Lebron James most important off season

[DWadeno3]

I believe a lot of the stuff about him not being as athletic or quick is overstated. Wade hasn't looked liked Wade many times throughout this year as well and I'm pretty sure Bosh hasn't shown is full range of skills either. Most of their struggles are a result of just getting used to one another. People who thought they'd find perfect chemistry within one season are delusional. They went from being the crystal clear first option on their teams to being 1a), b) and c). During the playoffs, everybody thought we had it all figured out but in reality, it was just a lot hero shots dropping for us and a lot of hero plays being made on the defensive end.

I expect them all to have better seasons next year pending there will be an NBA season. Having a full year and another training camp under your belt will really help you to improve your overall game.

This explanation makes no sense because a lack of chemistry wouldn't hinder his athletic ability. And he looked his best athletically early in the season anyway, before he had much chemistry at all with his teammates.

It hampered him in his abilitiy to just play his game. He still had some extremely athletic plays, he just couldn't show as many of them because he didn't have the opportunities to do so.

[Tim_Hardawayy]

I really don't think LeBron improving his jumper more than its at already is either realistic or feasible. He's already at absolutely elite levels everywhere but from 3-point range, and considering the types of shots he takes, he really is basically an elite shooter now.

The problem is how he actually operates in the midrange area, he doesn't really have a lot of go-to moves, and obviously still pretty mediocre footwork. So despite the fact that he's actually a really good shooter now, he takes far too many difficult shots, far more often than he should have to. That, or when he notices how tough his shots are, he defers too much.

He still lacks the ability to create a decent-to-good shot for himself when its required, something that players like Wade, Kobe, Carmelo all excel at. That skill is what will keep him from disappearing from games when his jumper is off.

Now don't confuse that with ability to make difficult shots. He's better than Wade at that. But he's just not very good at creating good shots for himself, unless its a straight drive to the hoop (which his weight hurt him in this year) or something relatively simple like a pull-up or jab step.

[toodles23]

I really don't think LeBron improving his jumper more than its at already is either realistic or feasible. He's already at absolutely elite levels everywhere but from 3-point range, and considering the types of shots he takes, he really is basically an elite shooter now.

The problem is how he actually operates in the midrange area, he doesn't really have a lot of go-to moves, and obviously still pretty mediocre footwork. So despite the fact that he's actually a really good shooter now, he takes far too many difficult shots, far more often than he should have to. That, or when he notices how tough his shots are, he defers too much.

He still lacks the ability to create a decent-to-good shot for himself when its required, something that players like Wade, Kobe, Carmelo all excel at. That skill is what will keep him from disappearing from games when his jumper is off.

Now don't confuse that with ability to make difficult shots. He's better than Wade at that. But he's just not very good at creating good shots for himself, unless its a straight drive to the hoop (which his weight hurt him in this year) or something relatively simple like a pull-up or jab step.

I agree with pretty much everything you said, except I think it's very realistic for him to improve his 3 point shooting. It's odd for somebody to be so elite from midrange and only shoot 33% on threes (and only 75% FT too). 37-38% is definitely possible for him - he's had long stretches where he shot it better than that (41% after the 2009 allstar break, 37% last year before the elbow injury killed his shooting numbers, 44% in December 2010), and I think it would help the Heat a ton to have another guy be a legit threat from downtown.

[Tim_Hardawayy]

Oh, I agree that his 3-point shooting could improve. I just don't think that's what he'd need to work on to be the consistent player he needs to be. What he needs is a more diversified moveset in the midrange area to actually free himself for good shots.

He shows flashes of it at times, but it just doesn't seem to be there consistently, and the 3 ball ends up hurting him more than anything because its too much of a fall-back option.

Of course, there are 2 ways to establish a midrange game generally. One is to use your quickness and change of speed/direction to do it, either running around screens ala Ray Allen/Rip Hamilton or faking the opponent yourself like a Wade or Kobe. The other is an actual post game. Not setting up in the post and ending up with a score, but having real go-to moves that you can rely on in an NBA Finals setting.

I think LeBron's final step to completing himself as a player will have to inevitably be that post game. He made some small strides this season, nothing major, but he'll have to breakthrough eventually. His pure size and skill already make him an effective post option, but the truth is its not something he's even comfortable with, as evidenced by how often he passes back out.