LeBron James

[Benedict_Boozer]

I think Lebron is better off playing a managed 35-38 mins. He is more energetic and less turnover prone if you keep his minutes down in that range. I know it's the playoffs but really it seems like keeping him out there the extra minutes like we did last night where he plays the entire first quarter and is still clocking time well into the 2nd quarter with no break just leads to diminishing returns.

 

[KI4MVP]

I think Lebron is better off playing a managed 35-38 mins. He is more energetic and less turnover prone if you keep his minutes down in that range. I know it's the playoffs but really it seems like keeping him out there the extra minutes like we did last night where he plays the entire first quarter and is still clocking time well into the 2nd quarter with no break just leads to diminishing returns.

yes, he's better with less minutes. The problem is how do we manage to stay in the game with him off the court, Love out and Kyrie injured. In our win, LeBron was +31 in a game we won by 15 (so minus 16 in 12 minutes without him). Last night he was +1 in a game we lost by 3 (so -4 in the 4 minutes without him). Ideally we get a double digit lead so he can sit for spurts without completely losing the lead or Kyrie miraculously recovers before Sunday.

What the team really needs is 3 days off like the Hawks/Wizards series just got, but we don't even get a 2 day break unless we get to game 7 and with the early start Sunday we don't even get a full 48 hours between games 3 and 4.

 

[CardiacCavs]

Never thought I would be saying this, but Iso-ing Lebron against Butler is actually a mismatch in favor of the Bulls. I don't think Lebron is struggling just because he is "in a funk" or anything that has to do with him. I just think Jimmy Butler is a fantastic defender who has really made Lebron work for everything.

In my mind, we should try to attack the Bulls defense through anybody who isn't being guarded by Butler. With Kyrie being hobbled, we should try and run our offense through JR Smith (never thought I would say that either...) I imagine that they will be having Dunleavy, or hinrich guarding him. That's where their weakness is. Stop forcing LBJ and Kyrie to make difficult shots over amazing defenders. I also wonder if the Refs are going to be as willing to let them play as they did in Game 3.

 

[The Red Viper]

He's got to trust the offense. He's making it far too difficult on himself with all this isolation ball. It's nothing new that LeBron is going away from running offensive sets when it matters most, but at some point he needs to realize the circumstances and adjust.

We're missing one of our top 3 players. Our second best player is hurting bad. Our second best two way player is banged up. And he is dead tired.

Run the offense. Get open looks for your shooters through player and ball movement instead of trying to drag the whole team on your back and kick out every play.

True.

He has to understand, he has to make the game easy for himself. Because, currently, there is simply too much workload on him. If this was a LeBron of a couple of years ago, it wouldn't have been a problem. But currently, with him being 30+ and all the mileage he has had on his legs, he simply can't do it all anymore. And, that won't be a knock against him. Bird or Magic or Michael couldn't do it all for their entire career as well.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

I think LBJ can make the game easier for himself if he would do more work off the ball instead of always insisting on catch and hold ISO's and high P&R. You can't live on a steady diet of that, have to make the defense work.

On the bright side, in the post game Lebron really took accountability for his sucking. He plays better angry, when he feels he has something to prove - so hopefully we get a more typical Lebron performance in game 4...

I would rather LeBron not suck than "take accountability for his sucking."

 

[KilgoreTrout]

The stat that makes my head want to explode is LBJ attempted 7 shots tonight where he took 7 or more dribbles. That is just asinine. He was 1/7 on those opportunities.

Additionally, he took 6 FGA with 3-6 dribbles. He was 1/6 on those attempts.

When he took 2 or less dribbles, he was 6/12 from the floor for 13 points.

That's great stuff right there.

 

[Green Lantern]

Lebron is more effective when he is pasing the ball and when he gets it , he immediately makes a move..that little bunny he missed before JR's 3 was the opening the Bulls needed...

 

[Mailman216]

Blatt has to find a way to rest the best player in the game. While still having a keen eye for when he is fatigued. A giveaway would be when he isn't finishing his layups after playing the whole 1st qt and halfway thru the 2nd. What makes it sad is we gained a fresh body in JR. But our coach turned his back and rode a visibly fatigued LBJ really sad. Not asking to sit him for long stretches in favor of JR but even the best player in the game needs a breather. But this basic approach went over Blatts head and we saw the end results. This is why I strongly disagree with the its not Blatts fault approach. He's a quote on quote genius with a healthy LBJ Kyrie and Love as Griffin and others will say. But when a little adversity comes from health his genius goes out the window and we are supposed to point our fingers in everyone else direction but his Of Course lol. If he can't find a way to maximize the cards he's dealt without trying to send our best player into early retirement. Well then I wouldn't put too much faith in him going forward. Go Cavs and 216

 

[spydy13]

I think Lebron is better off playing a managed 35-38 mins. He is more energetic and less turnover prone if you keep his minutes down in that range. I know it's the playoffs but really it seems like keeping him out there the extra minutes like we did last night where he plays the entire first quarter and is still clocking time well into the 2nd quarter with no break just leads to diminishing returns.

They had to keep him in because Kyrie was getting checked out. Putting in a lineup with neither of those guys in will be a disaster.

 

[Gus Zing]

The thought that he's playing too many minutes puzzles me.
This is the playoffs. There's no tomorrow. He needs to be on the damn court.
He took two weeks off during the season. Played reasonable minutes all year. Took two days off prior to the playoffs. Had eight days off after the Boston series. Played 34 minutes in game two. And there are no more back to backs.
The guy is thirty years old, suck it up, become mentally strong and produce at the level that the alleged best player in the league should.
Maybe WoJo is right; all we hear is excuses for him. It's everyone else's fault.
I'm not buying it. If he claims to be the best, and we're 'spoiled by his play', them fucking go out there and dominate the game.
This is all on him. Time to produce.

lol he's attempting to make 5 NBA finals in a row. Something that hasnt happened since the days of Bill Russell. (Unless I'm mistaken)
He's played the most mins over a 5 year period in NBA history. Two weeks off doesnt automatically change that.

He's playing 42 mins a game these playoffs. Not only is he playing 42 mins, but his usage rate is absurd.

By the way he's producing 10 boards and 9 assists this series. He's just shooting horribly. We want him to attack with energy but thats not going to happen against this Bulls team with those many mins. Blatt is doing what Thibs does and thats why Rose/Butler are shooting bad % from the field as well.

Trust the bench. Keep him at 38 to 39 mins and he'll be more efficient.

He's disappointing because of his shooting. The high turnover rate is a product of too many mins and too much ball handling (he shares blame for that. But if he's on the bench instead..)

After all his struggles he's still averaging 26/10/9 this series. While shooting 39% from the floor and a putrid under 10% from 3.

And the Cavs are barely losing.

He'll be due for a big shooting game. People will think he changed. No he just finally made shots. I think he drives/finishes better with fewer mins though.

He's had 3 crappy shooting games but at least he's aggressive.

If he starts being passive, disengaged, etc etc then be concerned.

 

[CHIMOCHIS]

Ridiculous posts

Lebron has been resting 5-10 minutes each game while playing

He's not tired he's playing like a bitch

Stop the over analyzing post ups, just hard dribble attack basket


No I want to look at the sky see my shooters dribble four time let the double come

 

[Gus Zing]

He's being SUPER aggressive. As aggressive as I've ever seen him.

But he's losing his balance and the ball along with it a lot of the time and when he doesn't have free run into the paint, he's missing jumpers.

You guys need to give credit to the Bulls for handling LeBron about as well as any team ever has. They have effectively pushed him into iso mode on the perimeter, even when his jumper is off.

This is where no Kevin Love is killing us. The Bulls are doing a great job, if we had Love we're up 3-0 imo. Even with LeBron broke jumper. Just bad luck and bad timing.

Love would get so many open looks if he was out there setting the pick instead of TT.

 

[Jscc]

just hard dribble attack basket

And (1) turn the ball over because there's no space or (2) pick up his third foul before the second quarter because there's no space? You'd most likely then complain about how he's not being smart and is being sloppy, etc., etc.,

 

[Mailman216]

They had to keep him in because Kyrie was getting checked out. Putting in a lineup with neither of those guys in will be a disaster.

I would agree if Kyrie was playing well and if we were getting blown out. Neither happened so if our coach has the same approach as us on the board with my hands our tied. What is he being paid to do? If he can't figure out a way to rest LBJ with a injured Kyrie then what the hell is he doing lol. Oh I know being praised when all is good. But when it's time to be a NBA coach he's literally acting like and RCF coach don't you find that worrisome. He literally approached the situation as you and others have stated to a T. Only problem is y'all aren't being rewarded his salary for having his same thought process which is a crime lol just jokes. Hit the disagree if you view it differently.

 

[MH32246]

Whats not being talked about is the fact that last night the refs let Butler basically grab Lebron jersey and use his elbow/ forearm to push Lebron body. Every time Lebron drove to the basket Butler hand hit Lebron elbow. at 6'5 its no way Butler who doesn't have long arms can consistently reach around and still it from a 6'8 Lebron driving down hill.