Lebron James passing to the corner when he gets in the paint

liunatic · Jun 8, 2012

durvasa said: ↑

Jopatmc has a point. While the corner 3 is one of the best shots in basketball, LeBron James in the paint is an even better option.

Miami has shot 35% on corner 3s this year with LeBron on the floor. They shot 39% last year with LeBron on the floor. (Strangely enough, their corner 3 shooting percentage has gone up dramatically with LeBron not on the floor). That's equivalent to shooting 53% and 59% from 2, respectively.

LeBron is a devastating finisher at the rim (well over 70%, not including the free throws he often draws). Overall, when he gets to the paint I would think he'd convert at least 60% on his shots. Of course, those percentages will go down if the defense has multiple defenders to meet him at the rim. In those situation, I can understand him passing to an open teammate in the corner.

His instinct is to find the open teammate which is great for most players. But I think whether he passes out or not should be dictated by how good a look he can get rather than how open the guy standing in the corner may happen to be.
Click to expand...

Has anyone thought that maybe the reason why he finishes at such a high percentage is because he knows what shots he should take as opposed to shots he shouldn't? Look at Durant.

People getting causation and correlation mixed up. Just because he shoots 70% now doesn't mean that an increased usage rate going to the rim will make his points jump up linearly. Hell, his shooting percentage would drop a significant amount.

Besides. the game of basketball is about exploiting rotations and mismatches. You always pass it to the open guy. The reason why Lebron finishes so well is because he always is a step ahead of the defense (help doesnt come fast enough, man just gets beat straight up, bad defensive positioning).

jopatmc · Jun 8, 2012

liunatic said: ↑

Has anyone thought that maybe the reason why he finishes at such a high percentage is because he knows what shots he should take as opposed to shots he shouldn't? Look at Durant.

People getting causation and correlation mixed up. Just because he shoots 70% now doesn't mean that an increased usage rate going to the rim will make his points jump up linearly. Hell, his shooting percentage would drop a significant amount.

Besides. the game of basketball is about exploiting rotations and mismatches. You always pass it to the open guy. The reason why Lebron finishes so well is because he always is a step ahead of the defense (help doesnt come fast enough, man just gets beat straight up, bad defensive positioning).
Click to expand...

Well, it could be increased usage rate will make his percentages go up................kinda like last night????

WinorLoseMate · Jun 8, 2012

What's crazy about last night is everyone talks about his stat line and how great it was... but the manner of efficiency in which he got his numbers was even more incredible to me anyway.

ParaSolid · Jun 8, 2012

jopatmc said: ↑

Well, it could be increased usage rate will make his percentages go up................kinda like last night????
Click to expand...

Increased usage rate...going at the rim. Last night's game happened for LeBron because he was making jumpshots like he stole Durant's thunder! It doesn't really prove your point.

jopatmc · Jun 15, 2012

Check out Lebron's shot chart from last night's game.

And a couple specifics:

3rd quarter, 6 minute mark - Lebron posts up down low, defense collapses, he throws it out for the wide-open three-point shot. Good play. If he continues to post up like this, Miami wins the series.

3rd quarter, 2 minutes mark - facing up from the perimeter, drives into the paint and finishes over 4 collapsing defenders. There were 3 wide open jump shooters on the perimeter. Not the correct play. He should have thrown it in the corner for the wide open 3. Oh, but it is the correct play. Lebron cannot be stopped when he is on the move driving into the paint. He cannot be stopped.

It adds up to a win. When Lebron is selfish and plays to score first and pass second the Heat are a much more dangerous team. When Lebron plays to facilitate first and then takes all the bail out shots when everything else breaks down he is denying his team their greatest advantage, himself as the #1 scoring option.

Forums

Lebron James passing to the corner when he gets in the paint

liunatic Member

jopatmc Contributing Member

WinorLoseMate Member

ParaSolid Member

jopatmc Contributing Member

Share This Page

About ClutchFans

Rockets Content

Support ClutchFans!