I was casually watching some Youtube subscriptions before shutting it down for the night, and decided to check the NBA channel. I heard Joe Tate call this on the radio for the Cavs, and he didn't sound that excited. Then I watched the clip myself, and I am flabbergasted.
Think about it when you watch this video--is Lebron James the fastest man in the NBA, given his weight? He's what, 6'8", 240? Watch him get down the floor in this video in which he scores his 10,000th point. Pause this video when it starts at the 1second mark, and you'll see that Lebron is at best the 8th closest man to the basket. To make it tougher, he's busy playing defense when this play starts, and then has to sidestep a fallen teammate. Garnett is at the 3-point line while Lebron is still under the basket!
What happened? Lebron sprints down the floor, beats everyone back, and scores. He does this in 5 seconds at most--time it yourself via the Youtube clock. It's ridiculous that a 6'8" guy can get down the court that quickly. I know the other players slow down a little bit in the halfcourt, but Lebron's speed is evident.
Back pedaling slows Garnett and the Celtics (not that any of them are "faster" than LeBron anyway) on this play. And running up the court without the ball is much faster than running up the court while handling the ball.
ReplyDeleteBut that aside, few 240 lb player move that quickly, for sure. I can think of a few 6'8 guys that is that fast up the court - Josh Smith and Shawn Marion - but neither is as strong or big as LeBron.