LeBron James’ post game took a leap forward this season.
With the Heat not having a traditional scoring threat on the block, LeBron James has moved more to the post (particularly early in the season.) He took 13.7 percent of his shot attempts out of the post this season and shot 50.4 percent from there and drew the foul on 9 percent of his attempts (stats via MySynergySports.com). Those are good numbers.
Some of that success came from working with legendary big man Hakeem Olajuwon down in Houston. When reached to see if he was following his star student, Olajuwon said he was pulling for LeBron in the finals. From Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida.“If he relaxes and just plays his game, he’ll be fine and I think (the Heat) win it,” said Olajuwon, who said he has become like a “big brother” to James in the past year…
“You look at a lot of the moves, and it was unbelievable to watch,” said Olajuwon, speaking Monday by phone from Jordan about having seen that Game 6 last Thursday in the Middle East. “The way they were executed it was a joy to watch because I know that we worked on that, and to see him using it at a most crucial time. He is in a comfort zone, and he is doing it how he is supposed to do it.”
LeBron may find it tough to operate in the post against a Thunder team that can bring bigs like Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins over to help. But if LeBron draws a double in the post he is one of the best passers in the league and that could be trouble for the Thunder.
But he learned from the best. Like most things with the Heat these playoffs, it’s a matter of executing consistently under pressure.