Kobe Bryant Talks the Evolution of LeBron James, How to Stop Him
LeBron James has taken his game to another level this postseason, and you can count Kobe Bryant as one of the many impressed by his performance.
"He is able to control the tempo of the game," Bryant said Sunday on Chris and Caron, via Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. "The game, especially in the playoffs, is all built on momentum shifts. What he has been able to do in these playoffs is control the momentum."
James is averaging 34.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game to put the Cleveland Cavaliers one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
He is averaging 35.7 points and 11.3 assists per game against the Toronto Raptors this series, including a buzzer-beater in Game 3 to give his team a 3-0 lead in the second round.
Bryant sees an evolution in his game to conserve energy, which is important for a player who has played at least 40 minutes in nine of 10 postseason games.
"In the past they ran a lot of screen and rolls for him, a lot of angles, he's out 35-40 feet from the hoop, penetrating into the paint," the former Lakers star explained. "You don't really see that too much now. You see him operate at the elbows, you see him operating below the free-throw line, deep corner. From those positions, he can take one or two dribbles, raise up and shoot."
Despite his success, Bryant still sees a way to defend the Cavaliers star.
"For one thing, you have to stop letting him go left," he added. "Every big shot that he makes is going left. He's remarkable about getting to that left hand, raise up and shoot. That's the first thing I would do—disrupt his ability to go left."
Considering he is shooting 54.7 percent from the field this postseason, no one has been too successful at slowing down James. Bryant—who was named to an All-Defensive team 12 times in his career—believes it will take a different strategy from opponents.
If the Raptors want to keep their season alive, they might want to listen to this advice before Game 4 on Monday.
