LeBron Willing To Defend Rose Full-Time

[The Regime]

In the wake of Sunday night’s 103-82 Chicago Bullsvictory over the Miami Heat, LeBron James says he is willing to make whatever adjustments necessary to get his team even in the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night at the United Center.

 

“It doesn’t matter. I have guarded five positions this year and the postseason. Whatever it takes for our team to win,” James said Monday before his team’s practice. “If that means guarding (Derrick) Rose from the start or playing more point guard, I’m up for the task.”

 

James was held to 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting Sunday night.

 

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/sports/cbsports-lebron-james-whatever-it-takes-20110516,0,5646455.story

[Flash]

Would be interesting to see. I remember one game, the one were Deng hit that shot to put it away he guarded Rose well at the end and forced that kick out but Wade overhelped and Deng got that open shot.

 

I'm for it though.

[Warren2ThaG]

Gluck haha, Miami is dumb for not starting a lineup of Wade-Miller-LBJ-Bosh-Anthony

[fish7718]

I'm guessing that means

 

Rose - LeBron

SG - PG

Deng - Wade

 

if so might be the best course of action for Miami...

[AboveLegit]

Last thing you want to do is get others involved in the Bulls offense. If Deng starts to take advantage of his match up, the Bulls are difficult to beat. RD talked about it in the game 1 thread, the Heat need to focus on getting to the line and crashing the boards. The Heat are at their best when they are in the open court and in transition, the only way you get those opportunities is by grabbing rebounds.

[Real Deal]

Stupid move, but go ahead. Chicago would love this.

 

Sounds like LeBron expects more out of Chalmers and Bibby, and this is his way of saying it. Maybe Bibby should come out and say he wants more shots, because the 5-15 shooting from James isn't going to cut it.

[reno]

lol go ahead, rose would tire out lebron and open shots for others.

[Flash]

Stupid move, but go ahead. Chicago would love this.

 

Sounds like LeBron expects more out of Chalmers and Bibby, and this is his way of saying it. Maybe Bibby should come out and say he wants more shots, because the 5-15 shooting from James isn't going to cut it.

 

That made absolutely 0 sense but ok.

[Real Deal]

That made absolutely 0 sense but ok.

Layman's terms, just for you...

 

Bibby and Chalmers get killed by Rose. LeBron says, "I will defend Rose if needed." Kind of like when you're at the park, getting lit up, and your teammate is like, "Switch up, I got this dude," and you're stuck on a guy that can't score because, well, you suck on defense.

 

Makes a lot of sense.

 

Maybe Bibby should say, "I will take and make more shots if I need to," because he knows that most of LeBron's shots are going to fall short due to the way Luol Deng plays defense on him.

 

Not hard to understand if you're a non-Heat fan...not trying to crack a joke.

[Abro]

I wouldn't do it for the whole game, but i don't see why not to at least try it.. They need to make some tweaks with how they play the Bulls because (like everybody knows) And LeBron did play D-Rose pretty well last time. I personally think this is getting blown of proportion however, the Heat played sub-par in the first half and was still tied with the Bulls, then in the second half (about 20 minutes) the Bulls played outstanding!

I personally think the Heat won't have another game like the last one especially Wade and LeBron. I expect the next game to be much better, closer, etc. I honestly think the Heat will win.

Edited May 18, 2011 by Abro

[fish7718]

Layman's terms, just for you...

 

Bibby and Chalmers get killed by Rose. LeBron says, "I will defend Rose if needed." Kind of like when you're at the park, getting lit up, and your teammate is like, "Switch up, I got this dude," and you're stuck on a guy that can't score because, well, you suck on defense.

 

Makes a lot of sense.

 

Maybe Bibby should say, "I will take and make more shots if I need to," because he knows that most of LeBron's shots are going to fall short due to the way Luol Deng plays defense on him.

 

Not hard to understand if you're a non-Heat fan...not trying to crack a joke.

I still don't get what you are saying...are you saying he's a dick because he wants to win? I'm lost...

[Real Deal]

 

You don't go off and say you want to defend Rose after Game 1. He shot 10-22 (45%) for 28 points, didn't go ballistic, had just six free throw attempts. Chalmers didn't do that bad of a job on him.

 

LeBron needs to worry about his production more than he does someone else's defensive assignment. It was also Luol Deng who was more efficient than Rose from the floor (7-15 FG) for 21 points.

 

So maybe someone should step up and say they are willing to defend Deng for the rest of the series, and that they are willing to take a few more shots from LeBron, if he's going to shoot 33%.

 

It's not that hard to understand, but forget it...no need for me to draw diagrams and shit.

[Flash]

I think you're reaching with this lol. Serious nitpicking at his comment.

[Real Deal]

I think you're reaching with this lol. Serious nitpicking at his comment.

If Kobe had said that he would defend Dirk for the entire game after Game 1, I'd expect Gasol to take that as a personal jab. That's pretty pathetic.

 

James needs to let Chalmers do his job as a player. You said it yourself all season long: this isn't the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron doesn't have to do everything...or does he?

 

If LBJ didn't say this for a kick-in-the-ass directed at Chalmers and/or Bibby, that's fine. I'm really not saying he did, now that I think about it...I just think he needs to worry about his own position, where he was clearly outplayed in Game 1.

 

Still, not a smart move. If Spo sticks LeBron on Rose for 40+ minutes a game, Rose tears his ass up, much like any elite PG would, and takes a big chunk of Miami's help defense out of the equation along with it. But hey, LeBron knows best.

[Flash]

I kinda looked at it as him trying to step and just be a leader offering to take on their best player defensively. Nothing more than that. I doubt Spo would consider putting him on Rose full time, although I'd be for it in spurts.

[fish7718]

If Kobe had said that he would defend Dirk for the entire game after Game 1, I'd expect Gasol to take that as a personal jab. That's pretty pathetic.

If Kidd went off for 30 and Kobe said he would guard I'd see no problem at all tbh...for the good off the team...

[Real Deal]

If Kidd went off for 30 and Kobe said he would guard I'd see no problem at all tbh...for the good off the team...

Kobe defends Kidd.

 

LeBron doesn't defend PG's for an entire game. The one time he did (for CLE), it was due to injuries. I don't think Chalmers and Bibby are injured, and again, I didn't see Rose put up a monster scoring night with 10+ free throws and 50%+ shooting.

 

If Rose had three consecutive games where he was torching Chalmers and Bibby, it would be different. They'd deserve to get thrown under the bus, even though Rose is a superstar, because they would be getting lit and (most likely) not providing anything on the offensive end.

 

But, it was LeBron who struggled producing on the offensive end, and also defensively, so I don't know why he's talking right now, after just one game.

[Multi-Billionaire]

I think it kinda makes sense to me.

 

Rose is everything on offense for the Bulls. He's athletic, quick, strong.

 

But LeBron can match Rose's athleticism, quickness, and strength. He is on First All Defensive Team, he guarded Rondo in previous series.

 

 

I remember 2 years ago, we put SG Dahntay Jones on a Chris Paul. Now you'd think CP3's quickness would kill DJ, but DJ's athletic and very physical and they proved to bother CP3 all series. Slowing down CP3 was crucial, it's like cutting off the snake's head.

 

 

I don't think it's a shot at Bibby or Chalmers. Bibby should know he's old, and Chalmers should know he can't stay in front of Rose.

 

 

LBJ needs to knock down his shots, but if you can slow down Rose, who's everything to their offense, you're greatly compromising the Bulls' offense.

 

 

I think credit to LBJ if he can pull this off.

[Flash]

LBJ's only issue right now is his falling in love with the mid range jumper..its killing me knowing that he can get by whoever is on him whenever he wants.

[Real Deal]

But LeBron can match Rose's athleticism, quickness, and strength. He is on First All Defensive Team, he guarded Rondo in previous series.

Quickness? That's where LeBron is going to get burned. He's not as quick as Rose...come on.

 

LBJ's only issue right now is his falling in love with the mid range jumper..its killing me knowing that he can get by whoever is on him whenever he wants.

That's not the issue. Chicago has a few guys down low that will step up and challenge LeBron even before he gets to the rim, and force him to pass it. Noah and Gibson don't mind doing it, and neither does Asik. Two of those three are excellent defensive players, and Asik has improved significantly on that end of the court. Having them back up one of the best perimeter defenders in Luol Deng? I don't see why you would think LeBron would have his way.

 

He may be hard to stop, but he's sure the hell not impossible to slow down. Minus Wilt, who was a giant compared to those defending him, there hasn't been a single player that could overcome the best defense in the game without the help of his teammates. Players like Jordan averaged a good amount of assists because their teammates knocked down perimeter shots every game, once the defenses collapsed, and even those superstars fed off of their team...and things like that opened the game up a bit more, because teams didn't want to get beat by giving up 50 open jumpers a night.

 

If you want LeBron to do better, you should be asking where Dwyane Wade is. When there's another offensive threat on the floor, whether he's getting to the rim or not, he will require defensive help...and that opens up the game for LBJ. Bosh is defended by Boozer...that match-up is going to be meaningless in this series, all because Boozer doesn't care to play help, and would rather match Bosh point-for-point (as much as possible). Chicago won't double Bosh with two superstar teammates in the game.

 

If this were Hedo defending LeBron, and Dwight Howard sitting the bench in foul trouble, I'd get where you're coming from...but it's the best defensive team in the league, with their best defenders either defending LeBron face-up, or coming over to help before he gets to the rim (actually, both at once). It's not like we haven't seen it before, with Paul Pierce, Tony Allen and Kevin Garnett...and, to no one's surprise, LeBron struggled scoring in that series, shot under 39% in the final three games (21% in Game 5)...and Cleveland lost.

 

Credit to the defensive genius coaching that Celtics team, and this current Bulls team, and the defenders he uses...not credit to LeBron being less aggressive.

[Poe]

I like it. Put LBJ on Rose. He's not used to being guarded by defenders stronger than him. And give the guy single coverage please Spo. Let him take 30 (contested) shots. His scoring efficiency isn't great. His team actually has a higher chance of losing the more shots he takes.

 

Miami is dumb for not starting a lineup of Wade-LBJ-Jones-Bosh-Anthony

 

Fixed

 

 

Edit: Well, not "dumb", but I think it would be better.

Edited May 18, 2011 by Poe

[reno]

I like it. Put LBJ on Rose. He's not used to being guarded by defenders stronger than him. And give the guy single coverage please Spo. Let him take 30 (contested) shots. His scoring efficiency isn't great. His team actually has a higher chance of losing the more shots he takes.

 

 

 

Fixed

 

 

Edit: Well, not "dumb", but I think it would be better.

lebron would be gassed up and get in early foul trouble, wade was completely burned out last game.

[kingfish]

Didnt Lebron say the same thing about Rondo last year?

[SRV]

I don't even care who he covers, the team as a whole needs to play defense and get rebounds. Not much we can do when they grab every offensive rebound and they don't miss a single shot. Unlike our shooters, theirs can actually pass and move as opposed to wait in the corner for a chance to shoot. I wasn't even that impressed with Rose, he did what he usually does, the reason we got destroyed was because they got offensive rebounds and we never bothered to set up the defense again.

[Multi-Billionaire]

Quickness? That's where LeBron is going to get burned. He's not as quick as Rose...come on.

 

Rose is a half step quicker but LeBron's quickness is no chopped liver and his superhuman athleticism can help him cover that slight disadvantage. He's good at chase-down shot blocking... and if he can change some of Rose's shots, aka the orhestrator of the Bulls' O, he can change the make up of the entire game, and series.

 

My example on DJ-on-CP3 (Nuggets-Hornets series, 2 years ago) was this. CP3 was too quick for DJ, but DJ was super athletic and physical that it changed CP3's game in the series.

 

Another thing, why I think LeBron can guard Rose is, Rose operates and executes on his athleticism, quickness and strength. But Rose's not a strategist like Billups or CP3 who like to pump-fake and bait their defenders into shooting-fouling them, and causes LeBron to be in foul trouble.

 

 

You could at least give the guy who finished on First All Defensive Team some benefit of the doubt that he can do this, I believe LeBron can based on my observation of both players.