3ball
10-13-2014, 10:59 AM
I think Bird, Lebron, and Jordan are all in the same class of passing - they all average about the same assists (6.5, 6.4, and 5.7 per game in playoffs, respectively... by contrast, Magic Johnson averaged 12.3 per game).
It's interesting, because Jordan and Bird were off-ball passers - they played off-ball and got their assists that way.
Lebron is more of an on-ball player and assister, and that's why people view him as such a great passer - he simply plays point guard a lot more than an off-ball player like Jordan did.
But it's interesting because when Jordan DID play point guard, he actually DID have Magic Johnson-level assist-averages (24-game stretch at PG starting on March 11, 1989 (http://www.complex.com/sports/2014/01/michael-jordan-point-guard-in-1989-posted-triple-double-10-of-11-games) through the rest of the season where he averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebs, 10.9 assists (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jordami01/gamelog/1989/#322-345-sum:pgl_basic))...
So while Jordan had Magic Johnson-level assist averages the times he played primarily on-ball, Lebron has always been an on-ball, point-guard type player but has always had more off-ball, Jordan/Bird-type assist averages.
The real question is what style is more successful?.... Clearly, Jordan and Bird's off-ball style had more success... And we know Jordan's off-ball style was more efficient by producing more points per 100 possessions (ORtg) than Lebron's on-ball style (MJ's 120 ORtg > Lebron's 116).
From a straight passing standpoint, assists achieved using an inferior style shouldn't be respected as much - anyone can go out there and employ a style designed to rack up numbers... And certainly, Lebron's 6.4 assist average in the playoffs has had less impact in generating positive results (2/5), than Jordan's 5.7 assist-average did (6/6).
.
It's interesting, because Jordan and Bird were off-ball passers - they played off-ball and got their assists that way.
Lebron is more of an on-ball player and assister, and that's why people view him as such a great passer - he simply plays point guard a lot more than an off-ball player like Jordan did.
But it's interesting because when Jordan DID play point guard, he actually DID have Magic Johnson-level assist-averages (24-game stretch at PG starting on March 11, 1989 (http://www.complex.com/sports/2014/01/michael-jordan-point-guard-in-1989-posted-triple-double-10-of-11-games) through the rest of the season where he averaged 30.4 points, 9.2 rebs, 10.9 assists (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jordami01/gamelog/1989/#322-345-sum:pgl_basic))...
So while Jordan had Magic Johnson-level assist averages the times he played primarily on-ball, Lebron has always been an on-ball, point-guard type player but has always had more off-ball, Jordan/Bird-type assist averages.
The real question is what style is more successful?.... Clearly, Jordan and Bird's off-ball style had more success... And we know Jordan's off-ball style was more efficient by producing more points per 100 possessions (ORtg) than Lebron's on-ball style (MJ's 120 ORtg > Lebron's 116).
From a straight passing standpoint, assists achieved using an inferior style shouldn't be respected as much - anyone can go out there and employ a style designed to rack up numbers... And certainly, Lebron's 6.4 assist average in the playoffs has had less impact in generating positive results (2/5), than Jordan's 5.7 assist-average did (6/6).
.