The Lebron '20 Thread (Pt. 7)

[Greyhound]

I don’t even care about Starting that should just be the most used lineup and the closing lineup

If it starts, you know it’s out there.

Vogel will not close with that lineup because he will not put in Morris over Rondo, Caruso or even Kuzma.

That is why we are getting these goofball Morris at center (lone big) lineups now.

Starting it make the most sense. Then you can mix and match throughout the game, depending on the play of individual players (game to game).

Closing with kuzma and rondo makes no sense either. Rotations are always annoying as a fan.

I agree with you. Now tell that to Vogel.

[xb3at band1tx]

do you guys think LA goes zone on Denver tmrw

[MyUniBroDavis]

do you guys think LA goes zone on Denver tmrw

Zone works to break their rythm but its hard-counterable

I assume denver knows how to break it and if we do it alot theyll get used to it. It might throw off a few possessions

Out regular defense was working, altho we had a weird gameplan switch jn game 3

When dwight or AD are in the court and we are using our regular defensive gameplan our defense is good

[Heej]

do you guys think LA goes zone on Denver tmrw

Honestly man, after seeing how much the Heat went to it today you kinda gotta go to it for stretches right? Your regular coverages have no shot anymore.

[nzahir]

We should maybe play it at times, but ofc needs to be mixed in with different coverages

If you give Jokic the same look so many times, he will shred you apart. I bet Denver practiced against the zone and heavy pressure and watched film

Side note: GB has become a cancer with people thinking we have been getting the benefit from the refs

I guess shooting over 30 less fts last 2 games and having Dwight with 4-5 fouls each game in 15 min on avg is really giving us an advantage

On top of Lebron getting 8 fta besides the 2 Tech fta

I bet we start to get the calls next game. Just like how Tim Donaughy said, when the NBA wants something to be focused on, they let the refs know

[xb3at band1tx]

Supposedly the Lakers took it up to the league officials so maybe the pendulum swings back tmrw.

I love Dwight's energy but he needs to stop the dumb mind games and just play his game.

[Ursusamericanus]

Good for them for raising the free throw issue. It's been problematic for years and it's about time something was done.

[Dupp]

Lue was a bitch and never complained.



As for zone I dunno if they will but they should mix it in a decent amount

[JVL]

Good for them for raising the free throw issue. It's been problematic for years and it's about time something was done.

I actually had a quick look at the data a bit for the regular season. This is what I found:

Below I'm simply looking at LeBron's FGA/2PA/FTA stats and his FGA by distance. What's noticeable is while his shot volume doesn't drastically change over the years (included 2015-2020) his FTA have tanked especially this year. Sure, he's taking a slightly lower volume of 2's and his FGA% by distance has been dropping from 0-3ft to be compensated by mainly his 3-10ft shots increasing. He's not substituting them for mid-range jumpers (declining actually) or 3s.




What's more important is how he compares to a few other high value MVP-calibre players the last 5-6 years. Here I'm only looking at the amount of drives a player makes and how many FTA result from those drives. Of course you'd have to include the amount of Field Goald attempts generated by those drives as well but I'm not gonna go that deep. If someone has the time for that, that could be interesting so you filter out drives with the goal of assisting a bucket/running a play that doesn't result in a field goal by the driving player.

The data of this year is very interesting: Lebron his driving volume is actually the highest it's been in the last 6 years but he's actually generating a career-low in free throws from those drives and the gap with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard is very significant. I'm sure Lebron assists other players on those drives more often than PG/Kawhi but the gap is not that big: this year Lebron generated 5.7 FGA on his drives, Kawhi 6.0, PG 3.9 (but on a lower volume of drives per game). In %'s this means that all 3 players generate between 40-46% of field goals on their drives, the difference is fairly small yet the disparity in free throw generation is massive.

What I also find funny is how Durant is consistently above Lebron every single year but last year. Durant doesn't drive often and he actually generates a similar amount of field goals off drives as Lebron, surprisingly, but he generates 25-30% more free throws for every drive to the basket than Lebron.

[Ursusamericanus]

Good for them for raising the free throw issue. It's been problematic for years and it's about time something was done.

I actually had a quick look at the data a bit for the regular season. This is what I found:

Below I'm simply looking at LeBron's FGA/2PA/FTA stats and his FGA by distance. What's noticeable is while his shot volume doesn't drastically change over the years (included 2015-2020) his FTA have tanked especially this year. Sure, he's taking a slightly lower volume of 2's and his FGA% by distance has been dropping from 0-3ft to be compensated by mainly his 3-10ft shots increasing. He's not substituting them for mid-range jumpers (declining actually) or 3s.




What's more important is how he compares to a few other high value MVP-calibre players the last 5-6 years. Here I'm only looking at the amount of drives a player makes and how many FTA result from those drives. Of course you'd have to include the amount of Field Goald attempts generated by those drives as well but I'm not gonna go that deep. If someone has the time for that, that could be interesting so you filter out drives with the goal of assisting a bucket/running a play that doesn't result in a field goal by the driving player.

The data of this year is very interesting: Lebron his driving volume is actually the highest it's been in the last 6 years but he's actually generating a career-low in free throws from those drives and the gap with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard is very significant. I'm sure Lebron assists other players on those drives more often than PG/Kawhi but the gap is not that big: this year Lebron generated 5.7 FGA on his drives, Kawhi 6.0, PG 3.9 (but on a lower volume of drives per game). In %'s this means that all 3 players generate between 40-46% of field goals on their drives, the difference is fairly small yet the disparity in free throw generation is massive.

What I also find funny is how Durant is consistently above Lebron every single year but last year. Durant doesn't drive often and he actually generates a similar amount of field goals off drives as Lebron, surprisingly, but he generates 25-30% more free throws for every drive to the basket than Lebron.

Wow - thanks a lot for this - great to see someone taking such a data-driven/quantitative approach to prove this point. Fascinating, also jarring that he's generally below KD who is a poorer slasher than LeBron. He clearly just doesn't get the same superstar treatment as some others. I wonder why - maybe his brawny physique makes him less prone to looking like he has been hit/knocked.

[Jdw38]

Thanks for this research JVL.

[parapooper]

It also makes logical sense that opponents would foul those other guys way less than LeBron because in contrast to LeBron they are way more efficient from the line than at the rim. With LeBron there is no reason not to foul him other than potential foul trouble.

Not sure if hack-a-LeBron makes sense overall but it certainly makes infinitely more sense than hack-a-Durant or hack-a-Harden.

[RCM88x]

LeBron doesn't drive to get calls, he doesn't look for contact that would result in calls. He also doesn't exaggerated contact like a Harden, KD or Kawhi.

That is why he doesn't get as many FT. The bar in the NBA has been pushed to the point where you need to play that way to get calls around the rim, it's just how it is. He doesn't play like that an therefore doesn't get the calls.

[parapooper]

LeBron doesn't drive to get calls, he doesn't look for contact that would result in calls. He also doesn't exaggerated contact like a Harden, KD or Kawhi.

That is why he doesn't get as many FT. The bar in the NBA has been pushed to the point where you need to play that way to get calls around the rim, it's just how it is. He doesn't play like that an therefore doesn't get the calls.

I really don't get why the NBA rewards that BS. If you do sth just to provoke a foul or even generate the contact yourself not only should you not get FTs as a reward - you should get a foul for unsportsmanlike behaviour and the other team should get the FTs.

[trickshot]

do you guys think LA goes zone on Denver tmrw

Jokic will figure the zone out eventually but when he's off the floor, Lakers should absolutely play zone. Couldn't help but notice from the last series while rooting against the Clippers just how bad the roster outside of Jokic were at decision making, reading plays and running offense. Without Jokic coordinating they are the kind of team the zone flummoxes. What a difference a floor manager can make

[Heej]

I think playoffs should be about scheming away an opponent's strength, and in Denver's case that's the Jokic Murray Spread pnr. So I personally think zone should be thrown at them more often since that really slows down their PNR game and forces Denver to attack another way.

[trickshot]

We should maybe play it at times, but ofc needs to be mixed in with different coverages

If you give Jokic the same look so many times, he will shred you apart. I bet Denver practiced against the zone and heavy pressure and watched film

Side note: GB has become a cancer with people thinking we have been getting the benefit from the refs

I guess shooting over 30 less fts last 2 games and having Dwight with 4-5 fouls each game in 15 min on avg is really giving us an advantage

On top of Lebron getting 8 fta besides the 2 Tech fta

I bet we start to get the calls next game. Just like how Tim Donaughy said, when the NBA wants something to be focused on, they let the refs know

Is normal playoff ups and downs. You simply bide your time and wait for your turn to be obnoxious after a win

[dontcalltimeout]

LeBron James playoff jump shooting troubles via Synergy. How big a deal is is?

[picko]

LeBron James playoff jump shooting troubles via Synergy. How big a deal is is?

We are talking two possessions a game so clearly not a big deal.

[Ursusamericanus]

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Looks like D39 will be starting tonight. I like LA's chances in this one especially now that LeBron will be getting more whistles.