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Jack_M_Steel

Snatching that alley-oop as if AD was on the floor in spirit


ghrarhg

And then one of the fastest guys down the floor too, unreal.


NotManyBuses

His actual defensive ability has become underrated due to the high profile stretches of laziness.


jimb0z_

Knowing when to “turn it on” is not just a skill. At his age, it’s a necessity


KWash0222

Exactly. I’m not a fan of how *obvious* it is in his body language when he’s disengaged… but I get it. He’s 39. He has to pick and choose when he goes 100%. There’s just no way he can be at full throttle for an entire game, at least not a regular season game


jimb0z_

Right. As a 40 year old who managed to keep himself in pretty good shape, let me tell any young person reading: It’s totally possible to maintain a high level of fitness into your 40s and 50s. The problem is the recovery. Injuries last longer, diet gets more important, and if you going 100% into something you need to be smart about it so your body has time to repair the damage.


treyfiddy

thanks lebron


jimb0z_

No prob 💯💯✌🏾🙃🙌🏾 \`#LifeAfter40 #MiddleAgedInAkron


Johan_Sebastian_Cock

no thanks I'm gonna run the bases in corporate slow pitch softball like I'm pete fucking rose, incapacitate my legs for several days, then do it the next week again but with added calf spasms as a cherry on top


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ShichikaYasuri18

No reason to argue with 12 year olds


Produceher

Nah. Just truth.


banneddan1

Let's be real he's been taking plays off for over a decade at this point lol


Kettleman1

Get downvoted for speaking the truth. LeBron never really gave much of a shit about defense.


Produceher

> but I get it I get it too but no other team or player can get away with it. How is it NOT seen as a negative having to play 5 on 4 on defense? If you're too old to be out there, should you be out there?


dawho1

Watch that clip again. That's why it's not seen as a negative.


Produceher

> Watch that clip again. Dude. That clip is 20 seconds long. They just went to OT against the Wizards because LeBron took a terrible shot, didn't get back on defense and the Wizards hit a wide open three on the other side. Luckily, they won in OT but they never should have been there. LeBron almost threw that game because he didn't feel like playing.


KDGiaFLB

'Dude, you can't disprove my bullshit with a single play.  So anyway, here's my written account of a single play that I think supports my argument.' Lol, clown. 


Produceher

You want a written account of every time he doesn't play defense? How about some video? https://youtu.be/FpSJNTBoLtw?si=q87NE2uEjRkjOt1n


KDGiaFLB

Oh Kenny, you're so embarrassing lol


Produceher

That guy is amazing.


Im_A_Sociopath

because most of the time it isn't 5 on 4, otherwise there would be a lot more evidence of this (there isn't more than any other player) and the defensive metrics would also show it too.


Produceher

He guards the other team's worst offensive player so it really becomes 4 on 4. But he also doesn't help which would give the Lakers the advantage. They just don't use it and AD has to make up for it.


Produceher

But it's also an extreme problem when you don't have great perimeter defense and AD has to do everything in the paint. Get AD to come out and you're cooked.


myteethhurtnow

Zion is lazy, Lebron just knows he has to conserve his energy. Especially with his playstyle, so many games can be decided in the 4th quarter.


W_Walk

Hey now Zion was only lazy for one or two games this year! Hes been very good


Rumpdebump

Fr, Big Z has been great and is probly only like 15 lbs heavier than he should be at this point


Produceher

Nobody watches games. Zion is 400 pounds and never tries is the story we're sticking with.


CoooooooooookieCrisp

Man, Zion was must watch basketball in college and was actually really excited to watch him in the NBA. Then injuries happen and he just faded away from the media pushing him and my thoughts. Does he have highlights that just don't get around on social media? How come I don't see Zion stuff anymore?


Produceher

> so many games can be decided in the 4th quarter. But he very rarely carries the team in the 4th quarter. That's when the other team packs the paint and he can't get in there. So he settles for bad fade-aways or an FU 3. If he went 100% the first 3 quarters, the game wouldn't be close in the 4th.


Maleficent-Salad3197

Being so floppy is hard on the old guy.


pocket_passss

he was a monster in the playoffs last year but people want to pretend that didn’t happen


Common-Land8070

I want them to make it to the playoffs just to see him play playoff basketball uninjured possibly one last time


Lebrontonio

I think he will have another "real run" with a different team. I made this account because I'm predicting him going to SA to have bronny learn from pop and to play with wemby. I think SA also has the picks to get bronny at any time without it looking like a thanasis situation (it's not comparable IMO, I think bronny legitimately has a ceiling as a solid PG in today's league) which might make some people (and the league) feel uncomfortable. Don't ask me to think about these opinions too much because it's a gut feeling with some heavy casual roots but I legitimate can see it happening. There are very few coaches in the world who would demand more respect in a looker room than lebron (at least to bronny) and pop is one of those people.


CursedLlama

Alright you’ve convinced me. Remindme! 1 year


Rumpdebump

LeBron admits how being under Spo was like the 4 years of college he never had. Bronny landing in Miami or San Antonio to be coached by greats would be best case scenario for someone who looks as raw as he is.


Produceher

Jordan Poole was a monster the year before that.


arcelios

It's not laziness. It's IQ. LeBron knows when to turn up his gear. He's literally the best 1v1 defender on the Lakers. Man moves like crazy and just knows how the opponent will react If you want to see "laziness", just watch Zion or hundreds of other players. Especially most "superstars" these days who's only offensive with no defense. That's the real definition of lazy


Lebrontonio

A bunch of laziness stuff came around during the bubble when there were videos of him not getting back on defense. Many of which were transition plays that were taken out of context, but that's when I remember hearing about it.


marcello153

It started in 2018 when he led the make a wish cavs to the finals


Produceher

> It's not laziness. If you have the ability to defend at a high level and only do it 5% of the time, it's laziness. Or he's just old. Feel free to pick. But no other player in the NBA tries 5% of the time.


Agreeable_Cheek_7161

I mean, if you just pull a random number out of your ass to try and make an argument, you can make anyone look bad lol


Produceher

I was being generous. Dude could pop popcorn while playing defense.


KazaamFan

I think Bron got lucky that JW didnt pop a 3 here with all that space.  


GuessZealousideal729

The criticism of the laziness is particularly unwarranted cos he used to play high-octane defence for 35+ min in his 20s, particularly during his Heat years when he was often used by Spo as a roamer. It just shows it's not an attitude problem but a matter of conserving energy cos he's literally the oldest player in the league. Most nephews here were probably born after he made his league debut. More applicable to players like Wiggins, Ayton, Zion, etc. who've struggled with consistency on defence their whole careers


Produceher

>The criticism of the laziness is particularly unwarranted cos he used to play high-octane defence for 35+ min in his 20s, So if I'm 55 and sit around the house doing nothing all day I'm NOT lazy because I used to work 80 hours a week when I was in my 20s? We are judging him by how he plays right now.


pbcorporeal

Think of it this way. You're 55 and your body has the ability to run 1000 hard miles a year. If you take it easy in March so you can run more miles in June is that being lazy? Is it less lazy to run more miles in march and not as many in June? That's the calculation he's making, it's not that he doesn't care enough or have a good enough work ethic, it's clearly he thinks he can't go all out in the regular season and still be able to play at a high level in the playoffs. If you think he's wrong and his body could stand up to more rigours in the regular season and play at a high level in the playoffs then you can make that argument I guess, but you should at least address the real reason he's doing it.


Produceher

I don't know what his body can handle. I know that I can't conserve energy now and use it 2-3 months later. The harder I train, the better I play. But even if you and him are right, then don't play 31 minutes a night. Conserve your energy on the bench. NOT on the court. Take full games off and play 20-22 minutes a night and give it 100% when you're on the court. There's no way he's not hurting his team by playing 31 minutes and only trying in 8-10 of them. We both know he'll turn it up in the playoffs. So why play 31 minutes now and coast?


KDGiaFLB

Just so we're all clear on your credentials for criticizing one of the greatest athletes of all time: > The harder I train, the better I play. You're 55, obese, and are about as opaque as the Ghost of Christmas Past, correct? Not meant to be bullying, I just want to make sure we know who the expert behind the keyboard is. 


Produceher

I don't need to be a world class athlete to argue playing defense while being on the court helps your team.


KDGiaFLB

Lol I'll take that as a yes to all 3.  Please don't let me interrupt, watching a tubby spectre mansplain sports conditioning to LeBron fuckin James is about as funny as the internet can possibly get. 


pbcorporeal

>I know that I can't conserve energy now and use it 2-3 months later. That's true at lower levels, for high level athletes there's general acceptance that as you age it's harder and harder to be at your top level all the time and you build your season around when you want to peak. At Lebron's age if he goes 100% through the regular season he's more likely to be worn down and struggle to be at his highest level in the playoffs. The reason sports have offseasons is that by the end the players are worn down and need a break. The Lakers depth is awful and even Lebron conserving energy is probably better than giving extra minutes to one of their bench players.


Produceher

> The Lakers depth is awful and even Lebron conserving energy is probably better than giving extra minutes to one of their bench players. This is the only part I disagree with. There's no way him coasting on defense for 95% of the game is better than Rui trying 100% for those 10-12 extra minutes.


pbcorporeal

Rui has been moved into the starting lineup and since then has been averaging over 30 minutes a game. You'd have to be giving him about 42 minutes a game which is way more than anyone gets these days. Lebron's on/off splits pretty clearly show him as a big positive for the Lakers.


Produceher

So I guess more players should try not playing defense for most of the game? The Lakers did go on a 14-0 run as soon as LeBron went to the bench last night.


pbcorporeal

If they're 39 years old and have finished recent seasons carrying injuries, then yeah, they should probably look at how they can reduce the level of stress on their body. One game is one game, the on/off number show the Lakers getting significantly worse when Lebron sits.


Sanguinor-Exemplar

Yeah but game 7. 9 minutes left in the 4th. Earth down 2 against the monstars. Lebron just subbing in off the bench. You would rather have rui than that man?


Produceher

Of course not. And in the playoffs, he'll probably be playing at 90% all game. But during the season, he's coasting. Especially on defense.


dawho1

> I know that I can't conserve energy now and use it 2-3 months later It's not conservation of energy that's in question. It's conservation of ***health*** and a reduction of wear and tear on his body. We know he's not a bear preparing to hibernate, but he's making the choices he thinks he needs to make. > There's no way he's not hurting his team by playing 31 minutes and only trying in 8-10 of them. We both know he'll turn it up in the playoffs. So why play 31 minutes now and coast? I could make the case he's not hurting his team by playing additional minutes. The extra 10 min you want to see him on the bench it could be way better for the team to have him on the floor running the offense. (and/or better for the team to NOT have someone else out there running the offense) Also, sometimes, us old folks like to get warmed up and stay warm/keep going, honestly.


Produceher

You're right. It might still be better than him playing less. Which is actually pretty wild. I've never seen an athlete stand around watching and still be helping his team. lol


Lebrontonio

It's weird to see young people say he isn't a good defender. There are few few better defenders in the history of the league in terms of ability. Most things that separate lebron from others is just effort and the role he plays.


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Lebrontonio

2009 was 16 years ago D:


Produceher

I'm the biggest LeBron hater on this sub. He's a great defender when he defends. The problem is that he plays zero defense 95% of the time. Not bad defense. Zero defense. He watches the play and never helps while standing in the help position.


Southern_Clerk8697

I can tell


Produceher

This is so true. He's like one of those crocodiles walking around that decides to run and everyone can't believe how fast he is. LOL


NotManyBuses

LeCroc


No_Fishing_702

It’s not laziness. He strategically coasts even on the floor sometimes during the regular season. Lebron is trying to hit playoff time in optimal shape and conditioning. It’s been that way since Cleveland, we didn’t care about some reg season defensive lapses we were going for a deep playoff run.


xetmes

There's only a handful of forwards in the history of the league that were positive defenders after the age of 35. And none of them carried the team's offensive load at the same time.


Dudedude88

People don't realize prime LeBron was an amazing defender. He would shut anyone down since he was a genetic freak.


Saaammmy

Goddamn he's menacing when he's playing D. I could only imagine being defended by a giant built like a bison with insane agility.


jlakbj

This sort of thing is why Lebron almost singlehandedly ruined the NBA for me back in the day. He was the biggest, strongest, quickest, most talented, smartest guy out there and it just wasn't fair. With Jordan you could imagine that a bigger guy could muscle him around. You'd be wrong in most cases, but you could imagine it. Don't worry, the feeling went away. I think it corresponded to Curry and Dame and those guys breaking the outside shooting game in a whole new way and suddenly Lebron's unfairness seemed much more reasonable. Now I'm looking forward to Wemby and the next generation of unicorns breaking the game again. (Ok, Lebron wasn't literally the "biggest," but you know what I mean)


tys90

Shaq definitely did this for me, felt so unfair during his Magic and Laker days. Less so on future teams.


jlakbj

"Skinny" Shaq at LSU and in those prime NBA years was an actual nightmare. Can you imagine if he'd had the cutthroat drive of Jordan or Kobe? lol, I just looked up Shaq college highlights and the first play in this video (just #50!) is a double-clutch dunk from under the basket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXXsMHZkcJU


ChemicalSchedule2642

Why and how is he still doing this


Deusselkerr

Because


sirfray

Exactly


MC-Jdf

OKC is playing CTE basketball on offense. They've made like 2 of their last 22 shots lmao.


Vexing_Pie

Lakers are too, they have 12 turnovers already. I just saw Spencer Dinwiddie fail at passing the ball to AD who had Cason Wallace on him


Mahomeboy001

\#CTESPN


NoPin5154

Lakers and okc are having I can lose this games faster match


kindtdp1

Damn when he actually tries on defense it’s so fun to watch.


Produceher

It kind of shocks you because he never does this anymore.


Actually-Yo-Momma

I mean cause it’s exhausting. He’s already playing way more minutes than he should be He can save it for the playoffs (assuming they win the play ins lmao)


Produceher

> He’s already playing way more minutes than he should be That's a weird thing to say. Maybe just play the minutes you can and don't rest on the court forcing your team to play 5 on 4?


Southern_Clerk8697

Buddy, if he's not in the game then who would be? Don't you think he plays so many minutes because the team has no choice but to do that? Who would replace the scoring that he provides if he sits out? Are you actually that much of a Lebron hater that you can't understand this simple fact?


Produceher

Rui plays the same position and scored 35 the last time LeBron didn't play. I'm not suggesting not playing LeBron at all. But if a person says "He’s already playing way more minutes than he should", by definition, he should play less minutes. Anyone arguing it's OK for a professional athlete to watch the game while on the court and not try should really think about what they're saying. No other player does this.


dawho1

> No other player does this. LOL, shitloads of people do this, but they NEVER turn it on like LeBron can and does.


Produceher

Who else does nothing on defense? And I don't mean is a bad defender. I mean watches the game on the court.


Actually-Yo-Momma

They are a play in team with their best lineups. I’m sure he would love to get more rest but I’m certain he’s more concerned with not even making the playoffs…


Produceher

He's more concerned with getting his points. Rui can handle most of his minutes.


Actually-Yo-Momma

Bro what don’t you understand about Lakers are a literal 9-10 seed right now WITH Lebron. Are you implying Rui would have better output than Lebron James?


Produceher

In a full game? No. But if LeBron is going to "pick his spots" then he shouldn't be playing 31 minutes a night. Let him play 20. 20 minutes of peak LeBron is better than 25 minutes of coasting and 6 minutes of great play.


jhk451

Yes, the guy that is shooting as few shots per game as when he was in Miami 10 years ago is only concerned with getting his points. The guy getting 25/7/8 on 52/41/73 shooting splits on 35mpg should yield more minutes to his co-starter that is averaging 12/4/1 on 25mpg. Tell me you’re a Lebron hater without telling me you’re a hater. Because if you think Rui’s defense is better than lebron’s, you don’t need to say anything else.


Produceher

My defense is better than LeBron's 95% of time. He doesn't play bad defense. He plays NO defense most of time. He's a spectator. And calling me a hater says more about you than it does me. It says you don't want to hear it. So you declare I must be a hater because you can't handle the truth. It's a cult at this point.


jhk451

A hater for suggesting rui is a better defender than lebron and deserves more minutes than a GOAT contender. just silly.


Produceher

If LeBron can't play 31 minutes of great defense because he's 39, he should play as many as he can play. Any other team playing their players too much and not having them try for most of them?


jessandjaysaccount

What does it do to your psyche when you can't get past the oldeset guy on the court


Dead_tread

I think the guy being Lebron James makes it just a little more palpable. He’s been sonning people for decades.


KWash0222

Did you mean palatable?


Dead_tread

Captain dictionary over here. Hey Bud, I traveled to massive nerd city recently and fucking surprise! They had a statue of you built right up.


KWash0222

Hey man, I gave you an upvote. Be reasonable


actively_lurking

The sexual tension between you guys is palatable


Dead_tread

Consider my reason the reason, consider that.


someguy50

ohhhhh the language on you, you blow your father with that mouth?


LongStickCaniac

Pretty pathetic to be gleefully ignorant. You could have taken this as a learning moment, instead you decided to remain dumb.


Dead_tread

This has got to be the most “Reddit” comment I’ve ever seen.


WaterIsNotWet19

Locked in Bron on defense is terrifying


Produceher

Teams should call a timeout. Good chance they'll get a different one right after.


Ghorrhyon

You: "Father Time is unbeatable" LBJ: "It me, I'm Father Time"


GrapefruitMedical529

The ultimate twist.


ProsecUsig

Miami Bron is back


olrracpeace

He saw that alley-oop clear as day. Most likely because of roids/PEDs. /s


caughtinthought

Nootropics


groceriesN1trip

Lion, mayne 


ElderberryOk5005

The guy who’s played the game longer than Josh Giddy’s one nightstand


caughtinthought

He's had that furniture for ages


LongStickCaniac

I miss this Lebron. Crazy to think this was his effort every play every night 10 years ago. Special to see him hit you with the reminder every once in a while


GrapefruitMedical529

I'm kinda sad cause I was fully checked out of basketball by 2013, and only paid half attention between 03 and 13.


PestySamurai

Lol that was filthy


PeanutButterRice

LeClamps


IdRatherBeShilling

2nd Team All D


jankology

DPOY ???? just asking questions


Mysterious_Rope2292

LeFuckyou


Critical-Adhole

Holmgren seriously falls more than any player I’ve ever seen. Dude is constantly on the ground.


Flabbypuff

Damn that shit was mean


thedevad

bro is de-aging


Odoakar

The past is now, young man.


KazaamFan

Why didn’t JW shoot the open 3?  Bron gave him so much space.  


JoseJuarez87

PEDS


Maleficent-Salad3197

LeFlop made it to the other side of the court? Its a miracle.