LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments

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LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments Empty LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments

Post by bobheckler Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:45 am

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/07/lebron_james_lists_boston_celt.html#incart_story_package



LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments





LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments 17551854-mmmain
FILE: Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) defends Boston Celtics' Evan Turner in the first quarter of a first round NBA playoff basketball game, Sunday, April 19, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

Print Email Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on July 29, 2015 at 5:00 PM





During a Twitter Q & A Tuesday night, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James called the Boston Celtics one of his toughest defensive assignments:


Nathan Medi @nathanmedi
@KingJames who is your most difficult defensive assignment?
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LeBron James ✔@KingJames
@nathanmedi SA, GS, Bos, Atl, Mia offense
4:57 PM - 28 Jul 2015
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James has lauded Brad Stevens' coaching before. Assuming the four-time MVP is discussing present times in his response, this answer feels like more praise. All of those teams share the ball, feature plenty of player movement and focus on taking open shots. The other coaches -- Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Mike Budenholzer and Erik Spoelstra -- lead some of basketball's most free-flowing attacks.

Despite a strong commitment to Stevens' system, the Celtics finished the regular season ranked 20th in offensive efficiency. They didn't have enough shooting, and hardly anyone on the team -- with the exception of midseason addition Isaiah Thomas -- could crack through a defense to simplify opportunities. Still, the Celtics spread the floor, made teams defend everyone in the lineup, and had stretches where they rained fireballs on top of their opponents' heads. Once Boston adds or develops more playmaking threats, Stevens' offense could roar.

It's interesting James wouldn't respond with an individual, as the questioner probably wanted. But the four-time MVP clearly values good basketball, and the five teams he listed all try to play it. His response -- once again, assuming it's about the current NBA landscape -- fits with Jared Dudley's recent claim the league is buzzing about Stevens.

Answering another question, James included Boston as one of the top five opposing cities in which he likes to play. He has long complimented Bostonians for their hoops knowledge; after all the big games he's played in the TD Garden, the building feels special to him.




bob
MY NOTE:  'If you build it, they will come' and the first brick Danny laid in the rebuild was the signing of Brad Stevens to a 6 year contract.  Some of us were skeptical and quick to judgement in his first year.  He looked like a rookie, which he was, but since then?  He really ramped up in just his second year to the point where LeBron thinks our defense is one of the toughest in the league.  Not Thib's Bulls, not Dwight Howard's Rockets or Doc's Clippers with Jordan or even Gasol/Allen's grit-and-grind Grizzlies.


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LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments Empty Re: LeBron James lists Boston Celtics among his toughest defensive assignments

Post by Sam Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:59 pm

Is it definite that Lebron was speaking about the current Celtics rather than the Celtics over the course of his career? Either way, just the fact that the impact of the Celts' defense outshone their offense last season suggests that they're moving in a good direction defensively. And, on balance, their off-season acquisitions have every likelihood of making their defense even tougher. Only the "missing link" tempers my enthusiasm for their defensive output in 2015-16.

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