Lebron's Finals record with a Big 3 is about to go below .500 [Archive] - Message Board Basketball Forum

3ball

04-15-2016, 04:37 AM

Lebron had no chance in 2015 Finals

Lebron should've won the 2015 Finals but he let a 7 ppg role player (Iggy) be > Curry.

Obviously, if Lebron holds Iggy to 7 ppg instead of 17 ppg, AND shoots better than 39% against the Warriors' single-coverage, the Cavs win easily.

It's amazing - even WITH Lebron's defense allowing Iggy to get 17 ppg (instead of 7 ppg), and even WITH Lebron shooting an abysmal 39%, the Cavs were still competitive and won 2 games - if he holds Iggy to 7 ppg and shoots 50%, the Cavs win easily.

MJ couldn't have won in 2015 Finals with that injured Cavs team

MJ won the championship in 1998 with teammates that produced less in Finals:

Mosgov's 14/8 on 55% > Pippen's 15 ppg on 41%

JR Smith's 12 ppg on 32% < Kukoc's 15 ppg on 50%

Tristan's 10/13 > Rodman's 4/8 (Rodman was so horrible he wasn't even a starter)

Delly/Shumpert's 7-8 ppg on 27% = Kerr/Harper's 4-5 ppg on 35%

MJ won with less in 1998, so we know he would've won with Lebron's cast in 2015.

And specifically HOW/WHY would MJ win??.... Because his defense would never let a 7 ppg role player be > Karl Malone, or shoot 39% against repeated single coverage.

It's amazing - even WITH Lebron's defense allowing Iggy to get 17 ppg (instead of 7 ppg), and even WITH Lebron shooting an abysmal 39%, the Cavs were still competitive and won 2 games - if he holds Iggy to 7 ppg and shoots 50%, the Cavs win easily.

Lebron had no chance in 2014 Finals

Horseshit - Lebron's defense was very good the first 2 games against Kawhi (9 ppg on 43%), and not surprisingly, the Heat were tied 1-1... They were competitive with the Spurs, just like OKC and Dallas were, who held Kawhi to 12 ppg on 45%.

But then Lebron gave up in Game 3, because he's weak with no perseverance - Kawhi proceeded to run roughshod the last 3 games for 24 ppg on 69% - this is the biggest reason the series changed - that's a 15 point swing.

Better defense on Kawhi would've kept the games closer, and the Heat could've WON the series if Lebron coupled his better defense on Kawhi with more offensive aggression - he only averaged 17 shot attempts, which was HALF his attempts in 2015 Finals that won 2 games with a worse supporting cast (the injured Cavs) against a better team (Warriors)..

Obviously, if Lebron plays good defense on Kawhi AND doubles his shot attempts to 33 per game like the 2015 Finals, the Heat would've won.

Not much Lebron could've done in 2007 Finals

Many guys played better against the same Spurs team:

Lebron vs. Spurs in 2007 Finals: 22 ppg on 35%

Melo vs. Spurs in 2007 1st Rd: 27 ppg on 48%

Dirk vs. Spurs in 2007.. WCF: 27 ppg on 53%

Bonzi vs. Spurs in 2006 1st Rd: 23/12 on 61%

Kobe vs. Spurs in 2008.. WCF: 29 ppg on 53%

The reason for Lebron's worse efficiency was JUMPSHOOTING EFFICIENCY:

....................... midrange jumpshot FG%..... 3-point jumpshot FG%..... Jumpshot proportion of offense

Lebron 2007 Finals (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/2544/stats/shooting/?Season=2006-07&SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=4) .............14.8........................... 20.0............................... 52.2
Bonzi 2006 1st Rd (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/1719/stats/shooting/?Season=2005-06&SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1) ..............50.0........................... 62.5............................... 32.2
Dirk 2006 WCF (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/1717/stats/shooting/?Season=2005-06&SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=3) ..................41.3........................... 50.0 .............................. 61.2
Melo 2007 1st Rd (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/2546/stats/shooting/?Season=2006-07&SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=1) ...............37.5........................... 50.0 .............................. 59.1
Kobe 2008 WCF (http://stats.nba.com/player/#!/977/stats/shooting/?Season=2007-08&SeasonType=Playoffs&PORound=3) .................50.0........................... 33.3............................... 63.3

Everyone shot well on jumpers against the Spurs, EXCEPT Lebron - the so the Spurs jumpshooting defense clearly wasn't prohibitive - Lebron just can't shoot.

Even 9 years later in 2016, his efficiency is among the worst in NBA outside the paint... Lebron simply CAN'T SHOOT.. When a player can't shoot, there are tons of guys that can play better than him.

Lebron had no chance in 2007 Finals

Not true - despite Lebron's 22 ppg on 35%, all 4 games were single-digit affairs, including 1-possession nail-biters in Games 3 and 4.. (edit: Game 1 was 11 pt game)

The Cavs had a great defense, but just needed a consistent volume scorer to win.

Lebron's teammates play poorly when he isn't on the floor

Efficiency WITH Lebron James on the floor in 2015 Finals:

JR Smith
Delly
J. Jones
Shumpert

Total 56/171 (32.7%)

As you can see, those guys shot horribly WITH Lebron on the floor, which is pretty standard - it's become typical for Lebron's teammates to underperform alongside him in the Finals, for obvious reasons:

It's statistical fact (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=11709473&postcount=1) that Lebron reduces his teammates' APG and increases their assisted rate, thus turning them from playmakers to play-finishers.. Not surprisingly, their simple play-finishing roles no longer find success against the best playoff teams.. :confusedshrug:

With teammates playing under capacity, the TEAM plays under capacity and eventually loses to an opponent they had the capacity to beat (i.e. losing as the favorite in 2009 ECF, 2010 ECSF, and 2011 Finals, or losing when it was 50/50 - 2014 Finals) (http://www.nj.com/knicks/index.ssf/2014/06/nba_finals_2014_experts_predict_whether_the_heat_o r_spurs_will_come_out_on_top_in_the_finals_rematch .html).

Ultimately, Lebron's reduction of teammates into play-finishers prevents the kind of equal-opportunity offenses that the Mavs, Spurs, Warriors, and 90's Bulls used (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIY_4vIxGEE&t=23m40s), where all 5 guys share the playmaking duties - since Lebron prevents the best brand of basketball, his teams are susceptible to equal or less-talented opponents pulling upsets by playing a better brand of basketball (2009, 2011, 2014).

That's the difference between 2/6 underachievement and 6/6 perfection: MJ's off-ball style got the most out of his teammates (elevates teammates), so the team plays to capacity and never loses as the favorite, while Lebron's ball-dominance turns teammates into play-finishers, leading to team underperformance and losing as the favorite.

Now the question is WHY SPECIFICALLY does Lebron turn teammates into play-finishers?.. The reason is twofold (http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12056301&postcount=60).
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