LeBron James' Passing

• Sage

  

  http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2010/02/lebron-on-pace-to-shatter-forward.html
  
  Pretty good article on here that puts some historical perspective on the season LeBron has had passing the ball.
  
  Clearly, I didn't grow up watching Bird play, but I don't think there's anyway he could be any better than LBJ in regards to his passing.
  
  For me, it's my favorite part of LBJ's game, which I don't think gets nearly enough credit.
• ytownfootball

  

  I would agree that it is overlooked were it not for receiving the MVP last season. He's a pure player who has little in the way of deficiencies.
  
  I was glad to see the author noted his pick up in pace without Mo on the floor. It certainly would have left room for argument had he not, but he addressed it well.
• Footwedge

  Whew...after reading the thread title, I thought the King had died.
• pkebker

  Footwedge wrote: Whew...after reading the thread title, I thought the King had died.

  haha that's funny.
  
  Yeah LeBron is an excellent passer, an underrated aspect to his game that many of the other superstars simply don't have.
• skank

  

  pkebker wrote:

  Footwedge wrote: Whew...after reading the thread title, I thought the King had died.

  haha that's funny.
  
  Yeah LeBron is an excellent passer, an underrated aspect to his game that many of the other superstars simply don't have.

  I don't believe that aspect of his game is underrated, I believe he is given credit for it all the time.
• 3reppom

  

  He is given credit for it frequently. But it is rarely talked about in terms of being the thing he does best on the court, which it is
• hoops23

  

  LeBron sucks.
• skank

  

  3reppom wrote: He is given credit for it frequently. But it is rarely talked about in terms of being the thing he does best on the court, which it is

  Agreed.
• skank

  

  LTrain23 wrote: LeBron sucks.

  If trueblue23 is standing behind you with a gun....well....just type yes....we all know he can barely read.
• hoops23

  

  skank wrote:

  LTrain23 wrote: LeBron sucks.

  If trueblue23 is standing behind you with a gun....well....just type yes....we all know he can barely read.

  lol, ok I laughed.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  3reppom wrote: He is given credit for it frequently. But it is rarely talked about in terms of being the thing he does best on the court, which it is

  No it isn't, that's why it isn't talked about that way.
• hoops23

  

  Seriously though, LeBron has a unique passing ability. He doesn't always make the obvious pass, but a lot of times the spectacular pass that leaves you thinking "holy shit" or any other surprised expression.
  
  His court vision is honestly second to none.
  
  To dig a little deeper, LeBron averages 8.5 Assists per game. However, per 48 minutes he averages 10.4. For a guy who averages 30 PPG and plays at the 3, that is amazing. To put that in perspective, per 48 minutes LeBron is within 3 assists per game of Chris Paul, who many people claim to be 1 of the 2 best assist men in the NBA.
  
  For a small forward to rank 6th in the entire NBA and be the only non PG in the top 10 just speaks volumes.
  
  I no doubt believe that one season, LeBron will average something like 25/10/10. It may come a little later on down the road when Lebron looks to facilitate a little bit more.
• wes_mantooth

  

  His passing as a big man is something else....only better would be Magic.
• SQ_Crazies

  

  Personally, I don't see the season long triple double average ever happening. I don't see him ever averaging 10 boards.
• wes_mantooth

  

  SQ_Crazies wrote: Personally, I don't see the season long triple double average ever happening. I don't see him ever averaging 10 boards.

  I agree. I could see him averaging the 10 assists possibly, but those 10 boards will never happen.
• se-alum

  

  It would be way too demanding in this day and age to average a triple-double over a whole season.
• This_DJ_3

  I may be asking for it here, but i will go out on a limb here and say that Lebron's passing ability is equal to Magic Johnson's. Magic was not the scorer that Lebron is, nor did he have the scoring burden that Lebron carries for the Cavs. This gave him the ability to sit back and average 12 assists a game. Imagine if Lebron was drafted onto that Lakers team and came in from the beginning and all he had to do was run the show and set everybody up.
• hoops23

  

  SQ_Crazies wrote: Personally, I don't see the season long triple double average ever happening. I don't see him ever averaging 10 boards.

  He may not, I'm just saying it wouldn't surprise me..
  
  I think once LeBron gets deeper into his career, he may work from the post a little bit more, which obviously gives him more rebounding chances.
• 3reppom

  

  SQ_Crazies wrote: Personally, I don't see the season long triple double average ever happening. I don't see him ever averaging 10 boards.

  I agree, it won't happen. Couple of reasons why, the pace of today's game is so slow in historical terms. The average game has about 90 possessions per team, during Oscars triple double season the average was around 115. The league wide shooting percentage was .426, this season it is .459. In combination there are far fewer shots taken, missed and available for rebounds. LeBron is the only person alive who can make a legit run at a triple double season, but he won't ever reach that landmark the way the game is played today.
• hoops23

  

  3reppom wrote:

  SQ_Crazies wrote: Personally, I don't see the season long triple double average ever happening. I don't see him ever averaging 10 boards.

  I agree, it won't happen. Couple of reasons why, the pace of today's game is so slow in historical terms. The average game has about 90 possessions per team, during Oscars triple double season the average was around 115. The league wide shooting percentage was .426, this season it is .459. In combination there are far fewer shots taken, missed and available for rebounds. LeBron is the only person alive who can make a legit run at a triple double season, but he won't ever reach that landmark the way the game is played today.

  Say it ain't so? I thought bball back then had better shooters?
• pkebker

  LTrain23 wrote: Seriously though, LeBron has a unique passing ability. He doesn't always make the obvious pass, but a lot of times the spectacular pass that leaves you thinking "holy shit" or any other surprised expression.
  
  His court vision is honestly second to none.
  
  To dig a little deeper, LeBron averages 8.5 Assists per game. However, per 48 minutes he averages 10.4. For a guy who averages 30 PPG and plays at the 3, that is amazing. To put that in perspective, per 48 minutes LeBron is within 3 assists per game of Chris Paul, who many people claim to be 1 of the 2 best assist men in the NBA.
  
  For a small forward to rank 6th in the entire NBA and be the only non PG in the top 10 just speaks volumes.
  
  I no doubt believe that one season, LeBron will average something like 25/10/10. It may come a little later on down the road when Lebron looks to facilitate a little bit more.

  Second to Steve Nash**
• Hb31187

  

  Nash Paul and Derron Williams and Rondo all have better vision and pasing I think, But LBJ is certainly a great passer and easily the best non point guard passer in the league
• sleeper

  

  LTrain23 wrote:

  3reppom wrote:

  SQ_Crazies wrote: Personally, I don't see the season long triple double average ever happening. I don't see him ever averaging 10 boards.

  I agree, it won't happen. Couple of reasons why, the pace of today's game is so slow in historical terms. The average game has about 90 possessions per team, during Oscars triple double season the average was around 115. The league wide shooting percentage was .426, this season it is .459. In combination there are far fewer shots taken, missed and available for rebounds. LeBron is the only person alive who can make a legit run at a triple double season, but he won't ever reach that landmark the way the game is played today.

  Say it ain't so? I thought bball back then had better shooters?

  The morons on here will come back with the easy "they actually played defense during that period" because they are too nostalgic(read: ignorant) to realize the players of now, would rape the players of back then.
• 3reppom

  

  It's not about the shooting abilities of previous era's. Truth be told I don't think todays players are any worse as shooters than the players who played in the 60's or 70's. The biggest difference is on the defensive side of the ball. Todays defenses are more complex than the defenses of that era were, as a result coaches spend much more time developing schemes that break down the complex rotation patterns employed by most defenses today either with the dribble or with the pass. Look at Mike Dantoni's system, it is the most innovative offensive concept to hit the NBA since the triangle offense reached its zenith with the Bulls. 20 or 30 years ago it wouldn't have had nearly the same impact that it had when Steve Nash was unleashed upon the NBA. I think that the overall defensive abilities of the average player has declined since the 60's and 70's primarily because it isn't stressed to the same degree when learning the game as it was in previous era's. But there are ways to hide defensive liabilities on a team that weren't employed in that era.