Kawhi Post Defense on Lebron

[degarza22]

I remember reading an article on how effective Kawhi was at defending the post do you think he can defend Lebron at the post?

[George Gervin's Afro]

I remember reading an article on how effective Kawhi was at defending the post do you think he can defend Lebron at the post?

no

[look_at_g_shred]

I think Diaw or Duncan has the best shot at him in the post. Kawhi is better along the perimeter...then again who knows Kawhi is a really good defender.

[SsKSpurs21]

only thing kawhi can do is hold his ground and not let him get backed down. he also has to hold him long enough for weakside help. you cant really stop lebron. just hope that he misses.

another problem with lebron is that he is a great passer so if you double he has the ability to pass to the open man.

[BatManu20]

Lebron has almost 50 lbs on Kawhi. So no, he cannot guard him in the post. No one can.

[NASpurs]

Diaw on Lebron is going to be interesting because you know it's going to happen seeing as how the Spurs are lacking in depth at the SF position (I doubt they'll play McGrady). Sure LeBron is going to blow by Diaw more often than not but posting Diaw up and trying to overpower him down low isn't going to happen. This isn't a series where the Spurs can get away with Manu playing SF and Neal playing SG when Kawhi is on the bench due to rest or foul trouble. Didn't Diaw guard Lebron when he was back in Charlotte or was that job mainly Stephen Jackson's job?

[K-State Spur]

Kawhi was more of a 4 in college, so a lot of the post skills come more natural to him. Lebron had a field day the other night, but post game still isn't completely his forte.

Combine those two, and I do think Kawhi could make him work more in the post than George. But I also think George is a better perimeter defender than Leonard and that has led to mixed results.

[polandprzem]

We have good help d from interior. But you never know how it will work. Let me remind you it will be the 1st games between spurs and heat if the heat gonna advance

[RD2191]

Defense will win this series, the key is to limit their 3 pointers like we did in the previous 2 rounds. I will take a Lebron 2 over a Battier/Allen 3 all day every day.

[rmt]

Just checked their weights. Lebron is 250lbs and Diaw is only 235lbs. So Lebron could possibly back down Diaw too. Rotate Leonard and Diaw and try to wear Lebron down.

[ffadicted]

No one can defend lebron lol It's a team effort to slow him down

[Mugen]

Just checked their weights. Lebron is 250lbs and Diaw is only 235lbs. So Lebron could possibly back down Diaw too. Rotate Leonard and Diaw and try to wear Lebron down.

:lmao

[RD2191]

This is crazy but what about Blair on Lebron? Contrary to popular belief, Blair has quick hands and is built like a small tank.

[RD2191]

:lmao
:lmao

[wtgspurs]

Kawhi can defend him, it's just a mater of harassing him while in the post, which he can certainly do

[Darius McCrary]

Lebron is too absurdly big and strong. He'll score over kawhi in the post with ease, and probably draw a lot of fouls in the process



The big worry here is what the hell do the spurs do when kAwhi inevitably gets into foul trouble???

[Floyd Pacquiao]

If kawhi's smart he'll initiate a charge when lebron buldozes his shoulder into him...

[rmt]

:lmao

Well, that's what's listed on his NBA player profile page.

[Wildcat67]

Listen, obviously he isn't going to stop him, LeBron is the best player in the world by far, but his job is to make him shoot below his average from the post which I think he can do, people get way too caught up in stopping someone when in reality you just need to make him perform below his average.. But I think the most important thing that Kawhi can give us on Lebron is to use his long arms to make his passing more difficult.

[Mugen]

Well, that's what's listed on his NBA player profile page.

Boris has probably eaten the aforementioned profile page tbh.

He's probably closer to 270.

[Bruno]

Diaw did a surprisingly fine job on LeBron during the game @Miami this season. It might be an option especially if LeBron is playing some PF in this series. It would allow Spurs to match with Miami small ball lineups without having to go small.

[Spursfanfromafar]

The Spurs will mix & match against Lebron. As Bruno points out, Diaw & Leonard will take turns on him in the post..and I suppose Leonard & Manu will try to guard him at the perimeter.

[spurraider21]

Diaw did a surprisingly fine job on LeBron during the game @Miami this season. It might be an option especially if LeBron is playing some PF in this series. It would allow Spurs to match with Miami small ball lineups without having to go small.

sounds like what we saw from time to time against GSW. Diaw being a "small" on D while being a "big" on offense. i just dont think diaw would be as effective offensively here than he was in that series. still, its something we're probably going to have to explore. my question is whether or not they'll ever try LeBron on TP like we saw them do against Rose in 2011.

[NASpurs]

my question is whether or not they'll ever try LeBron on TP like we saw them do against Rose in 2011.

I really hope they do that. Parker is constantly moving on offense going through pick after pick to get free... and then he'll get even more picks if he doesn't like his options. I don't think Lebron has the speed to cover Parker through all those picks.

[KL2]

Lebron has almost 50 lbs on Kawhi. So no, he cannot guard him in the post. No one can.

Kawhi is somewhere around 230, Lebron around 250-260. I've seen Kawhi hold his own against numerous PF's from Griffin to Landry, and Artest who's the same size as Lebron in the 1st round, Kawhi is incredibly strong. He won't stop him but he'll make it difficult for Lebron, far more than George who isn't as big or strong as Kawhi.

[spurraider21]

I really hope they do that. Parker is constantly moving on offense going through pick after pick to get free... and then he'll get even more picks if he doesn't like his options. I don't think Lebron has the speed to cover Parker through all those picks.

true, it worked on rose since he's a hero-ball type who tried to take bron 1 on 1, or maybe 1 pick at most. tp isn't scared to set, reset, reset, and work the same screen 3-4 times :lol

[jesterbobman]

It'll be tough. I don't think you can reasonably contain LeBron 1 on 1 in any circumstance, so you have to bring a bit of help. Send help from big man, help over from the weakside corner/Wing and then try to recover.

[TampaDude]

Fuck it...let LeBron get his and shut down everyone else. He could drop 50 and we would still win.

[tesseractive]

Lebron has almost 50 lbs on Kawhi. So no, he cannot guard him in the post. No one can.
Kawhi is listed at 225 and Lebron is listed at 250. How different are the real numbers?

(And yes, I agree that neither Kawhi nor anyone else in the league can guard LeBron one-on-one. Simple fact.)

[tesseractive]

Diaw did a surprisingly fine job on LeBron during the game @Miami this season. It might be an option especially if LeBron is playing some PF in this series. It would allow Spurs to match with Miami small ball lineups without having to go small.
Absolutely. And playing Haslem or Anderson with Bosh against Duncan and Splitter is not to Miami's advantage, so I expect to see some small lineups like Bosh/LeBron/Battier/Wade/Chalmers and Bosh/LeBron/Allen/Wade/Chalmers get some run.

[dougp]

Fuck it...let LeBron get his and shut down everyone else. He could drop 50 and we would still win.

I've always said this, and you rarely see it happen.

The truth is, CIA Pop has been saving up the Grizzly Blair to unleash him on James in the post. He'll be giving him Blair-hugs.

[Man In Black]

Active position defense doesn't give a fuck about the weight difference. Bruce Bowen never weighed more than 205 lbs and he covered young freak LeBron the same way Dennis Rodman once covered young freak Shaq. Again, active position defense doesn't give a fuck. Kawhi Leonard is active position defense.

[Nathan89]

Didn't Kawhi play some Pf in college? If so he may be very comfortable guarding people in the post.

[Man In Black]

Yes, Kawhi played some Power Forward when Billy White and Malcolm Thomas was playing post for Coach Steve Fisher. Billy was more physical and Malcolm more lanky, but Kawhi had and still has, more savvy.

[tesseractive]

Active position defense doesn't give a fuck about the weight difference. Bruce Bowen never weighed more than 205 lbs and he covered young freak LeBron the same way Dennis Rodman once covered young freak Shaq. Again, active position defense doesn't give a fuck. Kawhi Leonard is active position defense.
Young freak LeBron didn't have a post game. Championship LeBron does, and it's no accident that he won his title when he added that to his game. LeBron's post game is good enough to consistently (and efficiently) beat Kawhi unless we bring the double.

[ace3g]

I remember reading a tweet a while back that mentioned Kawhi in practice was posting up against Baynes and/or having Baynes post up against him; to work on Kawhi's post offense/defense.

[tesseractive]

I remember reading a tweet a while back that mentioned Kawhi in practice was posting up against Baynes and/or having Baynes post up against him; to work on Kawhi's post offense/defense.
Don't get me wrong -- I'd love to be proven wrong. If Kawhi can legitimately defend LeBron one-on-one in the post, we could win this thing in 5. But LeBron is so good that I won't believe it until I see it.

[m33p0]

Young freak LeBron didn't have a post game. Championship LeBron does, and it's no accident that he won his title when he added that to his game. LeBron's post game is good enough to consistently (and efficiently) beat Kawhi unless we bring the double.

it might not be a given. as already mentioned in this thread, kawhi played 4 in college and so is not new to the post game. no doubt, lebron will still have it his way but not, i think, as consistently. we'll have to wait and see.

[TheGoldStandard]

The trick is to keep him from dribbling down, gotta crowd him and force him towards the baseline for the weak help. Can't play small at all this series or expect to get torched.

[aal04]

Just looking at the Indy game. We dont need to shut down LBJ that bad. He will get his. We need to control the roleplayers around him.

Wade is playing bad. Bosh is inconsistent. If we can hold home i really think Miami is going to crash and burn in atleast 1 of their 4 home games.

Miami is crazy good, easily the best team when they click. But they are also the most inconsistent team in the PO imo. They never sweep. Hold home. wait for implode

[Chief]

Let Lebron get his, we gotta slow down everyone else. Heat doesn't have a bench. I'd hate to see leonard in foul trouble

[racm]

Turn LeBron into a scorer and take away the passing lanes. Swarm him in the post but never let Allen get wide open.

[Sec24Row7]

Lebrun has a tendency to hop when he picks up his dribble on the post... Cuts him off from doing double moves... If he can stay in front of him and do his work early, he should be ok.

The kid from the pacers wasn't fighting him before he got low in the post... Leonard will make him work harder to get there.

That being said... He's an impossible cover... You just have to try to make him less efficient.

[Man In Black]

The Spurs have been prepped for this for quite awhile, insert superstar wing player -Bean, KD, LBJ etc. Kawhi on an island with some help but they stay mostly home to limit the options. Force LBJ to beat the Spurs by himself. One man teams don't win in the Finals. Ask Wilt Chamberlain. Besides, success for KL would be that if LeBron goes off for 30 points, it's that it's a hard fought inefficient 30 with not too many trips to the FT line and close to 30 shots to get that 30 points. If that happens, then I totally see the Spurs throttling the Heat.