2013 detail analysis of LeBron: Greatest Peaks

[Micku]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cYV...ature=emb_logo

Always love this video series of the greatest peaks.

I personally always thought that LeBron James in 2013 was the best version of himself. At least in the regular season. His mid range game, 3pt shooting, off the ball, defense, and intelligence was all in perfect balance here. And you still get the great play making.

But he wasn't the best at everything tho. Despite his improvement of his outside scoring and off the ball movement, it was never his strongest feats. There are times, as the video pointed out, whenever Wade would have the ball and drive and kick out, LeBron still didn't catch and shoot while he was open to space the floor. And while on the ball, teams would sag off of him and let him shoot the jumper, like they still do now. In the 2013 playoffs, that made some series harder than it should've been. And LeBron would mostly picked his spots more when he felt confident enough to shoot it, than shooting it when the defense gave him. He made it up with his IQ and his sheer power when driving and cutting.

09 was the best athletic LeBron, but not the most skillful.
16-18 was probably the best offensive version of LeBron, but not the best defense.
12 and 13 LeBron, imo, is the balance of both worlds.

[RRR3]

LeBron’s defense was still killer in 2016, but agree after that less so, especially 2018 lol. It’s been pretty good last two years though.

[8Ball]

2012 was the highest NBA peak ever.

I watched every game and he didn't have more than 2 bad games an entire season.

The 2012 playoff run with injured Bosh was also legendary 2018 levels.

Game 4 Indiana, game 6 Boston.

[Indian guy]

It's a good breakdown of his game, even if neither 2012 nor 2013 is his peak. If we are going for LeBron's best 2 year stretches, I would've preferred 09/10, 17/18 and maybe even 13/14. All of those versions are notably superior offensively and it offsets whatever defensive gap that exists IMO. Oh well. Based on all the players he (Ben Taylor) has covered so far, LeBron's had the least amount of shortcomings/negativity, I think. I think he'll be the winner of #1 peak in NBA history.

[dankok8]

It's a good breakdown of his game, even if neither 2012 nor 2013 is his peak. If we are going for LeBron's best 2 year stretches, I would've preferred 09/10, 17/18 and maybe even 13/14. All of those versions are notably superior offensively and it offsets whatever defensive gap that exists IMO. Oh well. Based on all the players he (Ben Taylor) has covered so far, LeBron's had the least amount of shortcomings/negativity, I think. I think he'll be the winner of #1 peak in NBA history.

He focused more on negative aspects of Jordan to bring him down to Earth because some fans consider him a god in all aspects of the game. Ben just wanted to point out that he also had some weaknesses. He mainly talked about gambling so steals. That was really the only weakness for the years he chose which is 1989-1991. With Lebron people already know his weaknesses so he didn't have to spend as much time on them.

I think MJ will be #1 and Lebron #2 when/if he ultimately ranks them although he said rankings don't matter to him. It's really hard to compare big men and perimeter guys though. My gut tells me that someone like prime Kareem was more impactful than even Jordan because the defensive impact of bigs is just too much for perimeter guys to match.

[Micku]

It's a good breakdown of his game, even if neither 2012 nor 2013 is his peak. If we are going for LeBron's best 2 year stretches, I would've preferred 09/10, 17/18 and maybe even 13/14. All of those versions are notably superior offensively and it offsets whatever defensive gap that exists IMO. Oh well. Based on all the players he (Ben Taylor) has covered so far, LeBron's had the least amount of shortcomings/negativity, I think. I think he'll be the winner of #1 peak in NBA history.

You don't think 13 is his peak? I suppose it shows the greatness of LeBron for having so many great years at different times and you could definitely argue for either years.

But I think his other years had more flaws in his game. While 17/18, his defense was lacking, but his IQ was more off the charts. 09/10, he was more raw but lack of a post game and his outside shot was off.

13, I feel like he had the least amount of flaws in his game. If can recall, if you go the synergy stats, he was among the best at post up efficient and catch and shoot and such. It's a little deceiving tho, because tho this was LBJ best year with shooting, he wasn't really a shooter. But imo, his jumper was smoother and he was more confident in making them. If I can recall, Spo helped Wade on his jumpshot and then he shot near Kobe lvls in 09, so he may helped LeBron. The playoffs it fall, but the RS it was amazing. I swear of all the years, he played, I think in the Miami years he played more off the ball than any other stretch. But that's just feeling. I don't know for a fact. But interesting enough, Lebron ball was more efficient with the Heat's offense than him playing off the ball. I thought within the stretch when they won 27 in a row, they played their best basketball. So, even him playing off the ball, it was among the best in the league.

He didn't go over their defensive line up, but I'm glad he mentioned that he was rim protector. And the fighting over screen and his mobility to through it was lacking when the opponent was quick. However the Heat's defensive schemes often cover due to their small ball line up. Bosh was incredible at hedging. And Battier was nice too. LeBron was quick enough to keep up with guards and he could switch out many players. Mostly 1-4. And if they played small ball, 1-5.

One thing I am disappointed by the video is the lack of the playoff mention here. I suppose it doesn't matter too much as a overall season? But one thing to highlight is the shot selection in the playoffs. Imo, it really slows the flaw of LeBron's scoring versatility. As mentioned in the interview, when they clog the paint, and give LeBron the shot, he wouldn't take it. Which was unlike the regular season, which imo, helped made the Heat so dominant and I thought what really separated himself from 1st run with the Cav years. You can see his shooting go down. From 10-16ft it dropped from 41.5% to 31.1%. His 16ft-3p didn't drop nearly as much. He was a bit more hesitant to shoot it as well. which made some series harder than it should've been. I suppose it's nitpicking at my end. Some other years he had was he didn't even take it, and knew his spots and took it there. He did say he was mediocre shooter, so I guess that's covering it a bit. But imo, it was only the playoffs when it became streaky than the RS where it seemed he had no weakness on the floor or he picked his spots better.

As you said, of all the videos, I think LeBron came with the least amount of flaws. It's looking the best. If he does rank'em, I feel like it's definitely a contender. Although statistically, it probably isn't the best. His 2009 season probably would've bumped up the stats. Although I would disagree with it personally in terms of least amount of flaws out of any player, it does show how awesome LeBron is.

[Micku]

He focused more on negative aspects of Jordan to bring him down to Earth because some fans consider him a god in all aspects of the game. Ben just wanted to point out that he also had some weaknesses. He mainly talked about gambling so steals. That was really the only weakness for the years he chose which is 1989-1991. With Lebron people already know his weaknesses so he didn't have to spend as much time on them.

I think MJ will be #1 and Lebron #2 when/if he ultimately ranks them although he said rankings don't matter to him. It's really hard to compare big men and perimeter guys though. My gut tells me that someone like prime Kareem was more impactful than even Jordan because the defensive impact of bigs is just too much for perimeter guys to match.

Haha! And that right there is more of a exaggeration I feel. He was the best at playing the passing lane and one of the best off the help for a trap. At least of the players I ever seen, and the games that I watched. It was somewhat similar to Larry Bird roaming around, but MJ had more reflexes to his game since he was quicker. He was also quick to get back if he missed. He did gamble tho. But he was so good at it, teams avoided to run plays with whatever side MJ was on the floor. Not to mention his on ball D.

Granted, he probably watched more games than I.

Even he said it was positive more than a negative it seems, but it's hard to quantify the impact of MJ defense.

[dankok8]

Haha! And that right there is more of a exaggeration I feel. He was the best at playing the passing lane and one of the best off the help for a trap. At least of the players I ever seen, and the games that I watched. It was somewhat similar to Larry Bird roaming around, but MJ had more reflexes to his game since he was quicker. He was also quick to get back if he missed. He did gamble tho. But he was so good at it, teams avoided to run plays with whatever side MJ was on the floor. Not to mention his on ball D.

Granted, he probably watched more games than I.

Even he said it was positive more than a negative it seems, but it's hard to quantify the impact of MJ defense.

Oh I agree but I think Ben presented it that way to drive his point across. If he said "MJ sometimes gambled a little bit..." people would accuse him of nitpicking. To sell it he had to exaggerate a bit.

It's generally very hard to quantify defense. There are some stretches like the 4th quarter of Game 1 of the 1991 Finals which I watched recently where MJ gambled on Magic 2 or 3 times and got burned. But there are also instances in Game 3 and 4 where he forced countless turnovers from Magic and others by roaming and ambushing guys. Sometimes players would be spooked simply looking for MJ. I still think his gambling style of defense given his quick hands and how good he was getting steals and of course his speed on the break once he got the possession were a huge positive overall. A lot of his defensive plays were 4-point swings. The average players he did it on weren't as good as Magic and secondly there is a selection bias. People always bring up Game 1 4th quarter where Magic burned him and how Pippen defended Magic well in Game 2 but Jordan spent most of the rest of the series on Magic and did really really well defending him.

[eliteballer]

With or without steroids?

[Indian guy]

He focused more on negative aspects of Jordan to bring him down to Earth because some fans consider him a god in all aspects of the game. Ben just wanted to point out that he also had some weaknesses. He mainly talked about gambling so steals. That was really the only weakness for the years he chose which is 1989-1991. With Lebron people already know his weaknesses so he didn't have to spend as much time on them.

He genuinely sounded unimpressed with MJ's defense. Concluded him to be a + defender but definitely no all-time great. Whereas with LeBron he considers him historically great on both ends. Ben also did a top 40 project not too long ago and actually ranked LeBron 1 spot higher than MJ. I'm fairly certain he's gonna have LeBron at the top of this project too.

But like someone said, it doesn't matter what the rankings are. It's just fun to watch some of the greats' game broken down to this degree. I disagree with plenty of what Ben has to say, but applaud the ridiculous amount of work he has put into it.

[Micku]

He genuinely sounded unimpressed with MJ's defense. Concluded him to be a + defender but definitely no all-time great. Whereas with LeBron he considers him historically great on both ends. Ben also did a top 40 project not too long ago and actually ranked LeBron 1 spot higher than MJ. I'm fairly certain he's gonna have LeBron at the top of this project too.

But like someone said, it doesn't matter what the rankings are. It's just fun to watch some of the greats' game broken down to this degree. I disagree with plenty of what Ben has to say, but applaud the ridiculous amount of work he has put into it.

Same.

I disagree on his assessment of MJ's defense, but love the thought and work he puts into his vids. The rankings itself, as mentioned, don't matter as much as the break down. We don't have a vid series with this presentation of a break down of with every star.

[dankok8]

He genuinely sounded unimpressed with MJ's defense. Concluded him to be a + defender but definitely no all-time great. Whereas with LeBron he considers him historically great on both ends. Ben also did a top 40 project not too long ago and actually ranked LeBron 1 spot higher than MJ. I'm fairly certain he's gonna have LeBron at the top of this project too.

But like someone said, it doesn't matter what the rankings are. It's just fun to watch some of the greats' game broken down to this degree. I disagree with plenty of what Ben has to say, but applaud the ridiculous amount of work he has put into it.

That was his top 40 career project. He actually values MJ's peak seasons higher than Lebron's based on the CORP measure that he came up with but he ranked Lebron higher overall due to longevity.

[ArbitraryWater]

Obviously not his peak but the "best balance" analogy will always appeal to simpletons.

His offensive game and scoring wasnt nearly as effective, fleshed out and polished as it was at its extreme mastered best in 2017 and 2018 when he could win a series against the GOAT team ever by himself (bar refs intervening).

[SouBeachTalents]

Obviously not his peak but the "best balance" analogy will always appeal to simpletons.

His offensive game and scoring wasnt nearly as effective, fleshed out and polished as it was at its extreme mastered best in 2017 and 2018 when he could win a series against the GOAT team ever by himself (bar refs intervening).

Yeah, I'm calling bullshit on 2013 being his peak too. If Allen misses that 3 no one would EVER consider 2013 to be even close to his peak year, he would've been crucified for his mediocre Finals performance. '09, '12, '17 & '18 are all at minimum better versions of LeBron, even if his defense wasn't as good in some of those years he played significantly better offensively in the playoffs, the offensive gap is simply too substantial to overlook

[Indian guy]

You don't think 13 is his peak? I suppose it shows the greatness of LeBron for having so many great years at different times and you could definitely argue for either years.

But I think his other years had more flaws in his game. While 17/18, his defense was lacking, but his IQ was more off the charts. 09/10, he was more raw but lack of a post game and his outside shot was off.

To me it's about the totality of your impact and not necessarily how rounded your game was. Yes, 09/10 probably couldn't shoot as consistently as '13 LeBron or be as effective in the post, but his slashing game and motor is so clearly superior in 09/10 that it more than offsets whatever skill-related advantages the older version might have. To me his game is clearly more playoff-resilient in 09/10/14/17/18 than '13. The numbers bear this out too.