LeBron James Discussion: Not Returning To The Lakers

19 points and 19 assists on an off night, lucky to have such crappy off nights

Rest up Bron. The playoffs have plenty of rest.

Not that big a deal.

 

Damn, 34-7 is like cursed or something

 

Gordon did helluva job on Bron... load manager will eat him alive. Sit out some games grandpa.

 

His performance in the clutch this season remains the biggest concern/question mark I have when it comes to winning it all.

 

I tend to agree. Both him and AD lack something in the clutch situations. But we knew that coming in, I still think we’re good enough to win enough games to not bother losing a few in the clutch.

Also, every once in a while Lebron goes super sayian and demolishes the playoffs. So we have another gear there too.

 

He picked his game up like he normally does to end the game: problem he's been in the more passive LePG mode recently which has worked! Tonight though he needed to turn more into playoff Lebron and he waited too long. Credit to Gordon who was really good on defense but some of this on the Lakers/Lebron/Vogel as well: they are not using him in any high post/elbow action which he is very good at it (his midrange jumper is automatic when he starts there vs his pullup midrange)

 

Good observation on the midrange jumper stuff .

He has been struggling to go to the rim against elite athleticism all season long and is mainly settling for 3s down the stetch .

Let's hope his and AD J's will be on coming playoffs time but we are relying too much on outside shots down the stretch especially for a team which isn't really good at it.

 

I get we needed a playmaker with Rondo out and then after the Bald Eagle went down, but at some point he needs to read the game and realize we need more scoring from him. He had no desire to score the ball until halfway through the 4th.

And for someone who's trying to assist hunt, why the f*** take that last shot? LeChoke is never my first choice for a game tying/ winning J. Our shooters collectively had their best game of the year and you jack up that 3?! Yes, I know Cook was playing hot potato with it. Maybe Bron could've encouraged him to shoot it...I don't know.

Has anyone ever felt confident with Bron shooting a game winning J? Even with his improved range, I expect the miss every time it's a clutch J.

And on the assist hunting, Bron had no sense of pushing the pace or tempo as the PG. The ball stuck way too long while he read the floor.

 

Missed dunk + missed FT = 3 easier points though

 

There have been a few instances where we're down 2 or 3 with like 15 seconds left, and he waits until the last 5-6 seconds to make a move to ultimately pass it up usually.

The man can barrel to the rim at any moment and create a shot or at least a kickout, but he dribbles the ball around like he's going to pull up for a midrange. For someone who has such a big basketball IQ, he needs to get the shot off quicker or call a timeout or something.

 

Umm I think Lebron passed to Cook twice on that possession? He tried to get a shooter the ball and when it didn't work he manufactured a good look
He also just made the previous 3 to put the Lakers in position for the tie or the win.

Just a weird game with weird lineups. I get Vogel trying to reward/ride the hot hand with Cook/Daniels but not having Dwight/Green for defense and then on offense having Green in the corner took the Lakers out of their comfort zone

 

Clips, Bucks, Philly, all have wings you can throw at LeBron and make life more difficult than it usually is for him...

And when his jumper isn't going, just forget about it.

Funny enough, he has struggled against the Clips twice, wasn't great against Milwaukee, and we will get to see how he fares against Philly this month.

 

Best player of all time should only include that players skill set. But we dont do that. We usually add in accomplishment in there and base it on that as well.

Best player i ever saw was Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant is 1a. Based on their ability alone.

Had Shaq gave a s***, he would have been the greatest of all time because I think ultimately he would have had a chance to win 8 titles with 8 Finals MVPs. But he was too lazy.

 

That definition is pretty interesting. TMAC at his peak was pretty absurd, and even Kobe gave him props. But he’s not in the discussion by anyone.

 

In terms of skillset I've never seen anyone ahead of ....... Kyrie Irving
-catch and shoot - check
-shoot off the dribble - check
-floater - check
-post-up - check
-use of ball spin to finish - check
-spin move - check
-head fake - check
-ball fake - check
-every ball handle move you can think of - check

He's obviously not in any GOAT conversation but man if you just forget it's a team sport and you talk skillset he's unreal