You still have the guy averaging 7 assists a game. Again compared to Kobe a true shoot first player who averages 4.5 assists per game. LeBron is not a PG, as all the other guys you mentioned, whose jobs where/are to make plays for other players. LeBron plays a wing position that typically requires you to score yet he still manages to average more assists than any other scoring wing in the league. I don't know about you but when you get your 28 pts. per game with right under 20 shots per game and still manage to dish out 7 assists per game, that makes you a pretty well rounded threat on offense that has the ability to both score and be a playmaker.
You cheery picked one Kobe season where he took 27 shots a game to make it seem like that is something he normally does. Most seasons Kobe takes around 20-21 shots per game. Kobe is definitely looking for his shot more than Lebron is but that doesn't mean that Lebron's main job isn't to shoot. As far as the 7 assists go, Westbrook averages 8 but I'd still say that guy is a shoot first player. Tony Parker averages 7 but he is a shoot first guy too. Same thing can be said about Francis and Marbury back in the day.
Ok, since I'm "cherry picking" on Kobe's abnorm season lets take each players least amount of shots taken while having prominent roles on their respective squads. LeBron sits at 18 attempts per game while Kobe still takes 20 attempts per game. And again you keep bringing in point guards, regardless of whether they're shoot first or not and put them against a scoring wing guard. Plus Parker and Westbrook each feed off and compliment the best player on their teams on their team (Duncan &Durant) unlike LeBron who is the best player on his team. Whatever. Haters gonna hate I guess. You guys should do less b****in' and appreciate the greatness you get to witness. I was lucky enough to watch Jordan and LeBron play in my lifetime. Most people won't be in the same position as us.
How am I b****in'? Saying LeBron is a shoot first player isn't b****in' it's what he is. Kobe is shoot first, Jordan was shoot first, Dr. J was shoot first, Durant is shoot first etc. LeBron fan boys love to take things like shoot first as a personal insult on the guy for some reason. He shoots first because he is a dominant scorer and can get a better shot than anybody else on his team. Being a shoot first player isn't a negative.
I'm extremely far from a LeBron fan boy. I appreciate a great player. He never did anything wrong to me so I don't understand the hate that goes around on him, he's the best player on the planet. I think your confusion is between being a.shoot first player and a play maker. This guy can.score at ease yet still plays within the team concept. That's one thing I've always respected about his game. You've obviously got something against him, what I don't know.
This, and I feel like lebron is the best scorer on the field this year averages so many points with GREAT efficiency and the most shots made per game in the league with the less freethrows out of the top 5 scorers.
Why must I have something against the guy to think that a guy that has averaged 20 shots a game for his career is a shoot first player? Shoot first to me means that a player shoots more than anything else and that is what Lebron does. He is playing on a team with two other great scorers and is still taking 18 shots a game. If Lebron wasn't looking for his shot he would average double digit assists. If he was only looking for his shot he would lead the league in scoring. He doesn't only look for his shot but he looks for it a lot and more than anything else and that is what he should do. As far as hating the guy there are plenty of reasons to have hated the guy in the past. It's your choice to have never disliked him as an athlete but the guy was a bit of an ass for years dancing during games and what not. The hate for the guy got out of hand so I personally don't dislike him that much anymore minus not liking the team stacking.
Because every time he comes up in any discussion you have some knock on him. He was young so what, people overreact to simple things now a days. Oh he started dancing during games when he was 18,19,20 years old, kids do dumb things and he came into this kid a teenager. He's obviously matured mentally and physically. You guys act like this is the first time someone ever said, "hey we should join forces, our team would be pretty good if we did". It's been done before just not on this level, plus they did it in the internet age, where everything is magnified x1,000. Ah well.
Kobe welcomed his stacked as **** paper team but failed hard. Remember them laker fans already acting like they were a lock at the finals no matter what and now they might not even make the playoffs :grin:
Saying he is shoot first and saying he isn't the greatest of all time isn't a knock on the guy. You keep inferring what the things I say mean and jumping in mid conversation without figuring out the context. The guy was much older than 18-20 when he was doing those things but I agree he's better now.
To me, shoot-first doesn't have anything to do with how many shots they take, or what they do best. It has more to do with what they are thinking when they first get the ball in a normal offensive position (ie not end of shot clock, etc). I watched just about every Heat game, and I can tell you that the majority of the time, when LeBron receives the ball, the FIRST thing he's doing is scanning the defense to see if he can hit the open man on a quick cut or pop. If he doesn't see anything he likes, THEN he goes into attack mode, and so on. Either way, he's always FIRST looking to facilitate, unless the situation demands otherwise. When Kobe gets the ball, the FIRST thing he's looking to do is figure out how he can get his shot off (until recently, but I digress). To me, that is a major difference in philosophies and I can't understand how you equate them.
The problem is people put a lot of weight on the score. You don't get mention if you got 15 assists and got 4 points, but the one who received 10 of your assist with 25 points got mentioned and labeled as a hero for winning the game.
Bringing up Kobe looking to pass a lot less doesn't mean that LeBron isn't looking to shoot first. LeBron is playing with two guys that were top 10 scorers the year before they teamed up. If he was really looking to distribute first on every position he wouldn't be averaging a little less than 7 assists a game.
Literally just heard on Mike-and-Mike... Chris Mullin, who called the game for ESPN Radio last night, said 'I'm so impressed, he's analyzing the defense every play, and it's incredible, he's actually pass-first'. So Chris Mullin says he's a pass-first player even after he just announced the game where LeBron scored 39 points on 24 shots. Is that enough for you? Or do you have more basketball knowledge than Chris Mullin?
Chris Mullin is entitled to his opinion on what shoot first is just like you are. Last time I checked Mullin isn't the end all on all things basketball. Commentators often have different opinions about what a player is and talk about it during and after the game.
