Criticism of LeBron James after 2014 NBA Finals Game 3

[Akrazotile]

As a general basketball fan, I got beef with two thing about Lebron, and I'm bout to stick it to him hard with my beef.

FIRST: Give this man the nickname LePostGhost. I do not understand wtf this dude's problem is with going in the post. Every once in a while when the entire media world is SCREAMING at him to go take advantage of a matchup in the post he'll do it, and actually have success at it, then not do it again until the next time everyone has to tell him to do it. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that physically he's like the shaquille oneal of small forwards. He has a physical advantage on EVERYBODY. He's so big for his position, and so quick. Kawhaii Leonard and Boris Diaw cannot guard him in the post. They can guard him out on the perimeter, or they can sag off him to disrupt his playmaking. And for some stupid reason, he lets them.

Every time his defender sags off of him and blocks up the paint, Bran tries to charge it into the paint anyway. And because he's so talented sometimes he'll still make the shot but he's a lot less consistent at the rim when SA is clearly making an effort to block it off from him. And it makes it harder to distribute off the drive too because he never actually passes by his own defender, drawing another from the perimeter. If they sag off you, just walk the ball down toward the basket as far as they'll let you go, then when they finally body you turn around and muscle them back down even further and make a move. And the craziest thing is.. he's actually GOOD in the post. He just refuses to do it.

This dude should be BULLYING kids in the post all game long. If a defender comes from the perimeter, kick out. If a defender comes from the interior, slip a pass to Bird for a wide open dunk. If nobody comes, BODY KIDS. I just don't understand this dude. He honestly doesn't seem to play like he wants to win at all costs. He plays like he wants to win his way and with his storyline or else he's not interested. Shit is really fukking aggravating. And that leads to my other point:

[kamil]

Mental midget.

[stalkerforlife]

As a general basketball fan, I got beef with two thing about Lebron, and I'm bout to stick it to him hard with my beef.

FIRST: Give this man the nickname LePostGhost. I do not understand wtf this dude's problem is with going in the post. Every once in a while when the entire media world is SCREAMING at him to go take advantage of a matchup in the post he'll do it, and actually have success at it, then not do it again until the next time everyone has to tell him to do it. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that physically he's like the shaquille oneal of small forwards. He has a physical advantage on EVERYBODY. He's so big for his position, and so quick. Kawhaii Leonard and Boris Diaw cannot guard him in the post. They can guard him out on the perimeter, or they can sag off him to disrupt his playmaking. And for some stupid reason, he lets them.

Every time his defender sags off of him and blocks up the paint, Bran tries to charge it into the paint anyway. And because he's so talented sometimes he'll still make the shot but he's a lot less consistent at the rim when SA is clearly making an effort to block it off from him. And it makes it harder to distribute off the drive too because he never actually passes by his own defender, drawing another from the perimeter. If they sag off you, just walk the ball down toward the basket as far as they'll let you go, then when they finally body you turn around and muscle them back down even further and make a move. And the craziest thing is.. he's actually GOOD in the post. He just refuses to do it.

This dude should be BULLYING kids in the post all game long. If a defender comes from the perimeter, kick out. If a defender comes from the interior, slip a pass to Bird for a wide open dunk. If nobody comes, BODY KIDS. I just don't understand this dude. He honestly doesn't seem to play like he wants to win at all costs. He plays like he wants to win his way and with his storyline or else he's not interested. Shit is really fukking aggravating. And that leads to my other point:

:facepalm

[tanner892]

No he isn't good in the post at all, he is like u say a physical specimen, but he has poor footwork and no moves in the post at all which explains why he doesn't like going there. Every move down there looks forced and awkward.

[Soundwave]

He had a bad night, despite the high shooting percentage. It happens.

I agree though he needs to learn to demand the ball in the post. Probably will have to play that way more as he gets older.

[Akrazotile]

For someone who 'wants to be the best' and 'wants to be an icon' this dude's intensity sure seems to disappear for long stretches. I mean you don't have to put on a contrived scowling display, but when things aren't going smoothly for the Heat this dude is really quick to sulk. Hey, sulk after a loss all you want. Sulk in a timeout or at halftime. I understand you gotta get frustrations off your chest. But it's so bizarre to be on the biggest stage in an nba playoffs and to just kind of lack interest. And I don't even just mean as a star, I can't imagine playing games of this significance in ANY role without competing my damn ass off. How do you not get locked in on this shit?

That 45 point game in game 2 is nice, but Bran is a talented guy and obviously he's going to have great games. I'm not saying he's been a scrub by any means, but he doesn't seem to have a constant fire when he's on the court, and for someone who has the capability of being so dominant that's just weird. The dude needs to step his leadership up, and not in terms of his quotes in the pregame huddle when he's mic'd up, but actually looking engaged and focused and willing to do whatever has to be done for the entire game.


The end.

[moe94]

:facepalm
:roll:

[Marchesk]

He's Magic with the body of a power forward. Would rather be the play maker than have to fight for position and get fed the ball all game.

[stalkerforlife]

He's not alpha.

His stats are highly overrated.

His skill level is severely lacking.

Top 10? No. Top 20? MAYBE.

[Swaggin916]

I'll take his brother Raisin 9.8 times out of 10

[Akrazotile]

No he isn't good in the post at all, he is like u say a physical specimen, but he has poor footwork and no moves in the post at all which explains why he doesn't like going there. Every move down there looks forced and awkward.


It doesn't matter what it looks like, the fact is he is STATISTICALLY very good in the post when he actually does go down there. But frankly he is LeBitch about it. I remember in the last series Windhorst talked about how Lebron was assigned to guard David West and he was pouting because he doesn't like guarding power forwards.


I swear man, honestly. THis dude is starting to make me go :facepalm He's the biggest athletic beast and best player out there all the time but if he doesn't get to play the game he wants to play, he turns into a pouting scrub. PLAY LIKE A ****ING MAN BRAN.

[stalkerforlife]

For someone who 'wants to be the best' and 'wants to be an icon' this dude's intensity sure seems to disappear for long stretches. I mean you don't have to put on a contrived scowling display, but when things aren't going smoothly for the Heat this dude is really quick to sulk. Hey, sulk after a loss all you want. Sulk in a timeout or at halftime. I understand you gotta get frustrations off your chest. But it's so bizarre to be on the biggest stage in an nba playoffs and to just kind of lack interest. And I don't even just mean as a star, I can't imagine playing games of this significance in ANY role without competing my damn ass off. How do you not get locked in on this shit?

That 45 point game in game 2 is nice, but Bran is a talented guy and obviously he's going to have great games. I'm not saying he's been a scrub by any means, but he doesn't seem to have a constant fire when he's on the court, and for someone who has the capability of being so dominant that's just weird. The dude needs to step his leadership up, and not in terms of his quotes in the pregame huddle when he's mic'd up, but actually looking engaged and focused and willing to do whatever has to be done for the entire game.


The end.

What game was that?

[Mr. Jabbar]

I'll take his brother Raisin 9.8 times out of 10

http://i.imgur.com/lUMjOKC.jpg

[Akrazotile]

He's Magic with the body of a power forward. Would rather be the play maker than have to fight for position and get fed the ball all game.


And that's completely fine if that's what he would RATHER do, and if he starts each game by going that route. But when he needs to adjust in order to help his team win, and he's perfectly CAPABLE of doing it, but he won't because he... 'doesn't like to'..... smh. Lebitchmade.

[stalkerforlife]

It doesn't matter what it looks like, the fact is he is STATISTICALLY very good in the post when he actually does go down there. But frankly he is LeBitch about it. I remember in the last series Windhorst talked about how Lebron was assigned to guard David West and he was pouting because he doesn't like guarding power forwards.


I swear man, honestly. THis dude is starting to make me go :facepalm He's the biggest athletic beast and best player out there all the time but if he doesn't get to play the game he wants to play, he turns into a pouting scrub. PLAY LIKE A ****ING MAN BRAN.

You still don't get it, do you? The stats are heavily skewed with this guy because he protects his percentages and waits until perfect scenarios arise to make himself look better.

[nosfan773]

http://tuesdayswithhorry.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/lebronkawhi.gif

[Brokenbeat]

It doesn't matter what it looks like, the fact is he is STATISTICALLY very good in the post when he actually does go down there. But frankly he is LeBitch about it. I remember in the last series Windhorst talked about how Lebron was assigned to guard David West and he was pouting because he doesn't like guarding power forwards.


I swear man, honestly. THis dude is starting to make me go :facepalm He's the biggest athletic beast and best player out there all the time but if he doesn't get to play the game he wants to play, he turns into a pouting scrub. PLAY LIKE A ****ING MAN BRAN.

That's always been my problem with him. I've always said he's better than Kobe (Lakeshow fan here), but imagine LeBron with a bit of that MJ/Kobe 'don't give a ****' killer mentality. He'd be goat, and I have no problem saying that. As good as he is, he's still not playing up to his full potential (and he probably never will).

[poido123]

http://i.imgur.com/lUMjOKC.jpg


:roll: :roll:


Oh my, never disappoint :oldlol:

[Akrazotile]

What game was that?

Typo, meant 35.


I was so damn focused on pounding Lebron in this thread that my fingers were working over time and a lil typo squirted out by accident. Forgive meh.

[tanner892]

It doesn't matter what it looks like, the fact is he is STATISTICALLY very good in the post when he actually does go down there. But frankly he is LeBitch about it. I remember in the last series Windhorst talked about how Lebron was assigned to guard David West and he was pouting because he doesn't like guarding power forwards.


I swear man, honestly. THis dude is starting to make me go :facepalm He's the biggest athletic beast and best player out there all the time but if he doesn't get to play the game he wants to play, he turns into a pouting scrub. PLAY LIKE A ****ING MAN BRAN.

OK well where are these stats? Look if he gets a missmatch against someone like Tony Parker fine, but I don't see Lebron being a consistent lowpost scorer against someone like Leonard.

You called him the Shaq of SFs, I agree, but Shaq had Fanastic footwork and go to moves in the post, same with Kareem, Hakeem, Michael and Kobe these guys have the finesse and balance to be crafty low post players, Lebron doesn't have that, he is a power player, not a crafty smooth well balanced offensive player.

[riseagainst]

"i am not a bran hate". We know you are not, you are a lebron d1ckrider, now losing faith in your master.

:oldlol:

[Swaggin916]

http://i.imgur.com/lUMjOKC.jpg

2 scoops!

[tpols]

It doesn't matter what it looks like, the fact is he is STATISTICALLY very good in the post when he actually does go down there. But frankly he is LeBitch about it. I remember in the last series Windhorst talked about how Lebron was assigned to guard David West and he was pouting because he doesn't like guarding power forwards.


I swear man, honestly. THis dude is starting to make me go :facepalm He's the biggest athletic beast and best player out there all the time but if he doesn't get to play the game he wants to play, he turns into a pouting scrub. PLAY LIKE A ****ING MAN BRAN.

Statistically, bran had one of the worst post showings ever last years finals.. forget the stats but they were bad. He has trouble against SAS defense

[tpols]

OK well where are these stats? Look if he gets a missmatch against someone like Tony Parker fine, but I don't see Lebron being a consistent lowpost scorer against someone like Leonard.

You called him the Shaq of SFs, I agree, but Shaq had Fanastic footwork and go to moves in the post, same with Kareem, Hakeem, Michael and Kobe these guys have the finesse and balance to be crafty low post players, Lebron doesn't have that, he is a power player, not a crafty smooth well balanced offensive player.
bran has the footwork and seals very good imo but what he lacks is touch. He has no jumphook, and can only bank a layup or fade away on a jumper.. he cant just finesse push shot it in like wade or parker.

[Akrazotile]

That's always been my problem with him. I've always said he's better than Kobe (Lakeshow fan here), but imagine LeBron with a bit of that MJ/Kobe 'don't give a ****' killer mentality. He'd be goat, and I have no problem saying that. As good as he is, he's still not playing up to his full potential (and he probably never will).


Agreed. And the thing is, I typically am very much against perimeter players going iso for long twos and taking 'hero shots' but the difference with Bran is that he could actually back dudes down and get high percentage baskets near the rim or create easy looks for other guys that way. And yet he still tries to drive against a collapsed defense and force up an awkward fallaway.

I mean if a guy with THIS body could be money in the post:
http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2007/1214/nba_a_lbird_400.jpg


What the **** excuse does this guy have?

http://www.nba.com/heat/sites/heat/files/imagecache/slider_image/content/images-topstory/2014/01/670_lbjpomdec_140103.png

[Marchesk]

I was so damn focused on pounding Lebron in this thread that my fingers were working over time and a lil typo squirted out by accident. Forgive meh.

Dude, you're working it a little too hard.

I mean the metaphor. :coleman:

[Soundwave]

http://tuesdayswithhorry.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/lebronkawhi.gif

OK I gotta admit that's pretty funny :oldlol: :oldlol:

[Real14]

http://i.imgur.com/lUMjOKC.jpg
:pimp: :roll:

[riseagainst]

http://tuesdayswithhorry.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/lebronkawhi.gif

he's shook.

:lol

[Real14]

about time your salty ass seen tha light. Lebron was always a bitch ever since high skool with his bad version of a kobe fro.:lol

[Akrazotile]

Statistically, bran had one of the worst post showings ever last years finals.. forget the stats but they were bad. He has trouble against SAS defense


I don't remember him even going in the post last year against SAS but i'll take your word for it. Statistically in general however he's a more effective player and has better offensive games when he does some work in the post. He converts in the post at a good percentage against opponents in general. Again, it doesn't matter how awkward it looks. And maybe if he goes down there and tries to do it consistently the Spurs will shut him down and he can move on to the next plan. But he's not even TRYING to play physical when he has a 25 pound advantage on Leonard. He just won't go down there and bang, even when he has the advantage. It's stupid.

[BigMacAttack]

http://tuesdayswithhorry.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/lebronkawhi.gif

No such thing as halfway crooks.

[tpols]

I don't remember him even going in the post last year against SAS but i'll take your word for it. Statistically in general however he's a more effective player and has better offensive games when he does some work in the post. He converts in the post at a good percentage against opponents in general. Again, it doesn't matter how awkward it looks. And maybe if he goes down there and tries to do it consistently the Spurs will shut him down and he can move on to the next plan. But he's not even TRYING to play physical when he has a 25 pound advantage on Leonard. He just won't go down there and bang, even when he has the advantage. It's stupid.

You gotta give a bit of credit to SA's help defense doe.. they rotate perfectly and force it out of his hands a lot.

[gts]

Lebron likes options, he wants to have outlets when he ventures into the paint... Spurs did an excellent job of taking away those options which forces Lebron to either shoot the ball or get out of the paint.. He chose to stay out of the paint

[Brokenbeat]

No such thing as halfway crooks.

Kawhi is a basketball prodigy that wreaks havoc on the defensive end.

[poido123]

Reading the thread title again, I'm a little concerned OP ventured to the darkside :(

[ace23]

"I'm bout to go in hard on his ass"

[Akrazotile]

Lebron likes options, he wants to have outlets when he ventures into the paint... Spurs did an excellent job of taking away those options which forces Lebron to either shoot the ball or get out of the paint.. He chose to stay out of the paint


Well what I saw was Leonard alternately getting up in his face out at the arc, or sagging off him and blocking the lane. In both cases Lebron would either simply give the ball up, or try to force a blow-by with middling success.

I didn't see him once stick his butt into Leonards groin and back in slowly and methodically. I mean how can anyone say it wouldn't have worked when he didn't even try. We saw him do it vs. OKC in the finals two years ago. We saw him do it vs. the Pacers last year. In both instances he had success. He did it on and off in the regular season this year and was statistically effective at it.

I'm not saying the Spurs are going to make it EASY, I'm saying he's not even bothering to utilize it. To me it doesn't look like the Spurs have done anything in particular to keep him out of the post so much as he just has simply been too soft to even bother.

[played0ut]

"I'm bout to go in hard on his ass"



I didn't see him once stick his butt into Leonards groin and back in slowly and methodically.

:roll: :roll: :roll:


That's always been my problem with him. I've always said he's better than Kobe (Lakeshow fan here), but imagine LeBron with a bit of that MJ/Kobe 'don't give a ****' killer mentality. He'd be goat, and I have no problem saying that. As good as he is, he's still not playing up to his full potential (and he probably never will).

but yeah. I agree. He has gotten better since the earlier years, though.

[moe94]

Kawhi is a basketball prodigy that wreaks havoc on the defensive end.
:hammertime::pimp: :banana:

[Brokenbeat]

:hammertime::pimp: :banana:

:D :cheers:

[Akrazotile]

Bottom line is brandon needs to step it up.

[Dragonyeuw]

Its amazing the extreme opinions on Lebron's post game on this forum, ranging from hes the best post player in the L( usually from a Lebron stan) to he's awkward down there. Lebron is at his best when he's on the move, catches the rebound and ignites a fast break leading to a score for himself or others. He's had to force himself to play more down low in response to previous criticism about his lack of post play, but my honest impression is that its a last resort for him. Pretty much anything that results in the game slowing down is going to yield mixed results from time to time. If its a fast paced, up and down affair, there are few if any better in the history of the league.

To me, MJ and Kobe's skillsets were more suited to attacking how the Spurs play. You need someone whos always in 'dont give a fcuk' scoring mode with an elite midrange game, and less of someone who goes from one game to the next teetering between being an aggressive scorer and a playmaker for everyone else. You always need to be in attack mode with San Antonio, and Lebron has that ability, just not sure of the mentality except when his back is against the wall. Lets see now he responds in game 4.

[J Shuttlesworth]

He needs to be more agressive getting into the paint down the stretch. I mean they had it within 7 in the 3rd quarter. Spurs played a hell of a game and Leonard did a great job defending him though

[GimmeThat]

I can't believe Lebron misses baskets

[JebronLames]

I can't believe Lebron misses baskets
:roll: :bowdown:

[Indian guy]

He looked completely gassed to me by the end of the 2nd qtr itself, and was basically in passive mode from that point on. Spurs also did a good job crowding him on his drives in this game as opposed to the first 2. This is where LeBron MUST have a scorer's mindset and just continue shooting - as in jumpers. It's always been the biggest flaw in his game. Anyway, he has always been a better player when down, so I expect a BIG game from him on Thursday. Problems for Miami are on the other end of the floor. Not only have they regressed significantly defensively compared to 11-14(mostly age related), but Spurs are also the best offensive team they've faced to date, whose strengths are basically made to exploit Miami's defensive weaknesses. I can't see them winning this series.

[Dragonyeuw]

The eastern conference is inadequate to prepare you for a series with the Spurs. They're several tiers above in terms of their offensive execution, I mean between the end of game 1 and the first half of game 3 thats just flawless offense. The Heat are gonna need 3 more game 2 performances from Lebron to have a chance in this series, and I personally dont see it happening. Even if he does, the depth of the Spurs is amazing. So many weapons that can be unleashed on any given night....

[masonanddixon]

No he isn't good in the post at all, he is like u say a physical specimen, but he has poor footwork and no moves in the post at all which explains why he doesn't like going there. Every move down there looks forced and awkward.

Thats exactly it. I think because he's always been bigger, stronger, and more athletic than everyone growing up he never really felt it necessary to develop any skilled moves. His moves are pretty rudimentary and his footwork sucks. But his physical advantage is so large that it's never really mattered.

[Soundwave]

For someone who 'wants to be the best' and 'wants to be an icon' this dude's intensity sure seems to disappear for long stretches. I mean you don't have to put on a contrived scowling display, but when things aren't going smoothly for the Heat this dude is really quick to sulk. Hey, sulk after a loss all you want. Sulk in a timeout or at halftime. I understand you gotta get frustrations off your chest. But it's so bizarre to be on the biggest stage in an nba playoffs and to just kind of lack interest. And I don't even just mean as a star, I can't imagine playing games of this significance in ANY role without competing my damn ass off. How do you not get locked in on this shit?

That 45 point game in game 2 is nice, but Bran is a talented guy and obviously he's going to have great games. I'm not saying he's been a scrub by any means, but he doesn't seem to have a constant fire when he's on the court, and for someone who has the capability of being so dominant that's just weird. The dude needs to step his leadership up, and not in terms of his quotes in the pregame huddle when he's mic'd up, but actually looking engaged and focused and willing to do whatever has to be done for the entire game.


The end.

Not every great player has that. Mental toughness can vary. I kinda think you either have this from a young age or you don't, it can't be taught or coached.

To me that's what makes Jordan great, it's not all the fancy stats or whatever, it's just his mental mastery of the game was at a ridiculous level, even if he was playing like crap, his mindset was constantly like he was testing the opposition for whatever weakness they would give him and when he spotted it, he would just burn them for it again and again.

Behind the flashier aspects of his game was this cold, ruthless attitude, MJ didn't give a sh*t if he beat you scoring 30 on dunks or boring ass post-up Js, as long as he won.

[Hey Yo]

http://tuesdayswithhorry.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/lebronkawhi.gif
That was from game 5 of last years Finals.

[Ne 1]

That's always been my problem with him. I've always said he's better than Kobe (Lakeshow fan here), but imagine LeBron with a bit of that MJ/Kobe 'don't give a ****' killer mentality. He'd be goat, and I have no problem saying that. As good as he is, he's still not playing up to his full potential (and he probably never will).
Very true. LeBron just needs to forgot about his efficiency, because what good is high efficiency if you loss? LeBron just needs to take the best shots possible while trying to win the game and not pass up make-able looks at the rim. Play the game the right, natural way. He's at his best when he plays in " f*ck it I want to win" mode, and does things naturally without being too self aware WHILE IN GAME. The problem is his mentality. He rarely plays like this, but when he does we see a performance like that Game 6 vs Boston.

[DCL]

second half of game 3 was like... lebron going to gang fight with his crew and then hiding behind the dumpster.