The Wade-less Heat headed into the desert and came out with a win last night, securing a little more momentum heading to the Staples Center for the most eagerly anticipated Christmas Day game since Jordan retired.
No Wade? No worries for the Heat as LeBron and Bosh were gifted with a little more space to work on the court, combining for 59 points. LeBron had 36 points 6 rebounds 4 assists and 3 steals highlighted by 13/22 shooting and 8/8 at the line. I don’t want to talk overly about the game nor the fact LeBron played most of the game hesitantly as he was constantly in foul trouble. You may question my selection of the word ‘hesitantly’ given the ferocious throw-down the king had just before the end of the first half, but had he not been in foul trouble it would’ve looked like something out of the ‘Blake Griffin on Timofey Mozgov’ playbook.
I want to focus on the continual growth of LeBron’s jump shot. We all know and we all hear that ‘when LeBron has his shot going he is un-guardable’. It’s a line not only LeBron James fans, but NBA fans have become used to hearing every time he is mentioned. This year LeBron is averaging career highs from 3 point land and from the charity stripe. His overall field goal percentage is just .002 down and this can be down to the slow start the Heat had to the season when LeBron had to fire up 30 shots to get them anywhere near the opposition. One thing I have noticed this year from watching LeBron is that it isn’t just a matter of ‘when his shot is going’, but when it isn’t going. OK as I just said he started slowly (it was more Miami starting slowly than LeBron) but nonetheless the improvements in his jump shooting to me as been astronomical. Not only is the shot looking much better mechanically but we’re seeing less and less of the wild air balls and bank shots that have plagued his career when hes taken an uncomfortable shot. He genuinely looks now like every single shot could go in, something only a few players such as Kobe and Allen can consistently say is a feature of their game.
The Heat have taken more 15ft+ shots than any team in the league. Their paint scoring is the lowest. Surprising considering their two best players are the two best players at getting to the cup and to the line. But it means these players are taking more jump shots than normal. And in LeBron’s case, he’s hitting more than he has in his career. I don’t have exact figures on his shooting percentages from midrange but I feel I can safely say he’s having his best year in this category. This means so much for LeBron given it was clearly the weakest part of his game. Bryant and Jordan both taught themselves how to shoot the mid range jump shot and it not only prolonged their careers, but it won them championships. LeBron now is hitting contested, off balance, contact jump shots. But more importantly for James, he is hitting wide open jump shots, which in Cleveland he surprisingly was unable to do consistently.
Now it’s still only early in the season, and a lot of it can be contributed to the spacing LeBron gets because of having Wade and to a lesser extent Bosh on the court at the same time, although the majority of James’ scoring comes in the third quarter when he is given the reigns to the team whilst Wade and Bosh rest, it seems all the work James has been doing each and every summer since he lost the 2007 Finals is paying off.
He isn’t yet Kobe Bryant. Don’t get me wrong I think LeBron is the best player in the game, but Kobe has the far superior mid range game. However gone are the days when people say when his jump shot is on he is un-guardable. I think we’re getting closer to the days when we say what the rest of the league has had nightmares over since Stern told the world the Cavs had drafted him in mid 2003.
LeBron James is un-guardable.