A long time ago, the defensive little emperor James wanted to throw a surprise, and now, a long time later, he still has to throw a shot without a sudden, but the shot can't put too much.
Until now, James still has some flaws in his offensive skills, and defensive players who grasp these points can still play a miracle role in key moments.
At Maddy's peak, his defense was also very good, he also made the young Zhan's fists and feet unable to be played, and Pierce fought with James for many years, stevens also once tied a bond with James in the Wizards...
Which of the players who have played against James are more difficult for him to break through? Today we take stock of the top ten candidates for defending James.
10. Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler and James have been familiar with each other from the regular playoffs in the East until last year's Finals. Butler's team could not defend James, but his personal defense was still very good, and the regular season data of one year showed that Butler was the player who lost the fewest points against James in single defense.
Last year, the two of them met in the Finals, Butler personally defended James also caused James to make many mistakes, Butler's resilience, style is very tough, but in the defensive skills are not enough, the team does not have a strong inside to help him, other teammates are also insufficient, so his team has not been able to make a breakthrough in the fight with James's team.
9. Yao Ming
That year, the Cavaliers' home record was very amazing, Yao Ming's Rockets did not believe in evil, but when he came to Cleveland, he also had to obey, Yao Ming was continuously blown foul, and also was blown technical fouls, Yao Ming, who had fragmented playing time in the first three quarters, only scored 7 points, and in the fourth quarter Yao Ming cut 12 points to lead the team to chase the score to only 2 points behind, and the referee gave him an offensive foul.
After the game, Yao Ming gave the reporter a sentence - see you at Houston!
A few months later, at home in Houston, Yao Ming's interior line plus Battier and Athai's forward line were like iron barrels, James shot 7-of-21, only got 1 rebound, and there was no assist! In the final moments of the game, James was trapped in the beast, desperately killing the basket to create a kill, but was overturned by the Oriental Mysterious Power Cap.
Yao Ming and James have played 11 times in the NBA, Yao Ming has 8 wins, and James's statistics are 22.3 points, 5.5 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting only 38.9%. Are you surprised to see such match data? Through the screen, you can also feel how angry and dissatisfied Yao Ming was when he was about to reverse the away game.
8. Kevin Garnett
After KG came to the Celtics, James was unable to break through against the Greenshirts, and the most important reason was that KG's ability to assist in the interior was too good, and with such a Spider-Man, James's way of breaking through and killing the basket was difficult to work.
In 2009, KG was injured, which was originally a great opportunity for James to highlight the siege, but unfortunately he met the Warcraft Howard again, and after the team that was subject to KG again in 2010, plus KG's sentence - don't let your loyalty hurt you, James made up his mind to leave Miami.
There is such a fast-moving long-armed monster town guarding the basket, you want to be unaffected that is impossible, got the best defensive player KG's deterrent power on the defensive end is his fundamental magic weapon based on the NBA, in front of him James is very uncomfortable.
7. Tim Duncan
KG made James uncomfortable in the regular season and eastern playoffs, and Duncan was embarrassed in the finals, the final hurdle to supreme honor.
In the 2007 Finals, James shot only 35.6 percent from the field, thanks to Duncan, whose defensive interior diminished James' breakthrough power.
James was "deceived" by Duncan, when Duncan said that the future is his, but he is in the Heat to form the invincible lineup of the Big Three, Duncan is also 37 years old but still refuses to grow old, but also in the 13 years of the Finals dominated James's interior partner Bosh, G6 Spurs win to win the championship, Duncan in this game is extremely excited, slashed 30 points and 17 boards, fortunately Popovich replaced Duncan in the last moment of G6, Bosh only grabbed the valuable rebound, Then there was Ray Allenna,perhaps the greatest three-pointer in Finals history. A year later, the more elderly Duncan made a comeback and defeated James's Big Three Heat, while the old Duncan Town Guard was still full of deterrence, and it was because of Duncan's presence that the Heat Triplet disintegrated early.
6. Jason Kidd
Kidd's height can defend James?
Of course!
In the 2011 Finals, Kidd was already an old ball, his defense was suffocating, in the course of the Mavericks' championship victory, Kidd's successful defense of Kobe Bryant and James was a major contributor to the Mavericks' championship.
At that time, Kidd's defensive strategy for James was to defend one-sidedly, not to take any pockets, whether it was Marion or Kidd defending. Kidd doesn't have a height advantage over James, but because Kidd is one of the league's top traditional control point guards for many years, his observation is definitely the top of the league, and he knows James very well, so Kidd doesn't let go of the shot many times, stuck James's breakthrough route, forcing him to barely shoot.
With Kidd's limitations on James' success, the Mavericks eventually reversed the Heat 4-2 to win the championship.
5. Andre iguodala
In 2015, Iguodala was elected MVP of the Finals, a big reason was his restrictions against the Thunder Tyrannosaurus James, many people believe that James averaged 35.8 points, 13.8 boards and 8.8 assists in the Finals that year, completely blowing up the opposite Iguodala, and James later interviewed did not admit that Iguodala restricted him in that Finals.
This time, James shot only 39.8 percent from the field, 31 percent from three-point range, averaged only 2.2 shots per game, and shot only 68.7 percent from the free throws, which is certainly due to Iguodala, whose harassment, steals, card slots, and many other tricks on the defensive end are more practical.
In the following finals, Iguodala also often showed his mastery of defending the ThunderStorm, including the press-whistle steal.
4. Ron Artest
Ron Artest won the award for Best Defensive Player in 2004, which is not easy for outside players, and Artest has been selected to the Best Defensive Team four times, plus his height and weight match James, many people think that Arte is the best person to limit James.
After the Lakers won the championship in 2009, they chose to sign with Atai because they valued his defensive ability and prepared for james, a fierce opponent they might encounter in the finals in the future. Unfortunately, they didn't wait for James, and it was their old rival Celtic who came to them.
Not being able to confront James on the highest stage of the finals is a big regret for Artest, and seeing that many people later became famous because of their confrontation with James and even won the MVP of the finals, Artey must be more regretful. But can he limit James?
At that time, in the Rockets, Atai joined forces with Battier and Yao Ming to limit James very badly, and in the Lakers, he had the help of Kobe Bryant and interior Bynum, as long as the tactics were used properly, he could still slightly limit James.
3. Bruce Bowen
Bowen has an advantage in defending James, that is, he can not have a reputation, he can "do whatever it takes", even if people call him a villain, call him a dirty defense, call him no ball... He didn't care what he scolded, as long as he could restrain James, even if he was both sent off, it was a success.
Bowen's defense is both bad and shady, he often has some hidden small actions that make people invincible, sometimes he will deliberately put his legs in a position that jams the opponent's breakthrough or easy to turn, even if he can't make you move, he must have some scruples, as for the opponent's foot when jumping, it is simply drizzle, and it is not worth mentioning to him.
As for the effect of Bowen defending James, presumably there is no need to say more, the 2007 Finals is a masterpiece, James's shooting rate is only a little more than 35%, and Bowen's team swept the opposing Cavaliers, which can not be more successful.
2. Kevin Durant
Durant's defensive Thunder Tyrannosaurus - James's masterpiece is his two Finals period between the Warriors and the Cavaliers, this time gives people the feeling that Durant crushed James at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, when the two are in the Finals, Durant's attack can easily eat the opponent, and the defense can make the opponent throw the rat taboo, then it really makes people feel that Durant has become more powerful under the team's bonus.
Durant has never been named to the best defensive team because he has been the boss of the team from the beginning of the league and has always been mainly responsible for scoring, but in such a crucial game as the Finals, especially against a player of James's historical level, the defensive energy he showed must be unprecedented.
Similar to KG, the big Spider-Man, Durant also has a pair of big long arms, and his speed is also very good, and this configuration on the defensive end has a very big impact on James. Durant not only used his long arms and athleticism to influence his shooting when he played against James in the Finals, but also better cut off his contact with his teammates and left him alone. Maybe Durant doesn't often focus on the defensive end, but his defensive ability is definitely underestimated, especially the ability to defend James!
1. Kawaii Leonard
In that year's Finals, Popovich's strategy was to stare at James with kawaii, James rested, Kawaii rested, James played, Kawaii played. Once, when James had just been replaced, Popovich immediately changed into Kawaii, and James saw that Kawaii was about to play, and his expression was particularly painful and helpless: "Shit! ”
Kawaii Leonard is athletic, with height, arm span, and a pair of large hands, which allows him to practice the stunt "Death Winding" and steal many league superstars. Whoever faces his bite and stares at him will be very painful, that Finals James faced Kawaii's defense, the shooting percentage was only 34%, thankfully, he brushed a lot of points against other people's defense, the shooting rate is not too ugly.
Of course, the Spurs at that time were already different teams from the Spurs in 2007, and the defensive things were very different from the past. The same thing is that they can still win by defense. Previously, the outside line relied on Bowen's defense, and later on Kawaii's defense.
In an interview, James also acknowledged leonard as the player who limited his success.
Special Nomination: Dennis Rodman
Scott Pippen claims that Rodman was able to defend the Thunder Tyrannosaurus James to zero points! This is also too exaggerated, but it also fully demonstrates Pippen's trust in the defensive ability of his former teammate Rodman.
In fact, Pippen is the small forward, and perhaps he himself is the better candidate to defend James. Unfortunately, James entered the league too late and did not have the opportunity to play against these two defensive toughsters on the top stage. For Scott Pippen and Kawaii Leonard, who do you think is more defensive? Since Kawaii can restrain James, can Pippen?