LeBron James | Examining his defense in 2019
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 เม.ย. 2019
- LeBron James was slammed for his defense in 2019. But how bad was he? Did he hurt the Lakers on D? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report examine the strengths and weaknesses of the LA Lakers star while incorporating analytics & stats to assess his defensive impact.
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Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.
Stats courtesy:
www.pbpstats.com @bballport
www.basketball-reference.com
stats.nba.com
IMPACT METRICS
-RPM is ESPN's proprietary model that blends adjusted plus-minus with the box score
-PIPM is a hybrid model (box score and plus-minus) that "luck-adjusts" plus-minus data (regresses FT% and 3pt%) to account for noise and is more sensitive to a player's role/fit on a given team. Created by @JacobEGoldstein
-Luck-Adjusted RAPM is a pure plus-minus model adjusted for shooting luck, reducing some of the noise of single-season APM. It is most sensitive to role/fit of these three. Available at: nbashotcharts.com/home
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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.
Music by csus (instrumental) - กีฬา
Really glad to hear people say this changed their mind a bit, since that's exactly what happened to me as I went back through more and more games to make this video. Thanks for being openminded.
Thinking Basketball I noticed that as soon as he said He’ll be going into playoff Mode his help defense and Rotations got better. what killed their playoff push was lack of a rim protector
Thank you for enlightening people on what PROPER defense looks like. Too many people think they're defensive coaches.
Hating on LeBron gets you more clout on TH-cam, that's why every basketball TH-camr trash him
Oh god this caping for lebron is pathetic.. Multiple ppl have exposed this guys bad defense an hes been doing it for years.. You think this few min video is gonna change that 😂.. Nice try
You sound like the last Bron apologist left lol. Didn't you just cherry pick situations in which Bron played good defense and his teammates played bad defense lmao.
imagine if the clowns at ESPN could analyze plays on the this dude's level
CaneCarder that will never happen, they’ve literally hired people that honestly don’t know sports
dude, that's a really good point. why the fuck doesn't ESPN do videos like this? They have Kobe's Detail series and consider it a revelation, but it really shouldn't be. This should be the exact kind of content that they produce at least once a day.
The sad thing is that they could. But it’s easier and brings more attention if they just show a clip out of context and give a strong and shocking headline.
They hire bimbos in sexy outfits
@Tripp’le H what does that have to do with anything? I didn't say they should plaster this content all over their channel, I said they should produce content like this.
Wow. That clip truly was taken out of context then
Its pretty obvious that it was taken out of context
Was that the viral clip you were thinking of though? I honestly never even saw this one before and thought he was going to talk about when Kuzma pushed Lebron to play defense on 43% 3-Pt shooter, Danilo Gallinari. Which clip was taken out of context again?
Yep and I didn't even know it till now. You'd want that guy attempting a clutch three every single time, daring him to shoot it is the correct defensive play
ik right, i feel bad for ragging on him so hard. The media made it seem he played worse defense than 2015 Harden smh
he was quite a top defender when in prime, so any decline will look very silly for him. Especially on challenge and block
Hes a good defender, great when actually engaged.
used to be ELITE at all times though.
Game seven of a series he is great
Cant ask a 34 year old man to keep playing as if hes in his prime
eXe Serudo Lebron might have another prime coming up tbh
eXe Serudo jordan and Kobe did it tho..
@@Jordan5s True, but Lebron has a lot more mileage on his body at this point in his career than Kobe and MJ. Dude's a machine but still only human.
I think that we have seen Lebron bossing the entire league for so long now, that when his performance dips slightly, everyone’s quick to get on his case, but when in actuality, his level of play is still above the nba average
That is true however that's the same as pretty much all the top players, especially when you and so many people consider you one of the best ever to have played the game.
dragonage200 Facts
People were saying this was his worst year But because he didn’t make the playoffs and because of the AD trade debacle
His 27.1 PPG 8RPG And 8APG State Line was ignored plus he averaged 1.3 steals Per Game
Yep
@catonic faxx couldn't have said it better myself
Lakers were 7th in defense when he was out, he came back in 10th in defense
We need this guy on ESPN.
He might do something other than just yell "blasphemy"
Nice to see a familiar name. I do find it interesting that Andre came out and boldly proclaimed Giannis would kill it this year...and he did...yet not seeing more of him.
@@ThinkingBasketball My favorite guy I been following over the years was Kirk Goldsberry back when he use to work for Bill Simmons. He later got hired by the Spurs and is now hired by ESPN. ESPN is slowly trying to include more basketball analysis, but remember it is ratings based and many analysis goes over the head of the everyday fan. Its cool to know basketball on a deep level just understand not everyone can go that deep and come out on the other side "alive."
2 of ESPN's biggest names are basically gossip columnists / insult comics -- it's embarrassing to Sport
I literally heard this in Stephen A Smith's voice 😂
i swear i said the same skip definitely needs to see this video
LeBron is very good at calculating, I’ll give you that.
Yeah, he counts his limited contributions and discounts other's efforts. Absolutely calculated.
Samuel (Sam) Smith That was Kuzma’s Man And he never yelled out for LeBron to switch so instead he pushed him (Gallo was Kuzma’s man not LeBron so another cherry picking play)
Samuel (Sam) Smith oh yeah, that play where kuzma messed up?
Samuel (Sam) Smith That’s still on Kuzma; if Kuzma yelled out switch and had clear communication, the play would of been defended
@Samuel (Sam) Smith wrong, you must communicate because if they had your mentality then kuzma and LeBron would both run out to galli which is poor defensive awareness and leave the paint wide open. It's kuzma fault for the communicating but because he pushed LeBron, he was able to mask his mistake
The most scrutinized athlete of all time
Slim Weeper you misspelled Westbrook
He's an easy target. Same reason why people hate popular things
thats kobe
Lmao kobe gets hate for literally no reason
Ali did time for refusing to fight in Vietnam. Had his title stripped. Threw his gold medal in the river. Has been credited for helping popularize rap with his performances in and out of the ring. Considered by many to be the most important athlete in the last 100 years. Lequit who?
Lebron isn’t getting lazier he’s playing smarter he knows he’s not going to be able to keep up with raw athleticism of the younger player he has to keep energy reserves for an explosive offense it’s nice to start seeing him adapting to his body.
Father. Yea but he should try too look like he’s putting more effort to avoid vids like this
So ball watching, playing defense with your hands and standing straight up is playing smarter?
Those are fundamental things that he doesn’t do.
Fundamentals make playing the game easier, not taking time off.
@@PharaohsNews You do realize that every player have stood around at some point? And how many guys giving you what he's giving at his age right now ?
Mandela's Cellmate , you do know that this man has been the league whats going to be his 17th season and playing in the playoff for majority of his career. In the regular season out of 82 GAMES that this man just maybe might be trying to conserve his body for postseason runs because he knows all that matters is RINGS
Yeah, I really dont like lebron, but his defense isnt as bad as the media makes it to be, hes a little above average defender
The fact that he's still a positive on defense at his size and age while carrying such a heavy offensive load really is extraordinary
Positive might be a bit of a stretch.
Being tall is an advantage as you age and Jordan was DPOY at the same age lmao. I've never seen the standards lowered as much as they have been for Lebron this past year. Nothing extraordinary about this, even the conclusion in the video is he's near the middle.
@@jonniecandito181 Jordan didn't make anyone better statistically he was less efficient on offense he averaged 6 more shots and only scored 3 more points... lol LBJ is spectacular he also averages way more assists than Jordan who during his winning years allway had a solid team unlike LBJ#23 GOAT
@@harkless3166 might not be
@@liams.3479 Jordan was not clearly statistically less efficient. It's debatable. Jordan has a higher PER while Lebron has a higher true shooting percentage. Lebron has more assists and is a better passer, but Jordan has less turnovers. It's close offensively, I think Lebron is genuinely better prime for prime, but Jordan's career defense is miles above Lebron. Even Lebron's peak defense wasn't DPOY level and more of a wandering chasedown blocker than lock down laterally quick player.
Skip Bayless made me think he was the worst.. It's amazing what really analysis can do
He was one of the worst defender in the league this year. And slowest player in the league for a second straight year
Why are you even taking what skip says seriously? He’s there for laughs not for facts lmao
Not really, this dude is doing the same thing. Video plus commentary suggestions. Single game video at that. There are other games where he played zero defense & just stood there. This uploader chose the right game to build the intended narrative
@@86SuperRay aren't you a creative wee petal...
@@dummy4794 glad someone else remembers the beast he was in Miami and the first go around in Cleveland. One word untouchable if you went up to dunk on him you were getting stuffed and if he went up to dunk on you... Well you were getting stuffed
Now we have to come to the sad reality that Lebron’s age is catching up to him
Man this video made me a bit upset not gonna lie I really wanted him to win a few more championships.
@ImSkiiLLe92 FTW He's not winning a championship in LA! Come on!
Next season he’s gonna let his team carry him to a 4 seed and then turn it on and go full try hard mode in the playoffs and wreck everyone
@@theobush439
O0p
And that is fine! So many people are still trying to prop him up as this illusive "great defender" when it's just a couple of plays. Defense is mostly about effort no matter how high your defensive IQ is. He's barely in a defensive stance anymore these days, including the playoffs.
Look at all these comments saying "I knew Lebron is still a great defender" smfh
Screw every sports media outlet there is
This was broken down perfectly 🙏🏽💯
@Tripp’le H It seems like you'd be interested in a Part 2 to this video since you didn't understand a word the TH-camr was saying
Tripp’le H so... lebron is going into his 17th career and the tole on his body from being the main guy 90% of the time doesn’t effect his overall mileage. Lebron is conserving his energy... he isn’t 25-30 years old anymore
Thats how the media works. You see a vid of a NBA player missing a shot then all of a sudden everyone thinks your a terrible shooter. How ironic
Yup
Not what irony is, but point taken
Yup casual mentality.
Yeah Zae same as you seeing them making a shot and think they aren't bad. But if you look at their FG% and see it's in the 30% range you know they suck. Shooting efficiency isn't really open to interpretation. Not like this video cherry picking a few examples of Lebron engaged on defence to put a positive spin on it.
Zae Brown don’t blame the media because Lebron missed the playoffs lol
Nah that's great defense.
He's defending his body from injury.
Lmfao
Good one
Lol
That's a fact. in the playoffs it's different though, LBJ be everywhere, noticed the chasedown block on Iggy. He coast thru the season, he only got injured on an offensive play b/c Draymond dragged him down awkwardly
Derek A Yeah but his charges have tripled since 2014.... so I’m not sure how your theory holds up? Let’s go Lakers!
LeBron is still a really good defender playing with AD is going to fix a lot of the Lakers defensive lapses
Justus Smith there was barely to none lapses, he was the reason their defense wasn’t top 5 and dropped to 10 when climbing to the top 5
Doubt it. Lakers have worse defensive pieces than the pelicans ever did and the pels weren't exactly elite in defense.
Zarion106 what???????
Zarion106 AD l, lebron, danny green is still a capable defender.. at an slightly above average rate. Caruso is a solid defender and avery bradley
Zarion106 javale mcgee.. jared dudley is solid
Best analysis channel for nba on TH-cam... waiting for the next vid.
Bericuda3 ‘ Couldn’t have said it any better 🤘🏽
Lmao they showed one of lebrons best defensive games against one of the worst team
Actually Heat Check is better
Jay Effarelti they’re good too!
Lucci Tunechi I believe this video was intended to give an intellectual breakdown of the defensive mindset of LeBron in a game. Educating the uneducated in basketball terms. It doesn’t matter what game was chosen lol
Thing with Lebron is
The ones that love him irrationally love him
The ones thate hate him irrationally hate him
what about the people who love him rationally. hes a top 3 player of all time.
thats soo true tho. Take Skip and Shannon as case study 1
That’s the nature of love and hate
@@CrazyRhinoceros that's debatable
@@JasonJia11 who's your top 3
Lebron knows exactly what he’s doing he knows every player he studys every player and team knows the defensive and offensive of every team floor knowledge is off the charts his iq period is off the charts that dedication in itself makes him one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game
100% FACTS
stop it chuck
Does he really study every player off court?
He should study how to actually make his teammates better to make the Playoffs.
77 or maybe his teammates should step up. Basketball a team game you can only do so much solo.
Daniel Barwatt yea you right got him to 8 straight finals
bruh ESPN needs people like this
People fell too inlove with the "Lebron is bad on defense"take during the year. I totally agree with your point about his defensive lapses being circled out and taken out of context. I think you did a steller job proving that in fact, he was not terrible. The main reason for him even getting so much slack for those is simply that his name is Lebron James. I am pretty certain that if we scrutinise every player like we do Lebron, we will find clips of every superstar not giving 100% on all defensive possessions, especially if they had played 45 000+ minutes, on a second night of a back-to-back.
Great video, you are doing some amazing work!
@Samuel (Sam) Smith Nah watch the clip again. Gal had to take an extremely difficult MID RANGE shot with Hart coming from his left. Lebron didnt even need to be there, and he knew it. Kuzma's shove was childish and unnecessary. There was literally 1.3 seconds on the clock during the inbound.
th-cam.com/video/imQyd09A9P0/w-d-xo.html
not hard, ill do it for you
edit: And why tf is kuzma shoving the dude with 7:00 min left in the 4th as if this a do or die buzzer beater attempt? No wonder why Magic wanted to trade these clowns for AD lmfao
@Samuel (Sam) Smith I see where you're coming from, but this video isn't focusing on the clips shown, but the data that ranks James as a positive on defense. Of course he's had times where his motor stalls, but with the amount of minutes on his body on top of the worst injury he's had in his entire career, it's an expected outcome.
Samuel (Sam) Smith no? I get it that LeBron is their leader but don’t put it all on him only. They are team, and they can still think individually. They are NBA players they can take care of themselves. Kuzma can also makes something happen. The fact that he had to push LeBron to guard HIS player without any callouts was just a bad move from his part. You just want to discredit LeBron. Not saying that he didn’t do any mistakes but you clearly can’t name a big one (in-game) without researching.
Maybe he shouldn't have called himself the greatest of all time.
"People fell too inlove with the "Lebron is bad on defense"take during the year." No offence Hristo but that's total BS, regardless of the handful of examples used in this video there are thousands more on a channel called "TheAbominableLebron." That show Lebron is playing a James Harden level of defence right now. He makes a token effort to avoid criticism but he's phoning it in.
Only people that know basketball know this.... but those people aren't usually making videos!!!! I'm subscribing!
Maybe I'm wrong, but people are acting like they thought LeBron wasn't a good defender coming into this
@@sergeantsupreme4395 i think people think he hasn't been a good defender since 2015
@@thetrib1 the reason people watch him and don't understand is they watch the game from a 1 on 1 isolation perspective, which LeBron's still great at that , but not as good as Kobe or Jordan at 1 on 1. Jordan and Kobe are probably harder for an individual defender to guard but LeBron creates more problems for the entire defense because he collapses the defense with efficient fininishing and forces it to spread out by hitting wide open shooters or cutters. Defensively he's not really a 1 on 1 guy like a cornerback in football, more like a middle linebacker or safety.
@@juju-vl7oj true
those people do make videos, but usually only the really clickbaity empty ones get popular and promoted on youtube
Objective analysis in 2019? Subbed.
THANK YOU
THE LEBRON HATE IS REAL
YOU JUST EXPOSED THE HATERS
Mar W lmao well dam you love Lebron that much
Nobody hates LeBron
@@michaelharris9430 wow ur so clever. Give the man a grammy. You waana be trolls make me lose hope in humanity.
Alix Hentry aaawww sorry for hurting your feelings 😂🥺
@@michaelharris9430 aww look he still wants to be a troll. *yawn*. Youll get it next time bucko
Can't say I'm shocked that the man who has played 19 seasons over 16 years with a shorter break in between every time has gotten slower with age
Just be correct he played 17 going to 18 but yeah he older and just doing the street defense where you just stay at place and move slowly with calculation
Samuel Sagarna why don’t you take these PEDS you talk about and be as good as lebron
Samuel Sagaz PEDS make you worse at b ball..
Lmao 19 seasons in 16 years.... the shit Lesexuals will say 😂😂😂😂😂
He hasn't had the playoffs off in years, I wouldn't be shocked if he was little springier next year than he was last
I watched that Grizzlies game and Caboclo had missed 3-4 3PT attempts before that one. I don’t think it’s smart to leave an NBA player wide open, but nobody mentions Caboclo’s bad shooting that night.
I think it is, because if he missed the wide open then his confidence would have dropped big time
every nba player but ben simmons*
Well in fact every game this season, (I only watch 79 of them) it was poor shooter have great shooting splits on us so yes you need to contest.
lebron made a gamble to leave that guy open.. that's not a problem, the problem is him getting frustrated as if that is anybody's fault but his..
@@tommy35911 i agree . sometimes in pickup its a strategy people use against good shooters to try and get in their heads and take away their confidence by giving them a wide open shot . if they make it they make it but if they miss they always become hesitant to shoot again and like you said their confidence is gone
Makes me kind of sad that lebron wasted so many years with the cavs
Don't be, he's going to be one of the best to ever do it for this sport. His 2016 NBA championship with the cavs is probably the best comeback win ever, coming back down 3 to 1 and win game 7 away.
Why you gotta do us cavs fan like that man. We already down for now.
@@jacobdavis6056 man i wasnt blaming the cavs fans or anything, its just the organization didnt really do anything to capitalize on lebron, thats why he left to the miami hest
@@jacobdavis6056 hahahaha, yous got heat in the NFL atleast🔥🔥✌✌
Man...... if LeBron could have linked up with those boys in South Beach in 06..... CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR DAYS.
Was really glad to see you combine more of the film and anecdotal evidence with the data and metrics in the latter half of the video. Very well done.
Also, thanks for the recommendations. Very great video.
The fact is, haters overblow his defense. Thats all there is to it
Lòs Padrè his defense was legit in the first half of the season , but it hurts to see him play defensively after the all star break. He also let serge ibaka 7/7 shooting against lebron
People always like to exaggerate and take things out of context when it comes to LeBron.
@@DeadxThrone1 that goes for both supporting and criticising him.
@@JasonJia11 Oh, no doubt. People make up false narratives or look at things on a purely superficial stance to create either a positive or negative image. It happens to all players, but it happens to LeBron the most.
Sure. It's only about "haters"... 🙄
ESPN or any other sports media talk shows would NEVER attempt to break down a player's defense like this. Instead they just take the easy route and crop film that's out of context and create fake news. Sports media is damaging the players the most and also the league because fans love to watch over exaggerated reactions out of S.A.S. and others of the like while they create fake headlines. This is why I love this TH-cam channel, you keep it real and help us fans see the bigger picture and help us understand basketball on a deeper level.
LeBron James finishes in DPOY voting from 09-14: 2, 4, 9, 4, 2, 6. To say this guy is a terrible defender is one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard a professional sports person say. I don't know how many people I have to tell this, Skip Bayless doesn't know basketball. Point Blank Period. He shouldn't be able to talk basketball on television and I am serious about that. LeBron is his athletic prime was arguably the best defensive player in the league.
@@DTB1995 tru, but people are acting as if he was a terrible defender last year. It might not have been his best defensive year, but he was still a good defender, just not elite
People don't care about facts, only narratives, so they'll ignore the great points you made, but excellent video regardless
@Tripp’le H What are you even saying
@Tripp’le H for example......
This comment gave me the chills. This is exactly true for any given topic.
How about playoff LeBron’s defensive stats over the last few years, would be interesting as we know he steps his game up in the playoffs.
specially in the finals, dude plays like a 24yr old every finals he plays
@@maymayjooj On both sides of the floor too, that's crazy
It's funny how people will still keep their same opinions on LeBron's defense without even watching your video, assuming you'll only pile up on his botched defensive poasesions. However, thanks for showing that he has at least somewhat accounted for his physical regression with age. You also don't say that he's been great, you point out flaws as well because he certainly has had many lapses but it's also been blown out of proportion. He hasn't been nearly as bad as many people want to proclaim.
I think he's never been an all-time great one-on-one perimeter defender for an entire game, even in his prime, but he makes up for it immensely with his cerebral defense, being a great examiner of scouting reports and often making the correct play.
If LeBron was showing huge drops in defensive effectiveness, one would expect that his age would also impact on his offensive output. Other than a slight drop below career averages in 3 point percentage and free throws, his production continues to be world class. The 3 point drop is probably related to taking unwise shots in a desperate effort to bail out the Lakers in poor possessions, while the poor free throw performance might be attributed to a drop in focus during discouraging games played on behalf of a lousy team. The mistake that LeBron made was jumping to the Lakers. He is still a great player who has more minutes of NBA play than any 34 year old in league history.
I agree with his video but it's really sad that average to "good" defense is the standard we're holding for LeBron now. Especially after he self-proclaimed himself the goat.
It's cherry picked footage of Lebron putting some effort in but there are far more examples of Lebron playing a James Harden (at his worst) level of defence. It's a nice positive spin but if anyone wants to see just how incredibly bad Lebron is on defence now check the thousands of examples on a channel called TheAbominableLebron.
Phil Wilson world class production? He mused he playoffs his first season in a much tougher condense lol
Francisco Pizarro Learn how to spell before you try to make a point.
This is a great idea for a series. I really enjoyed this one. I think people have developed this "lazy" narrative with Lebron's defense because he's not as dominant as he once was. People have gotten so comfortable seeing him be a plus defender that there was a strong reaction when it was clear he's regressed from his peak defensively.
Will Cushman
Right
He is a little lazy. Often times, he purposefully lets shorter players get by him and threatens them at the rim only. It's not the highest percentage way to defend, but he's a big picture thinker and knows this is how he can have the best overall game. So at times, he does compensate playing 'the right way' in order to conserve energy. In the end I don't know why people hate on that though. He's trying to be the best he can be, he just has a more cerebral approach than a player like Westbrook.
Well he called himself the goat so what do you expect ? Lower expectations?
Lebron has never been dominant on defense 🤣
@@afrosamurai8755 you obviously just started watching the nba
Title: ESPN Exposed
one of the best videos I've ever seen. Impressive work!
Wow so it was all out of context. Smh I hate Twitter nba
Nope it wasn't. These are just the highlights of defence from him. He was terrible
Brenton Guy what about all the stats he brought up
@J Ball Seriously? I hadn't known that he almost won it in 2009-2010. I knew he was in the running for it back then but at that time I wasn't thinking that they were considering him. That just makes me more pissed now. He should of won it 2 fucking times.
Just for all you Stan's watching highlights, there's 48 minutes in a game, not 24 seconds....
@@steffwes1312 you mean the stat's that say he's an mediocre defender against the worst player on the opposing team.... Think about for a second.
You literally changed my mind😂 I'll have to take a closer look when I see him lacking effort. Or not closing out. Thanks man
@@dummy4794 his defensive win shares were terrible last year
@@dummy4794 you said all that to end with from 2005-2015 his defense was elite.. we are talking about his 2018-2019 defense
He didnt give effort like we know he can.. that's the point we know he's a great defender we want him to give some effort on that side of the ball.
@@dummy4794 nah I didn't know. I was just talking about the last two season
You can bring up all the stats you want bro. Lebron doesn't give defense the effort he used to give. I would watch him and it would seem like he wasn't giving the effort he could be. Lebron never takes the toughest assignments anymore either. He might spend a handfull of possessions defending the opposing best player these days. It is frustrating watching the so called best player leave people wide open. Or call for switches when its completely unnecessary. Causing the whole teams defense to collapse and leading to easy buckets. Ive been seeing him do things like this more and more for years now. Overall he might be a good defender still. This video kinda gave me perspective as to why he might be doing that. It could be scouting. He might have a specific role or assignment. Or there might be a different concept they're adhering to. Idfk. This video just put SOME of lebrons seemingly bad defense into perspective. Not ALL.
@@dummy4794 .
watching this made me realise ad is the perfect Frontcourt buddy alongside James
Thank you for defending lebron your basketball knowledge is far superior to mine and this sheds a new light on it which is good because it made me frustrated that people killed him for having one sub par season because this is there first chance to actually hate on him which everyone wants to do because he’s such a successful and likable player
Much needed video! Great job.
He’s a good defender when he wants to be. But once it became clear the Lakers weren’t making the playoffs, he just stopped trying.
People make excuses and false narratives to make him look bad poor haters
Cause he's a bum and doesn't give full effort on the floor
10 9 8 76ers Ben Simmons is the reason the sixers will never win a championship. Butler is leaving this summer and injured Embiid will bust out and be another what if story
Darryl Wallace 30 and 12 on 50+ FG% is giving up? The thing is an injured groin makes you slower and gives you pain when bending your knees- what does defense require? Just that. I injured my groin before and it was only minor, but whatever he had was worse, and I honestly don’t think he couldn’t handle the pain of playing both ends well.
@@kristian9014 my thing is look at everyone that came out the draft with LBJ and tell me where they rank Defense. 😂😂 youll hate what you find💯
This is awesome! More basketball film breakdown like this! Exactly the kind of in depth stuff I like learning/seeing/am interested in
I love videos like this. I don't have time to watch every players movement and every game. But you look in detail and combine stats with videos showing clips. Thank you.
I didn't know how badly I wanted to see this video until I saw it in my recommended.
Fantastic analysis as always, best basketball channel on TH-cam.
Thank you for your objective and fair analysis. I've seen other videos where LeBron was heavily criticized on his defense. You explained to us that LeBron is just discerning but not slacking in defense.
Wow, I wasn't expecting this! Thanks for the analysis.
Excellent video!!! It’s refreshing to see somebody with REAL basketball knowledge for a change!!! Thanks!! 🙏🏿💯
This only shows how the media literally takes everything out of context... amazing breakdown as usual :)
I mean, if you watch highlight shows you are literally demanding for context to be removed lol. Just watch the whole games and make up your own mind. Context here is also removed in many parts to tell a narrative. It's not anyone's fault, it's lazy fans that want a quick summary.
And he was robbed of dpoy in 2013
Thank you for this vid, I honestly think that the defensive coordination with the lakers just need a fine tuning. I hope the off season moves they do will help them reach the playoffs next season.
Thank God somebody finally shows this. I need to show this video to all my friends who are instagram basketball fans.
Well-deserved handle, subbed! Can't wait for more!
Did y’all forget lebron was injured last season 😂😂😂
He was? 18 games..
@@TheSands83 He wasn't even supposed to return from his season-ending groin injury either
mansonlamps 27 games u moron
@@MistahUnknown season ending injury hahahahah. ...he spend one month extra, nigga was dunking and playing offense only time injury matters is when guarding someone?
@@Sg6CrossOver he wasn’t doing that every game just like he wasn’t with defense
Would love to see a video like this about lebron’s 2020 season. Felt like he was better on defense this year.
Good stuff. It’s not easy to convince people, but you provided visible, sound evidence. Looking forward to you future works.
really appreciated this video. heard a lot of people talking about lebron's value as a defender and ignoring the positive defensive metrics he had this season while using those same metrics to prop up other players' defensive ability. good to see the 'eye test' validates the metrics, you just have to watch enough film to see it.
Are you going to be doing breakdowns on seasons from the past? Because I would love a Lebron breakdown from 2008-09 or 2012-13 or a Kobe breakdown of 2005-06/02-03
You can check Ben Taylor's (narrator) work last year about this. Here's his analysis on James: www.backpicks.com/2018/04/05/backpicks-goat-3-lebron-james/
In lebrons prime he was a DPOY candidate every year...
Yup
His defense is somewhat underrated when the all time discussions happen
GREAT VIDEO! Detailed and shined light on the facts. U earned my sub 💪🏾
This was a fantastic video man
NO ONE ABSOLUTLEY NO ONE!! is taking into account that a groin injury FUCKS your lateral movement and shifting left and right which is VITAL for defence...
His brain and thinkijg carried him through what could have been disastrious. Like why do other players get the benefit of the doubt but this man is meant to be an alien regardless of Injury, stamina, age etc...
Absolutley crazy and it must just be hate.
Tony Don it is... and people think that groin injuries are not serious
Tony Don exactly Bron was never the same after the unity last year. Ppl finally got their chance to hate and did it
Huh, negative stories about a good player on the Lakers generates clicks despite not necessarily being true. Yes he wasn’t great but it was so overblown.
He's been decent this year. Not elite but he's not a negative on defense.
no, kissing the lakers ass when they didn't even make the playoffs has been all day everyday this year. what a joke of a comment. Lebron has been called best for two years too many. don't lie
He's still top 5, but he's a below average defender on an average night
@@robinweber9640 Come on, Lebron was still the best player at least until this season. Watch his 2018 playoff again man.
@@robinweber9640 he had a groin injury this year lebron will always be called the best player every year
Great Video! more people needs to see this
this is some good stuff. love the analytics.
Im here after he defended paul george and kawhi at the same time
"He DoEsN't PlAy DeFeNsE." This is why I would like to hear actual facts instead of the damn narratives.
Love this channel 🙌🏾🙌🏾
Very nice analysis and breakdown!!
If you play 2K you’ll know what I mean... he’s a B or B+ now and not an A or A+ anymore on perimeter defense but imo that’s okay...
This era has so many three point shots and now we are really moving into the off dribble three point era.. OF COURSE this will change how defenses play and how well players perform! They are being asked to do newer things.. and with new things come new results.
This Channel Is Of The *Highest* Quality
Thank you! Appreciate that.
Awesome video man!
thank you for this, subbed.
Love this vid, question, is Lebron a better defender I think so, but I want to hear your Opinion
from ‘lazy defender’ to genius defender memorized all the stats of the guys he is guarding so he can judge if it’s worth closing out or not 🤷♂️
dont like lebron but this is phenom
Great video man, I like how you just said it like it is
Better analysis than the media. Thank you!
Bron still the best player in the league don’t @ me. If he didn’t get injured they def would be top 4 and went to the WCF for sure
Jiggy Bah Whole bunch of If's. Plus you can only get the best player in the league by doing it all. That includes trying on defense and not tryna take a couple of plays off.
They're gonna make a 30 for 30 for "that time in December 2018 when Lakers were at 4th, 2 wins over 10nth".
I think people tend to forget after the injury LeBron also became 280+ knowing he’s always 250 or 260 lbs at most. I’ve watched LeBron his whole career and even though he is getting older, his body is still well fit. He lost all that extra weight. Be ready to see a quicker, smarter, and with something to prove LeBron James this year!!
Just discovered your channels and I love it. Keep making these great videos!
Anyone who really understands basketball already knows it. Everyone else just keeps watching all the talk shows (ESPN, First Take, etc.). Good video as usual, professionally made, the only thing you need is more visibility! Respect!
LeBron: doing absolutely nothing
Thinking Basketball: he's calculating...
Guy in the comments: hating on facts by Thinking Basketball using no irony.
Me: ah shit here we go again
Playing Smart vs playing hard
Doing both makes you the best
@@AlphaTSH
True. But doing at least one makes you slightly above mediocre
Alvin Elmore Looks like playing "smarter" got LeBron out the playoffs.
@@nosmoke6556
The lakers fully healthy were 4th in the West. But when you got Igram out, Lonzo out, Rondo out, and Kuzma out every other game thats not a recipe for success. Add that on top of Lebron being out 18 games puts salt on the wound. The Lakers were fully healthy only 23 games last season. Hopefully they can stay healthy next year.
I have, for the past season or two, complained about LeBron's lack of relentlessness. But this vid puts so much into perspective! Given where I live and my schedule, I don't get to see all the games so i get most my knowledge from highlight clips and other videos. But they don't show stuff like this. Thank you.
Great analysis bruh!!
Casuals can never understand ball the way you do they just see someone open and say it’s Lebron fault
Lexcuses
Maybe I was a lil harsh on his d this year. Your videos never disappoint
I not gonna lie Bron was the best player on this Lakers team and when he got injured the team kept losing😶
great stuff mate
Great video
It’s guys like this that deserves jobs in sports rather than a garbage organization like ESPN
I been saying this for 3wks now. Lebron had his best defense last yr in many yrs. He held sf to defensive per of a stingy 10.8 per.
Better than dpoy candidate paul george (13 per)
Better than kahwi (17.9)
Lebron held opposing sf to 10.8
Kuz held opposing pfs to 13.8
It was good not elite. He was an elite defender before in his career
His best since 2016 and before his groin injury it was elite.
I think this was great and look forward to seeing similar videos. Liked
Great video!
He is out of his prime but the only thing that was declining was only his defense and freethrow but he is still a tank
ft is improving, he made a video about it. His defense is declining but still above average^^
Are you making a case for lebron being a good defender? Lol. for the people who had seen him in miami the defensive monster that he was compared to now WE know he is not playing defense as he used to, and i know it's age and all thst but please there has been countless plays in which lebron played harden-like defense.
This changed my mind on his defense, thanks for the video.
Wonderful analysis, thanks Ben. Loving the channel, just all the content. Keep it up!
For LeBron, I'd really like to his variability stats in addition to his overall stats. Synergy stats too. How much less does he run on SEGABABAs? Relative to rest of league wings? It seems like as lot of his highlights came in a handful of games, but a handful of jerseys nonetheless. This makes me happy to see! I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the other elite defenders of kinda conserving energy while also kinda dictating the game. Does Giannis have his pet rest moves like LeBron has ATB closeouts on non-shooters?
That Tiago block still hurts my feelings, Ben.
I feel really guilty about judging Lebron on defense and I’d think he was awful. Your videos really changed my perception
This video is GOLD. THANK YOU
Good analysis.... You just educated a population of viewers on how to assess and examine for themselves...