The downside of an "efficient" superstar

[konex]

A guy like LeBron will usually make the "right" basketball play instead of forcing anything but that's not always the winning play.

For example, look at Dirk last night. Dude just kept shooting and trusting his jumper. Even if the Mavs lost, he wasn't gonna leave any room for regret even if it meant taking all the blame. I bet Heat fans would be able to accept this loss more if Bron had done the same in the last 3 games

I know Bron plays with Wade and Bosh but 15 shots seems low for an elimination game IMO.

[Hittin_Shots]

A guy like LeBron will usually make the "right" basketball play instead of forcing anything but that's not always the winning play.

For example, look at Dirk last night. Dude just kept shooting and trusting his jumper. Even if the Mavs lost, he wasn't gonna leave any room for regret even if it meant taking all the blame. I bet Heat fans would be able to accept this loss more if Bron had done the same in the last 3 games

I know Bron plays with Wade and Bosh but 15 shots seems low for an elimination game IMO.

It wasn't that Lebron wasn't taking shots that annoyed heat fans it's that he wasn't attacking... Throwing up bad percentage shots wouldn't have been a better idea, attacking the basket more would have. Dirk wasn't forcing shots he shot shots he usually makes, but didn't make them was all.

[konex]

When you are being zoned up, the only attacking you can do is take the jumper they are giving you. LeBron can hit those shots

[KOLBCTEW]

For example, look at Dirk last night. Dude just kept shooting and trusting his jumper. Even if the Mavs lost, he wasn't gonna leave any room for regret even if it meant taking all the blame. .
Uh, the fact that his teammates played out of their minds and kept them in the game has more to do with that than anything else..

[knightfall88]

Been criticising this of Lebron for 3 years. He'd rather lose than have a low FG%

[JtotheIzzo]

When you are being zoned up, the only attacking you can do is take the jumper they are giving you. LeBron can hit those shots

wrong, LeBron could have cut the seams, been active on the offensive boards, gone into the high post, ran the baseline, posted up...

instead he just floated around the three point line waiting for the ball. not all the above plays break a zone, but activity does. good teams are active against zones, superstar collectif was just flat footed.

[brownmamba00]

The GOAT poster has spoken :bowdown:

[sundizz]

It is pretty amazing that neither Wade nor Bron had a dunk tonight. Just saying...they definitely have this nonsense offensive system. Watching Bron though I think it has to be him and not the coaching. This is twice now, with two completely different coaches this has happened. He can only be good when he can be ball dominant and use pick and rolls. He absolutely sucks when he is on the low block. He has no idea how to use his size to be a beast down low. Marion was beating when Wade tried to guard him with his little hooks etc. Bron had Kidd, hell even Barea D him up in the post no problem. Was a sad state of affairs.

[Nero Tulip]

Completely retarded OP, which sadly represents the opinion of many people apparently. Dirk is efficient, made the right plays (most of the time), it just wasn't falling. Jacking up bad shots a la Kobe Bryant is bad for your team.

The problem with Lebron, as others have said, is not that he wanted to be efficient but that he was passive.

[yobore]

Sorry stat-haters, Dirk is one of the most efficient superstars in the league year after year so it's not really a route you can take

[OldSchoolBBall]

wrong, LeBron could have cut the seams, been active on the offensive boards, gone into the high post, ran the baseline, posted up...

instead he just floated around the three point line waiting for the ball. not all the above plays break a zone, but activity does. good teams are active against zones, superstar collectif was just flat footed.

Problem is, Lebron has none of that in his game. Wade barely does either, but he had the balls on the team this series and at least was aggressive with the ball. If LBJ was aggressive, maybe we'd be noting Wade's shortcomings in these areas.

[creepingdeath]

Thanks for the curse, OP. :bowdown:

[catch24]

Problem is, Lebron has none of that in his game. Wade barely does either, but he had the balls on the team this series and at least was aggressive with the ball. If LBJ was aggressive, maybe we'd be noting Wade's shortcomings in these areas.

Exactly. When the hell has LeBron worked in the high post and come out looking effective? :roll:

[Bladers]

Sorry stat-haters, Dirk is one of the most efficient superstars in the league year after year so it's not really a route you can take

Dirk shot 41% for the series... :roll: :roll:

[Indian guy]

A guy like LeBron will usually make the "right" basketball play

Except LeBron wasn't doing that at all this series. He was passing up shots, not making the "right" play. Big difference between playing smart and playing passive.

LeBron has managed to be efficient at high volume his entire career, so there's really no excuse for his approach in this series. And I'm glad this is what the majority of articles are focusing on today too - his unexplained passiveness in the Finals after NEVER playing like that in his career.

LeBron's entire series is the most bizarre thing I have EVER seen from an athlete. It's one thing to have 1 weird game like he did last season, quite another to do it for an entire series. People say he was "scared", but why? It's not like the BIG stage has ever prevented from actually being aggressive offensively. And Boston and Chicago in these playoffs were easily scarier than Dallas was for much of the Finals. Had LeBron been his normal self, Miami likely would've swept them or be done in 5.

[Rasheed1]

wrong, LeBron could have cut the seams, been active on the offensive boards, gone into the high post, ran the baseline, posted up...

instead he just floated around the three point line waiting for the ball. not all the above plays break a zone, but activity does. good teams are active against zones, superstar collectif was just flat footed.


this is right....

you play proper basketball, but at some point you have to use your strength which is attacking the hoop and getting people in foul trouble for Lebron...

When the team is not keeping up the scoring pace, he needs to inject some scoring..

they move the ball his way and he kept moving it ... lol

:oldlol: Im thinking, they were getting it to YOU FOOL!

then Chalmers or Haslem winds up taking a shot they shouldnt be taking...

they f*cked up and lebron need Riles on the bench if you ask me because him and the reast of the team looked lost over a zone defense...

Wade & lebron are good enough to beat a zone defense

[97 bulls]

Except LeBron wasn't doing that at all this series. He was passing up shots, not making the "right" play. Big difference between playing passive and playing smart.

LeBron has managed to be efficient at high volume his entire career, so there's really no excuse for his approach in this series. And I'm glad this is what the majority of articles are focusing on today too - his unexplained passiveness in the Finals after NEVER playing like that in his career.

LeBron's entire approach in the Finals is the most bizarre thing I have EVER seen bfrom an athlete. It's one thing to have 1 weird game like he did last season, quite another to do it for an entire series.
Don't underestimate the toll playing defense takes on you. James had to spend alot of energy chasing terry. Its one thing to do it for a few possesions, like he did vs rose. But its an entirely different animal when your expected to play defense like that over the course of a series.

Its why wade had such a bad ecf. He spent alot of time guarding rose. Neither him or james are great two way players. They can clamp down on a guy for a few posessions, but not for a whole game much less a series. And when they do, its at the expense of their offense.

[Indian guy]

Don't underestimate the toll playing defense takes on you. James had to spend alot of energy chasing terry. Its one thing to do it for a few possesions, like he did vs rose. But its an entirely different animal when your expected to play defense like that over the course of a series.

It's not like LeBron took Terry on from the start every game. It was mostly the 4th qtr. I highly doubt he was gassed from that. He easily had to expend FAR more energy in Cleveland than here, & it never prevented him from actually getting shots up. In this series though, he was playing hot potato with the ball. It just doesn't make any sense.


Its why wade had such a bad ecf.

Whaa? Wade barely ever guarded Rose in the ECF. It was Bibby & Chalmers the first 3 qtrs, LeBron in the 4th.

[DMAVS41]

Dirk shot 41% for the series... :roll: :roll:

And went like 46 of 47 from the ft line.

And he wasn't great from a shooting standpoint in the series.

You can't use it as an excuse, but you have to at least mention the sick game and the circumstances of the series in which he's playing arguably the best defense in the league without a 2nd option.

Definitely not Dirk's best series overall, but certainly not a terribly inefficient series given the circumstances.

[catch24]

Not all efficient superstars go two 4 quarters scoring 0 points (not gonna count that lame layin in Game 5, when the game was out of reach).

[NugzHeat3]

A guy like LeBron will usually make the "right" basketball play instead of forcing anything but that's not always the winning play.

For example, look at Dirk last night. Dude just kept shooting and trusting his jumper. Even if the Mavs lost, he wasn't gonna leave any room for regret even if it meant taking all the blame. I bet Heat fans would be able to accept this loss more if Bron had done the same in the last 3 games

I know Bron plays with Wade and Bosh but 15 shots seems low for an elimination game IMO.
**** LeBron. The guy played like a queer for the entire series. I lost all respect I had for him. Get him the **** outta here. I've never seen a superstar play so passive for no particular reason in the ****ing finals. Wade was at least aggressive last night even though he had some silly turnovers plus Wade deserves 0 blame because if James had showed up for game 4 and not ****ed up down the stretch in game 2, the series would be done.

[Indian guy]

Exactly. When the hell has LeBron worked in the high post and come out looking effective? :roll:

Ummm, from the high post is where he played half the time this season.

[kaiiu]

What is Lebrick, a 46-47% career shooter?

That not impressive at all considering most of his points are lay ups

[OldSchoolBBall]

Dirk shot 41% for the series... :roll: :roll:

Kobe shot 41% for an ENTIRE POSTSEASON once. :oldlol: :oldlol:

Kobe has never shot 48.5% from the field in any postseason > 1 series like Dirk did this year (hell, Kobe has never even cracked 48% in a postseason of more than one series). Dirk shot 61% TS this postseason, while Kobe's best in a postseason of more than 1 series is 57.7% TS. Kobe has MULTIPLE series shoot as poorly or worse than Dirk shot in the Finals.

[JMT]

When you are being zoned up, the only attacking you can do is take the jumper they are giving you. LeBron can hit those shots

Nonsense.

A quality 6th grade player knows how to work against a zone.

In the first quarter last night...for the first time in the entire series...James stepped into the pocket in the zone and waited for the ball. He got it, along with an easy hoop at the rim. It was either his second or third basket of the night.

Zones are broken by activity without the ball. He got another hoop, and one for a teammate, by running the baseline early in last nights game.

Only took him 5+ games to figure out basketball 101.

Unfortunately, that's the last time he tried moving through and behind the zone.

It's not a special skill set. It's effort. And the longer and tougher the game and series got, the less effort he gave.

[97 bulls]

It's not like LeBron took Terry on from the start every game. It was mostly the 4th qtr. I highly doubt he was gassed from that. He easily had to expend FAR more energy in Cleveland than here, & it never prevented him from actually getting shots up. In this series though, he was playing hot potato with the ball. It just doesn't make any sense.



Whaa? Wade barely ever guarded Rose in the ECF. It was Bibby & Chalmers the first 3 qtrs, LeBron in the 4th.
Yeah he did. James spent alot of time on terry. Which was why terry said james couldn't stop him. And I remember wade defending rose not exclusively. Mind you. But for a decent amount of time.

[catch24]

Ummm, from the high post is where he played half the time this season.

Ummm, did I say otherwise? He was far from effective, that's the point.

[chips93]

A guy like LeBron will usually make the "right" basketball play instead of forcing anything but that's not always the winning play.

For example, look at Dirk last night. Dude just kept shooting and trusting his jumper. Even if the Mavs lost, he wasn't gonna leave any room for regret even if it meant taking all the blame. I bet Heat fans would be able to accept this loss more if Bron had done the same in the last 3 games

I know Bron plays with Wade and Bosh but 15 shots seems low for an elimination game IMO.

while i agree with your assesment of lebron's game, i dont think he represents every 'efficient' player, id be happy with cp3 running the show in crunch time. plus you're ignoring the fact that dirk is one of the most efficient players in the league

[Mr. Jabbar]

bump. konex invented the "efficiency" lebron dissing :eek:

[moe94]

bump. konex invented the "efficiency" lebron dissing :eek:
Ahead of his time.

[Mr. Jabbar]

Ahead of his time.

a visionary no doubt about it

[konex]

bump. konex invented the "efficiency" lebron dissing

LMAO it wasn't a diss. Compare Bron in 2011 to game 6 last year where he took some forced 3s at the end (and made 2 huge ones) instead of passing off the ball. He realized he would be blamed for the loss regardless of his personal efficiency so he might as well go for it.

Kobe realized that very early in his career since the media always blamed him for everything while giving Shaq a pass

[9erempiree]

Efficient superstar has always been talked about since the inception of PER.

Recently, it has evolved because Miami would still win games while despite Lebron only taking very few shots. He would put up good shooting numbers but didn't dominate.

It has evolved due to this. Lebron and his fans would brag about a meaningless game while guys like Melo, Durant or even CP3 do what they had to do and dominate for their team to win.

[9erempiree]

LMAO it wasn't a diss. Compare Bron in 2011 to game 6 last year where he took some forced 3s at the end (and made 2 huge ones) instead of passing off the ball. He realized he would be blamed for the loss regardless of his personal efficiency so he might as well go for it.

Kobe realized that very early in his career since the media always blamed him for everything while giving Shaq a pass

not a diss on your part by very accurate.

[BlackVVaves]

A guy like LeBron will usually make the "right" basketball play instead of forcing anything but that's not always the winning play.

For example, look at Dirk last night. Dude just kept shooting and trusting his jumper. Even if the Mavs lost, he wasn't gonna leave any room for regret even if it meant taking all the blame. I bet Heat fans would be able to accept this loss more if Bron had done the same in the last 3 games

I know Bron plays with Wade and Bosh but 15 shots seems low for an elimination game IMO.

There is no downside to being efficient. If Kobe shot 50% from the field during his prime, you'd be singing another tune :facepalm

It really is senseless to try and discredit LeBron in a desperate attempt to credit Kobe. You can harp on killer instinct, more rings, and all that hoopla, but you really can't deny or dismiss that LeBron is a more productive player than Kobe was in his peak.

Doesn't mean Kobe isn't great. Just means LeBron generally does a little more, while scoring less but on higher percentage shots.