NBA Finals: Lebron James Was Mediocre

Most of the attention from last night's game has centered around Lebron James. Lebron, who is easily the most, if not one of the most polarizing athletes today, will always have attention on him regardless of his play. If the Heat lost last night's game, everyone would be talking about how Lebron choked. Because they won, all of the pundits are now talking about how Lebron sparked a huge run and made an impact despite his poor offensive performance. For those of you that know me, it's obvious that I am a huge Lebron fan boy. But even as a Lebron rider, I have to admit that he was simply mediocre last night. There are many examples to point to his less-than-desirable performance:

Defense
While everyone will be talking about Lebron's amazing block, they are all forgetting about his overall lackluster defensive play. Lebron is required to shoulder most of the offensive load, either through play-making or scoring. Therefore, he won't be able to put forth full effort on defense every single play. However, he can still raise his defensive effort level. Last night, the game started with Lebron James checking Danny Green. Green ran off a baseline screen and made Lebron pay by hitting a huge 3 pointer to start the game.

On the first 3, Lebron was responsible for Green. He didn't get through the screen fast enough, and as a result, Green was able to shoot a high percentage 3 that got him going. Additionally, Lebron's defensive rebounding was pretty abysmal. While the final box score may indicate that Bron did a solid job on the boards (8 rebs), he could have had way more rebounds had he simply boxed out Kawhi Leonard. Leonard finished the game with 14 rebs, 8 of which were offensive. He simply out hustled James to grab boards. Leonard was able to both score points off of easy put backs and keep the Spurs' offense alive. If Lebron simply boxed out more, then the game may have been out-of-reach after the first half.

Offense
Lebron actually made the right decisions on offense. In the early going, he deferred to D-Wade and Bosh. This allowed both of the stars to get going offensively. The Spurs' defense is obviously geared towards stopping Lebron. On a side note, I really wish I had access to game film to better show this. Anyways, the basic one-on-one principle employed by Kawhi Leonard is to give Lebron a slight cushion. If Lebron decides to drive, 2 help defenders will quickly slide over and shadow Lebron. Although the defenders aren't all out doubling or tripling Lebron, they are showing their presence to deter him from driving into the rim. As a result, Lebron must pass off to open shooters on the wing or in the corners. In the post, the Spurs aren't sending all-out double teams. Instead, they trust Leonard enough to allow him to guard Lebron by himself. Leonard's primary task is to force Lebron to the baseline for a tough hook shot. If Lebron does make a move towards the middle, a help defender quickly comes over to trap. Overall, Lebron has made the right decisions and plays, throwing pinpoint passes to shooters. Last night's subpar offensive performance mostly came from Lebron missing shots. Ignoring the missed fast break layups (which Lebron doesn't typically miss), Bron also missed some close hook shots near the rim. Part of that stems from Leonard's outstanding defense. However, James can still be more accurate. These shots are good shots. Away from the paint, Lebron is taking a lot of long twos. Instead of shooting low-percentage shots, he should continue to attack. If the double comes, he can kick out to Ray Allen, Chalmers, Bosh, Haslem, or Miller (Wade cannot shoot). Even if the Spurs are merely showing help and not really doubling, Lebron needs to man up and attack the front line. Even if he misses many tough shots at the rim, he will eventually draw fouls.

Conclusion:
The Spurs are employing a similar defensive strategy to the 2011 Mavs. They are forcing Lebron to take a split second and think before he makes a move. Give credit to Popvich and the highly intelligent Spurs players for making Lebron's life difficult.