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12-17-2015, 05:51 PM
– Kawhi Leonard is considered a "LeBron stopper," or at least one of those few NBA players who can guard LeBron James alone and give him some trouble.On Tuesday, James compared Iman Shumpert to the Spurs' Leonard.
"He probably has the best hands in the NBA along with Kawhi Leonard, as far as defensively," James said, before the Cavs' shootaround at TD Garden in preparation for an evening tilt with the Boston Celtics.
"He just plays, it's just very, very good basketball," James said of Shumpert. "His energy level is at an all-time high, he doesn't go below 100, which is incredible. He brings something fierce, a competitive nature to our team."
Shumpert has played all of one game this season, missing the first 21 recovering from wrist surgery. The Cavs' starting two guard for much of the postseason, it's unknown whether he'll make his first start of the 2015-16 campaign, or if David Blatt will stick with J.R. Smith.
James said that when Shumpert is on the floor with him, and James is of course guarding the three position, "it's going to be very difficult for wing guys to score."
"We take that side of the floor, I mean, that's the most important side of the floor that me and Iman take," James said. "We talk to each other, saying let's see who can get the most stops in a quarter, let's see who can get the most stops in a game. So we're competing against each other on the floor, defensively."
The sample size for this season is obviously too small to make any judgments, though in Shumpert's debut James did record four steals in a 35-point blowout of Orlando.
Also, because Shumpert mostly came off the bench during the regular season last year when the Cavs acquired him via trade, James played the second-fewest minutes with him of any of Cleveland's regulars. But when they were on the floor together last season – for a total of 446 minutes – the Cavs averaged 1.5 steals more than their opponent.
It's the highest steal differential of any two-man combo featuring James that the Cavs had last season.
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/12/lebron_james_said_iman_shumper.html
"He probably has the best hands in the NBA along with Kawhi Leonard, as far as defensively," James said, before the Cavs' shootaround at TD Garden in preparation for an evening tilt with the Boston Celtics.
"He just plays, it's just very, very good basketball," James said of Shumpert. "His energy level is at an all-time high, he doesn't go below 100, which is incredible. He brings something fierce, a competitive nature to our team."
Shumpert has played all of one game this season, missing the first 21 recovering from wrist surgery. The Cavs' starting two guard for much of the postseason, it's unknown whether he'll make his first start of the 2015-16 campaign, or if David Blatt will stick with J.R. Smith.
James said that when Shumpert is on the floor with him, and James is of course guarding the three position, "it's going to be very difficult for wing guys to score."
"We take that side of the floor, I mean, that's the most important side of the floor that me and Iman take," James said. "We talk to each other, saying let's see who can get the most stops in a quarter, let's see who can get the most stops in a game. So we're competing against each other on the floor, defensively."
The sample size for this season is obviously too small to make any judgments, though in Shumpert's debut James did record four steals in a 35-point blowout of Orlando.
Also, because Shumpert mostly came off the bench during the regular season last year when the Cavs acquired him via trade, James played the second-fewest minutes with him of any of Cleveland's regulars. But when they were on the floor together last season – for a total of 446 minutes – the Cavs averaged 1.5 steals more than their opponent.
It's the highest steal differential of any two-man combo featuring James that the Cavs had last season.
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/12/lebron_james_said_iman_shumper.html