LeBron James is pretty much doing what he did in his 2nd NBA season. His shooting percentages are not bad but he has not improved from the field, from three or from the FT line and his defense is still really hard to watch but he's dominating offensively like always. I think LeBron is a hell of a talent and maybe being so great so early has hindered his development but honestly, it's his 4th season and his glaring holes have not been fixed. What do you guys think?
I agree with this to an extent, but I think he had already reached his potential. I think what we saw then was what he's going to be throughout his entire career. He doesn't really have much more room to improve, unless maybe he was put with an elite point guard, but I still think, what we saw then is what we're going to get.
The only thing Lerbon has left to improve in his career is winning.In 4 years Lebron has accomplished as much as many 10 year veterans.And the winning part is not Lebron's fault. His surrounding cast is just plain awful.
With his skills he could be a dominating defender, shoot 80+ percent from the FT line and shoot 40% from three. He has too much talent to be 'at his peak' at 22 years old...
Naw, hes still improving. But sometimes when you dont start the season improved in stats, its hard to improve the stats...even though your probably playing better. Alotve players do this, but hes improved alot this year. He makes better decisions, and is a better leader and knows how to involve his team even more and hes learned to move without the ball. You also have to factor in the Summer Championships as well and his fatigue might have gotten to him early on....hes still a top 3 player IMO. Stats arent everything...just a little guideline.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Jan 27 2007, 03:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The only thing Lerbon has left to improve in his career is winning.In 4 years Lebron has accomplished as much as many 10 year veterans.And the winning part is not Lebron's fault. His surrounding cast is just plain awful.</div>He doesn't play D still. That's something he can improve on. He's not incredibly clutch or anything. He doesn't shoot great %. There's still quite a few things LeBron can improve on. Plus he has an above average supporting cast imo. Sure they don't have a great PG to run their offense but since LeBron has such great court vision and passing skills I don't see why he can't play PG. He has Larry Hughes, Big Z, and Drew Gooden to play with in the starting lineup.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (iversonfan268 @ Jan 27 2007, 07:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He doesn't play D still. That's something he can improve on. He's not incredibly clutch or anything. He doesn't shoot great %. There's still quite a few things LeBron can improve on. Plus he has an above average supporting cast imo. Sure they don't have a great PG to run their offense but since LeBron has such great court vision and passing skills I don't see why he can't play PG. He has Larry Hughes, Big Z, and Drew Gooden to play with in the starting lineup.</div>Oh, he doesn't play d?Despite every other day he has 2 steals and a block?You guys just look for reasons to down him.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Jan 27 2007, 08:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh, he doesn't play d?Despite every other day he has 2 steals and a block?You guys just look for reasons to down him.</div> Who gives a damn if he gets 2 steals and a block. Thats only a part of defense, statistics do not show how good of a defender you are...come on...how many f*cking times have I explained this on BBW. Clifford Robinson would smother guys in the post but he didn't rebound or block many shots...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Jan 27 2007, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh, he doesn't play d?Despite every other day he has 2 steals and a block?You guys just look for reasons to down him.</div>Wow. That means nothing. He gets those just because of his athleticism. Just because you get steals and blocks doesn't make you a good defender. Being a good defender is something that can't be measured in statistics. LeBron is simply not a good defender. He's afraid of picking up fouls, and he backs off way too easily when getting drove on. He also doesn't deny the guys he's defending the ball well at all. I could go on for days about why hes not a good defender. He's just simply bad at it. He could be great if he put more effort in though because he has all the necessary tools, but he just doesn't care enough to do it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BrewCityBuck @ Jan 27 2007, 07:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Who gives a damn if he gets 2 steals and a block. Thats only a part of defense, statistics do not show how good of a defender you are...come on...how many f*cking times have I explained this on BBW. Clifford Robinson would smother guys in the post but he didn't rebound or block many shots...</div>oh yeah?you started saying lebron wasn't improving because his stats were not increasing. quit being a hypocrite.
Not even with stats...LeBron is a good defender, but alotve doesn't show either cause of Mike Browns team defense strategy.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Jan 27 2007, 08:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>oh yeah?you started saying lebron wasn't improving because his stats were not increasing. quit being a hypocrite.</div> What the hell are you talking about? Defensive statistics are bullsh** and don't tell you how good a defender someone is...offensive statistics tell you if a guy is shooting terribly...etc...there are no numbers for shutting a guy down or being a good help defender.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Jan 27 2007, 04:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh, he doesn't play d?Despite every other day he has 2 steals and a block?You guys just look for reasons to down him.</div>Dude have you not figured out stats don't tell you everything? Tell me what stat shows how well a player can stay on their man. I mean if stats told everything Bruce Bowen wouldn't even be a top 50 defensive player in the league.
Well, James is doing one thing new this season, and that is taking so many Jumpers. Some people are starting to call him LBJumper. When he drives, I don't know who can stop him. Is he saving himself until the playoffs to blow up? Is Mike Brown just plan out dumb at coaching and doesn't know how to get James to drive? I really don't know. But James has a long career ahead of him, he is only going to keep on getting better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>I mean if stats told everything Bruce Bowen wouldn't even be a top 50 defensive player in the league.</div>Completely agree. There is no real way to tell if someone is a good defender because of stats. Stats never tell the whole story.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pacers fan forever @ Jan 27 2007, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh, he doesn't play d?Despite every other day he has 2 steals and a block?You guys just look for reasons to down him.</div>Stop looking at the f*cking stats.If you stand there playing your man loose as hell, you can intercept passes all day? big deal my f*cking sister could do that.He's my favorite player, but he needs to step it up. He needs to want to improve, and he needs to want to achieve the ultimate goal: a championship. He needs to continue to make his teamates better and do the little things better, that win games. ex. FT shooting.
Offensively, you can go by stats for the most part.Defensively, screw stats.LeBron gets most of his steals from picking off the lanes which is due to his atheticism and his long body. He gets a lot of blocks because he's a highflyerJust because he gets steals and blocks doesn't mean he can shutdown someone. LeBron averages more steals than Bowen, Wallace, and BryantHe averages more blocks than Bowen, Iverson, Bryant, Kidd, and Artest.So, are you saying LeBron is a better defender than any of them?
He has regressed a bit from last year, but I think part of it is because he is still a bit worn out from the summer with team USA. He hasn't had near the explosion he did past few years, he rarely goes out on the break anymore, and just looks a step slower. His jumper from outside 2-3ft is at 35%, same as Dwyane Wade, so obviously he is taking too many contested, tough jumpers because he is better than that. But I also think Larry Hughes has taken a lot of pressure off him overall, so he rarely goes into "kill" mode.
