Lebron James: Art of Passing

[00david00]

When he held the MVP to 6% shooting

I think we've seen Lebron become a better defender within the last 2 years specifically & most especially this season - post season. He's guarded almost everyone from the PG, 2 guard, small forward, power forward, & depending on what the other teams throw out there, the center...His game has come a long long way within the last 2 years. Coming to Miami was I think the start of the evolution of his game to the next level.

Better? Sure.

But BEST? in the entire NBA?

In certain situations, yes.

He won't expand that same effort every game every minute towards his defense like how a specialist such as Artest would. But if you need someone shut down for some amount of minutes, LBJ can handle it for almost every position.

 

[datznasty]

I wasn't being crass, I was being serious. He is, the, or one of the best defenders in the NBA. He can defend 1-4 and shut them down for stretches. You can't say that about tons of other guys. Tony Allen for example, great against Sgs and slower SFs, but he's not going to defend Pau Gasol like Bron can, nor would I put him on Rondo or Rose. If you have a fastbreak and he is within 10 feet of you, your **** is getting blocked. When he's on the weak side, any passes to that side of the court are shut down like a free safety (the Heat's entire defense is great at that). Maybe he ducks Durant a bit, and obviously any player in the NBA can get a highlight against any other player 1nce or 2wice, but beyond KD and maybe Melo he's not consistently getting cooked on D by anybody in the league right now.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

^ I don't know, he was pretty damn good this last post season. He locked up a variety of dudes throughout the post season. As a former hater (not my favorite player though), I kept waiting for him to fail but he came through...

 

[maxelite]

On the ball, there are better defenders than Lebron.

I just think people see the overall size and speed on defense and the way he can effectively guard multiple positions and people start to overreact a little. I can agree on that. There are better defenders than Lebron but those guys are specialists.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I forgot to add the Heat in general put a lot of pressure on ball carriers all season. You had to really be able to handle the peel & be careful so you didn't turn the ball over...

BTW, oh damn, I forgot Jesus went to South Beach. Damn... Provided he stays healthy, his outside shooting should be killer for the Heat...

 

[al3xis]

there's still no real quantifiable way to judge individual defenders aside from just watching games and having an opinion on it. There's too much reliance on the other 4 guys behind you working as a team IMO.

 

[mben32]

The last pass on the vid(to Ilgauskas) is my favorite LeBron pass. seen it live & it's just as insane now as it was then

 

[do be doo]

This dude BRON. :x

 

[wavy bone]

Shawn Marion has been guarding 1-4 his whole career effectively. Even in his 30's...Mavs still move him around on defensive assignments. I know I'm not the only one who saw him lock up CP3 and Ty Law just this past year. We all know about his Suns days where he was out of position at the 4.


While referred to as elite...never once heard anyone say he was the best defender in the NBA.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying Lebron ain't **** on defense. But...I can't help but think the overall "Lebron factor" is what is influencing someone to say that he's been the best defender in the entire NBA for 5 years now.

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Shawn Marion has been guarding 1-4 his whole career effectively. Even in his 30's...Mavs still move him around on defensive assignments. I know I'm not the only one who saw him lock up CP3 and Ty Law just this past year. We all know about his Suns days where he was out of position at the 4.
While referred to as elite...never once heard anyone say he was the best defender in the NBA.

Likely because he was in the same draft class as Ron Artest who held that best defender title for a while

 

[nationaltruckerdave]

I thought this thread was supposed to be about LeBrons passing skills

 

[seymore cake]

Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying Lebron ain't **** on defense. But...I can't help but think the overall "Lebron factor" is what is influencing someone to say that he's been the best defender in the entire NBA for 5 years now.

Whoa... I never said he was the best for the past 5 yrs, I said he was dominant, whether its weak side help, playing the passing lanes he's been a force since he got his first MVP and has just improved each and every year at that end of the court. He makes a drastic effect on that side of the ball and it has been that way for a while. These past two years he's actually pushed himself and dedicated himself to being a better defender hence we've seen him get better on the ball as well which has made him an all around defender.

Guys like Shawn Marion are not counted on to carry a team in any area... So the amount of energy they spend on the defensive end is unlimited to that extent. With his versatility he has the ability to guard 1-4 as well and do it well, but that's all he has to do. Bron guards 1-4 during the course of the game depending on what's going on and still has to go out there and give you 30, 8 & 8 NIGHTLY!

Like others have said he's not Thabo, he's not Marion, he's not Tony Allen, he's not Artest... He's not a specialty player however he plays defense at the same level. you can point to the fact that he's not playing defense on the star player all 48 but in select instances but he's expending energy offensively that what 5% of the league are for 48 then turning around and LOCKING UP WHOEVER for crucial stretches. That sounds ELITE to me.

 

[pmatic]

No, for real. C'mon, Serge. You are just kind of trolling, right? Well, at the risk of feeding the trolls, some disinfectant:

James held opposing power forwards and small forwards to well-below-league-average effective shooting percentages this season, limited both to pretty sound scoring marks of 17.3 points per 48 minutes this season, and allowed sub-par per-minute Player Efficiency Ratings of 14.8 and 10.3, respectively (thanks, 82games.com). So, guys he defended produced at worse-than-league-average levels this season.

Plus, Heat opponents posted higher field-goal and 3-point percentages, turned it over less frequently, and scored at a more efficient rate when LeBron sat than when he played (thanks, NBA.com's statistical analysis tool). The Heat's defense was still good when he was off the floor, giving up an average of 97.3 points per 100 possessions, but it was better when he was on it, at 97-per-100.

He also gave up fewer points per possession as a primary defender than Ibaka did this year (0.83 to 0.87), and allowed opponents to score on a significantly lower percentage of possessions (36.5 percent to 41 percent) than Serge (thanks, Synergy Sports Technology)? And he edged Ibaka in defensive rating — an estimate of how many points an individual defender allows per 100 possessions — by one point-per-100 (thanks, Basketball-Reference.com).

Basically, any way you look at it, there's not really very much support for Serge Ibaka saying that LeBron James isn't a good defender. He is good. He's really good. Very legitimately deserving of being named to the league's top All-Defensive team four straight times, and of being the leading vote-getter this year. Fewer crazy pills for Serge Ibaka, please.

Link

 

[champcruthik]

Doesn't KD have to continue improving his defense, passing, and rebounding before ever sniffing the top-10 all-time? Obviously the scoring and shooting are already elite.

 

[pmatic]

Doesn't KD have to continue improving his defense, passing, and rebounding before ever sniffing the top-10 all-time? Obviously the scoring and shooting are already elite.

Those three facets of his game are getting better year by year.

While not a "great" defender, I'd say Durant is passable at worst. He turns it over too much, but he has improved immensely in his ball handling and decision making. He also cleans up on the boards on defense.

 

[thegoldenchild]

Being good doesn't mean you shouldn't play smart. Are you really saying that Lebron forcing up a shot under pressure is better than feeding it to an open player? If you're being doubled or another player has a better look, it doesn't matter if you're Lebron or MJ, you pass the ball. It's called basketball IQ.

no, you dont pass up the ball in crunch situations.. that is why he's lebron james.. you think jordan would pass it to someone else? sure he passed it to kerr, but you know as well as i do, that jordan wants and knows he has to take the final shot. i rather have the ball in my best players hands, and let him take the shot, difficult or not, than to pass it to the open player, who i know is no jordan or lebron.

 

[wavy bone]

no, you dont pass up the ball in crunch situations.. that is why he's lebron james.. you think jordan would pass it to someone else? sure he passed it to kerr, but you know as well as i do, that jordan wants and knows he has to take the final shot. i rather have the ball in my best players hands, and let him take the shot, difficult or not, than to pass it to the open player, who i know is no jordan or lebron.

You sound absolutely ridiculous right now.

 

[rook]

His vision isn't up there with Magic, but its pretty darn close.

Lebron is just so fun to watch on the court man.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Shawn Marion has been guarding 1-4 his whole career effectively. Even in his 30's...Mavs still move him around on defensive assignments. I know I'm not the only one who saw him lock up CP3 and Ty Law just this past year. We all know about his Suns days where he was out of position at the 4.
While referred to as elite...never once heard anyone say he was the best defender in the NBA.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying Lebron ain't **** on defense. But...I can't help but think the overall "Lebron factor" is what is influencing someone to say that he's been the best defender in the entire NBA for 5 years now.

People are dumb, Shawn Marion was defiantly at one point the best perimeter defender in the NBA.

Still is.

 

[seymore cake]

Osh just for ***** & giggles who are your top 10 perimeter defenders in the L today... not trying to discredit or anything just interested

 

[worldbeefreeg]

Is there a bigger joke of an award in the league than All-Defensive team? Shawn Marion has never been named to a single all-defensive team...mind-boggling. Meanwhile Kobe has been on it the past 2 years :x

 

[pmatic]

To be fair, Marion was competing against Duncan, Garnett, Artest and Bowen in his prime.

 

[al3xis]

no, you dont pass up the ball in crunch situations.. that is why he's lebron james.. you think jordan would pass it to someone else? sure he passed it to kerr, but you know as well as i do, that jordan wants and knows he has to take the final shot. i rather have the ball in my best players hands, and let him take the shot, difficult or not, than to pass it to the open player, who i know is no jordan or lebron.

I don't know why this topic is still brought up considering what was done this year. But, Jordan actually made the right play most of the time. The obvious example is Kerr but had he not passed off to BJ Armstrong in the '93 ECF, they don't win that series. He struggled with his shot so much that series (sans Game 4) that he entered the last stretch of games saying he needed to have 10+ assists to win. And he did.

 

[DCAllAfrican]

I am sick and tired of passing this along. Please cut out the LeBron doesn't take shots in clutch situations. Go to basketball reference and do the sorting yourself and see where he ranks in FGA in clutch situations. I swear people just repeat that nonsense as if it holds any truth.

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Osh just for ***** & giggles who are your top 10 perimeter defenders in the L today... not trying to discredit or anything just interested

Lebron James

Tony Allen
Andre Iguadala

Luol Deng
Avery Bradley
Luc Mbah a Moute (Very underrated)

Shawn Marion
Shane Battier
Dwayne Wade

Thabo Sefolosha




Young future lockdown defenders: Paul Geroge, Ricky Rubio, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Iman Shumpert, these will probabaly take Shawn, Shanes and Dwades spot as he gets older.