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LeBron James

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For all the handwringing about their defense and their rebounding, I feel like their biggest issue may simply be math.

The Lakers are No. 2 in the NBA in 2PT% at a robust .572 and lead the league in both layups and dunks.

The problem is they are 20th in 3PT made per game and 23rd in 3PT%.

It's just extremely difficult to win consistently when you don't make threes. Even with their struggles defensively and on the glass, they'd still win if they were just a better shooting team. Hell, look no further than the Cavs of the last two years.
 
The fact that three is greater than two has had a truly transformative effect on the NBA game over the past five years or so.

Feel like we need to move the 3-point line out to like 28 feet to make the game more balanced.
 
cavsfever said:
The fact that three is greater than two has had a truly transformative effect on the NBA game over the past five years or so.

Feel like we need to move the 3-point line out to like 28 feet to make the game more balanced.
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The Return of Javelolol McGee. Ibaka is just going off on him.
 
It’s starting to look like LeBron is sabotoging again to get Luke fired and hire his guy (whoever it may be this time) he’s that petty and he’s definitely that manipulative.

LeBron has shown he deliberately lowers his game just to get his way, he tried to get Eric Spoelstra fired multiple times in Miami only to be denied by Pat Riley, He got Blatt fired & now he’s trying to do the same to Luke Walton, smh...

I feel bad for Luke, I hope Magic doesn’t fall to the LeBron trap.
 
K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's said:
It’s starting to look like LeBron is sabotoging again to get Luke fired and hire his guy (whoever it may be this time) he’s that petty and he’s definitely that manipulative.

LeBron has shown he deliberately lowers his game just to get his way, he tried to get Eric Spoelstra fired multiple times in Miami only to be denied by Pat Riley, He got Blatt fired & now he’s trying to do the same to Luke Walton, smh...

I feel bad for Luke, I hope Magic doesn’t fall to the LeBron trap.
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I don't think Lebron sabotages exactly, I think that's a bum rap. He is 27-7-7 Lebron just like normal so far this regular season, except his three point shooting is off.

But I do think that in the regular season he doesn't generally put teams on his shoulders and carry them. His regular season perspective is something like "if you guys are going to play like shit I'm not going to kill myself in order to take over and save you", he's gonna do him, including loafing on defense to preserve energy. (There are some exceptions to that -- e.g. an incredible 50+ point game in DC last season when the team was on a losing streak -- but in general it's the mark of Regular Season Lebron). While his playoff perspective is that he will take over and try to carry a team forward. So in the regular season he puts pressure on teams to show that they can win without him, and for young players to grow and coaching staffs to take action.

But I don't know what he could have done in LA last night, that was pretty bad.
 
cavsfever said:
His regular season perspective is something like "if you guys are going to play like shit I'm not going to kill myself in order to take over and save you", he's gonna do him, including loafing on defense to preserve energy.
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But he loafs on defense no matter how hard his teammates play. It's not like that's a "reaction" to his teammates not being very good. It's his regular-season baseline. And the problem is that becomes contagious. His loafing means that the defense fails, and other guys get sick of trying to cover for his lack of effort. That leads to an overall lack of defensive effort, the team starts getting clobbered, and then the lack of team play starts showing up at the other end.

Then when that happens, LBJ takes on the role of a martyr having to make up for his shitty teammates, while ignoring that a big part of the reasons things aren't going well is his own refusal to play defense.

It's almost amusing. He will repeatedly tell everyone with his humble brags and passive/aggressive statements how he is the leader of his team, but then ignores the shitty example his lack of effort sets.
 
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The Human Q-Tip said:
But he loafs on defense no matter how hard his teammates play. It's not like that's a "reaction" to his teammates not being very good. It's his regular-season baseline. And the problem is that becomes contagious. His loafing means that the defense fails, and other guys get sick of trying to cover for his lack of effort. That leads to an overall lack of defensive effort, the team starts getting clobbered, and then the lack of team play starts showing up at the other end.

So when that happens, LBJ takes on the role of a martyr having to make up for his shitty teammates, while ignoring that a big part of the reasons things aren't going well is his own refusal to play defense.

It's almost amusing. He will repeatedly tell everyone with his humble brags and passive/aggressive statements how he is the leader of his team, but then ignores the shitty example his lack of effort sets.
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This is absolutely true and he needs to be called out over it . A lot of young players on that team and the example he is setting them is not impressive.
 
Jontibs said:
This is absolutely true and he needs to be called out over it . A lot of young players on that team and the example he is setting them is not impressive.
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Will JaVale McGee be forced to step up into the leadership void and take the team on his back, as the leader, savior, and, shall I say it, King?

He will need a nickname. Doctor Strange, The Big Secret, Big Daddy Wookie, Lemonhead, Tragic Bronson - none of them would really fit his new role.
 
Oh, and speaking of nicknames, I found this gem, which maybe others have seen but I hadn't:

https://www.msn.com/en-ph/sports/nb...ese-nicknames-for-warriors-rockets/ar-AAxaSyB

and
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/nick_kapur/status/993521866651381764


Chinese media nicknames for some NBA players.

My favs:
"Six Step Bron" for Lebron, and his never being called for travelling
"Flying Fat Pig" for Charles Barkley
"Flat Mamba" for Kyrie Irving (and his flat earth views)
"Strength Conserving Mamba" for Andrew Wiggins (not being aggressive enough)
 
23Lebron said:
Will JaVale McGee be forced to step up into the leadership void and take the team on his back, as the leader, savior, and, shall I say it, King?

He will need a nickname. Doctor Strange, The Big Secret, Big Daddy Wookie, Lemonhead, Tragic Bronson - none of them would really fit his new role.
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I like Javale, one of those guys it is very easy to pull for, good to see him repair his reputation somewhat in the last few years.

Would have liked him on the Cavs, such an energy boost for everyone when he is on.
 
cavsfever said:
On net I think it is probably a good tradeoff for both him and the team he is on. The playoffs are what matters anyway. But clearly it can't be allowed to become contagious and it's a major defensive minus that the team has to fill in somehow. If people want to change this about him he would have to play a lot fewer minutes in the regular season.
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Right there is the disconnect. Yes, if LBJ is going to play that many minutes, then the only way he can do it is by loafing on the defensive end. So the logical thing to benefit the team is to reduce his minutes. But LBJ doesn't want to do that because he wants to build up his individual stats on the offensive end. And that doesn't benefit the team. It just benefits him, and the legacy he is trying to establish. He can't beat MJ's or even Kobe's rings. So he's going for MVP awards, but if he can't get that, I think his big individual goal is to beat Kareem's all-time scoring record. I think this regular-season no-defense phenomenon is just going to get worse as he gets older, and has an even greater need to conserve energy.

What's going to be interesting is when he gets close to that number -- should happen in the 21-22 or 22-23 season. My guess is that breaking that record while playing for the Lakers would not be a good look, and he might even get booed if he does it in L.A., where Kareem is revered. So, I would not be surprised to see him try to move somewhere else for just one season so he can achieve the individual goal of breaking Kareem's record somewhere that would have a positive reaction to him doing so.
 
I feel guilty, but I do enjoy watching LeBron with these young Lakers and idiots (McGee, Lance).

That dude is just such a transcendent talent, easily still the best player in the league, and it's just fun to watch him make average role players like Rondo and McGee look halfway decent.
 
Strength Conserving Mamba and Flying Fat Pig are probably the two best nicknames in sports history.
 
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