LeBron on Lue's criticisms: I can get in shape in less than a week
New Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue made waves after his first game on the bench on Saturday by calling out his team for their lack of conditioning and inability to play an up-tempo style. And on Monday, LeBron James responded — both verbally and on Instagram.
The day started with James posting a picture of his early-morning workout, along with a tweet to teammate J.R. Smith urging his Cavs teammate to wake up:
Up and all it! What a beautiful time to be alive. Wake up @TheRealJRSmith!! Haha. #StriveForGreatness
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 25, 2016
Later, after the Cavs morning shootaround, James told reporters that he can be in game shape within a week (via Cleveland.com):
"I don't think I'm in bad shape at all, just need to get in better shape for what we want to do," LeBron James said following Monday's shootaround. "I'm not that far off. I can get there in less than a week."
James went on to tell reporters that the increased pace Lue preaches isn't really about scoring transition buckets. Instead, the Cavs need to get into their half-court sets with more urgency. If they cross the half-court line with 19 seconds on the shot clock instead of just barely beating an eight-second violation, that gives them more than just 10 or 12 seconds to try to run a play and come up with counters to the defense.
It's a seemingly little thing, but the very best offenses know that every second counts in the half court. And that makes some of LeBron's other comments rather interesting. James wants to slow the game down and let his basketball intelligence take over. The faster the game moves, the less time there is to think and plan the best move. Lue's shift in the Cavs' offensive philosophy, then, isn't something James pushed for (via ESPN.com):
"This is what Coach [Lue] wants. This is what Coach wants to do, and this is what we're going to do. This isn't a LeBron thing. I'm talking out of IQ of the game, but this is what Coach wants to do, so this is what we're going to do."
Yet if we can offer a piece of advice to one of the best basketball players on the planet, it's this: Embrace quicker decision-making.
Yes, James' basketball mind is unrivaled. But the NBA is getting smarter every day; it's almost impossible for a winning team to feature dumb players. Defenses are too complicated, and offenses run too many simultaneous actions — the good ones, anyway. Any lull or hesitation by James in 2016 is going to give his opponents time to catch up, because they're only a half-step behind him, at best.
So rather than hold the ball and survey a defense, James needs to trust his intellectual advantage and make snap decisions. He'll probably have his fair share of turnovers and mistakes, because no one can be perfect in the moment. But more often than not, he's going to be seconds ahead of the opposition. By the time they realize what's happening, James will be at the rim or winging a pass to an open shooter.
Tyronn Lue apparently realizes how precious that edge can be. Why doesn't LeBron?
