LeBron James

[CSF]

I don't really know about all of this "lost a step", "isn't the athlete that he once was"...
I don't believe it right now. I watched some Heat games last season and he still was flying above the rim, blowing past defenders and attacking the rim at an unreal pace.

As I pointed out earlier, the main problems right now are his back issues and overall game shape.
Both of these will get better as the season goes on.

I watched every game LeBron played in a Cavs uni... I watched mabye 10 in a Miami uni... So to me I have not followed his game the past 4 years. What stuck out to me in a BIG way these past 2 games.. LeBron is not the tank he once was going to the hoop. That is what made me sad. Seeing LeBron getting rejected around the rim is heart breaking.

 

[CSF]

I don't really know about all of this "lost a step", "isn't the athlete that he once was"...
I don't believe it right now. I watched some Heat games last season and he still was flying above the rim, blowing past defenders and attacking the rim at an unreal pace.

As I pointed out earlier, the main problems right now are his back issues and overall game shape.
Both of these will get better as the season goes on.

Unless your his personal trainer or god, you have no clue if his back issues will go away or become chronic nor do you know if his overall shape will improve and with the way he already trains, I doubt there is much room for improvement at his age.

 

[Snarly]

i swear if we win a ring some will look for issues with the way we did it. "Lebon scored 40 points in game 7, He never dunked once and looked slow I am worried he may not be the same LeBron." I can see it already.

 

[CavsHomer]

I watched every game LeBron played in a Cavs uni... I watched mabye 10 in a Miami uni... So to me I have not followed his game the past 4 years. What stuck out to me in a BIG way these past 2 games.. LeBron is not the tank he once was going to the hoop. That is what made me sad. Seeing LeBron getting rejected around the rim is heart breaking.

Yes CSF, but again, his back is hurt right now! It makes me sad as well watching him play like that, but I absolutely disagree with you about LeBron NOT being the tank that he once was.
There is just no evidence for that assumption RIGHT NOW. Let's just wait a few more games. When his back gets better, I'm sure we'll see him at his usual best again.

And no I'm no fitness coach, but LeBron has a history of back issues and slow starts and it always got better a few games into the season. Time will tell.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

Really? This already. Jesus Christ.

What do you mean this already? What do you think the coach should do? Anchor the offense around a lesser efficient scorer than LeBron? I don't mind if they do anchor the offense around Love and run plays for him on the inside. All i want is for the Cavs to shoot at an efficient level as a team and the best way to do that is run the offense around the best top efficient scorers on the team. I'm seriously starting to think that some guys on here would rather see the Cavs shoot 40% from the field as a team as long as the offense isn't anchor around LeBron or Love. It's time to face reality, the Cavs are a legit title contender and title contending teams are usually in the top five in terms of FG%. Why run the most plays for guys who have never shot 48% from the field before when you can run some of those plays for a guy who has shot 57% from the field before?


Last four champs

2013-14
Spurs
FG%: 48.6 ranked #2

2012-13
Heat
FG%: 49.6 ranked #1

2011-12
Heat
FG%: 46.9 ranked #4

2010-11
Mavs
FG%: 47.5 ranked #5


What do all of those teams have in common? their top best scorer shot 50% and above from the field.

 

[CSF]

Yes CSF, but again, his back is hurt right now! It makes me sad as well watching him play like that, but I absolutely disagree with you about LeBron NOT being the tank that he once was.
There is just no evidence for that assumption RIGHT NOW. Let's just wait a few more games. When his back gets better, I'm sure we'll see him at his usual best again.

And no I'm no fitness coach, but LeBron has a history of back issues and slow starts and it always got better a few games into the season. Time will tell.

I pray your right. I was hoping to witness the same LeBron who left us. The moment I had was during the Chicago game and LeBron was driving hard to the hoop. I was thinking o yeah here he goes he's going to crush it. Next thing I see is LeBron on his ass, the ball in the stands and the defender thumping his chest, high fiving his teammates as LeBron is looking up.

 

[Dylan Windler's Mom]

Watch this highlight video it just makes you appreciate what you've witnessed as a fan...

His last year in Cleveland before heading to miami

 

[Captain S]

I noticed a slight decline athletically during his Heat days. His first step during the first stretch with Cleveland was crazy imo. He used to blow by defenders during the yrs of 03-11...now he struggles to get past guys who have avg foot speed. His hops have always been pretty consistent though.

2011 was his worst of all the 4 heat years, he got a little better in 2012 and even more so in 2013, in 2014 he looked really good in spurts but got knicked up a few times early in the year

 

[Captain S]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but LeBron has many miles on his body, his back aint going to get better nor younger and as of today, LeBron will never be in "better" shape.

So he won't ever heal from this injury

Because that's what people mean

 

[CSF]

So he won't ever heal from this injury

Because that's what people mean

Who says it's an injury? Just could be old man chronic back pains.. And if it is an injury, I doubt an 82 game NBA season is the best method of recovery.

 

[Crosby_Cavs]

No, they haven't. Dude was in Brazil and Asia to rep Nike (and probably other places not made known to the public), vacationed right after the Finals and then later to Greece, on set for a tv show, on set for a movie, helped produce a TV show, switched teams, filmed all of these "Homecoming" commercials we keep seeing, and had another child. Not exactly a lot of on court conditioning work can be done when you're doing all of that.

Like he said after Homecoming game that he can think now just about basketball not other stuff. I think he will be fine.

 

[Bandwagoner305]

i swear if we win a ring some will look for issues with the way we did it. "Lebon scored 40 points in game 7, He never dunked once and looked slow I am worried he may not be the same LeBron." I can see it already.

This^

Some fans would rather watch flashy highlight reel plays and couldn't care less about winning games. LeBron knows that it's not about flashy plays anymore, it's about putting yourself in position to get the easiest plays as possible and giving your team the best chance to win.

 

[eclark232]

The entire point of my previous post was his game will change but the impact he has will be the same. Even with "potential" back issues, his IQ will allow him to adapt to what his body will or will not allow him to do. Back issues aren't causing him to loose his athletism. The explosion will be there for him when needed. It just won't happen every time he touches the ball.

Jordan for example would slash and crash to the rim nightly during his first round of rings. After his stint in the minor leagues he came back as a different player. Did he loose athletism? No. He realized he could save his body by playing differently and still impact the out come just the same.

We as Cavs fans need to understand he is transitioning into the back half of his carrier. Still effective and the best player on earth for the foreseeable future, but a different player.

 

[cavsfever]

Watch this highlight video it just makes you appreciate what you've witnessed as a fan...

His last year in Cleveland before heading to miami

To me lifting that team to 66 wins, tied for the tenth best regular season record ever, was maybe the greatest accomplishment of his career. The only other players on that team who were even solid NBA players were AV and Mo Williams. Other than that, all pretty much junk. (I love Z but his career was over by then, as was Shaqs). And of course the coach was junk too.

 

[cavsfever]

The entire point of my previous post was his game will change but the impact he has will be the same. Even with "potential" back issues, his IQ will allow him to adapt to what his body will or will not allow him to do. Back issues aren't causing him to loose his athletism. The explosion will be there for him when needed. It just won't happen every time he touches the ball.

Jordan for example would slash and crash to the rim nightly during his first round of rings. After his stint in the minor leagues he came back as a different player. Did he loose athletism? No. He realized he could save his body by playing differently and still impact the out come just the same.

We as Cavs fans need to understand he is transitioning into the back half of his carrier. Still effective and the best player on earth for the foreseeable future, but a different player.

Did you watch Lebron in the playoffs in say 2011-2013? He could shut down the opponents leading scorer cold (he did that to MVP-level Derrick Rose in 2011), brutalize the defense in the open court and in the paint, and orchestrate his teammates involvement like a virtuoso because of all the attention he'd get. All while playing over 40 MPG, every game. If he transitions into a good jump shooter and excellent passer who occasionally has to take plays off on defense, it's going to be a different story.

Obviously the only reason to criticize Lebron is because you remember just how great he was at his absolute peak and you're a spoiled whiner. I admit it, I'm a whiner, watching him dominate spoiled me! But this is just an internet message board, we get to whine some.

I will say that I thought he should deal with this stage in his career by becoming more of a power forward type. The combination of sharing the court with K-Love and his weight loss make that a little more complicated but I still think it's something that could really work. He can't outquick perimeter players as much any more but he is much quicker than interior defenders. And the physicality of the inside game might still be easier than driving from the perimeter so much.