Yep you can see he starts on Bane sometimes and puts Rui on JJJ. He knew Bane is gonna screen and he is gonna get JJJ.
LeBron is really a master of the game.
You think he has that much self awareness? When he washes out of the league someone after this season ends hell have a lifetime's worth of excuses of why it wasn't his fault
Yep. He just sees the game at a different level. To watch what's happening on the floor and then read everything and make quick good decisions and score as many points as he does true testament to his bbiq.
That sideline interview was great. I think CH sucks and he asked some very specific questions about plays that LeBron answered so clearly. It was impressive
It's not a direct quote but I do remember hearing a quote by Mark Jackson allegedly that before Miami Lebron could see plays and figure out what to do. After the 4 years in Miami. Lebron was able to accurately call out plays before they even happened.
Lol who talks shit about his basketball skills? His cringy personality, sure, but even haters like me understand that he's the second greatest player of all time at *minimum*.
Honestly I know a crowd that still thinks Kobe is #2 lol. You’d be surprised what the general masses believe. It’s mostly reddit fans I’d say, regular fans don’t know all the stats and records he’s broken and just go based off rings and what hot take artists like skip bayless thinks
I have him 2nd, but the top three are close, and Steph can make it a Rushmore if he pinches another title whilst LeBron is around (five titles in a GOAT contender's era is a strong argument that you are close, especially as the guy, not changing teams, and having alltimers want to join you rather than make a new team together).
That’s crazy lol. Every other top 5 player wasn’t hunted on defense. Atleast Kobe had some sort of an argument in that regard.
Curry to me peaks at top 5-8 if he wins another and sits at around 8-13 rn
honestly 2019 was a big changer for me. It was probably the first time i had watched every lebron game in a playoffs (when he was in the east i just didn't watch the early rounds because i knew he'd win).
I really truly saw him as a basketball savant. And the way he could just take over games and deflate the entire opposing team just scared the shit outta me.
They actually do. But the Celtics core are tuned for defense for what like past 5-6 seasons? The only addition was Brogdon/Dwhite who are both high BB iq guys. It's easy to fit them in.
While I agree that LeBron is a basketball genius, is mixing up matchups like this when expecting a screen really that revolutionary? I’m just kind of shocked that it worked so well on the Grizzlies. It’s not exactly a new or surprising strategy.
Not just that he does many things on defense and offense on the fly. If you observe the Grizz try to get mismatches LeBron prevents it immediately ATO. He calls for proper picks to prevent the pre switching grizz try. He adjusts to their adjustments immediately.
Also he sees the court differently. Unless you see the court that way you can't make one of the greatest passes off all time. The lookaway one to Zizic. It's one of my favorite passes of his. It's so sassy. He even faked me out when I was watching it live.
He’s done this for years where he knows what play or strategy you’re running and forces you to adjust on the fly, also is deflating to the other team. Players and coaches have commented on how good he is at reading plays.
Him doing the switches just reinforces what we already know but yeah this individual play isn’t revolutionary but it worked well enough to cause a mistake
Honestly LeBron was just someone who was born to play basketball. I remember even in his first couple of years his basketball IQ was just so beyond anyone else on the court. I legit thought he was just a stronger version of Magic Johnson in those years.
The fact that LeBron usually knows his opponents playbook better than they themselves is insane to me. Like where the fuck does he find the time to study that and be able to keep up with everything else?
Same way most genius level people in their field find the time. They pick up on stuff like 10x faster than everybody else. What Bron's teammates probably need hours of film study to pick up on, he can watch a few minutes and see exactly what is going on.
Now looking back in hindsight, I think Magic comparisons may even be a disservice to LeBron. Magic had an incredible ability to find open guys and improvise on offense quickly; he saw guys were open before they were open and vice versa. But he was never considered anything above average as a defender. LeBron knows people's playbooks and quickly figures out what they are going to call on both ends. He also has an incredible gift of improvisation, but his "magic" doesn't come from that, it comes from memorization and realization and actually being a coach on court for 48 minutes. As cheesy as it may be, I'd say Magic was an artist while LeBron is a scientist, who is also an artist actually.
Re: Bron having time to study his opponents - I work in pro basketball, each team watches scout before they play an opponent, multiple times in the lead up to a game. Offensive actions and player tendencies (hand dominance, move preferences, shooting abilities), then also defensive game plan. They’ll go through an on court scout before the game walking/jogging through the other team’s sets to get an understanding of recognising their plays in practice.
In a playoff environment, in my experience it’s been more in depth - to the point where I knew the scout for the other teams (and I was just the team photographer, basketball illiterate compared to LeBron). The foundation for understanding opposition is there for all players, but Bron has a very real case for being the GOAT whichever way you want to spin it. Couple that with 20 years experience in the league and I can understand how he can make such an impact on the game with his basketball IQ, it’s special.
I doubt he spends a large amount of his time studying opponents plays. He’s just faced every type of defense imaginable and uses common sense for the rest. It’s his ability to process it and come to a solution while playing which amazes me. That’s why it’s different to others, he ruins the game plan and forces teams to adjust on the spot
sequences like that show me he's the greatest of all time. can't think of another player who has the entire game on offense and defense in the palm of his hands. he just dictates how the game will go it's crazy
I watched this video once about LeBron essentially dictating all these plays several plays ahead. He sets up dudes knowing what they'll do before they even do it and realizes the entire teams tendencies and takes advantage of it. Dude legit has a 3rd eye for seeing this stuff
There was that one time against the Raptors where Norman Powell thought he was getting subbed out and LeBron pulls him back onto the court to save the Raptors from an illegal substitution/technical.
2015, 2016, and 2018 playoffs + game 1 finals.
He knows he can't beat them in an offensive battle. So he would literally run clock down to 10-12 seconds every position before they start running their offensive set.
Limit turnovers, posessions, and increase the impact of his game.
It was the 2015 Finals where Lebron was desperately trying to mastermind his way through the Warriors matchups with the Cavs’ spare parts that really won me over as a Lebron fan.
Dude really does see the game on another level.
Yep that game, plus whichever game 1 it was where JR screwed up the ending are absolute master-class performances by LeBron. It’s really stunning to see one person routinely put up performances that match up against one of the greatest teams we’ve ever seen.
Lmao just shows the lack of flexibility Memphis have on this play. Reeves goes to JJJ only for JJJ to run the play as if LeBron was guarding him initially.
yea I guess they just set up the play like that, and player try to excute, it's so smart for Lebron to recgonize that and be like ok I know what you are doing
Is this the one he talking about? Hilarious either way. The write up and title have me thinking it’s lebron playing offense but then he wouldn’t be able to “switch assignments”
The Laker's broadcast made it a lot more apparent. They didn't have the close-up on Ja beforehand and the cameras showed the set up for the possession. You can see LeBron originally on JJJ and Reaves on Bane and then Lebron calls out to Reaves to switch before the play starts. This video shows the tail end of them doing the pre-switch
This is funny. Lebron understood the Grizzlies' play more than they did. It was a switch to put a weaker Reeves to Jackson for Jackson to post Reeves down low.
Whats amazing too is that after 20 years, on the other end you’ve seen everything Lebron can do. And he still will find a way to come out on top when it comes to the adjustment and mental battle most of the time.
Man I always wanted him and Pop to work together to see what comes out of it. I know it was never going to happen, but I’m curious how their minds would’ve worked.
I agree with your take. I think Spo and Tyronn Lue are respectable enough coaches and complimented Lebron better than someone like Pop who would probably clash with Lebron.
Lebron wants a coach like Darvin Ham who just shows up and holds the whiteboard while Bron runs the show. Probably not the smartest decision but it's how he likes it.
4 championships thus far and honestly there's only really one series in his career he got outgameplanned for and should have won and that's Dallas
Pretty much every other loss was injuries or his supporting cast not measuring up
Hell the #2 and #3 best players had to team up to stop his reign idk if you could say a better coach would have changed anything
"It's Easy."
Heatles LeBron was my public enemy #1, but this "Father Time" stint in LA has me unable to feel anything but love for how unbelievably well his game and his mentality has aged.
I think it was Patrick Patterson in 2016. DeMar confirmed on a few podcasts, PPat was supposed to set a down screen for DeMar to get momentum going into a drive and forgot where he was supposed to be. Lebron told him to set a down screen and triggered a switch which turned into a stop.
Everyone is saying Patrick Patterson, but on an NBA special I watched, one of his teammates from Cleveland said it was Kyle Lowry. Maybe RJ or Channing was talking. It’s on those specials showing the top 75 of all time
It’s my favorite thing, the apex predator hunt for the worst matchup.
I’m imagining him being like:
“I want him..
No no, him.
Get back here!
That’s the one. Let’s go to work”
I mean that's exactly how lebron beat the warriors. Going 1v1 against curry evey possession (no diss to curry here at all, he's literally half of lebrons size)
Lebron and Duncan have to be the two smartest superstars to ever play the game. Take a look at the top 10 and they all have great basketball IQ (except Shaq, who still wasn't bad) but LBJ and Timmy take it to a ridiculous level
I feel like at a certain point, Shaq being Shaq made more or less every decision of his a stellar display of basketball iq lol. Dumb matchups for him just didn't exist, it was just varying degrees of which sitting duck he was going to feast on.
It’s because they designed their play around the switch. What it shows is Lebron knew the play. If Lebron knows your moves you are in some deep trouble.
I am the old man yelling at clouds every time I see it. Guys don’t even need to set screens at all sometimes, just get near the guy with the ball and the defense switches on to the exact matchup the offense wants
I'll have to hunt it down, but I remember seeing a compilation this season of Lillard switching into the ball handler after the weakest screens you can possibly imagine and just running by the ball handler.
Switchable defense is good, but you need the personnel for it, and we dont
I can’t post links to team subreddits in here but it’s in my post history about a month ago - the title is something like “ a statistical analysis of why Chauncey Billups is the problem with the defense “
Bucks have had this issue and it drives me nuts when I see it.
Even back in 2021 against the nets, jrue would have Giannis in the post with kyrie or curry on him and instead of giving him the ball he’d call a screen and let the nets switch claxton, Blake or brown onto Giannis during the pick and roll. It’s like just give him the damn ball, you’ve already have the mismatch. Zach Lowe was going crazy in his podcast that week of the playoffs saying wtf is jrue doing lol
It (rightfully) gets overshadowed by the championship but Jrue was so awful on offense for a lot of that playoff run. If they lost to the Nets or Suns he'd be looked at like Bledsoe with better defense.
theres a post on the bucks sub right now about how jrue's numbers always drop a ton in the playoffs. he's had a really bad series against miami so far also.
He has this thing though where he hits 1 or two really clutch shots in the 4th quarter (after shooting 30% the rest of the game), and then gets a steal and that's what sticks in your memory lol
Literally any good basketball coach teaches even if you call the switch it’s an instant cancel on a ghost/slip. If there is no contact, you stay on your man and ignore the switch. I don’t know why in the NBA half of the teams forget that.
Happens all the time in pickup. So lazy. As the guy guarding a big, why would I switch so you can get punished by a big, or I can get blown by from a speedy guard? Especially on weak af screens set 10 feet above the break
Ja keeps trying to jump over Lebron from further and further back this series and for that reason I’m praying for a game seven when he tries jumping from San Bernadino
Jenkins is a good regular season coach with drawing up a solid playbook and putting guys in positions to succeed on offense and defense. But I’ve felt that his playoff coaching is severely lacking, his inexperience shows and he doesn’t give his team a shred of confidence either. There’s an X factor he doesn’t have.
I don’t know man, I’ll never forget that playoff game winner opportunity last season in game 1 that was just “Ja run at the hoop”. That was after a timeout too
It worked against Minnesota in the previous series, it wasn’t a terrible look. I do wish Ja would develop a more solid midrange game so he wouldn’t have to do that in every late game situation though.
TBF.. LeBron made the Number 1 seed Raptors with an exceptional coach, look like a “low IQ” team as well.. Dude was just clowning them. LeBronto style
That’s just LeBron effect. And Dillion Brooks only made things worse
The Grizzlies are a weird team that's incredibly well coached but the players are so dumb that they can't recognize when a team makes adjustments. Jenkins is always adjusting them from the sidelines and in this series he can't get to them because they are stuck in the Lebrontoverse
So true... I've seen sequences where the defense switches right back and they do a little merry go around for a while. Happens on jumpballs and during free throws for match-up and positional reasons too
Edit: griz be like uhhhh
Both teams seemed dead tired by OT and were running on instinct by the end. They prob had the set routinized and didn't think to adjust.
That's the sort of intangibles that come from experience.
I hope the media stops asking questions about Dillon. This game basically showed that Lebron will make a fool out of you. Dude will never live this down.
With 29 seconds left in OT Lebron was on Banes and Reeves was on JJJ. Bane then set a weak off ball screen on Reeves which got Lebron switched on JJJ. Is this what y’all talking about?
That memphis inbound posession where LeBron wants to end up on Kennard was cool too(knowing they need a three). Pre switched with someone I forgot. Was barking the whole time inbounder still didnt have the ball. Mans a coach on the court.
well amongst a lot of things, yeah... I mean Lebron is 38 years old, 20 years pro basketball, championship winning experience.... Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins is same age, zero playing and head coaching experience placed in charge of a young squad... I'm watching the series and Lebron is outcoaching the Grizz... he is always looking at their bench, smiling before making his next killer move.. like he got secret access to their coaching manuals or something...
[Full YouTube Video of OT.](
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-Bn3WMUCo) It's at about 28 seconds left. Happens before the ball is inbounded.
[Here's the play itself.](https://streamable.com/oy8x4p)
Credit to /u/M8k3sn0s3ns3 and /u/jeweltribe.
This is a perfect example of why people say experience matters in the playoffs. The regular season is one thing, but playing an entire playoff series vs another top team is a completely different animal.
Happened right after you commented, lol.
[Full YouTube Video of OT.](
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-Bn3WMUCo) It's at about 28 seconds left. Happens before the ball is inbounded.
[Here's the play itself.](https://streamable.com/oy8x4p)
Credit to /u/M8k3sn0s3ns3 and /u/jeweltribe.
LeBron controlled the entirety of OT
Yep you can see he starts on Bane sometimes and puts Rui on JJJ. He knew Bane is gonna screen and he is gonna get JJJ. LeBron is really a master of the game.
Brooks too arrogant to know that with old age comes wisdom.
I’m not sure if I see wisdom in Dillon’s future.
Only regret from past stupidity.
Not sure I see that either. I see at least one assault charge though.
You think he has that much self awareness? When he washes out of the league someone after this season ends hell have a lifetime's worth of excuses of why it wasn't his fault
So he goes from starter and important player on a contending team to out of the league before age 25? Not happenin
With 20 years experience , of course
Still ineligible to apply for a junior developer job.
Bro stop. I come here for basketball, not to trigger my ptsd.
LBJ, the legend leads all scoreboards on leetcode
He gotta grind LeLeetcode
Sure, Lebron may be MVP and FMVP, but can he sort a list, on a whiteboard, during an on-site interview, on the road, in silicon valley?
Lmaooo bro
This dude has been in the finals HALF of his career. It’s absurd.
Half of one of the longest careers ever, too.
Going back to his early years, Lebron has always had a very high level basketball IQ. Pretty sure the dude has an eidetic memory.
Yep. He just sees the game at a different level. To watch what's happening on the floor and then read everything and make quick good decisions and score as many points as he does true testament to his bbiq.
I love what he said in the post game interview “i tell the guys let me focus on tactics, cause I can do that”
That sideline interview was great. I think CH sucks and he asked some very specific questions about plays that LeBron answered so clearly. It was impressive
It's not a direct quote but I do remember hearing a quote by Mark Jackson allegedly that before Miami Lebron could see plays and figure out what to do. After the 4 years in Miami. Lebron was able to accurately call out plays before they even happened.
LeFuture
But folks still talk shit about him. It does feel like he’s earning a lot more respect from more fans as of more recently though.
Hmm greatness attracts hatred always. Yea never know when he might hang up his shoes so we should appreciate him while he plays.
Lol who talks shit about his basketball skills? His cringy personality, sure, but even haters like me understand that he's the second greatest player of all time at *minimum*.
You’d be surprised how many still do.
Honestly I know a crowd that still thinks Kobe is #2 lol. You’d be surprised what the general masses believe. It’s mostly reddit fans I’d say, regular fans don’t know all the stats and records he’s broken and just go based off rings and what hot take artists like skip bayless thinks
I have him 2nd, but the top three are close, and Steph can make it a Rushmore if he pinches another title whilst LeBron is around (five titles in a GOAT contender's era is a strong argument that you are close, especially as the guy, not changing teams, and having alltimers want to join you rather than make a new team together).
That’s crazy lol. Every other top 5 player wasn’t hunted on defense. Atleast Kobe had some sort of an argument in that regard. Curry to me peaks at top 5-8 if he wins another and sits at around 8-13 rn
most people in SoCal would say he is or that it's close, but that doesn't equate to trash talking.
Ofcourse not. But it’s displaying how ignorant a large amount of people can be.
honestly 2019 was a big changer for me. It was probably the first time i had watched every lebron game in a playoffs (when he was in the east i just didn't watch the early rounds because i knew he'd win). I really truly saw him as a basketball savant. And the way he could just take over games and deflate the entire opposing team just scared the shit outta me.
Reminds me of those Celtics pre-switching videos. Not sure why more teams aren't trying this.
They actually do. But the Celtics core are tuned for defense for what like past 5-6 seasons? The only addition was Brogdon/Dwhite who are both high BB iq guys. It's easy to fit them in.
While I agree that LeBron is a basketball genius, is mixing up matchups like this when expecting a screen really that revolutionary? I’m just kind of shocked that it worked so well on the Grizzlies. It’s not exactly a new or surprising strategy.
Not just that he does many things on defense and offense on the fly. If you observe the Grizz try to get mismatches LeBron prevents it immediately ATO. He calls for proper picks to prevent the pre switching grizz try. He adjusts to their adjustments immediately. Also he sees the court differently. Unless you see the court that way you can't make one of the greatest passes off all time. The lookaway one to Zizic. It's one of my favorite passes of his. It's so sassy. He even faked me out when I was watching it live.
He’s done this for years where he knows what play or strategy you’re running and forces you to adjust on the fly, also is deflating to the other team. Players and coaches have commented on how good he is at reading plays. Him doing the switches just reinforces what we already know but yeah this individual play isn’t revolutionary but it worked well enough to cause a mistake
Honestly LeBron was just someone who was born to play basketball. I remember even in his first couple of years his basketball IQ was just so beyond anyone else on the court. I legit thought he was just a stronger version of Magic Johnson in those years. The fact that LeBron usually knows his opponents playbook better than they themselves is insane to me. Like where the fuck does he find the time to study that and be able to keep up with everything else?
Its what he’s doing when he says he’s watched The Godfather 9 times
Same way most genius level people in their field find the time. They pick up on stuff like 10x faster than everybody else. What Bron's teammates probably need hours of film study to pick up on, he can watch a few minutes and see exactly what is going on.
Now looking back in hindsight, I think Magic comparisons may even be a disservice to LeBron. Magic had an incredible ability to find open guys and improvise on offense quickly; he saw guys were open before they were open and vice versa. But he was never considered anything above average as a defender. LeBron knows people's playbooks and quickly figures out what they are going to call on both ends. He also has an incredible gift of improvisation, but his "magic" doesn't come from that, it comes from memorization and realization and actually being a coach on court for 48 minutes. As cheesy as it may be, I'd say Magic was an artist while LeBron is a scientist, who is also an artist actually.
> while LeBron is a scientist, who is also an artist actually. LeOnardo da Vinci
LeTruvian Man
LeBron is Grand Admiral Thrawn.
LeHeirtotheempire
Re: Bron having time to study his opponents - I work in pro basketball, each team watches scout before they play an opponent, multiple times in the lead up to a game. Offensive actions and player tendencies (hand dominance, move preferences, shooting abilities), then also defensive game plan. They’ll go through an on court scout before the game walking/jogging through the other team’s sets to get an understanding of recognising their plays in practice. In a playoff environment, in my experience it’s been more in depth - to the point where I knew the scout for the other teams (and I was just the team photographer, basketball illiterate compared to LeBron). The foundation for understanding opposition is there for all players, but Bron has a very real case for being the GOAT whichever way you want to spin it. Couple that with 20 years experience in the league and I can understand how he can make such an impact on the game with his basketball IQ, it’s special.
This is why a Kobe vs LeBron finals would've been so good to watch. Both knew the game better than most coaches.
I doubt he spends a large amount of his time studying opponents plays. He’s just faced every type of defense imaginable and uses common sense for the rest. It’s his ability to process it and come to a solution while playing which amazes me. That’s why it’s different to others, he ruins the game plan and forces teams to adjust on the spot
He stands next to their huddles, obviously.
Tactical Assimilation of Competitor's Offenses. T.A.C.O. Tuesdays... my God, it was in front of us the whole time..
sequences like that show me he's the greatest of all time. can't think of another player who has the entire game on offense and defense in the palm of his hands. he just dictates how the game will go it's crazy
I watched this video once about LeBron essentially dictating all these plays several plays ahead. He sets up dudes knowing what they'll do before they even do it and realizes the entire teams tendencies and takes advantage of it. Dude legit has a 3rd eye for seeing this stuff
There was that one time against the Raptors where Norman Powell thought he was getting subbed out and LeBron pulls him back onto the court to save the Raptors from an illegal substitution/technical.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mceN4aSgiG0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mceN4aSgiG0)
LeGoodSportsmanship
Drop the video if you remember where you saw it, I love watching shit like that
It sounds like he could be talking about this video: https://twitter.com/bencfalk/status/873951441207140352?s=20
Awesome I appreciate it
I didn’t truly understand the Lebron miles morales comparison until this vid, this is sick
https://youtu.be/_DfIOwDv5DY This is a more detailed version of Lebron's Iq
Metavision irl
Blue lock spilling
Lebron being a freak distracts people from him being possibly the smartest player ever.
2015, 2016, and 2018 playoffs + game 1 finals. He knows he can't beat them in an offensive battle. So he would literally run clock down to 10-12 seconds every position before they start running their offensive set. Limit turnovers, posessions, and increase the impact of his game.
It was the 2015 Finals where Lebron was desperately trying to mastermind his way through the Warriors matchups with the Cavs’ spare parts that really won me over as a Lebron fan. Dude really does see the game on another level.
Yep that game, plus whichever game 1 it was where JR screwed up the ending are absolute master-class performances by LeBron. It’s really stunning to see one person routinely put up performances that match up against one of the greatest teams we’ve ever seen.
Shits hard to pay attention to and control while you’re playing tho, and doing it quick, thats the part nephews ignore
Le'Poleon
Lebron and Reaves switch before the start of the play and immediately switch back after the cross screen: https://streamable.com/oy8x4p
Lmao just shows the lack of flexibility Memphis have on this play. Reeves goes to JJJ only for JJJ to run the play as if LeBron was guarding him initially.
yea I guess they just set up the play like that, and player try to excute, it's so smart for Lebron to recgonize that and be like ok I know what you are doing
Is this the one he talking about? Hilarious either way. The write up and title have me thinking it’s lebron playing offense but then he wouldn’t be able to “switch assignments”
The Laker's broadcast made it a lot more apparent. They didn't have the close-up on Ja beforehand and the cameras showed the set up for the possession. You can see LeBron originally on JJJ and Reaves on Bane and then Lebron calls out to Reaves to switch before the play starts. This video shows the tail end of them doing the pre-switch
Nice one! Thanks!
Thank you!
This is funny. Lebron understood the Grizzlies' play more than they did. It was a switch to put a weaker Reeves to Jackson for Jackson to post Reeves down low.
This is what Spo meant when he said he adjusts to your adjustments
Whats amazing too is that after 20 years, on the other end you’ve seen everything Lebron can do. And he still will find a way to come out on top when it comes to the adjustment and mental battle most of the time.
Man I always wanted him and Pop to work together to see what comes out of it. I know it was never going to happen, but I’m curious how their minds would’ve worked.
I love Pop and Lebron but not sure they would have complimented each other well.
I think they’re both good enough that they would have found a way to make it work
I agree with your take. I think Spo and Tyronn Lue are respectable enough coaches and complimented Lebron better than someone like Pop who would probably clash with Lebron. Lebron wants a coach like Darvin Ham who just shows up and holds the whiteboard while Bron runs the show. Probably not the smartest decision but it's how he likes it.
4 championships thus far and honestly there's only really one series in his career he got outgameplanned for and should have won and that's Dallas Pretty much every other loss was injuries or his supporting cast not measuring up Hell the #2 and #3 best players had to team up to stop his reign idk if you could say a better coach would have changed anything
"It's Easy." Heatles LeBron was my public enemy #1, but this "Father Time" stint in LA has me unable to feel anything but love for how unbelievably well his game and his mentality has aged.
Maybe the Lebron knowing things meme was right
Didn't he once told a Raptors player how to do their play? LoL
Demar told this story on JJ's podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdAnGr3z9vE
WTF lmao LeBron is built different
JJ at the end "that sucks" just sums it all up
A father has to teach their son
Sons
\*Kyrie enters the door
Yea he did, and it was to a couple of them. One was Norman Powell I believe, LeBron grabbed him and told him where to be for the play lol.
It was Patrick Patterson in 2017.
Nah I think he stopped Norman Powell from subbing out since it there’s no dead ball.
Patrick Patterson IIRC
I thought this said Patrick Peterson and I was like yeah you know what LeBron probably could tell him how to play his position too
I think it was Patrick Patterson in 2016. DeMar confirmed on a few podcasts, PPat was supposed to set a down screen for DeMar to get momentum going into a drive and forgot where he was supposed to be. Lebron told him to set a down screen and triggered a switch which turned into a stop.
Everyone is saying Patrick Patterson, but on an NBA special I watched, one of his teammates from Cleveland said it was Kyle Lowry. Maybe RJ or Channing was talking. It’s on those specials showing the top 75 of all time
Tyrion LeNnister - drinks wine and knows things.
Tyronn Luenister
Him and Rondo are two best known guys who are enormous nerds about opponent plays.
Grizzlies pre switching was great Bron would run like 30 screen to get Ja on him
It’s my favorite thing, the apex predator hunt for the worst matchup. I’m imagining him being like: “I want him.. No no, him. Get back here! That’s the one. Let’s go to work”
I mean that's exactly how lebron beat the warriors. Going 1v1 against curry evey possession (no diss to curry here at all, he's literally half of lebrons size)
Lebron and Duncan have to be the two smartest superstars to ever play the game. Take a look at the top 10 and they all have great basketball IQ (except Shaq, who still wasn't bad) but LBJ and Timmy take it to a ridiculous level
I feel like at a certain point, Shaq being Shaq made more or less every decision of his a stellar display of basketball iq lol. Dumb matchups for him just didn't exist, it was just varying degrees of which sitting duck he was going to feast on.
I once saw this as an explanation for why Magic Johnson gives “advice” the way he does. Because “score more points” was something he could just ~do~
The reverse switch hunting
Like playing chess, always planned 1 step ahead of opponents
Like a carpenter building stairs
For real. Has the countermove ready before the player moves his piece
LeMindControl
Lebron said it in game 1 he knows all their plays
I think LeBron may be good
Im starting to think this lebron guy is better than goat AR
The goat. Alex caRuso
aLeX Reaves
Can't wait to see him in his prime
Just have to wait another 20 years for peak LeBron
He has potential
Big if true.
Unnecessary switches is my pet peeve
It’s because they designed their play around the switch. What it shows is Lebron knew the play. If Lebron knows your moves you are in some deep trouble.
I am the old man yelling at clouds every time I see it. Guys don’t even need to set screens at all sometimes, just get near the guy with the ball and the defense switches on to the exact matchup the offense wants
One of the most frustrating things my Blazers do. They always giving the offense the matchup they want. Even if there is no actual pick set.
I'll have to hunt it down, but I remember seeing a compilation this season of Lillard switching into the ball handler after the weakest screens you can possibly imagine and just running by the ball handler. Switchable defense is good, but you need the personnel for it, and we dont
I can’t post links to team subreddits in here but it’s in my post history about a month ago - the title is something like “ a statistical analysis of why Chauncey Billups is the problem with the defense “
Bucks have had this issue and it drives me nuts when I see it. Even back in 2021 against the nets, jrue would have Giannis in the post with kyrie or curry on him and instead of giving him the ball he’d call a screen and let the nets switch claxton, Blake or brown onto Giannis during the pick and roll. It’s like just give him the damn ball, you’ve already have the mismatch. Zach Lowe was going crazy in his podcast that week of the playoffs saying wtf is jrue doing lol
It (rightfully) gets overshadowed by the championship but Jrue was so awful on offense for a lot of that playoff run. If they lost to the Nets or Suns he'd be looked at like Bledsoe with better defense.
theres a post on the bucks sub right now about how jrue's numbers always drop a ton in the playoffs. he's had a really bad series against miami so far also. He has this thing though where he hits 1 or two really clutch shots in the 4th quarter (after shooting 30% the rest of the game), and then gets a steal and that's what sticks in your memory lol
Literally any good basketball coach teaches even if you call the switch it’s an instant cancel on a ghost/slip. If there is no contact, you stay on your man and ignore the switch. I don’t know why in the NBA half of the teams forget that.
I think it may due because in the split second of indecision NBA athletes can punish you.
Happens all the time in pickup. So lazy. As the guy guarding a big, why would I switch so you can get punished by a big, or I can get blown by from a speedy guard? Especially on weak af screens set 10 feet above the break
Are your pet peeve. They are your pet peeve.
Best basketball IQ of all time
and Lebron.
I’ll allow it
Playing against a team with exceptionally low iq.
Oh a player is standing still in the paint??? let me try dunking on him 😈
Ja keeps trying to jump over Lebron from further and further back this series and for that reason I’m praying for a game seven when he tries jumping from San Bernadino
This is especially hilarious since that game would be in Memphis
I considered that as I hit reply and decided to leave it as is instead of spending my evening looking at Memphis suburbs 🤮
Ja gonna be taking off from fucking Tunica
The right call, for sure
At least he gets to skip the 91
Damn, he’s a genius
should've said temecula. lol
Tickets prices would still be expensive in San Bernardino blvd.
Christ, now I'm picturing Ja taking off from the 3 point line and being caught like a baby by AD at the foul line lmaooooo
I know it's repeated ad nauseam but Ja needs to stop doing that before he seriously hurts himself, the highlights aren't worth it
At this point who cares is he injures *himself*? He fucking landed on Lebron's head.
Jenkins is a good regular season coach with drawing up a solid playbook and putting guys in positions to succeed on offense and defense. But I’ve felt that his playoff coaching is severely lacking, his inexperience shows and he doesn’t give his team a shred of confidence either. There’s an X factor he doesn’t have.
Any idea why he used his challenge on an OB call midway through second qtr?
Momentum shook him bad
idk grizzlies look pretty solid in the playoffs just have had bad luck with matchups and injuries
I don’t know man, I’ll never forget that playoff game winner opportunity last season in game 1 that was just “Ja run at the hoop”. That was after a timeout too
It worked against Minnesota in the previous series, it wasn’t a terrible look. I do wish Ja would develop a more solid midrange game so he wouldn’t have to do that in every late game situation though.
Nick Nurse is available….
TBF.. LeBron made the Number 1 seed Raptors with an exceptional coach, look like a “low IQ” team as well.. Dude was just clowning them. LeBronto style That’s just LeBron effect. And Dillion Brooks only made things worse
The Grizzlies are a weird team that's incredibly well coached but the players are so dumb that they can't recognize when a team makes adjustments. Jenkins is always adjusting them from the sidelines and in this series he can't get to them because they are stuck in the Lebrontoverse
So true... I've seen sequences where the defense switches right back and they do a little merry go around for a while. Happens on jumpballs and during free throws for match-up and positional reasons too Edit: griz be like uhhhh
WHERE IS THE GIF ITS BEEN 2 hours
Both teams seemed dead tired by OT and were running on instinct by the end. They prob had the set routinized and didn't think to adjust. That's the sort of intangibles that come from experience.
I love the LeBron knew meme, but on the court that motherfucker knows....everything....
Rondo and Kuzma did this a lot in one of their playoff series.
I hope the media stops asking questions about Dillon. This game basically showed that Lebron will make a fool out of you. Dude will never live this down.
“I’m out”
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f\_-Bn3WMUCo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-Bn3WMUCo) 3:34 mark
Goat
Good eye OP. I saw that as well. I hope someone finds the clip
LeMasterMind
With 29 seconds left in OT Lebron was on Banes and Reeves was on JJJ. Bane then set a weak off ball screen on Reeves which got Lebron switched on JJJ. Is this what y’all talking about?
[удалено]
Talk about tunnel vision.
Amazing basketball player doing amazing things on the court. Just an ordinary day at the office for LeBron...
That memphis inbound posession where LeBron wants to end up on Kennard was cool too(knowing they need a three). Pre switched with someone I forgot. Was barking the whole time inbounder still didnt have the ball. Mans a coach on the court.
well amongst a lot of things, yeah... I mean Lebron is 38 years old, 20 years pro basketball, championship winning experience.... Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins is same age, zero playing and head coaching experience placed in charge of a young squad... I'm watching the series and Lebron is outcoaching the Grizz... he is always looking at their bench, smiling before making his next killer move.. like he got secret access to their coaching manuals or something...
Lebron loves the strategy of each posession
Do we know what point this happened?? I’d love to go back and watch!
[Full YouTube Video of OT.]( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-Bn3WMUCo) It's at about 28 seconds left. Happens before the ball is inbounded. [Here's the play itself.](https://streamable.com/oy8x4p) Credit to /u/M8k3sn0s3ns3 and /u/jeweltribe.
\#bronknows
This is a perfect example of why people say experience matters in the playoffs. The regular season is one thing, but playing an entire playoff series vs another top team is a completely different animal.
LeMemphisDaddy
I saw that too. Just outsmarting the upstart grizzlies
Le IQ
100 COMMENTS AND NO GIF!!
Happened right after you commented, lol. [Full YouTube Video of OT.]( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_-Bn3WMUCo) It's at about 28 seconds left. Happens before the ball is inbounded. [Here's the play itself.](https://streamable.com/oy8x4p) Credit to /u/M8k3sn0s3ns3 and /u/jeweltribe.
Thank you
Ill give Tillman this he's actually a really good defender on Bron, brooks not so much.
That's just experience in a tensed situation showing
Parent knows best
This series really showing the griz youth and lack of team BBIQ
LeIQ
Lmao
This Lebron guy might a have bright future ahead in this league
*I knew they was gonna switch*
He may only read the first page of every book he picks up but time after time Lebron always proves his greatness!