Theories on LeBron James: WTF?

[NBASTATMAN]

I have a couple o' theories:

- Lebron not mentally strong.
- Lebron not strong mentally.
- Lebron mentally strong, not.

I AGREE.. Gotta stay true and this is about the best answer anyone can come up with.. Not having the ball in his hands is no reason to not look for it.. And when he got it he just wanted to pass.. Didn't even try to create..

[SinJackal]

Count me amongst those who now wholly believe there is no more talented player in the NBA today than LeBron James. That said, and please refrain from the hating and the jokes, there are lots of threads for those, what has happened to him the '10 Boston series and so far in the Finals? Why does he shy away from the ball? Play conservative on defense? Take almost no shots? Seem unaffected by losing?

What are your opinions, insights, theories as to why he can be so good for so much of the time and then, not fail, but simply not seem to try when the stage is biggest?

Wade has seemed a lot more uneffected by losing than LeBron has. LeBron's at least seemed upset by the losses during the press conferences. All Wade does is make excuses and act indifferent. Or mention "haters" to try and get sympathy pity while he acts apathetic during his interviews.

[greensmoke21]

Pressure. You cant shoot when your heart is racing and your knees are about to buckle

this
lebron is probably a b*tch ass nikka in real life

[AJ2k8]

Not saying i disagree with everything I've read in response, but my question pertains more to the difference in his approach. I agree LeBron has limitations to his offense that could and should be covered, but I more see a change in body language, style of play, demeanor etc. and that is what I am speaking to.

As i said it's easier to sit and watch when the other ball dominant perimeter player is taking all the shots.. Difference between him and wade is that hustling and contributing off the ball comes more natural to wade, Lebron seems to need his touches to play good D or off ball offence. He's not the first star that needs touches to play good in other facets of the game though.

[Jasper]

Count me amongst those who now wholly believe there is no more talented player in the NBA today than LeBron James. That said, and please refrain from the hating and the jokes, there are lots of threads for those, what has happened to him the '10 Boston series and so far in the Finals? Why does he shy away from the ball? Play conservative on defense? Take almost no shots? Seem unaffected by losing?

What are your opinions, insights, theories as to why he can be so good for so much of the time and then, not fail, but simply not seem to try when the stage is biggest?

This post tells me you don't feel he is an elite player or super star.
The only weakness , is that like his past NBA finals he didn't know the mental toughness to win by himself. This series he is learning from D-Wade.
As for game #4 - review the game a second time , without hate or favortism and objectively you will see as my Game #4 Observations thread states he was physically fatigued from the first whistle. If your bball person you can see it.

Tell me what age did MJ win his first ring ,, how many years in college to learn his trade :)

The only weakness in Lebron's game over all is low post back to the basket play. Once he learns that more / less he will be basically a complete player.
In this series 2 of the four games he needed to drive to the hoop more in the begining of the game... but 3 out of the 4 games he has set the tone for his teammates and has worked hand in hand with D-Wade.

He might have years of NBA knowledge , but he is in his mid twenties , and never played college ball. Most players coming into the league have a vet player to align the younger player as a mentor. From the beginning of his career - he didn't (he carried a franchise on his back)
This is the first time he has had a mentor in D-Wade.
I stated before the season started that D-Wade was the main man , and Heat will use him for 2-3 seasons , until his game starts taking a hit. At that time all of the little final series mental toughness and low post play he needs will all be there.
People think if the Heat win the series and D-Wade gets the MVP that Lebron's legancy will be tarnished for life.
Tell me how many MVP trophys the great ones have in their study ??
Majic , Kareem , and others that have won multiple titles.
We like to think about the Spurs Duncan and current Lakers Byrant.
has those legacies affected their cred in the HOF when they say how many rings compared to MVP trophys

[Stringer Bell]

Not saying i disagree with everything I've read in response, but my question pertains more to the difference in his approach. I agree LeBron has limitations to his offense that could and should be covered, but I more see a change in body language, style of play, demeanor etc. and that is what I am speaking to.

I'm guessing he has mental lapses. You can call it mentally weak if you want, obviously the toughest athletes (mentally) have less lapses.

It's kind of weird, I've seen him play great in the postseason, hit numerous huge shots, the performance in 2007 game 5 against Detroit was absolutely amazing, but at other times, he looks like he wilts and is out of it.

Maybe he's not as consistent with his focus and mental games as others. Or maybe it gets exaggerated since everything nowadays is put under a microscope and analyzed.

[knightfall88]

Wade has seemed a lot more uneffected by losing than LeBron has. LeBron's at least seemed upset by the losses during the press conferences. All Wade does is make excuses and act indifferent. Or mention "haters" to try and get sympathy pity while he acts apathetic during his interviews.

Absolutely. Best example was when he was cleveland. He lost to the magic and the celtics who ended up being finals teams. Not only that, the cleveland roster was facing improvements every year, even bringing in Byron Scott recently. But he panicked and left and went to Miami which was unnecessary.

[Jasper]

Wade has seemed a lot more uneffected by losing than LeBron has. LeBron's at least seemed upset by the losses during the press conferences. All Wade does is make excuses and act indifferent. Or mention "haters" to try and get sympathy pity while he acts apathetic during his interviews.

That is called Pride

[kabalcage]

The problem is not with LeBron James the player, the problem is with LeBron James the person.

LeBron won't commit to anything in life.
Not his hometown.
Not his girlfriend.
Not the offense.
Not the team.

For crying out loud, the dude knocked up his long-term girlfriend (TWO FREAKING KIDS) and still hasn't put a ring on her finger. The guy is blessed with the best physique and the most overall athleticism in human history, and he still hasn't developed a dominant post game. The guy just can't deliver rings and that'll cause a divide in the Heat franchise.

You can bet your life that LeBron will join another team before it's all said and done.

[nashwade]

he doesn't know how to run PNR
he dribbles too much, in the same spot!
he can defer shots to Wade and Bosh
in all honesty, i truly believe he is scared

[AlphaWolf24]

This post tells me you don't feel he is an elite player or super star.
The only weakness , is that like his past NBA finals he didn't know the mental toughness to win by himself. This series he is learning from D-Wade.
As for game #4 - review the game a second time , without hate or favortism and objectively you will see as my Game #4 Observations thread states he was physically fatigued from the first whistle. If your bball person you can see it.

Tell me what age did MJ win his first ring ,, how many years in college to learn his trade :)

The only weakness in Lebron's game over all is low post back to the basket play. Once he learns that more / less he will be basically a complete player.
In this series 2 of the four games he needed to drive to the hoop more in the begining of the game... but 3 out of the 4 games he has set the tone for his teammates and has worked hand in hand with D-Wade.

He might have years of NBA knowledge , but he is in his mid twenties , and never played college ball. Most players coming into the league have a vet player to align the younger player as a mentor. From the beginning of his career - he didn't (he carried a franchise on his back)
This is the first time he has had a mentor in D-Wade.
I stated before the season started that D-Wade was the main man , and Heat will use him for 2-3 seasons , until his game starts taking a hit. At that time all of the little final series mental toughness and low post play he needs will all be there.
People think if the Heat win the series and D-Wade gets the MVP that Lebron's legancy will be tarnished for life.
Tell me how many MVP trophys the great ones have in their study ??
Majic , Kareem , and others that have one multiple titles.
We like to think about the Spurs Duncan and current Lakers Byrant.
has those legacies affected their cred in the HOF when they say how many rings compared to MVP trophys

Jordan didn't "learn his trade" in college.....he continued to perfect his trade year after year...

he continuously changed every tiny detail in his game to become a better player(His game from 1984 - 1990 was IMO very diffrent from his J to his dribble) all the way up until his early 30's....from 1996 - 1998 he focused more on maintaining his body so he could incorporate all the skills he WORKED SO HARD TO AQUIRE



Lebron does need to develop a post game......maybe he will....

But MJ at 26 was suffering from Losing in the Playoff's every year...getting swept 3 years in a row in the First round....and Looking like he would never get past the Pistons...

He worked 2 years in a row to perfect the proper footwork to decieve and sqaure up his defender for his patented turnaround....by 1990 it pretty much unstoppable.



Lebron at 26 left a back 2 back 60 win team who was in the NBA Finals a couple years prior to go play on Wade's team.....polar opposites IMO.

[BEAST Griffin]

Mavs zone is taking away his driving and he's afraid to brick jumpers.

[SinJackal]

That is called Pride

It's also called indifference, and lacking in responsibility. Calling it "pride" is just a poor attempt at flowering it up instead of call it what it really is.

Hence why you don't even deny that he acts that way. I mean, applaud for not denying it, but really, it isn't just pride. He acts completely indifferent, then makes excuses any time someone questions his personal failures. Meanwhile, he talks about other player's failures, and says next time they'll do better. While taking no responsibility for his own actions, such as choking on an important free throw. He acted like it wasn't a big deal, when it was a HUGE point they needed.

[ShaqAttack3234]

It's strange and I can't explain it. I've seen him put his team in position to beat a very good team single handedly(2009 ECF).

I understood him struggling so much in 2007 vs the Spurs and 2008 vs the Celtics more. He was just a much more flawed player with an erratic jumper and not much offensive talent around him to relieve some of the pressure. But he's become so much more well rounded and dominant the last 3 years that it seems impossible for him to play as poorly as he has this series or last year vs Boston.

The only theory I could come up with last year vs Boston was that he didn't want to stay in Cleveland anymore and didn't care because I couldn't believe after watching Lebron play such historically great basketball in the 2009 season and playoffs and 2010 season that he could play so poorly in 3 consecutive games vs the Celtics. But what didn't make sense was that he played so much better the first 3 games and had a 2-1 lead, plus despite not having great talent around him by championship standards, if Lebron plays at his usual level those last 3 games vs Boston, they could've definitely won, so that made no sense to me.

However, last night's game was even more puzzling. I don't know if it's the pressure, or the fact that Miami is expected to win the series and he thought Wade could do the heavy lifting and get Miami a title after seeing how well, he's played this series, who knows? Maybe he hasn't adjusted to playing well with another star. I mean, Lebron is so used to being expected to win almost single handedly, never on any of his Cleveland teams was their another guy who you could expect to be the MVP of a series other than Lebron or carry the team. Maybe he loses his focus and intensity when deferring to another player. And there are definitely times when you have to defer when you play with a player as good as Wade and have a 3rd option as good as Bosh, but there also has to be a balance when you're an elite player yourself, much less the best player in the league like Lebron is. Maybe he hasn't figured out how to find that balance?

[Pointguard]

Count me amongst those who now wholly believe there is no more talented player in the NBA today than LeBron James. That said, and please refrain from the hating and the jokes, there are lots of threads for those, what has happened to him the '10 Boston series and so far in the Finals? Why does he shy away from the ball? Play conservative on defense? Take almost no shots? Seem unaffected by losing?

What are your opinions, insights, theories as to why he can be so good for so much of the time and then, not fail, but simply not seem to try when the stage is biggest?

First you must establish are you talking about the rule? Did he do any of that when he was 22 years old and went the furthest he did in the playoffs? So you have to distinguish what you are talking about and not act like you got it right across the board. There is problematic activity from Lebron but it's not across the board in the matter of fact way you presented it. It popped up maybe three times, so its haterism or irresponsible writing to not say "sometimes he... ."

But to offer an answer... what he did last night was different than anything I seen before. The Boston game seemed like simple frustration. The game last night seemed like why am I in this situation? To put it simple, I think he pouts. An odd quality in a great player but it is what it is. Particularly, when other players realize this and try to manipulate it. A personality quirk which is very interesting in a competitive environment. Right now it isn't a definitive trait of his totality, so we have to see how it unfolds. It would be cool if people didn't rush and dramatically not get carried away after every episode.

For now, he has a WTF personality. And I think many have an impulsive, over-reaction to it.

The next game is indeed very interesting.