Steve Kerr: Lebron is more Pippen than MJ

[BballTim]

He is very much like Pippen except Lebron takes more shots and is probably a slightly better shooter.

  A team depending on LeBron to be the main scorer can get to the finals. A team that depended on Pippen to be the main scorer would have struggled to make the playoffs.

[get_banners]

kerr is pretty much right-on, albeit harsh. but...lord knows lebron could use some honest and harsh criticism every now and then. though lebron is a better offensive scorer than pippen, even if it's just due to his insane physical talents.

[JSD]

I thought that this was a pretty fair portrait:

Scottie Pippen had it all wrong when he recently compared LeBron James with Michael Jordan, said one former Chicago Bulls teammate.

"The irony to me is that LeBron is not Michael. LeBron is actually Scottie," former Bull and current television analyst Steve Kerr said Monday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He's so similar to Scottie in that defensively he was just a monster, could guard anybody, really more of a point forward than scoring guard. Scottie always loved to distribute the ball. That's really where LeBron's preference is.

"Phil Jackson used to call Scottie a 'sometimes shooter.' Sometimes they would go in, sometimes they wouldn't. That's how it is with LeBron. He's a great talent and a great player but you can see his flaws as a basketball player. He doesn't have an offensive game that he can rely on: no low-post game, no mid-range jump shot so when the game really gets tough he has a hard time finding easy baskets and getting himself going. That's what Michael did in his sleep so that's why the comparison is wrong."

Link

Is Kerr being too hard on him?  Or is Lebron simply not wired the same as an alpha-dog like MJ?

Wow, great find. I think Kerr nailed it.

[OsirusCeltics]

then I guess it's fair to say that Wade is no MJ

But hes better than lebron

No way in hell.  LeBron is the best defensive player in basketball, while Wade is always getting lost on rotations

So in their prime, Ben Wallace was better than Shaq?

[soap07]

He is very much like Pippen except Lebron takes more shots and is probably a slightly better shooter.

  A team depending on LeBron to be the main scorer can get to the finals. A team that depended on Pippen to be the main scorer would have struggled to make the playoffs.

Yeah, like the 1994 Bulls that struggled to make the playoffs by winning 55 games (a 3 seed) and pushing the Finals-bound Knicks to 7 games in the second round. Pippen that year - 22/9/6.

So in their prime, Ben Wallace was better than Shaq?

Well, in terms of LeBron/Wade comparisons, LeBron also happens to be a better passer, rebounder, shooter and scorer as well than Wade.

[Onslaught]

He is very much like Pippen except Lebron takes more shots and is probably a slightly better shooter.

  A team depending on LeBron to be the main scorer can get to the finals. A team that depended on Pippen to be the main scorer would have struggled to make the playoffs.

Um, like someone already pointed out, the Bulls did very well with Pippen as the number one guy.

[Fafnir]

 You're talking 1v1 defense only. I don't think LBJ protects the rim like Dwight does, or alters as many shots by players that he helps out on.

I agree that Dwight Howard's defensive impact is superior, but LeBron's is by far the most disruptive help wing defender in the game.

Off hand only Howard and KG really stand out in my mind as having more help defensive value. Though you could make the argument for a couple of other big men too.

That'd put him 3-5 maybe? That's amazing from a player on the wing.

[mgent]

Barkley called him Pippen too right?  Also said he was closer to a Magic Johnson than Jordan, in that he was an over-sized athlete that preferred to pass the ball than score.

Even if LeBron completely stopped passing and focused 100% on scoring, I still don't think he can be compared as a scorer to MJ (even though he did both).  He simply can't hurt you from anywhere on the court.  That's why Melo and Durant and better scorers than he'll probably ever be.

You can't be an unstoppable force if you can only "sometimes" shoot.  Teams will ALWAYS dare LeBron to do his work from the outside.  He simply can't make teams pay for giving him the smallest bit of space, and you need that AND incredible talent inside to truly be a completely reliable offensive threat.

That's also the reason why he struggles in the clutch.  If he's hitting fade-away 3s with Paul Pierce in his face, then he's unstoppable.  But 95% of the time he can't do that.  Maybe one day he'll become a triple threat, but until then the Jordan comparisons really have got to stop, and even then he'll never catch up in rings.

[OsirusCeltics]

So in their prime, Ben Wallace was better than Shaq?

Well, in terms of LeBron/Wade comparisons, LeBron also happens to be a better passer, rebounder, shooter and scorer as well than Wade.


[/quote]

Lebron is a better passer and rebounder. But a better scorer and shooter than Wade?? I don't know how you can say that

[Eja117]

Lebron needs about 6 rings before I think of him as anywhere near as good as Pippen

[BballTim]

He is very much like Pippen except Lebron takes more shots and is probably a slightly better shooter.

  A team depending on LeBron to be the main scorer can get to the finals. A team that depended on Pippen to be the main scorer would have struggled to make the playoffs.

Um, like someone already pointed out, the Bulls did very well with Pippen as the number one guy.

  The first year they did, the second year they were playing .500 ball or so when MJ came back late in the season. Probably a 6th or 7th seed.

[Marcus13]

then I guess it's fair to say that Wade is no MJ

But hes better than lebron

No way in hell.  LeBron is the best defensive player in basketball, while Wade is always getting lost on rotations

So in their prime, Ben Wallace was better than Shaq?

LeBron had a poor series against Dallas but I think we're forgetting how awful Wade looked during the series against Chicago.

The margin between wade and lebron on offense is clearly much, much closer than Wallace and Shaq

[soap07]

Lebron is a better passer and rebounder. But a better scorer and shooter than Wade?? I don't know how you can say that

Well, one guy is a career 33% shooter from 3 (LeBron). The other is a career 29% shooter from 3 (Wade). One guy has a career .512 eFG% (LeBron) - the other has a career .502 eFG% (Wade).


LeBron career 27.7 PPG/Wade career 25.4.

LeBron has led the league three straight years in Offensive Win Shares. Wade never has.

This season, LeBron shot 45% on shots between 16-23 feet from the basket. In the last five years, Wade has only shot better from that distance 2 times. ***

The better question is how you can say Wade is a better shooter or scorer than leBron.

[Eja117]

Anderson Varejao is exhibit A of why when people say "But Lebron had no teammates in Cleveland" I just kind of snicker. It's like who are you going to believe? Me or your own lying eyes?

[guava_wrench]

Lebron does seem to have a post game this season. He has also lead the league in scoring. But he may have more of Pippen's personality.