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LeBron James

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CLEistheCITY said:
Thank you. I have idiot friends who will go blue in the face telling me that defenses in the 80s and 90s were so much better than defenses now.
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There is the issue of the changing of the hand-check rule. That made a pretty big difference that benefitted the offense. But zone defense rules have been relaxed, and that benefits the defense. Under the Jordan-era rule, it was easier to get one-on-one matchups.
 
CosmoKramer said:
I'm biased, but after last year's Finals he sealed the deal for me. Greatest comeback in NBA history against a 73-win juggernaut, and put up monster numbers only matched by MJ's career-best Finals performance.
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MJ did not intimidate physically the other team in the way LBJ does, and that has an effect on the entire court. LBJ tilts the floor to a degree not even MJ did.

LBJ's ability to impact literally every single facet of the game -- especially rebounding -- means he can do more to enable a comeback that MJ ever could. Michael could score, and was a great defender. But LBJ also directly impacts (via blocks and rebounds) the number of possessions his team gets, which is the surest way to maximize point differential.
 
Gets a week off before the next round. Sleep, treatment, blowjob...rinse, repeat.
So tired of ESPIN and their articles about him not resting enough.
The playoffs are so spread out there's plenty of time for rest. He had the last week of the reg season off, and now its another full week. That's two out of the last four weeks off.
 
The Human Q-Tip said:
There is the issue of the changing of the hand-check rule. That made a pretty big difference that benefitted the offense. But zone defense rules have been relaxed, and that benefits the defense. Under the Jordan-era rule, it was easier to get one-on-one matchups.
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The hand check also gets way oversold: nobody talked about handchecking till Riley went to the Knicks and had to find away to deal with the Bulls and the rest of the league without the talent he had in LA. So he had his less talented guys like Greg Anthony and Starks just grab people. Then slowly the rest of the league started doing the same. You can sort of this by looking at the average Offensive rating of the league: incredibly consistent between 107 and 108 till 96-97 and then went down till 04-05. So during Jordan's prime years and along with the Showtime Lakers/Celts I don't find think the handcheck was really what we think of the handcheck rule for those who came up watching post-retirement Jordan in their formative years
 
chuck0609 said:
Gets a week off before the next round. Sleep, treatment, blowjob...rinse, repeat.
So tired of ESPIN and their articles about him not resting enough.
The playoffs are so spread out there's plenty of time for rest. He had the last week of the reg season off, and now its another full week. That's two out of the last four weeks off.
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Kevin Arnovitz pointed out this to me: he felt the Cavs sweeping the first two series helped them last year then any other type of the rest. The combo of the sweeps plus the extended time between games in the playoffs was the most important factor for him in the Cavs success last year
 
The Human Q-Tip said:
There is the issue of the changing of the hand-check rule. That made a pretty big difference that benefitted the offense. But zone defense rules have been relaxed, and that benefits the defense. Under the Jordan-era rule, it was easier to get one-on-one matchups.
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I'm always amazed at the people who claim James would have been hampered by hand checking, yet are the first ones to say he's only good because he's big and strong. Imagine James in a league where zone defenses are outlawed and the opposition will "attempt" to stop him using strength. I bet James can :chuckle: and he would have loved it.
 
Tyrone Slothrop said:
I'm always amazed at the people who claim James would have been hampered by hand checking, yet are the first ones to say he's only good because he's big and strong. Imagine James in a league where zone defenses are outlawed and the opposition will "attempt" to stop him using strength. I bet James can :chuckle: and he would have loved it.
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It's like people haven't seen Andre iguodola defense before

Been hand checking since he came into the league
 
Came here to post about that espn article. They've had an anti Lebron agenda for years now it's really pathetic from what's suppose to be a professional organisation.

On top of that it's just lazy speculation on nothing considering Lebron just completely dominated the series.
 
cavsfever said:
If you want an antidote to the ESPN piece, the Ringer just awarded Lebron their "MVP of the First Round". From Kevin O'Connor --

https://theringer.com/2017-nba-play...n-james-draymond-green-john-wall-418e5d65762d

The Cavs trailed Indy by 26 points in the first half, and then LeBron happened. I was watching the game with my dad, and throughout the second half we couldn’t stop laughing as a natural reaction to LeBron’s virtuosity.​
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I love that reaction because I think it is one of the most honest ones out there. I don't know how a true basketball fan without an agenda can't look at something like LBJ's performance in that game and not just enjoy it. There were times when even Indiana fans seemed appreciative of what they were seeing.

I honesty feel sorry for people who are too wrapped up in...something or other not to be able to enjoy that. I used to feel like that with Shaq in particular -- always been a Cavs fan, but laughing seemed the only appropriate reaction when he was in his prime and got the ball down low.
 
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LeBron James wasn't Paul George's primary defender, that was J.R. Smith. But when LeBron was put in situations where he had to guard George, he did a substantial job. Through video tracking I accumulated George's FG/FGA - TO(s) when guarded by LeBron and here's what I got:

Game 1 - 2/5 (40%), 1 turnover
Game 2 - 2/3 (66%), 2 turnovers
Game 3 - 3/8 (37%)
Game 4 - 1/4 (25%) 1 turnover

TOTAL: 8/20 (40%), 4 turnovers

LeBron James Great Defense on Paul George - 2017 Playoffs 1st Round

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVd71pGalng
 
So if he was 8/20 against LeBron, and he was 34/88 for the series, does that mean he was 26/68 against other defenders (i.e. WORSE against the likes of Shump/JR/Kyrie)?
 
Bballguy4 said:
LeBron James wasn't Paul George's primary defender, that was J.R. Smith. But when LeBron was put in situations where he had to guard George, he did a substantial job. Through video tracking I accumulated George's FG/FGA - TO(s) when guarded by LeBron and here's what I got:

Game 1 - 2/5 (40%), 1 turnover
Game 2 - 2/3 (66%), 2 turnovers
Game 3 - 3/8 (37%)
Game 4 - 1/4 (25%) 1 turnover

TOTAL: 8/20 (40%), 4 turnovers

LeBron James Great Defense on Paul George - 2017 Playoffs 1st Round

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVd71pGalng
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Unbelievable footwork.
 
Czvosec said:
So if he was 8/20 against LeBron, and he was 34/88 for the series, does that mean he was 26/68 against other defenders (i.e. WORSE against the likes of Shump/JR/Kyrie)?
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Nah, look at most of those shots PG made with LeBron on him. LeBron was all over his ass. They still went in.
 
Jscc said:
Nah, look at most of those shots PG made with LeBron on him. LeBron was all over his ass. They still went in.
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Which seemed to be the case for most of the series no matter who guarded him.
 
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