The Lebron Thread (Pt. 3)

[The Infamous1]

I don't know why people think 09' lebron is better then 12' lebron to be honest. 12' lebron is better at everything

[Wooderson]

He also seemingly lost his spectacular body control and ability to finish in traffic this series. It's gotten worse and worse every game.

3 plays in game 5 that were really telling:

1) Fumbles the simple alley oop pass in the first half
2) Gets blocked by Danny Green on the one-on-one fast break
3) Misses the wide open put back after missing a difficult layup

And now in Game 6, getting stuff by Diaw at the end of the 1st quarter.

The jumper thing is understandable to a degree, there's more variance there anyway, and with every miss his confidence worsens. However, I've never seen LeBron miss so much bunnies in paint, or get blocked by guys with average athletic ability. Whether it's fatigue, or just confidence is completely broken, something is up.

[TheChosen618]

I don't know why people think 09' lebron is better then 12' lebron to be honest. 12' lebron is better at everything

He was quicker, more athletic, and more fun to watch. Those are the main reasons really.

I think 2012 Lebron was better too. I don't think 2009 Lebron was as versatile as 2012 Lebron and by that I mean I don't think 2009 Lebron could guard all 5 positions or play the 4 at all back in 2009. I'm sure he could just based on size, but he wouldn't have been effective at it.

[IG2]

He also seemingly lost his spectacular body control and ability to finish in traffic this series. It's gotten worse and worse every game.

3 plays in game 5 that were really telling:

1) Fumbles the simple alley oop pass in the first half
2) Gets blocked by Danny Green on the one-on-one fast break
3) Misses the wide open put back after missing a difficult layup

And now in Game 6, getting stuff by Diaw at the end of the 1st quarter.

The jumper thing is understandable to a degree, there's more variance there anyway, and with every miss his confidence worsens. However, I've never seen LeBron miss so much bunnies in paint, or get blocked by guys with average athletic ability. Whether it's fatigue, or just confidence is completely broken, something is up.

I think you're really underestimating how good SA is at protecting the paint. They basically have 3 guys there every time LeBron gets inside, including a DPOY-caliber guy in Duncan.

[Wooderson]

I think you're really underestimating how good SA is at protecting the paint. They basically have 3 guys there every time LeBron gets inside, including a DPOY-caliber guy in Duncan.

Some of those plays were uncontested eg the alley oop and wide open putback. Now maybe the Spurs interior D is causing him to rush even the easiest of plays, but that's part of what I'm getting at. He looks worn down, physically and mentally.

I also think him hanging out the perimeter for most of the game is a poor way to attack SAS. They need to have him moving off the ball and into post ups or curls around the elbow. That way it's easier for him to make a quick, decisive move. Kinda goes along the lines of what Chosen618 said above. When LeBron's only option is to attack from the perimeter, it allows SAS to set up against him.

Credit to the Spurs D, it's been impressive. But I think a big part of his underwhelming performance is a combination of him just being off, and not putting himself in the best position to succeed.

Edit: He just missed another pretty pedestrian layup for him. It's becoming a consistent theme, and something that was never a problem in the past.

[Mutnt]

I don't know why people think 09' lebron is better then 12' lebron to be honest. 12' lebron is better at everything

Quicker, more agile, better handle (all contributing to him being a better playmaker), better jumper (at least in the playoffs), played better against better defenses.

Don't fool yourself, '09 LeBron would've won the chip last year and probably in 2011 and 2013 as well. His team vanished in the ECF, any version of LeBron would've lost against that Magic team if his teammates played exactly the same.

[Mutnt]

I think you're really underestimating how good SA is at protecting the paint. They basically have 3 guys there every time LeBron gets inside, including a DPOY-caliber guy in Duncan.

You've been harping on this for too long. SAS defense is nothing to sneeze at, but LeBron hasn't been able to generate good looks inside (lack of first step, quickness, takes to long to make a move) and when he got a decent layup or angle for a hook shot he simply blew it. Nothing Duncan or anyone can effect, LeBron's missing shots/layups he was making all year at Shaq-like efficiency. Simple as that.

[NaturalThunder]

Excellent 4th quarter for LeBron so far. Makes you wonder why it took being down in the 10th quarter of an elimination game for this LeBron show-up, but at least he's coming-up big when his team needs him the most.

[microfib4thewin]

Three bad quarters, followed by a great quarter and OT. Still a subpar game from him and it was more the Spurs giving the game away than Lebron being incredible that is extending this to 7.

[JordansBulls]

Incredible in the 4th for him and brought the team back and that 3 that put all the pressure on SA is what gave the Heat a chance to win.

[bballcool34]

Great effort from him but made some absolutely dumb decisions through out and his scoring game looks drastically limited, he made a concerted effort to go into the post but was so one track about it that it looked forced and actually limited his offensive game. Good game from him but cost Miami several times, Ray saved him from a summer of shame.

[IG2]

Mixed bag from him. But great will power shown in the 4th + OT. His defense in particular was amazing all game.

Still needs to take a lot more jumpers than he is though, even if it's off. That refusal to take perimeter shots pretty much cost them the game, because that meant Wade was getting involved in the offense, and he's a train wreck. LeBron needs to understand he completely bails the D out when he puts the ball on the floor and finds a packed paint, and ends up passing to some scrub around him.

[Wooderson]

Excellent 4th quarter for LeBron so far. Makes you wonder why it took being down in the 10th quarter of an elimination game for this LeBron show-up, but at least he's coming-up big when his team needs him the most.

Wade was out of the game, that was the key. With Wade out + 3 shooters (Ray/Miller/Chalmers), the lane isn't as tightly packed and gives LeBron room to operate. But beyond that, they NEED him to be aggressive with Wade out. He can't defer and hang out on the perimeter, which is beneficial for the Heat. It's no coincidence that the Heat comeback came with Wade on the bench.

Then when Wade came back in, he went back to deferring to Wade. LeBron tried to get it going again after Wade struggled for a few possessions, but the paint was packed.

It will be interesting to see how Spo handles game 7. This game confirmed what we already pretty much knew, LeBron is much more effective with multiple shooters on the floor (especially when he's struggling with his jumper).

[SunKing]

Also his defense in the 4th and how he challenged Tony... ok TP made those 2 huge shots but he was done. With the steal on Manu + his amazing block on Duncan.

Dude can't shoot to save his life but clearly give Heat a chance to be a pretender in this game. Ray shooting and Chris Bosh rebound/defense just sealed the deal.

Mad respect for LeBron with his legacy on the line down to ten entering the fourth.

[toodles23]

His 4th quarter was what we've been waiting to see from him all series, it was nice to see him finally go to the basket hard and finish for once. Jumper is still broke though.

Words can't describe how lucky Miami is to come out of that game alive. 2 offensive rebounds off of missed shots that turned into made threes in the last 25 seconds? Good Lord.

And for all the crap that Lebron gets for being "mentally weak" and "afraid of the moment", his last couple plays in the 4th, where he bobbled the ball on the inbound, turned it over, then put up a ridiculous lob attempt that wasn't close to the hoop or a Heat player, was the first time in his career where I've seen him legitimately nervous/shook. I'm amazed he made that three after barely hitting iron on that first attempt. Incredible that Miami won after all of that, and some bad plays from Wade.

Oh, and will we see Lebron play game 7 without his headband? What was that about?

[ronnymac2]

LeBron James.

[thebottomline]

The Headband Game

[ronnymac2]

The Headband Game

Awesome.

[Mutnt]

The 4th quarter wasn't flawless by any means (missed a lot of shots, stupid turnovers etc.) but it was great nontheless, I won't nitpick, his level of energy was unbelievable. The way he looked in the first three quarters I don't know how he found that fifth gear... Even more impressive with his defense, solid help defense, made some key steals and blocks and most importantly, totally shut down Parker. Parker was trying to make plays but he just couldn't, had to settle for passes and long jumpers.

[TheChosen618]

I think tonight's game is proof that the Spurs defense wasn't doing much to stop Lebron. It was just Lebron being ultra passive. He was aggressive in the 4th quarter and he rallied them back. He did make some critical mistakes but he made a clutch 3 and was saved by Ray Allen to send it to OT.

Ability-wise, this Lebron is the best, but I don't like his mentality. He kind of turns on and off a switch now a days. Lebron in 2009 and 2012 did not do that. Their switch was always on and they were always aggressive.