Giannis Antetokounmpo 20-21 Thread

[KTM_2813]

At the end of the day, there are quite a few Finals games that have an argument for the best ever. The ultimate winner has more to do with the exact criteria than anything else, and honestly it's pretty easy to play with the dials until your favorite player comes out on top. What matters is that Giannis' Game 6 is easily in the discussion. He looked like he was playing 2K with all of his sliders turned up to 100.

[MisterHibachi]

Read on Twitter

Terminator.

[kayess]

Read on Twitter

Terminator.

I wish we could call that "other" game the "food poisoning" game or the "hangover" game, so that we can call this one the flu game.

Tbh this game deserves it regardless honestly. I was scared he'd run out of gas because at 5 minutes left he was reaaally late coming up the floor on O

[ShotCreator]

Fundamentally Giannis is worse than 16 LeBron, and his floor game was worse, and the defense is a wash at-best. And the competition.


But after LeBron in game 5 or 6 of the 16 finals, you’d have to go back some time find a better finals game.

Maybe Shaq against Indiana. One of his peak games.

But defensively Shaq never topped what Giannis did.

Giannis had timing blocks like Hakeem, and shot the ball better than anybody on a court loaded with shooters, as well as the crazy high motor slashes and putbacks for 40+ minutes.

Kind of skeptical of his defense outside of rim protection but I wasn’t paying too much attention.

Still pretty sure 16 LeBron topped him.

[parsnips33]

Read on Twitter

Terminator.

I wish we could call that "other" game the "food poisoning" game or the "hangover" game, so that we can call this one the flu game.

Tbh this game deserves it regardless honestly. I was scared he'd run out of gas because at 5 minutes left he was reaaally late coming up the floor on O

It's funny because there are times when he just looks gassed, takes like 8 seconds to get up the court, but then the very next play he defies the laws of physics. Truly a Freak

[70sFan]

Fundamentally Giannis is worse than 16 LeBron, and his floor game was worse, and the defense is a wash at-best.

No, it wasn't. Giannis was definitely better defensively than James could ever be.

[ShotCreator]

Fundamentally Giannis is worse than 16 LeBron, and his floor game was worse, and the defense is a wash at-best.

No, it wasn't. Giannis was definitely better defensively than James could ever be.

At what? LeBron spent 80+ minutes turning literally an entire rotation of guys that led the best offense shoot 20%+ worse from the field.

From everywhere. Guarded Draymond and ran Curry/Klay off the line at the same time.

His defensive role was far harder than Giannis because he was facing a far better and more dynamic offense, with less defensive help, again, by far.

And CRUSHED them more. He made a possible GOAT offensive player look like a child as he repeatedly blocked his shot into the stands.

And then intimidated him out of plenty of other opportunities. Him AND the rest of the 73 win rotation.

Lebron was getting 3+ steals and blocks on an offense that was virtually impossible to predict with all the movement and skill.

It was a mental and physical superhero stretch of basketball. Giannis didn’t do all that. And he didn’t have to.

CP3 spent a good chunk of last night hunting Giannis. Successfully.

GS spent half a series desperately running from LeBron. Completely different levels of game control and awareness.

And then LeBron was just as physically dominant. It’s really not close in reality. And the only reason that’s hard to believe is because LeBron was truly unbelievable.

[VanWest82]

idk guys this game is way up there. Bron never had a Finals close out game like this, nor MJ. Stakes count too.

Imagine thinking the Suns are on par with the Spurs or Warriors.

Didn't say they were on par but neither were either of those game 7s. 2016 Warriors were overrated by the Finals. They needed a miracle to even be there. Injured Steph was a shell of himself. And Lebron wasn't even the best player on the court that game - Draymond was bettter. In 2013 Bron had Wade. Giannis had Bobby Portis.

I might put Lebron's 2018 game one ahead but he was also -13 and they lost. MJ's game 4 in 93 was pretty ridiculous as well. Neither were close out games. We shouldn't dismiss this game.

[Clyde Frazier]

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[VanWest82]

At what? LeBron spent 80+ minutes turning literally an entire rotation of guys that led the best offense shoot 20%+ worse from the field.

From everywhere. Guarded Draymond and ran Curry/Klay off the line at the same time.

His defensive role was far harder than Giannis because he was facing a far better and more dynamic offense, with less defensive help, again, by far.

And CRUSHED them more. He made a possible GOAT offensive player look like a child as he repeatedly blocked his shot into the stands.

And then intimidated him out of plenty of other opportunities. Him AND the rest of the 73 win rotation.

Lebron was getting 3+ steals and blocks on an offense that was virtually impossible to predict with all the movement and skill.

It was a mental and physical superhero stretch of basketball. Giannis didn’t do all that. And he didn’t have to.

CP3 spent a good chunk of last night hunting Giannis. Successfully.

GS spent half a series desperately running from LeBron. Completely different levels of game control and awareness.

And then LeBron was just as physically dominant. It’s really not close in reality. And the only reason that’s hard to believe is because LeBron was truly unbelievable.

Holy Hyperbole, Batman!

[Colbinii]

At what? LeBron spent 80+ minutes turning literally an entire rotation of guys that led the best offense shoot 20%+ worse from the field.

From everywhere. Guarded Draymond and ran Curry/Klay off the line at the same time.

His defensive role was far harder than Giannis because he was facing a far better and more dynamic offense, with less defensive help, again, by far.

And CRUSHED them more. He made a possible GOAT offensive player look like a child as he repeatedly blocked his shot into the stands.

And then intimidated him out of plenty of other opportunities. Him AND the rest of the 73 win rotation.

Lebron was getting 3+ steals and blocks on an offense that was virtually impossible to predict with all the movement and skill.

It was a mental and physical superhero stretch of basketball. Giannis didn’t do all that. And he didn’t have to.

CP3 spent a good chunk of last night hunting Giannis. Successfully.

GS spent half a series desperately running from LeBron. Completely different levels of game control and awareness.

And then LeBron was just as physically dominant. It’s really not close in reality. And the only reason that’s hard to believe is because LeBron was truly unbelievable.

Holy Hyperbole, Batman!

The stats! So much hyperbolic! Quit applying context to the situation!

[ShotCreator]

At what? LeBron spent 80+ minutes turning literally an entire rotation of guys that led the best offense shoot 20%+ worse from the field.

From everywhere. Guarded Draymond and ran Curry/Klay off the line at the same time.

His defensive role was far harder than Giannis because he was facing a far better and more dynamic offense, with less defensive help, again, by far.

And CRUSHED them more. He made a possible GOAT offensive player look like a child as he repeatedly blocked his shot into the stands.

And then intimidated him out of plenty of other opportunities. Him AND the rest of the 73 win rotation.

Lebron was getting 3+ steals and blocks on an offense that was virtually impossible to predict with all the movement and skill.

It was a mental and physical superhero stretch of basketball. Giannis didn’t do all that. And he didn’t have to.

CP3 spent a good chunk of last night hunting Giannis. Successfully.

GS spent half a series desperately running from LeBron. Completely different levels of game control and awareness.

And then LeBron was just as physically dominant. It’s really not close in reality. And the only reason that’s hard to believe is because LeBron was truly unbelievable.

Holy Hyperbole, Batman!

The stats are much more extreme than what I’m describing.

Curry had a TS% difference of over 20 percent with lebron on court vs off in that series.

[VanWest82]

The stats are much more extreme than what I’m describing.

Curry had a TS% difference of over 20 percent with lebron on court vs off in that series.

Curry had an MCL injury that clearly hampered him that playoffs. I'd suggest it was just as much his knee as Lebron whose primary match up, Draymond, torched him in game 7 (and badly outplayed him in game 2 as well). But perhaps that's because Lebron was guarding both those guys plus Klay all at the same time like you said

Lebron was really good defensively that Finals and I don't mean to take anything away from him but ultimately he only defended 11 shots per game. Meanwhile Tristan defended 14 in way less mins, Love and Kyrie both defended more, and when you control for mins RJ and Shump defended way more than Lebron who definitely deterred some shots too but acting like he did it all by himself is hyperbole. He had a lot of help just like Giannis. FWIW Giannis defended 13 shots per game this Finals. When you account for all the rebounding, rim protection, help defense, battling a bigger player in Ayton inside, etc., he just did more actual stuff defensively than Lebron.

[Ron Swanson]

Jesus, not this idiotic "2016 Lebron wazz a GoAt tieR defender" nonsense again. Giannis peaked higher defensively 3 years ago than Lebron ever did. Like, it's laughable to keep trying to compare any perimeter or non-rim protector defender to Giannis. Just stop.

[ShotCreator]

Let’s start with this:

Spoiler:

Sure, but it's not like MJ or Shaq could've decided: "I want to play against this or that great team, because if I beat them, it will be more historically amazing than beating the '91 Lakers or '00 Pacers", you just beat whoever gets thrown your way, and what reason is there to believe that '91 Jordan and '00 Shaq wouldn't perform on that level against '16 Warriors? They were pretty much unstoppable every time in the finals during their 3-peat (MJ's 1991, 1992, 1993, and Shaq's 2000, 2001, 2002 finals performances, are all GOAT worthy).

2000 Pacers did have some offensive players who gave Shaq trouble, though. Smits and Perkins were not comfortable matchups for O'Neal to guard.

This is pretty easy actually. LeBron was easily as impressive defensively as he was offensively, as difficult as that is to believe. He was a dominating rim presence to the point Warriors were literally afraid to take shots in the paint.Guys looking over their shoulders, pump-faking air, etc. This is something peak Jordan or peak Shaq simply weren't capable of. In my personal opinion, LeBron's full-scale defensive dominance was a bigger factor in the Cavs ultimately winning the series than his offense was. It was probably the most impressive defensive performance ive ever seen from a perimeter player. I truly didnt think he had that in him at this point in his career.

I mean, it was obvious- the Warriors were scared. They were scared to drive. They were scared of being chased down on the fast break. They were scared of switching onto LeBron and being humiliated. I said it at the time, and plenty of others were saying it as well. I picked the Cavs to win games 6 and 7 for precisely this reason.

Another thing, although this is more subjective- LeBron, IMO was able to combine the vetean poise and cold confidence of second three peat Jordan with the reckless abandon of younger Jordan. I mean Jordan was an incredibly smart player throughout his career, but IMO LeBron won this series by being smarter and more poised than the Warriors, and that type of "been there before" confidence only comes with experience. It's hard to see any player replicating that in their first ever Finals appearance.

Can't stress that bolded point enough. There were a couple posts from myself and others immediately after that I'd like to bring up, but this is what I can find ATM.

On RPM

+9.12 through ECF (90 G)
+9.80 through Finals (97 G)

Math doesn't quite work this way but that would be a +18.5 over those 7 games, and going from 2.79>3.30 is the equivalent of +9.9 on defense for the series .

Again not quite how it works - more along the lines of: Finals provided more 5on5 data + box-score data on these specific matchups so thats added to the initial 98% data set and with that in mind, every player is recalculated. But the general premise is evident; that was a (the?) GOAT level series played ITO impact.

EDIT: I think he rose by as much after this series as he did from March to ECF (about a point, was around 5-6 spot before he started tearing it up at the end of the RS). While everyone else saw incremental changes.

So you want to see some LBJ Clutch Defense

4th quarters or overtime in the Playoffs 2016: 87.3 DRTG in 155 Minutes, Without Him: 118.4 DRTG

Vs The Warriors, 4th quarters or overtime in the Playoffs 2016: 94.7 DRTG in 59 Min, Without Him: 110.9 DRTG

So A Playoff Defensive 4th Quarter +/- of +31.1 and VS Golden State's Offensive Juggernaut +16.2

For reference Their First Three Quarters of Defense with LeBron

Against All Teams 103.8 DRTG, Against GS 107.4 DRTG, That's of 16.5 and 12.7 PP100 lower.

So there was a Real Tightening of the Screws by the Cavs in the 4th in these playoffs.

Golden State was shooting 47.2 TS% and their Raw FG% was merely 34.7%.

Also, Golden State put up a +7.7 SRS through the entire playoffs. Prior to the Finals, they were at +9.1, and up through game 4 of the Finals they were at +9.8.

GS Offense with Lebron ON the floor: 105.2 ORTG (292.2 MP, 560 Poss)
GS Offense with Lebron OFF the floor: 130.6 ORTG (43.8 MP, 84 Poss)

Spoiler:

LeBron’s defense alone in those playoffs/Finals are noteworthy. Combine that with his offense and it’s the greatest of all time Finals performance.

Sideshow had an RPM estimate of +8 to +9 on offense and +5 to +6 on defense. That’s a +15 player and that’s bonkers. It’s like one of the crazy “How good would Magic Pippen” or “How good would Hakeem Curry” creations come to life.

LeBron’s defense In the playoffs was ridiculous:

Overall: 31.9 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 45.9%, -14.0%
Threes: 24.1 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 36.7%, -12. 6%
Twos: 36.6 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 50.5%, -13.9%
<6ft: 37.9 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 61.3%, -23.5%

LeBron In the finals was utterly ridiculous:

Overall: 31.6 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 47.9%, -16.3%
Threes: 29.0 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 39.6%, -10.6%
Twos: 33.3 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 53.6%, -20.3%
<6ft: 38.5 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 63.6%, -25.1%

LeBron In the finals’ last three games was I don’t know what:

Overall: 19.4 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 47.4, -28.4%
Threes: 12.5 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 40.7%, -28.2%
Twos: 25 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 52.4%, -27.4%
<6ft: 15.4 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 60.6%, -45.2

This was game 5 defense https://stats.nba.com/player/2544/defense-dash/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&DateTo=06%2F13%2F2016&DateFrom=06%2F13%2F2016&PORound=4

This was game 6 defense https://stats.nba.com/player/2544/defense-dash/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&DateTo=06%2F16%2F2016&DateFrom=06%2F16%2F2016&PORound=4

The Warriors shot 4 for 28 overall (3/17 in game 5, 1/11 in game 6) in those two games (14.3%) when going against LeBron and that doesn’t include his team defense, defensive rebounding, rotations, etc,

The Warriors shot 2/13 AT THE RIM against LeBron during the final three games. Had James not stopped those shots (everyone knows the blocked shot on Iggy), Warriors win.

The guy not only led them in scoring and creating offense for others, he led their perimeter defense AND was one of the best rim protectors in the 2016 NBA playoffs.


These were the best rim protectors in the 2016 NBA playoffs

https://stats.nba.com/players/defense-dash-lt6/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PLUSMINUS&dir=-1&CF=FGA_LT_06*GE*3

NBA.com has stats going back to the 2014 playoffs. For players who who contested at least 3 shots per game at the rim and played at least 6 games in the playoffs, LeBron is tied with Duncan with the best single season rim protection that we have on record. He did that WHILE being 31, not at his athletic peak AND being tasked with creating his team’s offense.

These were the best defenders of three pointers in the 2016 playoffs (defended at least 3.8 threes per game, played at least 6 games)

https://stats.nba.com/players/defense-dash-3pt/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PLUSMINUS&dir=-1&CF=FG3A*GE*3.8:GP*GE*6

Lebron was the best rim protector AND three point defender in the 2016 playoffs.

He also had two of the top 4 game scores ever in finals history (BOTH IN ONE SERIES) at that point (Lebron’s game 1 and KD’s game 3 from this year have since pushed Lebron’s game 5 in 2016 down to #6). LeBron’s game 5 and game 6 are literally the best back to back games in Finals history and that doesn’t include the defense mentioned above.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1964&year_max=2018&is_playoffs=Y&round_id=fin&age_min=0&age_max=99&season_start=1&season_end=-1&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=game_score&c1comp=gt&order_by=game_score
 

And then build an argument around Giannis having a better defensive game last night than any of LeBron’s in G5-G7 of the 16 finals.

Let’s acknowledge the reality of all this. And again, it’s more extreme than I remembered.


2/13 at the rim. Good god. 1/11 on all shots in game 6.

[70sFan]

Jesus, not this idiotic "2016 Lebron wazz a GoAt tieR defender" nonsense again. Giannis peaked higher defensively 3 years ago than Lebron ever did. Like, it's laughable to keep trying to compare any perimeter or non-rim protector defender to Giannis. Just stop.

I don't think it's even worth time to touch this topic anymore. For some people LeBron has to be the GOAT at everything.

[homecourtloss]

Jesus, not this idiotic "2016 Lebron wazz a GoAt tieR defender" nonsense again. Giannis peaked higher defensively 3 years ago than Lebron ever did. Like, it's laughable to keep trying to compare any perimeter or non-rim protector defender to Giannis. Just stop.

Objective statistics make great case for Lebron’s 2016 defense against a GOATish offense led by a offensive GOAT peak season.

Let’s start with this:

Spoiler:

This is pretty easy actually. LeBron was easily as impressive defensively as he was offensively, as difficult as that is to believe. He was a dominating rim presence to the point Warriors were literally afraid to take shots in the paint.Guys looking over their shoulders, pump-faking air, etc. This is something peak Jordan or peak Shaq simply weren't capable of. In my personal opinion, LeBron's full-scale defensive dominance was a bigger factor in the Cavs ultimately winning the series than his offense was. It was probably the most impressive defensive performance ive ever seen from a perimeter player. I truly didnt think he had that in him at this point in his career.

I mean, it was obvious- the Warriors were scared. They were scared to drive. They were scared of being chased down on the fast break. They were scared of switching onto LeBron and being humiliated. I said it at the time, and plenty of others were saying it as well. I picked the Cavs to win games 6 and 7 for precisely this reason.

Another thing, although this is more subjective- LeBron, IMO was able to combine the vetean poise and cold confidence of second three peat Jordan with the reckless abandon of younger Jordan. I mean Jordan was an incredibly smart player throughout his career, but IMO LeBron won this series by being smarter and more poised than the Warriors, and that type of "been there before" confidence only comes with experience. It's hard to see any player replicating that in their first ever Finals appearance.

Can't stress that bolded point enough. There were a couple posts from myself and others immediately after that I'd like to bring up, but this is what I can find ATM.

On RPM

So you want to see some LBJ Clutch Defense

4th quarters or overtime in the Playoffs 2016: 87.3 DRTG in 155 Minutes, Without Him: 118.4 DRTG

Vs The Warriors, 4th quarters or overtime in the Playoffs 2016: 94.7 DRTG in 59 Min, Without Him: 110.9 DRTG

So A Playoff Defensive 4th Quarter +/- of +31.1 and VS Golden State's Offensive Juggernaut +16.2

For reference Their First Three Quarters of Defense with LeBron

Against All Teams 103.8 DRTG, Against GS 107.4 DRTG, That's of 16.5 and 12.7 PP100 lower.

So there was a Real Tightening of the Screws by the Cavs in the 4th in these playoffs.

Golden State was shooting 47.2 TS% and their Raw FG% was merely 34.7%.

Also, Golden State put up a +7.7 SRS through the entire playoffs. Prior to the Finals, they were at +9.1, and up through game 4 of the Finals they were at +9.8.

GS Offense with Lebron ON the floor: 105.2 ORTG (292.2 MP, 560 Poss)
GS Offense with Lebron OFF the floor: 130.6 ORTG (43.8 MP, 84 Poss)

Spoiler:

LeBron’s defense alone in those playoffs/Finals are noteworthy. Combine that with his offense and it’s the greatest of all time Finals performance.

Sideshow had an RPM estimate of +8 to +9 on offense and +5 to +6 on defense. That’s a +15 player and that’s bonkers. It’s like one of the crazy “How good would Magic Pippen” or “How good would Hakeem Curry” creations come to life.

LeBron’s defense In the playoffs was ridiculous:

Overall: 31.9 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 45.9%, -14.0%
Threes: 24.1 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 36.7%, -12. 6%
Twos: 36.6 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 50.5%, -13.9%
<6ft: 37.9 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 61.3%, -23.5%

LeBron In the finals was utterly ridiculous:

Overall: 31.6 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 47.9%, -16.3%
Threes: 29.0 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 39.6%, -10.6%
Twos: 33.3 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 53.6%, -20.3%
<6ft: 38.5 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 63.6%, -25.1%

LeBron In the finals’ last three games was I don’t know what:

Overall: 19.4 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 47.4, -28.4%
Threes: 12.5 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 40.7%, -28.2%
Twos: 25 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 52.4%, -27.4%
<6ft: 15.4 DFG%, opponents usually shoot 60.6%, -45.2

This was game 5 defense https://stats.nba.com/player/2544/defense-dash/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&DateTo=06%2F13%2F2016&DateFrom=06%2F13%2F2016&PORound=4

This was game 6 defense https://stats.nba.com/player/2544/defense-dash/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&DateTo=06%2F16%2F2016&DateFrom=06%2F16%2F2016&PORound=4

The Warriors shot 4 for 28 overall (3/17 in game 5, 1/11 in game 6) in those two games (14.3%) when going against LeBron and that doesn’t include his team defense, defensive rebounding, rotations, etc,

The Warriors shot 2/13 AT THE RIM against LeBron during the final three games. Had James not stopped those shots (everyone knows the blocked shot on Iggy), Warriors win.

The guy not only led them in scoring and creating offense for others, he led their perimeter defense AND was one of the best rim protectors in the 2016 NBA playoffs.


These were the best rim protectors in the 2016 NBA playoffs

https://stats.nba.com/players/defense-dash-lt6/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PLUSMINUS&dir=-1&CF=FGA_LT_06*GE*3

NBA.com has stats going back to the 2014 playoffs. For players who who contested at least 3 shots per game at the rim and played at least 6 games in the playoffs, LeBron is tied with Duncan with the best single season rim protection that we have on record. He did that WHILE being 31, not at his athletic peak AND being tasked with creating his team’s offense.

These were the best defenders of three pointers in the 2016 playoffs (defended at least 3.8 threes per game, played at least 6 games)

https://stats.nba.com/players/defense-dash-3pt/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Playoffs&sort=PLUSMINUS&dir=-1&CF=FG3A*GE*3.8:GP*GE*6

Lebron was the best rim protector AND three point defender in the 2016 playoffs.

He also had two of the top 4 game scores ever in finals history (BOTH IN ONE SERIES) at that point (Lebron’s game 1 and KD’s game 3 from this year have since pushed Lebron’s game 5 in 2016 down to #6). LeBron’s game 5 and game 6 are literally the best back to back games in Finals history and that doesn’t include the defense mentioned above.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=game&year_min=1964&year_max=2018&is_playoffs=Y&round_id=fin&age_min=0&age_max=99&season_start=1&season_end=-1&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=game_score&c1comp=gt&order_by=game_score
 

And then build an argument around Giannis having a better defensive game last night than any of LeBron’s in G5-G7 of the 16 finals.

Let’s acknowledge the reality of all this. And again, it’s more extreme than I remembered.


2/13 at the rim. Good god. 1/11 on all shots in game 6.

[TroubleS0me]

Game 6 NBA Champion

Giannis
50 PTS
19 FREE THROW ATTEMPTS
17-19 FT% 89.5
16-25 FG% 64
5 BLKS
14 REBS

Suns couldnt stop Giannis thats what remain consistent throughout this series

Holiday
4 STLS
9 REBS
11 AST
3 TOVs
4-19 FG% 21

Middleton
17 PTS
4 STLS
4-4 FT% 100

Great defensive trio

Portis
16 PTS
6-10 FG% 60

[TroubleS0me]

Giannis NBA Finals MVP

PPG: 35.2
FTA: 14.2
FT% 65.9
REBS 13.2
BLKS 1.8
FG% 61.8

[VanWest82]

Let’s start with this:

Again, for the record, I am absolutely not trying to disparage Lebron's fantastic 2016 Finals. He's a top 3 player ever who was performing at the height of his basketball abilities.

That said, the problem I have with a lot of what you quoted is context. As far as I'm concerned game 5 is basically a write off because Warriors were missing their PG due to suspension which meant they had to rely on Iggy to be the man along with a compromised Curry who had to do more ball handling on a bum knee than he was capable of. Game 6 Lebron was terrific. Game 7 he defended 8 total shots. If we look at games 6 and 7 added together he defended 19 shots but 10 of them were threes which as we know are largely determined by luck from defensive POV. The idea that Lebron has some special three point defense super power that's absent from the reigning DPOY who's longer and more menacing is just straight BS so don't even go there.

Further, I would strongly push back on the idea that Lebron was the main driver of their defensive success. Look a little closer and you can see that Tristan Thompson was the true anchor. If we look at all 7 games Tristan has the best DRTG of 100 (Lebron was 104). When they shared the court Lebron's DRTG was 95 but when Tristan sat it ballooned to 121. Tristan's DRTG was ugly w/out Lebron but the SS was only 12 mins of garbage time so hard to take anything away there. This holds up over the final 3 games too (93 DRTG w TT < 108 DRTG w/out TT). And again, Tristan defended way more shots. Per 36, TT's DFGAs over the series were 15.6 to 9.5 for James. Tristan also managed to rebound at a similar level to James (21% to 24% DRBD%) despite taking the tougher defensive assignments. Shump, RJ, and JR spent the most time on Steph and Klay while Lebron rested on Barnes, Iggy, or Draymond.

We can actually do a similar analysis offensively with Kyrie who never gets any credit for that series. Lebron 112 ORTG w Kyrie, 81 ORTG w/out Kyrie over the series (drops to 64 ORTG w/out Kyrie over final 3 games).

And then build an argument around Giannis having a better defensive game last night than any of LeBron’s in G5-G7 of the 16 finals.

Let's start here: Giannis defended 22 shots in game 7 and had 5 blocks despite going for 50. That's yeoman's work. Again, Lebron defended 11 shots in game 6 and 8 in game 7. Like, it's not even comparable.