LABron James Discussion: Olympics MVP

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by therealdeal, Jun 8, 2017.

  1. JohnnyComeLately2k6

    JohnnyComeLately2k6 - Lakers 6th Man -

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  2. ZenMaster

    ZenMaster - Lakers All Star -

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    Such a simplistic approach -- "LeBron is the least of our worries". No. He isn't.

    He is the catalyst for these struggles, because he is the immovable object in the lineup. I couldn't care less what he averages. I watch the games and it's horrid.
     
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  3. Khmrp

    Khmrp - Lakers Legend -

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    we're not going anywhere with this current James and the youth not living up to expectations (ball/zo). As long as he can take us out of this pitiful existance the last 4 yrs I'll take it, I'm not expecting a chip with this ver. of james and the current team.
     
  4. Barnstable

    Barnstable Supreme Fuzzler of Lakersball.com Staff Member

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    I’m not saying LeBron sucks. He’s clearly still really good, and one of the best players in the game, but the signs I’m seeing of his decline are real. The defensive decline. The slower foot speed. It’s a testimony to how smart he is that I do think he’s figured out how to get things done and put up good numbers while in decline, but to me he is certainly in decline.

    I admit it could be confirmation bias on my part. I didn’t want LeBron specifically because of his age, and inevitability of decline, and injury risk, but I can’t ignore defensive lapses with the “he’s saving himself/has to work into game shape” line, but not how average he’s looked attacking defenses on isolation
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
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  5. gcclaker

    gcclaker Moderator Staff Member

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    ...I never viewed James as that player that could take defenders off the dribble and create shots. Totally different when he has a head of steam powering down the floor in open space where he is one of the best ever. What I find perplexing is that James can't finish lay-ins where it would come up just short. Last night, he had a close in shot blocked by the rim.

    At least James' perimeter shot is somewhat reliable now...
     
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  6. sirronstuff

    sirronstuff - Lakers Legend -

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    Unfortunately when you do a search for shrinking balls, you find stuff that is completely unexpected. Sometimes it's worth sharing.

    Sometimes it's just questionable. Like this....

     
  7. gcclaker

    gcclaker Moderator Staff Member

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  8. LTLakerFan

    LTLakerFan - Lakers Legend -

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    See that's what all of us that had em had reservations about. This "his patience" and all that, while in that interview which admittedly I did not read further, gives the message that the struggles are completely due to everyone else's not playing well enough. STFU with you almost cracked when you at times were part of the problem late in games we could have won. Like you admitted yesterday about your FT performance late being garbage.
     
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  9. Anon Inam

    Anon Inam Guest

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    The lack of faith around here is nothing short of shocking.

    We have THE BEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE

    It’s going to be ok.
     
  10. sirronstuff

    sirronstuff - Lakers Legend -

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  11. KareemtheGreat33

    KareemtheGreat33 - Lakers MVP -

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  12. wcsoldier81

    wcsoldier81 - Lakers All Star -

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    He's in year 16 , he's not going to go all out at the beginning of the season .

    A slow 26/7/8 start on 50% shooting is kind of OK .

    I agree he should have won us a couple of more games in the clutch.( spacing is a factor here again though)

    I think some are blaming Lebron here because they don't want to admit BI/Zo have been disappointing so far and Maginka has made some bad moves
     
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  13. CarolinaLakerFan

    CarolinaLakerFan - Lakers 6th Man -

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    I’ve never been a Lebron fan, but I do give him credit for legitimizing our franchise again. We are one major signing in the summer from being champs for a long time.
     
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  14. KB24

    KB24 Administrator Staff Member

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    There is NO QUESTION that he is on the decline physically. He isn't as fast, doesn't jump as high etc. Also he posts a little too often pics of himself smoking cigars and drinking whine...almost daily actually.

    With that said, LeBron is such an intelligent and gifted beast of a player, that he has managed to put up close to career highs across the board last season. He is strong like a bull, he still has amazing passing ability, he still gets to the rim by toying with smaller defenders etc. and he is still intimidating to opposing teams which forces them to build their D around stopping LeBron which benefits everyone else. The hardest to compensate for his decline is defense where reaction is required. If his body isn't moving as fast, his reactions are naturally slower. This cannot be compensated because he was intelligent AND fast, now he is just intelligent but slower so there is decline to be expected.

    I'm not worried about LeBron the player, at least for now. He is still the best player in basketball even though his FT choke jobs are concerning in crunch time. I don't know how he will look in year 3 or 4...what is certain is that he will be worse than today. Whether a little or a lot remains to be seen.
     
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  15. Lakeshow85

    Lakeshow85 - Rookie -

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    The problem I’m seeing on this thread is the same old Lebronmania that comes with Lebron.

    Excuses, passes (no pun intended), and finger pointing. Our young guys have to step up. Our 2nd unit has to step up, our coaching staff needs to step up, our fans need to step up. Everybody “else” needs to step it up.

    You guys will say well Lebron is doing what he’s supposed to. You see the numbers he’s putting up? Well you’re all wrong, because he’s not. I don’t care if he gets paid 40M or $1 a game. He is a professional basketball player. He has been in the league for 16 years, he is a veteran of the game, a 3x champion, 4x league MVP, and the goat based on his fan base. I mean is it too much too ask to just hit some free throws?

    You guys are acting like we’re blaming him unfairly. If you are the “best player in the league” and “best passer in the league” and “have the highest IQ in basketball” then you guys tell me/us why, come 4th/OT he continues to make mistakes, not one or two every so often, consistently. He consistently misses free throws, consistently stagnates the offense, he consistently shoots long 3 pointers when we don’t need a three, he consistently pounds the ball for 20-22 seconds of the shot clock and then passes to one of our players who are out of position and has to just jack up a contested shot. He consistently doesn’t play defense and is consistently out of position on switches. He has been the direct cause of us losing at least 3 of the 6 losses thus far and almost lost it for us again, if it wasn’t for Kuz.
     
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  16. FrickTheDubs

    FrickTheDubs - Rookie -

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    You guys gotta give credit to LeBron for going to the team with a fan base that hates him the most lol. That takes balls.

    99% of Lakers fans have always hated LeBron because of the Kobe comparisons and it’s not easy to win those people over. He will pretty much always get the blame. You can tell he feels that pressure with the way his late game ft shooting has gone.

    The way you guys talk about him though I can tell you haven’t really watched his career or the past few years closely. There’s nothing to worry about and he’s the worst of the Lakers problem. He’s a “feel out” player so whenever he’s got a new team it takes him a while to get in the zone. I understand that he looks way less athletic and that shouldn’t really look different on a new team but for some reason with him that’s the way it goes.

    When he first came back to the Cavs, the dude looked cooked and a shell of himself but obviously that changed. I get that he’s older now but most likely it’s the same case here. He’s gonna get his legs under him the more the season goes on and all of the sudden he’ll be posterizing people, just watch.

    Also, so many of the late game shots he’s been missing, he was nailing just last year so they may seem like bad shots but they really aren’t. He’s just gotta get in rhythm and used to LA and then he’ll start nailing clutch threes that seem like bad shots.
     
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  17. FrickTheDubs

    FrickTheDubs - Rookie -

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    You saying “he is the direct cause of losing 3 out of the 6 losses” shows that you’re the type that will never acknowledge his positives and always dwell on the negatives. He obviously hasn’t been perfect and has 100% choked a few times this year with no excuses but it takes a while to get acclimated to a totally new roster and style of play. I feel like that’s really being understated here.

    The pace of play is a huge change for LeBron and it’s gonna take some time for him to get used to it and not be fatigued at the end of the games. Even then, most of the games he hasn’t played wel down the stretch, he’s been the only reason the game was close. I mean almost every loss has been close and that’s primarily because LeBron has been only one of the consistent players on the teams.

    He’s a unique player in that he really relies on being comfortable with a team. When he’s really used to his surroundings, that’s when he becomes the late-game killer that most Laker fans seem to think he can’t be. I mean all you have to do is go back to last year to see how ridiculously clutch he was. Tons of game winners and huge shots, including 2 game winners in the playoffs with one being in a 7 game series.

    With that said, there’s no excuse for his horrible free throw shooting at the end of games but it’s clearly the effect of being new to the Lakers and having that first Spurs game hang over his head. That won’t last.

    Again, his defense has also been pretty terrible and there’s no excuses for that but imo he’s been getting a lot better in that area. He’s definitely trying to figure out the balance of effort he has to give in the regular season in the Western conference compared to the East.
     
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  18. Lakeshow85

    Lakeshow85 - Rookie -

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    Aww man, it’s another one. Well welcome to the best Lakers board online.
     
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  19. FrickTheDubs

    FrickTheDubs - Rookie -

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    Lol you guys need some Bron stans to balance out the hate. I don’t blame you guys though it’s hard to go from always rooting for him to fail to having him on your team.

    And I’m not saying that like you guys are unreasonable. I always respected Kobe’s game but rooted for him to fail the same way I do with KD.

    I’ll try to be as objective as possible though
     
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  20. KB24

    KB24 Administrator Staff Member

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    Your view of things is too simplified IMO. I do agree that his lack of FT shooting is borderline inexcusable for a guy that has been in the finals 8 straight years and has produced some of the best clutch performances ever.

    Without LeBron though, we probably wouldn't be in a close position to choke the game away at the FT line. You cannot say LeBron lost us the game. He helped us get there in the first place. Without him, we probably would have lost the game by double digits without crunch time even taking place. Best example is the Spurs game. He first made a miracle 3 to get us to OT, then choked it away in the final minute. Without that 3, we wouldn't have an overtime and it would be a "regular" and deserved loss because we trailed by 8 with like 2 minutes to play.

    In every game that LeBron has come up short, I can name you at least 3 players that have come up shorter.
     

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