MJ wasn't a stat-padder - this is how MJ felt during garbage time

[LoneyROY7]

LA Times, April 11, 1989:

Since switching to point guard for the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan has become statistic conscious. He has started checking with statisticians to see how close he is to a triple-double. He had a string of seven consecutive triple-doubles broken Friday night.

"The guys at the scorer's desk let me know what I need," Jordan said.

So, too, do the Bulls' assistant coaches.

"They keep reminding me when I get back to the huddle," Jordan said. "They say, 'You need three more of this. You need four more of that.'"

[3ball]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgFWyLRNsGk

The "[COLOR="Red"]Nobody Touches Jordan[/COLOR]" youtube channel did a video of Payton guarding MJ in Game 4 of 1996 Finals (link above) - MJ was doubled on exactly 10 of 20 possessions shown in the video - all 10 double-teams are shown here:

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...&postcount=105


By comparison, Lebron was doubled-teamed a TOTAL of 18 times in the entire Finals... Think about that for a second.. Still impressed with his 36 ppg on 39%?

"Curry’s ability to guard one-on-one allowed the Warriors’ wing defenders to double-team LeBron James effectively. [COLOR="Blue"]When James was double-teamed, the Cavaliers scored 5 points on 2-of-18 shooting[/COLOR] (11 percent)".

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/po...defensive-team

[SouBeachTalents]

Still impressed with his 36 ppg on 39%?

Still more impressed by that than Jordan's 27 ppg on 41% in '96

[QUOTE][/B]Curry

[warriorfan]

It was clear that LeBron could be shut down through double coverage. However if LeBron is going to keep shooting under 40% in single coverage, it is better to keep him single covered rather than taking a chance of leaving wide open players if the double is sent.

[warriorfan]

Still more impressed by that than Jordan's 27 ppg on 41% in '96



That sounds more indicative of how poorly his teammates shot

You need to get your teammates involved in the offense early and keep them going. If you dominate the ball for long stretches and freeze out teammates it's hard for them to get into a rhythm and produce to their potential...

[3ball]

Still more impressed by that than Jordan's 27 ppg on 41% in '96

That sounds more indicative of how poorly his teammates shot

I'm more impressed by MJ's 27 - Lebron was only double-teamed 18 times the entire 2015 Finals, while MJ was doubled that much in just Game 4 alone, and every game.

Also, MJ was assigned to guard Gary Payton as the primary, all-game defender in Game 3 and Game 5, and locked him down both games.. MJ never let Payton, Magic, or Drexler get MVP's on him, let alone role players like Lebron does.. So MJ provided the vastly superior defense to go with his offense.

And his offense wasn't the kind stat-friendly, ball-dominant, playground style that has no chance of winning.. MJ's league-leading scoring was achieved in a low time-of-possession, off-ball manner - the highest level of skill - so it fit seamlessly into a strict, sophisticated, equal-opportunity offense like the triangle..

MJ elevated his teammates and made them improve under his watch and play better.. Lebron has never done that.. The way MJ gets his stats (fitting into a sophisticated offense and not affecting teammate performance) is just more impressive display of skill that allows his team to win at the highest level - it's a more impressive feat.

[3ball]

.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgFWyLRNsGk

The "[COLOR="Red"]Nobody Touches Jordan[/COLOR]" youtube channel did a video of Payton guarding MJ in Game 4 of 1996 Finals (link above) - MJ was doubled on exactly 10 of 20 possessions shown in the video - all 10 double-teams are shown here:























By comparison, Lebron was doubled-teamed a TOTAL of 18 times in the entire Finals... Think about that for a second.. Still impressed with his 36 ppg on 39%?

"Curry’s ability to guard one-on-one allowed the Warriors’ wing defenders to double-team LeBron James effectively. [COLOR="Blue"]When James was double-teamed, the Cavaliers scored 5 points on 2-of-18 shooting[/COLOR] (11 percent)".

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/po...defensive-team

.

[BoutPractice]

Many stars care about their stats, and Jordan was no exception.

Although it's fashionable to suggest that caring about stats prevents you winning games, setting statistical goals often helps players perform their best for the benefit of the team. If you've ever played the game it becomes quite obvious.

"Today I'll hold this player under X%". "Today I'll grab at least X rebounds" The stats needn't be the obvious ones, they can be very specific offensive or defensive goals ("I won't allow player X to lose me on a screen even once").

Sometimes it comes from players who are intrinsically motivated... Sometimes it comes from teammates... Opponents... And yes, even the coaching staff, who know when to encourage it, typically with positive results.

Keeping score is not the opposite of playing to win. It's one of the many tools that get you there. We all know Wilt Chamberlain liked to keep score... but let's not forget that Bill Russell did too. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird... not exactly losers.

[90sgoat]

[QUOTE=3ball].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgFWyLRNsGk

The "[COLOR="Red"]Nobody Touches Jordan[/COLOR]" youtube channel did a video of Payton guarding MJ in Game 4 of 1996 Finals (link above) - MJ was doubled on exactly 10 of 20 possessions shown in the video - all 10 double-teams are shown here:























[B]By comparison, Lebron was doubled-teamed a TOTAL of 18 times in the entire Finals... Think about that for a second.. Still impressed with his 36 ppg on 39%?

[INDENT][I]"Curry