LeBron and Wade Efficiency Article

[Nitro]

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, shown at a shootaround before an NBA Finals game in 2012, have been competing with each other this season over shooting percentages.

 

By Ethan J. Skolnick

 

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

 

MIAMI —

 

His feet soaking in ice after a late December victory against Charlotte, LeBron James received a cold, unpleasant splash of water to the face. It came from the stat sheet that he had dropped in the bucket.

 

“Damn!”

 

James had just recorded 27 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in a victory against the Bobcats, and yet one number struck him as entirely unacceptable.

 

“Nine for 19!”

 

Yes, nine for 19 – as in a shade under 50 percent.

 

So why would this matter?

 

“It’s like a competition me and D-Wade are having right now about who can shoot 50 percent, in each and every game,” James said, when asked a couple of days later. “I had no idea, because I don’t know what’s going on throughout the game as far as stats. I came in after the game, I saw 9-for-19 and I missed that last long three, I felt I could have gotten into the lane and got a layup. I’ve got to make up for it.”

 

Well, he has since.

 

James has shot 50 percent or better in 11 of the past 12 games, the only exception in Portland on Jan. 10. Since that stumble, he has shot 64.9 percent over the past four games. That has lifted his overall field goal accuracy to 55 percent for the season which, if it holds, which would mark the sixth straight season that he’s set a career high. He has shot at least 50 percent in 31 of his 38 games this season, and his effective field goal percentage (which accounts for the difficulty and benefit of 3-point shots) is a career-high 58.6, better than Michael Jordan’s in any season.

 

And no, not everything is a dunk. According to basketballreference.com, James has shot 77.6 percent at the rim, but only 35 of his shots have come from there.

 

All of this is much more impressive than the 20-point streak that was recently stopped at 54. James can put up points simply from sheer volume of attempts, with the ball in his hands so much. To post these percentages, you need to show patience, restraint and discretion.

 

“Early in my career, I didn’t take every shot as seriously as I do now, to be more efficient,” James said. “It comes with age, it comes with experience. You know, when you’re an 18 year old rookie, or a 21-year-old, third year in the league, you can get away with a lot of mistakes, and not looking at numbers as much. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been more efficient, taking care of the ball. I value possessions more.”

 

He also values competition, and he’s been in one with Wade. Wade is also shooting the highest percentage of his career, at 50.6, a fact that Erik Spoelstra noted Thursday while asserting that if Wade was shooting as much as he once did, he could still average 28 points.

 

“We’re both so conscious of wanting to shoot 50 percent, that sometimes you wish you had that Kobe (Bryant) thought, where you just don’t care,” Wade said. “We talk about it all the time. It sucks at times, but it’s who we are.”

 

And yes, Wade also checks the stat sheets after every game. He was irritated with himself after shooting 9-for-20 in Orlando on New Year’s Eve. Wade has a ways to go to catch James in the competition; he’s been 50 percent or better in 19 of his 34 games. For his career, Wade is now just a tick (48.6 to 48.7) behind James.

 

“I’ve been challenged like this since I came in the league,” Wade said. “(Heat assistant Bob) McAdoo challenged me early on to try to shoot 50 percent. So he kind of messed me up early on.”

 

McAdoo, a Hall of Famer, shot 50.3 percent for his career.

 

“But when LeBron came here, he probably cared about it more, because that’s what we talk about,” Wade said.

 

Yes, and think about, even during games. You ever notice James holding the ball in the backcourt, waiting for the buzzer to sound, before launching a longshot 60-footer, like he did in Golden State?

 

Or Wade doing the same?

 

You assume that’s an accident.

 

“We were in Dallas,” Wade said, laughing as he recalled a Jan. 2 game in which he shot 9-for-21 and had the ball in his hands, far from the basket, with the clock winding down. “I was like, ‘Why did I just shoot that?’ But I had four seconds. I was like, ‘Damn.’ You have no choice when you have that much time. It would have looked bad.”

 

So why isn’t there a third party to this competition?

 

After all, Chris Bosh is shooting 54.5 percent, highest of his career, and bringing his career percentage to 49.5.

 

“It wouldn’t be fair,” Bosh said, smiling. “I expect to shoot 50 percent all the time.”

 

Wade agreed.

 

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be fair,” Wade said, pausing. “It just wouldn’t be. I’m not going to say why. He can’t play with us. His shots come a little differently.”

 

All’s good for everyone so long as at least half go through.

 

http://m.palmbeachpost.com/news/sports/basketball/miami-heats-james-and-wade-play-the-percentages/nT2sZ/

 

Love it.

[ChosenOne]

It's truly unreal how nuts of a season LeBron is having, but I feel that Wades season is really going under the radar due to LeBron. Yeah he isn't averaging the numbers he has in past years but efficiency wise it's probably his best or right around it.

 

Also I'm one of the believers that says Wade isn't turning it on yet. I think the last month going into the playoffs your gonna see the monster wade when 100% healthy and fresh. LeBron and Wade gonna go ape on everyone they face come playoff time.

[Nitro]

Also I'm one of the believers that says Wade isn't turning it on yet. I think the last month going into the playoffs your gonna see the monster wade when 100% healthy and fresh. LeBron and Wade gonna go ape on everyone they face come playoff time.

 

Wade ain't turning it on 'till later in the season...agreed. Offensively I think he's lost enough athletcism to where he's not capable of what he was doing a few years ago, but defensively he's coasted much of this season. Come playoff time all those open 3 pointers he's been giving up won't be there for the opposition, and as he showed by shutting down Kobe, his on-ball defense is still elite when locked in. He has picked his spots offensively much better the last 2 months after that terrible November, and as long as he does that he'll remain extremely dangerous offensively.

 

Miami's defense goes as LeBron and Wade go...they are the anchors, and have been since they came together. Neither has really turned it on yet this season and that, along with an increase of small-ball has made them an average team on that side of the ball. Once they turn it on, this defense goes back to being very good. If Birdman works out, or if Spo chills on the small-ball thing, they become great again.

[Real Deal]

Not sure if Wade will get back to a respectable level on the defensive end for an entire playoff run. I mean, we can point out games, but I just don't see it in him out there...and sometimes, I don't see that "coasting" look on his face. I see him pushing hard on defense every now and then, and he still doesn't perform well enough.

 

He has improved slightly since the beginning of the season, where I thought Miami was dreadful on defense (hell, they were probably bottom five in the league for 4-5 weeks), but to say he can defend at an elite level for 15-20+ games in late April, May and early June, all against playoff teams and repeat games in a series? I don't know.

[Nitro]

Not sure if Wade will get back to a respectable level on the defensive end for an entire playoff run. I mean, we can point out games, but I just don't see it in him out there...and sometimes, I don't see that "coasting" look on his face. I see him pushing hard on defense every now and then, and he still doesn't perform well enough.

 

He has improved slightly since the beginning of the season, where I thought Miami was dreadful on defense (hell, they were probably bottom five in the league for 4-5 weeks), but to say he can defend at an elite level for 15-20+ games in late April, May and early June, all against playoff teams and repeat games in a series? I don't know.

 

I don't see why he wouldn't be able to. His main assignments come playoff time will be Kidd/JR, Rip Hamilton, Avery Bradley, Joe Johnson and probably Paul George. Solid group of players, but it's not like he's defending any top 10 players in that list. And honestly the only one I see giving him a lot of trouble is JR, whose game is almost completely dependant on a terrible shot selection that can't be defended by anyone once he catches fire.

 

The offense will be a bigger struggle. He's still got the timing, lateral quickness and crazy long arms to make a huge impact on a consisten basis defensively IF HE WANTS TO. Offensively, there are some defenses that he simply doesn't have the physical tools to dominate anymore.

[Real Deal]

I don't think the offense will struggle THAT much against any team other than the Indiana Pacers...maybe Chicago. As it stands, Indiana is playing top ten defense...top ten of all-time...in regards to allowed FG%. That's pretty amazing. You'd think that wouldn't collapse once Granger returns, but that remains to be seen.

 

Now, his individual offense? Sure, that's different...because he'll have to deal with those guys back down the court...one being Avery Bradley, the other Paul George. Smith is no slouch on the defensive end, either, and with a slightly slower Wade, J-Kidd will still be a pest.

 

But that's just it. Wade having to play against an excellent perimeter defender in Avery Bradley, and another in Paul George, will run him down when he's headed back down the court...and those guys are young. Bradley won't dump buckets on him, but Boston has 500 guards, also.

 

He'll be fine leading into the first game or so in each series, but I don't see how he's going to keep at an elite level closing them out. High, and elite, are two different things, in my opinion.

 

Miami won't need a full-blown Wade to get to the Finals, anyway. Bosh is playing pretty damn good as well, and LeBron is the best in the league. As long as their shots are falling from outside (and not necessarily the big three, I'm talking about Ray, Shard, Battier, Miller, Chalmers) and they aren't giving up 50 rebounds every game, they will stroll through the conference.

 

Indiana will be that defensive pest, though, and depending on how Rose will play when he returns (can't really comment on that yet), the Bulls could be that team to knock off the Heat. As good as the Knicks looked against them early in the season (and how they played overall), I'm not sure what that team will be like when Felton returns and if Amare starts trying to be 2011 Amare in the playoffs. New York has to get better defensively, anyway.