The Lebron Thread (Pt. 2)

[TheOUTLAW]

I'm not sure why people never believe me when I say that no matter how LeBron plays up until the All Star game he will improve it in the second half of the season. Saw it for years in Cleveland. And he's doing it again in Miami.

[SideshowBob]

I'm not sure why people never believe me when I say that no matter how LeBron plays up until the All Star game he will improve it in the second half of the season. Saw it for years in Cleveland. And he's doing it again in Miami.

I do, largely because I've seen him do it just as long as you have.

[ardee]

I'm not sure why people never believe me when I say that no matter how LeBron plays up until the All Star game he will improve it in the second half of the season. Saw it for years in Cleveland. And he's doing it again in Miami.

I do, largely because I've seen him do it just as long as you have.

Except last season I would say.

[SideshowBob]

I'm not sure why people never believe me when I say that no matter how LeBron plays up until the All Star game he will improve it in the second half of the season. Saw it for years in Cleveland. And he's doing it again in Miami.

I do, largely because I've seen him do it just as long as you have.

Except last season I would say.

I suppose. His first half of March was very strong, arguably better than pre-All Star. 2nd half of March was a major slump. April was his best month as a member of the Heat prior to 2013 though. He dropped the largely off-ball opportunist role in the half court and became a creator again, and that continued on into the playoffs. Pre-April 2012 Lebron and Post-April 2012 Lebron are two different players.

[colts18]

I posted this on the GB. Here is what LeBron has done without Wade since the Big 3 formed:

Games without Wade, with LeBron:
20-4 (.833) record, 7.39 SRS
112.9 Offensive Rating
101.0 Defensive Rating

LeBron's stats:
30.2 PPG, 7 Reb, 6.9 AST, 54.3 FG%, .617 TS%

That's a good track record of LeBron stepping up when Wade is not on the court.

Here are LeBron's stats the past 3 years when Wade is on the court and off the court:

Per 36 minutes:
w/Wade: 22.8 PPG, 7.5 Reb, 6.5 AST, .624 TS%
w/o Wade: 30.3 PPG, 7.1 Reb, 6.4 AST, .589 TS%

LeBron is also more aggressive when Wade is out. With Wade, he averages 5 personal fouls drawn per 36 minutes, without Wade its 6.8.

[SideshowBob]

Could they sustain this 116 ORTG level they've been at for the past 2.5 months over the course of a season without Wade though? While in previous seasons, the fit wasn't ideal, they're making it work in a big way this year, and they're a 118 offense when they share the floor, and 121 in the last 35. It's obvious that they're taking a hit in terms of production by playing together, but they're also not going to touch a +15 on court offense by playing apart.

[arifgokcen]

Today was quite a sick game. He was playing February-level offense and he ramped it up defensively too.... It's like he can just choose to shoot 70-80% whenever he feels like

If he played against Charlotte every day he would probably have like a 45 PER.

Lebron's game last night 55,8 PER

[E-Balla]

I'm not sure why people never believe me when I say that no matter how LeBron plays up until the All Star game he will improve it in the second half of the season. Saw it for years in Cleveland. And he's doing it again in Miami.

Pre All Star: 27.3/8.3/6.9 on 64TS
Post All Star: 25.3/8.3/8.3 on 62TS

Last season
Pre All Star: 27.4/8.1/6.8 on 62TS
Post All Star: 26.9/7.8/5.6 on 59TS

Other than the growing pains the first year in Miami he hasn't been better after all star since joining the Heat.

[Rasho_libre]

What do you guys think current lebrons per would be if he was still playing in cleves land ? Would it be higher assuming he has to do more "box score stuff"

[toodles23]

So apparently Lebron has said he's tired?

"If there was ever a stress-free major sports streak, this is it. James admitted Sunday that he's tired, that he's always a bit tired this time of the season when the games pile up amid the NBA grind with four weeks left before the playoffs. What some players won't say publicly, however, is that maintaining this streak is providing a spark that wouldn't otherwise be there in a month when they play 18 games.

"There are times when you feel that you just don't have much left," said James, who finished his night with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, three blocks, three steals and a Harlem Shake strut to the bench early in the fourth quarter. "Around this part of the season, we can feel it. You can feel a little tired, a little gassed because it's just a long season, especially with the way we play. It can be taxing. But you try to do everything you can to take care of your body ... so you can play the game at a high level.""

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page ... daily-dime

He's played so much basketball since the start of 2012, I'm hoping it doesn't catch up to him.

[NyCeEvO]

So apparently Lebron has said he's tired?

"If there was ever a stress-free major sports streak, this is it. James admitted Sunday that he's tired, that he's always a bit tired this time of the season when the games pile up amid the NBA grind with four weeks left before the playoffs. What some players won't say publicly, however, is that maintaining this streak is providing a spark that wouldn't otherwise be there in a month when they play 18 games.

"There are times when you feel that you just don't have much left," said James, who finished his night with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, three blocks, three steals and a Harlem Shake strut to the bench early in the fourth quarter. "Around this part of the season, we can feel it. You can feel a little tired, a little gassed because it's just a long season, especially with the way we play. It can be taxing. But you try to do everything you can to take care of your body ... so you can play the game at a high level.""

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page ... daily-dime

He's played so much basketball since the start of 2012, I'm hoping it doesn't catch up to him.

This kinda why I think they shouldn't fight too hard to keep the streak alive.

The last thing you want is LBJ and/or Wade getting a serious injury expending so much energy for a regular season record. If they broke the record, but then lost in the playoffs due to injury or fatigue, it would be sad for the sport and disappointing for them individually.

I'd much rather see the Heat go 16-0 in the playoffs than go on a 33+ RS win streak.

[Mutnt]

Why do people think LeBron would play any differently if there was no streak? If the Heat lose today vs. Orlando, why would Spo rest him in the next couple of games? The season isn't over yet, there's still a lot of games to be played and there's still a lot of time to rest everyone if they break the streak (2 weeks or something, I believe)...
Beside, don't tell me the Heat need significant rest to beat Milwaukee? That will most likely be a sweep and then
they get extra rest until the Brooklyn vs. Atlanta/Chicago series is decided, after that they probably sweep or coast against one of those teams and they get even more rest for the ECF...

And LeBron said that he usually always feels a bit tired around this time of the year (naturally, when you play so many games and have to do as much as he does, it takes it's toll), he didn't say that he's tired BECAUSE they're shouldering this streak, or because he needs to play ''extra'' hard (which he doesn't, he was still dominating, doing comebacks earlier in the season) to maintain this streak... This is just some BS taken out of context to stir panic among LeBron fans. James has played a lot of basketball during the last few years, he also isn't Tim Duncan or KG, he's a 28 year-old man at the peak of his conditioning and without serious injuries... It's bad enough Spo treats Bosh like he is Juwan Howard.

[SideshowBob]

Yeah, on the contrary it seemed like the article was suggesting that the streak gives them something to play for during a time in the season where everyone's exhausted and starting to focus on the upcoming playoffs rather than the remaining season.

[rrravenred]

Honestly don't like that Wade is out at this point (and that several big comebacks have been required). This is the point at which your stars should dial back the physical and mental energy they put into RS games (unless there's a tight jockeying for position) and stretch out their rotations...

[mopper8]

Honestly don't like that Wade is out at this point (and that several big comebacks have been required). This is the point at which your stars should dial back the physical and mental energy they put into RS games (unless there's a tight jockeying for position) and stretch out their rotations...

Eh, Wade is getting healthy--a good thing--and the Heat still only have a small cushion of SA for HCA throughout the playoffs. There's a still a full month before the playoffs start. Spo has been canceling practices and walk-throughs left and right to get the guys rest. They're probably more rested as a result of the streak than they would be without it.

[rrravenred]

Advantages of a veteran, high BBIQ team, I suppose.

[toodles23]

As opposed to previous years when I thought the Heat were pretty unwatchable aside from the highlight plays, and I only watched because of the possibility of a monster LeBron game, they've been a joy to watch this year. Their ball movement at times reminds me of the Spurs (my favorite team), and all it starts with LeBron.

He has a pretty pedestrian 6-5-4 line but still playing at a really high level. That pass to Bosh was sick, only foiled by an even sicker block.

He's been pretty lazy tonight on both ends, but if the game is still close in the 4th, he'll turn it up for a few minutes and seal the win.

[PCProductions]

He really dialed it up big time near the end of the 3rd and just made a mockery of the Magic. It's just a matter of him wanting to do it against teams like these

[Mutnt]

As opposed to previous years when I thought the Heat were pretty unwatchable aside from the highlight plays, and I only watched because of the possibility of a monster LeBron game, they've been a joy to watch this year. Their ball movement at times reminds me of the Spurs (my favorite team), and all it starts with LeBron.

He has a pretty pedestrian 6-5-4 line but still playing at a really high level. That pass to Bosh was sick, only foiled by an even sicker block.

He was awful in the 1st half, but decided to stop goofing off come 2nd half, the end results speak for themselves... It's too bad that the horrendous competition is keeping him from having monster games. It's like he only needs 15 minutes of playing in 5th gear to blow out opponents and that's that. Most of the game he is passive, unmotivated, coasting. Hopefully, when the playoffs start, we'll see him take things a bit more seriously.

Otherwise, I agree with you. I remember the 2010/11 season, the Heat were basically doing iso-Big Three only, last year they've cut down on the isos and started to run a few things. This year, the offensive schemes are really great. Everybody knows exactly what their role (except Ray with his stupid drives) is and how to move within the offense. The movement is excellent, the cutting is excellent, the spacing is excellent, the Big Three have various offensive sets ran for them all around the court. The offense has been wonderful. Of course, LeBron needs to be on court, otherwise it's still pretty awful.

[SideshowBob]

Miami's season split in half. SRS adjusted for HCA

First 34 Games

Record: 23-11

111.1 ORTG (+5.5)
106.0 DRTG (+0.4)

+4.2 SRS

Lebron ON Court ORTG: 112.6
Lebron ON Court DRTG: 105.4
NET: +7.2

Lebron

Code: Select all

MP    PTS    TRB    AST    STL    BLK    TOV   TS%    eFG%   GmSc   ORTG
38.6  26.0   8.4    6.9    1.5    0.9    2.9  .609   .576    22.8   119

Last 36 Games

Record 33-3

116.1 ORTG (+10.5)
103.6 DRTG (-2.0)

+10.7 SRS

Lebron ON Court ORTG: 119.7
Lebron ON Court DRTG: 101.8
NET: +17.9

Code: Select all

MP    PTS    TRB    AST    STL    BLK    TOV   TS%    eFG%   GmSc   ORTG
38.0  27.3   8.1    7.8    1.9    0.9    3.1  .653   .611    25.6   128