5x NBA champion and Lakers legend Kobe Bryant joined 'Chris and Caron' with Chris Mannix and Caron Butler to discuss the greatness of LeBron James, the genius of Brad Stevens, his new show Detail, the future of the Lakers, and much more!
Check out Chris and Caron with Chris Mannix and Caron Butler every Sunday from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports Radio
Transcription
Chris Mannix: I want to start with LeBron; He hit another game winner last night. He's averaging right now, 35 points this postseason, the most since the 08-09 season for him. You've watched a lot of film; what's impressed you about the way LeBron is playing right now?
Kobe Bryant: I've been impressed with the tempo that he's playing at. He's been able to control the tempo of the game. The game, especially in the playoffs is all built on momentum shifts. What he's been able to do in these playoffs is control the momentum when it shifts. When teams go on big runs, he's able to stop those momentums. It's a very difficult thing to do and he's been able to dominate that in this postseason.
Chris Mannix: The power and athletism of LeBron continue to be some of his greatest attributes but, we watched him beat Toronto in game 2 with a whole bunch of tough fadeaways jump-shots. He's added a lot more finesse to his game over the years. You're a guy that evolved his game a lot as you got a little bit older. Are you starting to see that in LeBron over the last couple of years?
Kobe Bryant: Yea, the way he's being used right now is a little different than he has been used in the past. I thinking he's understanding the importance of conserving energy. In the past, they ran a lot of Screen-rolls for him and a lot of angles. He's out about 35 to 40 feet away from the hoop and then penetrating to the paint. You don't really see that too much now. You see him operate at the elbows, below the free-throw line and the deep corner. From those positions, he can take 1 to 2 dribbles and raise up and shoot. He can get to those spots, he can get to that right shoulder very comfortably where he can fade away. He certain evolved his game. He didn't have that when he first came into the league. He evolved his shooting, ability to post and fade. It's serving him well
Caron Butler: You talk about how efficient LeBron has been on the offensive end and how he's using is IQ to take advantage of every situation. Defensively, if you're going into "detail" how do you slow that down.
Kobe Bryant: You gotta stop letting him go left. Every big shot that he makes is going left. He's remarkable of getting to that left hand and being able to raise up and shoot. That's the first thing I would disrupt his ability to go left. It's amazing when you look at it, all those shots are coming to either right shoulder from the post or off the dribble from his left hand. That's the first thing I would look at if I was guarding him in these playoffs. I'd make him do something different besides going to that left.