Can Lebron really be contained by Pierce (or was he tentative)? LBJ to attack

[j804]

Read this over on Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The two-time NBA MVP said he needs to be more aggressive in Game 3 of Cleveland's series with Boston on Friday.

Got me thinking can Pierce contain Lebron if he's aggressive attacking? Pierce did a decent job on him the first 2 games, but I think we can all agree Lebron was tentative and hardly took it to the hole. Something tells me in game 3 he is going to be extra aggressive barreling down the lane trying to finish or find open teammates....none of which we saw the first 2 games.

I sure hope Pierce can contain him because if we have to somewhat double team like we did with Wade then Parker, Mo, Moon etc can abuse us from the three. They definitely will be playing with a chip on there shoulder from there poor play hopefully we can match it.

 

[Mr October]

Read this over on Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The two-time NBA MVP said he needs to be more aggressive in Game 3 of Cleveland's series with Boston on Friday.

Got me thinking can Pierce contain Lebron if he's aggressive attacking? Pierce did a decent job on him the first 2 games, but I think we can all agree Lebron was tentative and hardly took it to the hole. Something tells me in game 3 he is going to be extra aggressive barreling down the lane trying to finish or find open teammates....none of which we saw the first 2 games.

I sure hope Pierce can contain him because if we have to somewhat double team like we did with Wade then Parker, Mo, Moon etc can abuse us from the three. They definitely will be playing with a chip on there shoulder from there poor play hopefully we can match it.

 

They key for Boston is team defense. Heck even Ray did some decent work on Lebron in the last game, provided there was help to cut down penetration.

As soon as Lebron gets close to penetrating the paint, help is there. Lebron has to make Boston respect his outside shot. We'll see what happens.

[Celtics18]

For the majority of our dominant 3rd quarter in game 2, Ray Allen was actually the primary defender on Lebron.  Pierce was covering Parker and was roaming everywhere as a help defender.  I really liked that strategy, as the Captain really stepped it up, taking charges, blocking shots, and forcing turnovers.  KG was playing the pick and roll like in the old days, Rondo was working hard to harrass Mo closer to midcourt and fighting over picks, and Perk was getting to spots as the last line defender.  This was team defense like I haven't seen since the championship season.  If we can keep that up for 48 minutes, we'll be in good shape.  

If this is the case, I don't care if Lebron goes for 30+ for the rest of the series.

[droopdog7]

If LeBron sets his mind to takeover scoring, no single person can stop him.  The Celts though may be okay with letting him do his thing as long as the other cavs don't go off.

[RAcker]

LeCrab can be as agressive as he wants, but the bottom line is, we do not depend on Pierce or anyone else alone to slow down LeCrab.  When BBD steps in for a charge or KG changes a shot, that is how we contain a great player.

DWade, Kobe the Ripper & LeCrab each have had problems in the past when we play "Team Defense" and we're all on a string.  It is never Pierce or Ray or Rondo or Perk or KG or anyone alone doing it.

[celticinorlando]

i am still in the mind set that i would rather have a gimpy lebrick take over an try to do too much than have the guys around him get going.

[CoachBo]

I don't fear any one player in any one game with Cleveland.

The worry is whether Rondo can successfully slow the tempo down in Boston, as much as he did in Cleveland. The Cavs will almost certainly try hard to force the run, because they cannot win the series at the tempo of the first two games.

Can we still dictate tempo? It's the key question of the series.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Could anyone stop Wade? In 5 games he only managed to win one game even with his superhuman performances. I doubt very much LeBron will do anything that even compares to what Wade was doing to us.

[MMacOH]

Could anyone stop Wade? In 5 games he only managed to win one game even with his superhuman performances. I doubt very much LeBron will do anything that even compares to what Wade was doing to us.

I think you are underestimating Lebron....big time.  Wade is not near the passer, rebounder or defender Lebron is. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

Could anyone stop Wade? In 5 games he only managed to win one game even with his superhuman performances. I doubt very much LeBron will do anything that even compares to what Wade was doing to us.

I think you are underestimating Lebron....big time.  Wade is not near the passer, rebounder or defender Lebron is. 

I think you might have missed how Wade played in the first round, even if all you're saying is true.

[MMacOH]

Could anyone stop Wade? In 5 games he only managed to win one game even with his superhuman performances. I doubt very much LeBron will do anything that even compares to what Wade was doing to us.

I think you are underestimating Lebron....big time.  Wade is not near the passer, rebounder or defender Lebron is. 

I think you might have missed how Wade played in the first round, even if all you're saying is true.

Wade averaged 33 pts 5 rebs and 6 assists a game.

Lebron is averaging 29.5 pts, 7 rebs and 5.5 assists and has been tentative.

I am pretty sure he compares to Wade already

[BudweiserCeltic]

Could anyone stop Wade? In 5 games he only managed to win one game even with his superhuman performances. I doubt very much LeBron will do anything that even compares to what Wade was doing to us.

I think you are underestimating Lebron....big time.  Wade is not near the passer, rebounder or defender Lebron is. 

I think you might have missed how Wade played in the first round, even if all you're saying is true.

Wade averaged 33 pts 5 rebs and 6 assists a game.

Lebron is averaging 29.5 pts, 7 rebs and 5.5 assists and has been tentative.

I am pretty sure he compares to Wade already

On 56% shooting. You know forget Wade. LeBron already had an even better series against Chicago. I don't think he'll manage a series long at the level against us.

And yes, he's tentative, even more so to reason that he won't be playing at this level.

He's still being hell of productive, but the productivity and the efficiency combined in Wade's and LeBron's first round is really unmatched with what he's putting up at the moment.

[billysan]

For me the stats dont matter as much. Lebron makes his teammates better and impacts the game more than Wade. Wade plays two positions and doesnt impact the boards or the post as much as Lebron who plays more like 3 positions. That said, Lebron has more to work with than Wade in the supporting cast department.

The best way to stop or slow down Lebron is the same as any other great player, including Pierce, Wade or Kobe. Make him pick up his dribble before he is ready and disrupt his shooting rythm as much as possible by making him play defense.

As previously stated, team defense is the most effective way to do this overall. I will say that if a player can get inside someones' head ala Bruce Bowen, James Posey or Michael Cooper, to name a few, then you also can disrupt their games significantly.

[BballTim]

  Much of the time the real key to containing LeBron is Perk. It's not that unusual to see LeBron get a step on PP and stop his drive because Perk went out to challenge him. Same thing happened in 2008.

[Brendan]

Could anyone stop Wade? In 5 games he only managed to win one game even with his superhuman performances. I doubt very much LeBron will do anything that even compares to what Wade was doing to us.

I think you are underestimating Lebron....big time.  Wade is not near the passer, rebounder or defender Lebron is. 

Correct - Lebron is like Wade, except better in every facet. Lebron is actually a better shooter too. But Wade was draining 3pters that game - that's the biggest reason he lit the C's up. If Lebron starts hitting from outside at a good clip, he'll decimate the team too.

I actually think Ray Allen did a better job on Lebron too. The reason is in 2008 - Pierce was a bit quicker and could play Lebron straight up. Now he might be able to slow Lebron down for a spurt, but not a whole game. Ray is a bit quicker and can do a better job staying in front of LBJ and trying to force him to shoot. And this lets Pierce roam and Pierce is a better help defender by far than Ray. (Better rebounder, better in the passing lanes, better drawinga charge, better double teaming, etc.)