LeBron James is the best player of this generation. If I was on the opposing bench, this would be my game plan to try and stop him (or at least slow him down).
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DEFENDING LEBRON JAMES
1 – Make him handle the ball, especially in the pick-and-roll.
Out of all the play types, LeBron’s fewest points per play come in the pick-and roll as the ball handler. He is 10.5% less efficient on this play type than his overall average in the halfcourt. LeBron’s tendency is to use the high pick-and-roll (71% vs left/right sides of court).
He utilizes a screen about 70% of the time, which yields two overwhelming outcomes. LeBron will shoot a dribble jumper on 50% of these plays. He’ll get to the rim on 44% of the plays. He’s more effective finishing at the rim, but the difference isn’t as big as you might think. He’s just 1.4% more effective taking it to the basket.
Instead of following LeBron over the screen, my defender will be told to go under it. LeBron is 9.0% less effective when his defender goes under the screen. LeBron will be dared to shoot the long two-point jumper.
We will not double-team. LeBron is too good of a passer and the offense derived from his passes in the pick-and-roll make the team 18.8% more effective than if he keeps it himself.
James took 5.0 mid-range attempts per game last season and shot just 37.0% on these shots. That will be the goal – make him shoot a mid-range shot. His efficiency was about 32% less in the mid-range than in the overall pick-and-roll.
2 – Force him to drive left in isolation.
When LeBron isolates, he prefers to start at the top of the key (43%). He will try to drive about 71% of the time. The goal will be to force him to drive left. The reason is not why you think. LeBron’s effective field goal percentage is nearly identical when he drives left vs when he drives right from top isolations.
The key is contact. When LeBron drives right, he draws fouls at a rate more than 2.5 times than when he goes left! He goes to the line, makes free throws, and thus his efficiency on drives to the right are 13.0% more efficient on a points per lay basis. So, we will try to make him drive left.
3 – Play straight up in the post and make him turn over his right shoulder.
Some think that a hard double on LeBron is the way to go, rather than single coverage, but the Cavaliers scored 22.9% more points per play when that happened last season. Let’s put it this way, LeBron has the highest assist percentage of any forward in the history of the NBA (by a rate of 31%).
Straight up, we take our chances. If he faces up, we win. His efficiency declines 12% when he faces up.
Our goal is to make him turn over his right shoulder. LeBron’s tendency is to do this anyway. About 72% of the time he’ll turn over his right shoulder in the post.
The difference in efficiency is astounding. LeBron is 26% less efficient when turning over his right shoulder than his left. Turnover rate is a big factor as well. LeBron did not record a single turnover when going over his left shoulder in the post, but 8.8% of plays resulted in turnovers when going over his right shoulder.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.