LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

[King_B_Mack]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

Yeah, that was fan made. That Michael Jordan commercial they used was from years before LeBron even made that commercial they mixed with it. It was damn good though.

[702]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

To go to a different topic, I've been thinking...

Not trying to insinuate anything absurd like he's washed up, but have we already seen the best LeBron well ever see? He's 30 this season, tons of miles, his defense slipped a little last year... Feels strange to say about the best player on Earth, but I think we may have.

[BraedenG33]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

To go to a different topic, I've been thinking...

Not trying to insinuate anything absurd like he's washed up, but have we already seen the best LeBron well ever see? He's 30 this season, tons of miles, his defense slipped a little last year... Feels strange to say about the best player on Earth, but I think we may have.

I find that interesting too. I hear people all the time saying "Oh we still have at least 4 or 5 years of LeBron prime." What makes that a given. He's at 40000 (well 39,993, but who's counting?) minutes, he's 30, and he has extra wear and tear since he started younger than a lot of guys and has played in a lot of playoff games and international games. I feel like we see another 2 or 3 years of prime LeBron, then I think he starts to slip into a more human-looking level of performance, something like 21-6-8 and defense that is solid for stretches but his effort on that end of that floor slips quite a bit. Then I think at like 36-37 after failing to win a title in Cleveland (whenever his contract that he signs in two years with the new TV deal expires) I think he signs with like the lakers and win a ring as the third or fourth best player on some future stacked Lakers team. Because that's how things have to end since God hates Cleveland lol.

[Caveman24]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

Anyway we can lock this thread? This is just turning into the LBJ thread pt2 y'all ain't slick lol.

[23]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

Thats what it is though Caveman

Steve locked the other and made this one a front page thread which can never be locked by us mods, so this is the new lebron thread

[lilteapot]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

To go to a different topic, I've been thinking...

Not trying to insinuate anything absurd like he's washed up, but have we already seen the best LeBron well ever see? He's 30 this season, tons of miles, his defense slipped a little last year... Feels strange to say about the best player on Earth, but I think we may have.

We've seen the best version of Lebron in terms of athleticism, but overall play? I don't think he's quite peaked yet. We saw in the finals just how much he improved from midrange. we already know how he improved from 3 but IMO the fact that he was able to sink midrange shots consistently in the finals was crucial.

I think he'll be better next year than this year. He won't have to play a ton of minutes and try to manage without a guy like Wade missing one game and being out the next.

[Caveman24]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

Thats what it is though Caveman

Steve locked the other and made this one a front page thread which can never be locked by us mods, so this is the new lebron thread

Smh fine 😒

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

Anyway we can lock this thread? This is just turning into the LBJ thread pt2 y'all ain't slick lol.

The hell kind of thread were you expecting when LeBron James is in the title? Lol

[Caveman24]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

The hell kind of thread were you expecting when LeBron James is in the title? Lol

I thought this was just for him going back to CLE lol.

[wwharton]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

We've seen the best version of Lebron in terms of athleticism, but overall play? I don't think he's quite peaked yet. We saw in the finals just how much he improved from midrange. we already know how he improved from 3 but IMO the fact that he was able to sink midrange shots consistently in the finals was crucial.

I think he'll be better next year than this year. He won't have to play a ton of minutes and try to manage without a guy like Wade missing one game and being out the next.

Yeah, we've only JUST started seeing him become more efficient the last couple of years. You don't lose that and I don't think he's reached the peak of that yet. Yes he's fast, strong, and can jump really high... and all of that starts to fade with age. He also does things on a basketball court that a man his size shouldn't be able to do, and he's not getting any smaller. He's got plenty of room to grow in the half court set. At 37 he'll probably play more like a point power forward, with few being able to stop him from the high/low post without double teaming... and he'd still have great court presence and vision to make the right pass when the double team comes.

The only thing I can agree with slipping sooner than later is his individual defense, but I disagree that it's already starting to slip. I think he may be fooling people right now, making it look easy to dominate on offense and still be a great wing defender... takes A LOT of energy. That role will be made easier, but even when this does start to slip he'll still be a great team defender and floor general on that end of the court. KG's individual defense went away years ago and I'd still take him today to be the floor general for my defense.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

I just wonder how long he can stay reletively injury free....

besides his annual sprained ankle or playoff cramps, lol

[ojandpizza]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

LeBron's "slip" last season defensively wasn't just him either. Bosh slipped some, Wade slipped a lot, Battier wasn't always in the rotation. Their defense as a whole was just hit or miss last year, where the prior two seasons before it was much more consistent.. Idk what the issue was, or where to point the finger, but they all looked worse at that end last year than previous years..

We'll see how it looks this year for comparison before I'll say he's slipped. Because last year the games he was "engaged" at that end he was still a force. You could noticeably see a difference in his defensive activity towards the end of the season and playoffs in comparison to earlier in the year and what his stat line shows.

Though he might not ever be at his "peak" defensive ability again he is still at a much higher level than most people at his position, and if Cleveland holds on to Wiggins he will have even more value at that end because he won't consistently have to defend on the high scoring wing players or guards that are carving up Kyrie. The less energy spent at that end the better for his overall game.

[Scofield]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

I think LBJ can still get much better as an offensive player. I don't mean in terms of efficiency, I guess I'm talking about the way he scores. He's yet to master the "nuance" of scoring if that makes any sense. He still has to make one or two moves to many or default to his athleticism because he doesn't quite have a complete skill-set.

[cavsfan2]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

I just wonder how long he can stay reletively injury free....

besides his annual sprained ankle or playoff cramps, lol

Well if they trade Wiggins and force Lebron to guard the other teams best player the whole game that inevitability will come a lot sooner.

Lets project how many PPG guys on the Cavs will score this upcoming season. For the sake of argument, I'll make these projections on the conservative side.
Lebron: 24 ppg, Kyrie: 18 ppg, Waiters: 14 ppg, Wiggins 9 ppg, Tristan 9 ppg, Varejao: 6 ppg, Bennett 6 ppg, Dellevedova 5 ppg, Miller 4 ppg

That comes out to 95 points per game, but lets remember that this is slightly low balling players considering that these projections have everyone with lower ppg than they scored last year with the exception of Bennett, who will be better and Dellevedova who will have a bigger role this year. Also, this only accounts for the first nine players on the roster, it doesnt include what minor contributions the 10-12 guys on the bench might provide.

My point here is that the Cavs will be fine on offense. People will say that since Lebron is back there wont be the same amount of shots for everyone else, but the fact is Lebron will improve their efficiency while being extremely efficient himself.

As for spot up shooting, the Cavs guards are actually pretty good at that. Wiggins for all his offensive flaws is actually a pretty good spot up shooter.
Via Synergy Sports
Wiggins shooting good.PNG
His weakness is mid range and shooting off the dribble, which wont be a huge problem while he's playing with Lebron.

Dion Waiters shot 41.6% from deep while catching and shooting, which is better than 73 percent of the league.

Kyrie was bad last year at spot up shooting, but in his rookie year he shot 47 percent in those situations from deep. Why did those number drop off? My guess is because in his rookie year he played off the ball more and he prepared more for that role. When he became the main ball handler, he probably didnt focus so much on this aspect of his game. Now that hes gonna be off the ball more, I bet those number will go back up.

So once again, the Cavs as currently constructed will be good on offense. My main concern with this team is defense. Kyrie is a poor defender, Dion is a below average defender, Tristan is an ok defender but is not a shot blocker, and Varejao gets bullied by bigger players and is not a shot blocker. It doesnt get a whole lot better when you get to the bench with the exception of Dellavedova. Wiggins is a bright spot on this side of the ball because he can actually be a good defender right off the bat and he can relieve Lebron of the responsibility of guarding the other teams best player. This will result in less wear and tear on Lebron's body, which will mean a fresher Lebron come playoff time. Last year Lebron was clearly tired in the Finals, and he isnt getting any younger.

As for Kevin Love, I am not going to bash him. He is a great offensive player and rebounder. However, we cannot ignore his defensive flaws. For PFs and Cs in the NBA, Kevin Love ranked worse in opponent FG percentage at the rim with 57.4% out of players who give up more than 6 shots per game at the rim. Also, Love ranked 11th in the NBA in FGA at the rim with 9.1 per game. This essentially means he gives up alot of easy shots while not properly defending them. As for help defense, he does not have the length, lateral quickness, or the instincts to be an adequate help defender.

If you trade Wiggins Waiters, and Tristan for Love, not only will you lose alot of depth, but you will also create a really, really bad defensive team.

My point is, Love is a really good offensive player, but a poor defensive player. The Cavs are good on offense, but not really good at defense. Why would you trade one of your few good defenders for a good offensive player but a poor defender for a team in that situation? It only makes your flaws more severe while not affecting the offense nearly as much.

In my opinion, the Cavs should use some of their assets that isnt named Andrew Wiggins, Kyrie Irving, or Lebron James and look for a good defensive big.

EDIT: One more thing. The Cavs deoth chart at the center position currently consists of Anderson Varejao and Brandon Haywood, neither of whom have been healthy recently. Varejao will be injured by January as the trend has been the last three seasons. Thats another argument for going after a center who can play defense.

[jeebs9]

Re: LeBron James: I'm coming back to Cleveland (OFFICIAL)

The way he scores.... lol.... What else does the man have to do? His catch and shoot game is the best it's ever been. His pull up jump has been just as good. He gets in the lane still and he still making the right pass. And he still going in the post up and taking guys out for lunch.