Insider Request:Is LeBron James an elite shooter?

[Pacers4ever]

Stop pretending to be a Pacers fan, all you talk about is LeBron.

Just speaking the truth and not pretending like I know what a players feel mentally at a game

[pauk]

@Money23

But it has NOTHING to do with pressure. Not after you take 1000s of ingame attempts to no avail of any significant improved change in accuracy from season to season......... its not like you sit there and take FTs only when the game is on the god damn line........... you seriously think somebody who after he drops historic performances, historic games, historic CLUTCH performances on the biggest stages chokes at only the FT line every single time because that player only then goes "there is so much pressure, to quiet for my taste, look at all those insulting signs from the fans "

Stop it....

[alleykat]

i agree it's sumthing about his free throws that is off tho. maybe it's just the change of pace or the pressure, but it seems like he is thinking way to much on them...

[TheCorporation]

LeBron James has done it again. He's found another facet of his game to improve upon, and improve upon it well. The guy keeps improving and peaking.



Those stats are pretty amazing, to say the least.

[NumberSix]

LeBron seriously has to be on PEDs. There's no other explanation.

[Micku]

He was shooting better in the midrange in 2011. But current LBJ is a better overall shooter because of his shot selection.

I don't understand how he could be an elite mid range shooter, a elite 3pt shooter, and a slightly below average FT percentage.

[chazzy]

@Money23

But it has NOTHING to do with pressure. Not after you take 1000s of ingame attempts to no avail of any significant improved change in accuracy from season to season......... its not like you sit there and take FTs only when the game is on the god damn line........... you seriously think somebody who after he drops historic performances, historic games, historic CLUTCH performances on the biggest stages chokes at only the FT line every single time because that player only then goes "there is so much pressure, to quiet for my taste, look at all those insulting signs from the fans "

Stop it....

Not necessarily in reference to Lebron, but pressure definitely does effect FTs. Dwight's a prime example. He hit's 80% of them in practice.. look at the drop off

[j3lademaster]

Not necessarily. I can tell you have never played. In a certain light it has more pressure.

If it's so easy, explain to me why LeBron is such a below average shooter from the line, compared to his abilities in the flow of the game?

I've always had that same problem. I can hit mid j's and 3's all day in the flow of the game. I like taking a dribble left, gathering then shooting or catching in stride gathering and shooting. Free throws are different in that regard.

Also, like any stoppage of play it just hurts your rhythmn like when a coach calls a timeout to cool off the other team's hot shooter.

I really don't buy that mental weakness stuff about Bron anymore after last year's playoffs and his new let the game come to him style. He looks really relaxed out there.

[j3lademaster]

Not necessarily in reference to Lebron, but pressure definitely does effect FTs. Dwight's a prime example. He hit's 80% of them in practice.. look at the drop off

Yeah, I think it's mental in Dwight's case as well.

[Money 23]

Just speaking the truth and not pretending like I know what a players feel mentally at a game

Stop it, you're not a Pacers fan. Fooling no one, probably another psycho pauk alternate if I was a betting man.

And I don't pretend to know either. It's speculation, a theory, a probable one too considering he's a good shooter everywhere else. Why would he struggle so much at the line?

I don't see you coming up with answers like myself that seem plausible. Just excuses, deflecting and defending. Thus, a LeBron stan disguised as a "Pacers fan"

"#1 Pacers fan" yet never posting in Indiana Pacer threads, like legit Pacers fans such as Dro, etc.

Same skit pauk has always been on. From sh0wtime (the Laker / Magic super fan who only talks LeBron) to Nash (the Steve Nash fan who only talked LeBron, and never actively roots for Nash's actual teams) to pauk himself (the Reggie Miller fan) who only talks about LeBron.

[che guevara]

Not necessarily in reference to Lebron, but pressure definitely does effect FTs. Dwight's a prime example. He hit's 80% of them in practice.. look at the drop off

Every bad player hits them at a high percentage in practice, it was the same case with Shaq and Ben Wallace. Pretty much anybody can make a high percentage when they get into a rhythm. I watched Brendan Haywood warm up before a game in '10-'11 when he shot 36% at the line, and he made 15+ consecutively. For most of these guys, it's not pressure, it's just that they're shitty shooters. 80% in practice, when you're standing in the same spot doing the same thing over and over, is not a good number.

Another example, Karl Malone would not leave practice until he made 20+ FTs in a row, something he never did once in regulation NBA games.

[inclinerator]

another thing is sometimes during game the players form is slightly different from their practice form, it throws it all off

[che guevara]

another thing is sometimes during game the players form is slightly different from their practice form, it throws it all off

Yeah. The consistent theme with these awful FT shooters (with very rare exceptions, like Deandre Jordan) is that their mechanics are completely broken. Dwight, Shaq, Ben Wallace, and Haywood all look like complete idiots when they're shooting FTs, their mechanics are downright atrocious and it makes you wonder if they've ever even watched film of themselves at the line (Dwight can't possibly watch himself shoot a FT and think his mechanics are even close to acceptable). You can make FTs in practice with bad mechanics when you're doing the same thing over and over, but when it's in a game and you can't practice and get into a rhythm, the bad mechanics matter.

For a guy like Lebron, while his mechanics aren't broken, they definitely aren't good at the FT line. He does lots of unnecessary leaning, has extra, wasted motion in his rhythm, has too big of a wind-up (starts with the ball at his left knee), pretty much uses only his upper body (his FT has no legs at all), and has his elbow out, all things that aren't a problem on his jumpshot.

[plowking]

For a guy like Lebron, while his mechanics aren't broken, they definitely aren't good at the FT line. He does lots of unnecessary leaning, has extra, wasted motion in his rhythm, has too big of a wind-up (starts with the ball at his left knee), pretty much uses only his upper body (his FT has no legs at all), and has his elbow out, all things that aren't a problem on his jumpshot.

Ray Allen doesn't use his legs either, and is very stiff throughout his whole routine. Some things are just a problem for certain players, and muscle memory doesn't carry over as well for certain things. Just the way it is.

[KOBE143]

Is LeBron James an elite shooter?

LOL