Hall of Famer Rick Barry says LeBron James not coached properly – NBA Update
Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry has lashed out at LeBron James’ coaches and blamed them for what he saw as LeBron James’ incomplete offensive game.
There has been a lot of criticism of LeBron James during and after the NBA Finals, which the Dallas Mavericks won. The Miami Heat lost out after charging through the Eastern Conference and all eyes turned to LeBron James to finally
land the elusive championship to his profile. LeBron failed to make an impact in the fourth quarter’s of the Finals games, particularly on the offensive end.
His points average overall was very disappointing in the NBA Finals at 17.8, an astonishing 8.9 points less then what LeBron achieved in the regular season. LeBron was even poorer on scoring than Dallas Mavericks bench player Jason
Terry.
Steve Kerr pointed to LeBron’s deficiencies on offense earlier when dismissing his comparisons with Michael Jordan. Now Hall of Famer Rick Barry had seconded those comments and said that LeBron James needs to improve.
Asked what part of LeBron’s game needed immediate attention, Barry said,
“His shot, first and foremost, because I think that’s where it all comes down to. If you don’t have confidence in your shot, it destroys the rest of your game.”
Barry went on to comment on a lot of little details, like running off screens and facing up, that he said were missing from LeBron James formidable offensive arsenal. However, Barry said that was not a fault of LeBron James but
that of the people who have coached him since he came into the league.
Barry had some scathing remarks for the coaches,
“I blame the people who have coached him over the years. To have a talent like this and to not maximize the full potential of this talent is inexcusable and reprehensible to me and the coaches who have had him should be ashamed
of themselves.”
Mike Brown was LeBron’s head coach for most of his career at the Cleveland Cavaliers and is probably the target of Barry’s criticism. However, Rick also mentioned some stuff that could point towards LeBron James’ and Miami Heat’s
current coach, Erik Spoelstra. For example, Rick was not happy with the lack of plays the Heat ran for King James in the post season.
Spoelstra however hasn’t even been around LeBron James for a full year. His efforts as Miami’s coach have received widespread acclaim, including for Pat Riley.
The man who beat Spoelstra in the NBA Finals, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, also threw his weight behind the young coach during an interview,
“My hat’s off to Erik and the job he did,” Carlisle said. “It was extremely difficult, extremely trying. We went through a lot of difficult times before we got to our moment. Their time will definitely come.”
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