In order for LeBron James to be a dominating force on the basketball court for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he doesn't have to be a great shooter. He's big enough, strong enough, quick enough, and smart enough to impose his will on the opponents and be a dominant player on both ends of the floor. However, that doesn't mean a smooth jumper like we saw from him over the course of his days with the Miami Heat wouldn't be welcomed. Because then he's able to open up everything on the floor.
His play so far this season has been stellar as he's helped the Cavs to a 7-1 start. He's averaging 25.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists while making 50 percent of his shots. Pretty good, right? The slight problem with this is that LeBron is struggling with his shooting form. He's shooting a 2015 Kobe-esque 20.7 percent from 3-point range and just 61 percent from the free throw line. Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tells us LeBron knows he has to work on his shooting and is in the process of trying to correct it.
As James has cleaned up his game in some areas, a couple more blemishes have surfaced, however. James is shooting just 6-for-29 on 3-pointers (20.7 percent) and 36-for-59 from the free throw line (61 percent). Both are career-low rates.
James has been on an uptick in both categories in the last week.
"What's going on with my 3-point shooting? Just out of rhythm," James said when asked last week, after starting the season 2-for-18 from beyond the arc. "You know, I've got to continue to work on it. It's not like I'm Steph Curry or J.J. Redick, anyways."
"I think I started off not too well from the line and I found what I’m comfortable with," James said before the Cavs' shootaround Friday. "I had to go back and watch some old film, when I was very consistent at the line, and I feel like I’m in a good place right now."
The 3-point percentage is the lowest of his career and the first time he's been under 30 percent since his rookie season. From 16-23 feet, James is shooting 34.6 percent, which is his lowest percentage since 2006-07. The poor free throw shooting is the worst of his career and the second time he's been under 70 percent (2006-07). The good news is it's still quite early and he knows it needs fixing. McMenamin says LeBron is working with Cavs' scout and former high school teammate Brandon Weems in the gym, along with film study on the free throws.
The free throw stroke has been "better" over the last three games with 65.6 percent on 32 attempts. He's hitting 36.4 percent of his 3-pointers over the last three games, but pull-up 3-pointers are still rough at 28.6 percent. These struggles date back to Cleveland's playoff run last season. His 16-23 foot jumpers landed at just 30.9 percent and his 3-point shooting was just 22.7 percent in the postseason. While his jumper is typically reliable, the fact that it dates back to last season makes you wonder if it's a mental thing or a physical issue.
Perhaps both? LeBron's shooting mechanics could be flawed right now or considering the back issues have started to increase over the long postseason runs the last couple years, that could be a contributing factor as well. For now, it's easy to just assume we're looking at a small sample size and he's talened and hard working enough to correct it. He doesn't need the jumper to be there, but he's a far more impossible weapon when it is.
