The Lebron '20 Thread (Pt. 7)

[MisterHibachi]

AD is as good a zone busting big as there is in the league with the leaps he's made in his passing. Otherwise I'd even invert a lot of ball handling duties and have AD or a shooter pass into LeBron in the middle of the zone and let LeBron pick it apart from there.

Honestly i dont see why the heat would run zone all too much, i feel we suck at mismatch hunting and jimmy/iggy are two top 5 bron defenders, while bam is prolly as good as anyone at guarding AD

I don't think Heat can play Butler, Iguodola and Bam in the same line up for too long as it mucks up their own spacing on offense. So they got to play zone to give Robinson, Dragic and Herro defensive protection from LeBron picking his screens.

Even Crowder is a guy you aren't really scared of a perimeter shooter. I think their shooters are basically Duncan, Herro and Dragic. Unless they start playing Kelly Olynyk. All 4 of them are supremely exploitable on defense.

[Heej]

I'm very interested in seeing LeBron's mindset going into a Finals where he's a bigger favorite than he's ever been before, and a favorite for the first time since 2013. As much as people respect the hell out of the Miami Heat, this is clearly being built up as a title that LeBron and the Lakers shouldn't lose barring injury. Going up against his ex-team with Spoelstra and Pat Riley which has to add a little something to the mix in LeBron's eyes. Obviously the bubble has had an impact, but this is a distinctly different vibe to a Finals involving LeBron than any I can remember feeling. Even when he choked in '11, the Mavs and Dirk were on such a ridiculous run that they got much more respect than the Heat are currently getting.

This is a must-win series for LeBron, if there are no injuries involved. He cannot lose to "Pat the Rat" and a Miami Heat team in a Finals that he is heavily favored to win. A Finals where the hands down 2nd best player on the court also plays on his team.

Didn't have to go through Kawhi/PG Clippers (because they choked). Didn't have to go through Curry/Klay/Dray Warriors (because they were hurt). Didn't have to go through the Giannis Bucks (because they choked). Didn't have to go through the KD/Kyrie Nets (because they were hurt). Going up against a 5th seed Miami Heat team with a pro-rated 49 win record. He'll never have a better chance to win a ring than this.

I saw people mention Federer and tennis earlier, well this is about LeBron just needing to hold serve. He needs to take care of business. Take control of the series, enjoy winning in front of Riley's face, and set yourself up as the favorite to repeat. Losing this series to go to 3-7 in the Finals would be rough. He cannot let that happen.

I'm hoping he delivers a 2018 Toronto type of performance to get that 4th Finals MVP. The end of Game 5 vs. the Nuggets really brought back memories of LeBronto. But Finals MVP or not, all that matters is he gets his 4th ring.

Lol I'm NGL mate, I'm pretty sure LeBron's mindset is the most desperate out of every single player in the Finals. If there's one thing he's not gonna do it's let off the gas in the Finals lol. LeGOAT is about to empty the f***in clip y'all. This is gonna be glorious

[Bidofo]

I really hope at some point before LeBron gets toooo old, he gets a team thats completely capable of carrying an offense without him doing much, and he can put all his effort on defense. He probably would and could gun for DPOTY. Starting him at PF might see him average 2 bpg, granted his athleticism and motor are somewhat the same level as right now.

[dreamshake]

I really hope at some point before LeBron gets toooo old, he gets a team thats completely capable of carrying an offense without him doing much, and he can put all his effort on defense. He probably would and could gun for DPOTY. Starting him at PF might see him average 2 bpg, granted his athleticism and motor are somewhat the same level as right now.

Nah, that ship has sailed at this point. It's a young man's award. The only guys who have ever won DPOY in their 30's were bigs (KG, Camby, Big Ben) in their early 30's. No way LeBron at 36+ is gonna have the motor to go after it. I mean AD was going for it hard this year at 26 and still couldn't get it. There are too many bigs that are more consistently impactful in the regular season than LeBron is capable of at this point in his career (Gobert still around, AD, Bam) and if they're going to give it to a non-big it'll be somebody like Simmons or Smart.

[Greyhound]

Both Anthony Davis and McGee were problematic for Bam in the regular season. Their length and athleticism clearly bothered him.

He will play solid defense but I don’t see him stopping AD.

[frica]

I really hope at some point before LeBron gets toooo old, he gets a team thats completely capable of carrying an offense without him doing much, and he can put all his effort on defense. He probably would and could gun for DPOTY. Starting him at PF might see him average 2 bpg, granted his athleticism and motor are somewhat the same level as right now.

Nah, that ship has sailed at this point. It's a young man's award. The only guys who have ever won DPOY in their 30's were bigs (KG, Camby, Big Ben) in their early 30's. No way LeBron at 36+ is gonna have the motor to go after it. I mean AD was going for it hard this year at 26 and still couldn't get it. There are too many bigs that are more consistently impactful in the regular season than LeBron is capable of at this point in his career (Gobert still around, AD, Bam) and if they're going to give it to a non-big it'll be somebody like Simmons or Smart.

DPOY is often narrative based so Lebron could win it with a lot of effort even if he doesn't deserve it.

[Baski]

I really hope at some point before LeBron gets toooo old, he gets a team thats completely capable of carrying an offense without him doing much, and he can put all his effort on defense. He probably would and could gun for DPOTY. Starting him at PF might see him average 2 bpg, granted his athleticism and motor are somewhat the same level as right now.

Nah, that ship has sailed at this point. It's a young man's award. The only guys who have ever won DPOY in their 30's were bigs (KG, Camby, Big Ben) in their early 30's. No way LeBron at 36+ is gonna have the motor to go after it. I mean AD was going for it hard this year at 26 and still couldn't get it. There are too many bigs that are more consistently impactful in the regular season than LeBron is capable of at this point in his career (Gobert still around, AD, Bam) and if they're going to give it to a non-big it'll be somebody like Simmons or Smart.

DPOY is often narrative based so Lebron could win it with a lot of effort even if he doesn't deserve it.

Yeah and he threw his chances for it out the window in 2018 and 2019 by cementing the narrative that he doesn't play defense. At this point he could lead the league in steals with the Lakers having the No. 1 defense and he might not even make All defense.

[DatAsh]

How do we know LeBron's not just built different mentally? Like I remember reading a biography about Larry Legend when I was young, and one of the things that has stuck with me my entire life is that when you look at where he was born and brought up and the situations he was raised in, there's almost no way that Larry could've grown up not being racist that can't get along with black people. But somehow he did. And from the authors point of view he was just made of sterner stuff than almost every other human. He was literally just built different mentally to be able to block out that kind of environment and truly see into who people are beyond the color of their skin.

There's just something different about LeBron's mental fortitude and constitution. The same way in the Jordan documentary The Last Dance one of the most profound points to me was that Jordan was a master of constantly being present in the moment. It just came naturally to him to not dwell in the past or ruminate about the future. He just existed in his flow state constantly. There are people who are naturally wired like that, I've heard stories of people that are extremely calm most of the time having tests run on them and finding that they naturally just have brainwave patterns similar to Buddhist monks.

LeBron might just be one of those mental anomalies. His durability must be partly born from extremely good stress management practices that minimize inflammation, and probably a great deal of natural visualization of his body state that he imprints on the world. His longevity and ability to improve the longer he goes, whether it be in a series or his career, is almost superhuman.

He's certainly a physical marvel but there's something else there about his mental state that we'll probably only get a real grasp of once the in-depth career retrospective comes out. There are insane stories of people doing stuff all around the world when they focus their mind on it, this guy must be an adept at controlling whatever energy or consciousness field effect is being manipulated, and then honed his techniques to a razor sharp precision on maximizing his basketball career. Maybe he's just the basketball Wym Hoff

Plus one on the Bird point. Bird's mindset was incredibly pure both on and off the court. Imagine telling your rival not to get too buddy buddy with you after introducing him to your mum. Revelling in his failure but still being the first to call him when he announced he had AIDS.

I think it applies less to Lebron though. We've seen him show incredible focus, but we've also kind of seen him get distracted in ways we can't imagine Bird (could be from lack of footage) and Jordan be.
With Lebron I think he actively built up his mental state to what you're talking about now, compared to what MJ, Kobe and Bird seemed to have from day 1.

Agreed. I think 2011 finals is what changed him, mentally.

[KTM_2813]

Nah, that ship has sailed at this point. It's a young man's award. The only guys who have ever won DPOY in their 30's were bigs (KG, Camby, Big Ben) in their early 30's. No way LeBron at 36+ is gonna have the motor to go after it. I mean AD was going for it hard this year at 26 and still couldn't get it. There are too many bigs that are more consistently impactful in the regular season than LeBron is capable of at this point in his career (Gobert still around, AD, Bam) and if they're going to give it to a non-big it'll be somebody like Simmons or Smart.

DPOY is often narrative based so Lebron could win it with a lot of effort even if he doesn't deserve it.

Yeah and he threw his chances for it out the window in 2018 and 2019 by cementing the narrative that he doesn't play defense. At this point he could lead the league in steals with the Lakers having the No. 1 defense and he might not even make All defense.

Tell me about it. This year he was the quarterback of the fourth-best defense in the NBA, while also having terrific individual metrics and some high-profile performances against guys like Giannis and Kawhi, and he still didn't even get an honorable mention from some voters.

[yoyoboy]

LeBron really deserved to make the 2nd Defensive Team over Kawhi and Adebayo imo. Kawhi was basically neck and neck with LeBron on that end but he played 10 less games.

[Baski]

Tell me about it. This year he was the quarterback of the fourth-best defense in the NBA, while also having terrific individual metrics and some high-profile performances against guys like Giannis and Kawhi, and he still didn't even get an honorable mention from some voters.

Yeah it's not fair but it is what it is. Can't say I feel sorry for him either. I wouldn't even given him a look as a voter given how 2018 and 2019 looked on D. Its all about the optics and reputation for defensive awards

[Ursusamericanus]

Watch on YouTube

You can see how locked in he is heading into the series. Also, lol @ 3:00 when Dave McMenamin asks a stupid question about Riley. LeBron clearly wants to shut down any extra storylines about "revenge" and the like (although those storylines will linger no matter what).

[Run DLC]

I’m calling it now. With just 20 assists away from surpassing John Stockton for #2 in playoffs assists, LeBron is going to average a triple-double in this series and be named finals MVPP.

[xb3at band1tx]

I'm seeing everywhere that no one believes in LA's supporting cast, like they think Jared Dudley and old JR Smith are playing 30+ minutes. I never see anyone bring up that they are actually top 5 in bench points and defensive efficiency.

Everyone keeps asking, "who is the third guy?", yet the Heat have the benefit of the doubt of any one of them can be the guy.

[Run DLC]

LeBron and Bam looks about the same size. Bam has longer arms, but LeBron looks physically stronger. Bron, AD, Dwight are going to put the clamps on him.

[TheGOATRises007]

Go to 8:30 of that interview. He talks about Spo's preparation and how he feels good about it.

He gives a smile at the end. Very intriguing.

[Ursusamericanus]

I'm seeing everywhere that no one believes in LA's supporting cast, like they think Jared Dudley and old JR Smith are playing 30+ minutes. I never see anyone bring up that they are actually top 5 in bench points and defensive efficiency.

Everyone keeps asking, "who is the third guy?", yet the Heat have the benefit of the doubt of any one of them can be the guy.

Yeah. It's hilarious to me that people continue to underestimate playoff Rondo, redeemed Dwight, KCP, Caruso, and the others. They actually have a very solid supporting cast. People get locked on one idea even if it's wrong and then cognitive dissonance just takes over. But this only helps the Lakers I think.

[JulesWinnfield]

I think winning finals MVP is important to Lebron and unlike every other finals he has ever played in (save for 2011) it’s not a forgone conclusion that simply winning the series would go hand in hand with winning finals MVP. He’d have to somewhat chase it because Anthony Davis exists, and they are roughly even odds to have it happen organically.

I think Spo knows him well enough to know all this. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him deploy a strategy where they load up on Lebron and even concede some to Anthony Davis in an effort to make Lebron force the issue against a defense loaded up to limit him. Psychological warfare. They would easily change course if it backfires and things get out of hand with Lebron consistently making the right basketball play as he virtually always does, but it would make sense on some level to entertain the strategy and see it if sticks. We saw Detroit do this in 2004, virtually never doubling Shaq as we watched Kobe gun for a finals MVP to get out of Shaq’s shadow and run right into their hands. Of course Lebron isn’t like Kobe in a lot of ways, but I think this matters to him. Probably less than it did to Kobe though

[Ursusamericanus]

Go to 8:30 of that interview. He talks about Spo's preparation and how he feels good about it.

He gives a smile at the end. Very intriguing.

Yeah, felt a bit like he knows more than he is letting on (which is often the feeling I get when I watch his interviews). I guess he knows what Spo is going to do or has some tricks up his sleeve that he isn't revealing. Maybe just gamesmanship. I'm feeling good about the series either way.

[A_Biased_Fan]

Go to 8:30 of that interview. He talks about Spo's preparation and how he feels good about it.

He gives a smile at the end. Very intriguing.

He gushed about Spo and his preparation for a couple minutes prior to that. He said, "and I know that, that's why I feel good." I think he was implying he prepares as hard as Spo, that's why he feels good.