ECF against Pacers. 7 attempts on 68%. Elite.
13 Finals against Spurs. 7 attempts on 67%. Elite.
14 ECF against Pacers. 6.3 attempts on 81.6%. GOAT.
14 Finals against Spurs. 6.7 attempts on 66.7%. Elite.
Even the 2015 Finals, another series notorious for his inefficiency, 8.8 attempts on 67.8%. ATG.
So he only struggled once in that timeframe against the ATG 2011 Bulls defence, in which he had a bad percentage for his standards but a good percentage overall.
The only thing that typically changes drastically is efficiency from mid-range. His already bad 37% mid range becomes a horrid 20%-25%.
ridiculous. You'd think that'd signal the need for some sort of adjustment, but nay.
