But if he's unable to do so? What remains to be seen is whether or not the Lakers still need James to be that scorer to win the championship.To be honest, I don't know what to make of James' true shooting percentage in the clutch being as low as it is. LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan Comparison Head-to-head comparison between the NBA stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James that includes championships won, honors and awards obtained, regular season and playoffs stats and other data put side by side. Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Playoff advanced stats Jordan is the all-time playoff leader in PER and Box Plus/Minus, and has the highest usage percentage, but James tops everyone in … Clearly, our memory of the ball always being in Kobe's hand down the stretch was not just an aggrandized reflection on the past. James went to the line with the Lakers clinging to a 142-141 lead, but went 0-for-2 from the line in the clutch. Of the 26 dimes James has handed out in the clutch, 12 of them have gone to Davis. So should the Lakers be concerned with how James has performed in the clutch this season? Here are LeBron's clutch (last 5 mins, game within 5 points) TS% & usage rates per year (smaller sample on postseason). Here's something that might catch you by surprise: LeBron James has been one of the league's worst scorers in those situations this season. It speaks to the need to surround him with the right players, ones who can punish teams for throwing a second or third defender at him.James has always been at his best when he's surrounded by shooters, but if he's not going to be able to make jump shots himself at a semi-consistent rate in the clutch anymore, sharing the court with floor spacers is even more important than ever before because of how it'll open up the paint for him to attack.The encouraging news for the Lakers is that they've still been a positive in the clutch with James on the court this season. The ‘Is LeBron clutch?’ debate is just one in a long line of debates between him and Michael Jordan FOX Sports Mar 11, 2020 at 8:39p ET share url email fbmsngr whatsapp sms If you ever want to aggravate a serious basketball analyst -- which, to be clear, we don't claim to be -- bring up the term "clutch." Born: December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio us In a recent Twitter discussion of who the NBA's best purer scorer is, a suggestion of Kobe Bryant led Rotoworld's Let's start by looking at Kobe Bryant's career true shooting percentage and usage percentage in clutch time (last five minutes of a five-point game).Here are Kobe's clutch (last 5 mins, game within 5 points) TS% & usage rates per season. LeBron also has a slightly better percentage when it comes to clutch shots, landing 47 percent of his attempted game-winning shots, compared with Jordan's 45 percent. Whereas he's 14-for-21 (66.7 percent) around the basket, he's 1-for-10 (10.0 percent) from midrange and 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) from 3-point range.As much as he's struggled as a scorer, James has excelled as a passer in the clutch.
Yes and no. VORP and Win Shares favor James, but PER and Box Plus/Minus go to Jordan.Pick a side, nerds! Efficient in the clutch during the season year after year after year after year after year.This data is a career's worth of proof to illustrate that LBJ more trustworthy in the clutch than most people give him credit for. James continues to defy the laws of Father Time, but he is human after all. Even though his efficiency has fallen off, he's still a double team magnet, particularly when he gets anywhere close to the basket.For example, this isn't the sort of attention you'd expect someone who is shooting 33.3 percent from the field to draw:All of those possessions ended in high percentage shots for the Lakers - wide open 3s for Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, an alley-oop for Dwight Howard. Another title or MVP would provide a huge boost to his resume.Like us on Facebook to see similar storiesPlease give an overall site rating: