LABron James Discussion: The Final Year?

Nice but was a travel. Refs have stopped calling a lot of 3 step drives.

 

i think another issue for them is that zion isn't as quick laterally on d as advertised. i read all the time that he can just switch onto perimeter players and bottle them up, but i haven't seen much evidence of this. when the lakers got him in space last night, they went at him off the dribble with a lot of success.

as built, NO is going to have lots of defensive problems, imo. that's ok for gentry, as he basically plays old-school dantoni ball (which is much more pleasing to watch--and sadly less effective--than new-school dantoni ball).

 

The Pelicans are undermanned at the center/rim protector position.

It's the only reason I don't fear them in the playoffs. I'm not saying they won't be trouble, but we have the advantage which was proven in the season series.

Ingram looks terrible on defense because there is no rim protector. Early on, he knew if he gets beat then it's a basket, so he'd keeping fouling people like Dwight does sometimes. At the beginning of the season, he'd keep getting into foul trouble and I think they made adjustments to keep him in the game.
I'm not saying he's a great defender, but he makes the effort and his length makes plays at times. He's not terrible if they have a rim protector

I'm so glad we stayed on good terms with Boogie because if they had him, we'd be screwed next year.

Same with a Lopez type big. Hayes is a great talent but he's like Ingram was as a rookie.

Portland will also be a nightmare next year if they get their centers back. They might even get them this season which is the worst case scenario.

I'd want to face the Grizzlies first, then Pelicans... healthy Portland last.

Ingram had three of the worst games of his season against us. If he plays average on two of the games they probably would have won. I'm not saying part of it wasn't our defense... but a lot of it was nerves and bricking against his former team.

 

The Pels game was a perfect example of why one superstar is worth more than a handful of good to great players.

 

Our problem is that LBJ is 35 and AD is 26. If LBJ was 26 and AD was 35, we'd have a much brighter future.

I would have traded the six assets for 26 year old LBJ... we keep winning without AD

 

I don't see the problem. A 35 year old LeBron just tore the entire Pelicans team a new ahole. So will a 36 or 37 year old LeBron.

 

LBJ is amazing, but although he can go for a few more years at a high level... it's only a matter of time before he slows down.

Remember he and AD are super motivated against the young Pels to prove they were right.

If the Pels get a center, they will be hard to beat next season. Even Lonzo is finally learning how to attack the rim... that changes the equation significantly

 

Zion has no worries about his lateral speed or defending in space. ESPN has anointed their next greatest ever and started the mothership’s media campaign.

Noticed during rear camera angle of him shooting FTs that he’s a bit knock kneed. Is that any kind of issue for player of his mass that jumps really high? Probably not. Still missing @therealdeal for answers to all our physiological and training questions plus his positive outlook we’ll need for Clips and Bucks. Abeer of course for his always feared Rockets.

 

Comparison of Zion at 19 and LBJ at 19

Look at the per 36 numbers (as he's not playing full minutes yet)

https://www.basketball-reference.co...mson&y2=2020&player_id2=willizi01&idx=players

 

How is that a problem if we only have LeBron under contract for one more year and then a player option after that? By the time that happens, he'd be out of contract but a 37 year old Bron can still give you 20/8/8 easy.

 

Okay....? All that shows is Zion is feasting at the rim whereas LeBron is a more complete player. With Zion, you need to get him the ball near the paint. With Bron, you can give him the ball and he'll make things happen from anywhere. Zion has to play a certain style. LeBron doesn't have to. Also, the game has changed significantly. LeBron would have better stats as a rookie with the number of possessions these guys have now.

 

It's not the points... it's the incredible efficiency of his scoring.

No doubt LBJ was a more well rounded player even at 19... but Zion rebounds better and scores at 15% better efficiency.

He's even more efficient than 20 year old Shaq. Think about that... and he's only going to get better.

https://www.basketball-reference.co...mson&y2=2020&player_id2=willizi01&idx=players

It's reminiscent of the old Shaq/Kobe debate... Kobe more skilled... but Shaq way more efficient in his prime.

 

So Zion is Shaq now?

 

Well he's scoring more per 36 at 19 years old than Jordan at 21... so offensively speaking, it's not crazy to say

https://www.basketball-reference.co...mson&y2=2020&player_id2=willizi01&idx=players

 

Bron's post moves against NO... superb. Hope to see a lot of this in the post season. Too much prior to then will tire him out. He's clearly been honing them with Handy in recent weeks. He was focused all game, minus one in bounds play.

 

or...we know how to play him because we saw how teams stopped him when he was here? and that's why we upgraded? note that ingram never sees doubles. teams don't bother. they're not afraid enough that he can beat them by himself if you just put folks on an island with him.

anyway, we swept them. two of the games with zion, one without AD.

lol, don't look at the relevant ingram/pels data then.

yes. they were right.

as for lebron breaking down--never plan more than two full years into the future in the nba, imo. that's for losers. too many variables. it's actually sort of arrogant to project past that, imo--in that you're ignoring all of the stuff you can't control--which is A LOT.

they got one: favors. i don't think they'll get an upgrade there. as it stands, they may not even have max cap room this summer. the only upgrade on favors is drummond, who will probably (justified or not) get near max. plus, how much do you want to invest when you're going to have to run zion at that spot for 20mpg (imo).

yeah, long-term, i don't think this will be close. mostly because i have zero faith zion will be able to stay upright and athletic for very long.

i mean, probably. but how much and in what way? how much better did blake griffin get? amare stoudemire? both better, but not in the way people breathlessly anticipated.

anyway, this thread is about lebron, so i'll bring it back:

lebron is a top-3 player right now. i doubt he falls completely off a cliff (without major injury--which can strike young players, too) in the next two years. AD is 26 and is probably also still improving (took TD a long time to become a competent passer, which is basically AD's only weakness). he's a top 5-6 player in the league and also shouldn't drop off for another 4 years, minimum.

we traded zero top-20 players to get either of them, creating a window of contention (something only a few teams get per decade). brilliant.

 

I wouldn't call it a problem but yeah the title window would be way bigger with a 26 year old LBJ .

 

which is why you can't get one.

serious question, though: when lebron has become an also-ran, do you think kawhi will still be a top-5 player? i don't. so why does everyone drool over that FA acquisition and poo poo us getting lebron? we bought the same window, essentially. we then paid less for AD than they paid for PG. i like building around AD, post-lebron, a lot more than the prospect of building around (a 3 years older) PG.