Rick Barry: LeBron “Has Major Flaws in His Game”
LeBron JamesNotorious cranky-pants Rick Barry didn’t pull any punches when he was recently asked by ComcastSportsNet about LeBron James’s game:
“He’s got major flaws in his game,” the Warriors great said in an interview airing Wednesday night. “He’s six years into the NBA. How can a man six years into the NBA with his talent have a major flaw in his shot? How can he not use screens effectively? . . . I watch the game very carefully, he doesn’t use screens effectively and this is not LeBron’s fault. It’s the fault of the people who are teaching him. … There is no doubt in my mind that LeBron, if shown these things, would do them, because he wants to be a great player. He wants to win a championship. As great as he is, he should be better.”
True, Rick’s being more critical of the Cavs’ coaching staff than of LeBron, and he may even be right about LeBron’s “flaws,” but still – he sounds like a jealous old man.
Source: CBSSportsline
And thanks to Dime reader Mister Sun for bringing the link to our attention
January 21st, 2009 at 2:58 pm
john says:
Yea. i saw this shit last night.. old man Barry sounded bitter..prolly cause his sons suck at playing basketball, reporting basketball and analyzing basketball…
He should have been a good father and taught them ‘ALL’ he knows.
January 21st, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Mista TKO says:
I know everybody is just gonna say that he is being a hater, but people need to use Reading Comprehension for once without just jumping on their Bandwagons and calling every1 a hater.
I haven’t watched Lebron much this year, but THe prior season’s, I would always say that as gifted as he is physically, there are certain things where he is weak fundamentally and skillwise.
So Mr. Barry has some good points.
January 21st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
SayItAintSo says:
I don’t think he sounds jealous. He sounds like an old man who knows his ish and isn’t going to suck on LBJ’s teet like the rest of the b-ball world.
It’s totally legit. LBJ has fundamental flaws in his game. True, he can be great without them, overcoming the flaws with his pure freakish athleticism but just imagine if he fixed his stroke and worked on his footwork.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:03 pm
rlf says:
you should hear what he said in a KLAC show “pms” about lebron and about kobe…
it was great, for once someone that doesn’t kiss lebron’s behind. for you guys if someone makes a ‘bad’ comment about lebron he hates on him, but if someone makes a bad comment about kobe, they are right….BUT there’s no bias, right?
January 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
doug says:
it’s true…The man is not a hater. Lebron’s shot has a hitch in it and he’s still shooting free-throws in the 70 percentile. He’s surviving on sheer athletecism which attest to how good he is but this is one of the reasons why it’s still the overwhelming majorities opinion that Kobe is the best player in the L.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Talented says:
Well damn, allow me not to be jealous or biased. Im a Lebron fan and he does have flaws in his jumper but everybody knew that I thought. He might hit the occasional deep ball but that aint what he focuses on or what he’s best at. He’s best at attacking the basket but think about it, if he didn’t have the body he does he wouldn’t even be all that great at attacking. Its not like he has an endless arsenal of moves or a killer crossover. He picks one way, uses a hesitation dribble (crab dribble maybe), and then goes full speed that way basically. I mean if it aint broke don’t fix it because so far no one can stop him so he should keep doing what works. He need to hit his free throws too, since he does go to the basket so hard free throws is gonna be major in his game if he keeps gettin calls
January 21st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Mista TKO says:
I know everybody is just gonna say that he is being a hater, but people need to use Reading Comprehension for once without just jumping on their Bandwagons and calling every1 a hater.
I haven’t watched Lebron much this year, but THe prior season’s, I would always say that as gifted as he is physically, there are certain things where he is weak fundamentally and skillwise and he just overcomes his weaknesses with physicality instead of making things easier on himself by strengthening some oh his fundamentals.
So Mr. Barry has some good points.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:20 pm
FlipG says:
Great points, he has got to adjust that shot. It appears that he almost fades away on his free throws. No reason he isn’t hitting around 85% as often as he gets there.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
dagwaller says:
Yea, I’m a big LeBron fan, but I’m sure there are flaws in his game, just like EVERY player. If someone asked Barry what his honest opinion was, why is he being attacked for giving it?
BTW, probably the only “jealous men” I see here are john and Dime. john, I don’t know if you were being facetious, but Brent Barry is a Dunk Champion and two time NBA Champion. Jon Barry was a pretty respectable baller, too. BTW, Dime, in case you had forgotten, this “jealous old man” was an All-American in college and led the nation in scoring his senior year – something that LeBron will never do. Furthermore, he’s been on the All NBA team numerous times, led the league in scoring multiple times, led the league in FT% numerous times, and has been the MVP of the NBA Finals…which he also won.
So seriously, I doubt that he’s jealous of anything about LeBron…except maybe his wallet.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Prof. TX says:
Nobody is going to make him work on things he doesn’t want to work on. The problem is that one player is bigger than the team, and will do whatever he wants. It’s the same reason you never heard about coaches making Shaq stay late to work on free throws. Look at Arenas’ shameless gunning on bad shots. It’s an obvious flaw in their game, but it’s not like the team is going to bench or trade their star, so there’s no consequence for not improving except your team not winning a title. Even then, people just say that the star must not have had enough help from the other guys.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Mister Sun says:
no problem!
January 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
fallinup says:
Yes, Mike Brown is a doofus and doesn’t know how to run screen plays. Yes, the J is a flaw in Bron’s game. The Lakers game on MLK day was a perfect example of that. Bron wasn’t getting those easy foul calls and he was getting thwacked with those bigs in the lane. You take away Lebron’s drive, and he’s a par shooter at best. You can only make so many fade aways.
But imagine Lebron cutting and playing off of screens ala San Antonio Spurs / Utah Jazz ball. Polish his mid range game and watch him dominate.
I remember when all the naysayers would say the same thing about MJ’s game in his early years. “All he does is dunk.” MJ was truly unstoppable when he polished up his 3 point shot and mid range J.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
bobby s says:
doesn’t sound jealous at all. lebron’s got a million holes in his game just like every player including kobe. it’s people like barry who help the lebrons in the world improve, and people like you who keep him at the same level and give him a big head.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
control says:
There is obviously a hitch in LeBron’s shot. The only time it looks smooth is when he’s picking the ball up from a dribble with his left hand, and bringing the ball completely across his body. That’s just a pure flow shot, he’s gotta replicate that every shot he takes. There’s no reason he can’t get 80-90% free throw, guys like Chris Bosh and stiffs like Yao have smoother shooting mechanics.
Once LeBron puts it all together, he’s going to be pretty damn scary.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:52 pm
dman says:
I willing to bet money on that as Lebron gets older he will develope a good jumpshot.
January 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pm
SparkyJ23 says:
SayItAintSo says:
I don’t think he sounds jealous. He sounds like an old man who knows his ish and isn’t going to suck on LBJ’s teet like the rest of the b-ball world.
QFT
Plus isn’t Barry one of the best shooting guru’s ever to play? His job is finding fault like any good teacher
January 21st, 2009 at 4:06 pm
LAballer says:
umm..did we not discuss this in yesterday’s smack? this is EXACTLY what some of us were talking about and we got told that we were hating on the oh so loved lebron..its just funny that he’s saying the same thing some of us were yesterday..
January 21st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ Dagwaller
great post
can’t say it any better so I won’t
January 21st, 2009 at 4:14 pm
CLUTCH says:
Lebron does need to fix the flaws in his game if he wants to be as good as he wants to be. First people can stop LEbron, San Antonio did it, LA did it the other night (23 points on 9-25 shooting with 6 turnovers isn’t a good game) Good teams can stop LEbron and will in a 7 game series. becuase he is so 1-dimensional.
Also athletisim fades with age, and it happens to everyone. Shaq, Carter, even Jordan. Thats why players develope other aspects of their game and the same will happen to Lebron. If he wants to be one of the best players when he is in the thirties he is going to need more than just bulling his way to the basket
January 21st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
GEE..."What the deuce?!" says:
COOOOAAACCHHING! LeBron doesn’t have a real coach of the game. LeBron is calling Jay-Z getting basketball advice lol.
Seriously though, Barry was absolutely right and I don’t see any jealousy in it. LeBron is just going at things real raw right now. Using his strength and will to just beat on players and teams.
He still doesn’t seem to be of the x’s and o’s, or the mental aspect of taking teams apart in certain ways that don’t even involve scoring all the time.
I would say this is an area where Kobe ups him, as far as the x’s and o’s and mental aspects. LeBron is playing and not necessarily learning.
Of course his coach don’t want LeBron disgruntle or to mess up his relationship with LeBron so I doubt he has or ever will say anything. On top of that he is probably not even picking LeBron’s game apart like that. He just wants to win.
Hopefully in time he will have someone actually instruct him on certain things, but right now LeBron is teaching himself.
Even during the Olympics it seemed as if LeBron grew more as a player from Coach K.
Hey ain’t Barry the one who said he could get Shaq to shot freethrows way better if he did it underhanded? I always wanted Shaq to try it to see if it would have worked.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
snoop says:
dont matter what that Square said, Lebron always second to one and that one is the homie Kobe
January 21st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
didn’t we just say that the other day? Kobe is the best baller, lebron is the best athlete? His jumper is weak and he just “out athletes” everyone. That will eventually where down. The difference is, guys like jordan,kobe, even wade,amare and carter..when they started to lose their athletic ability or get hurt, they devloped jumpers and move overall game. When the games on the line and your STAR players best move is to literally run into the lane and hope to get a dunk or someoen foul him and bail him out…he needs to work on his J and handle
January 21st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
and what does west has to be jealous about? last I checked, he already has rings and so does his son.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
SayItAintSo says:
I think that comment hits home with the reason that LBJ won’t be that great through out his career. He is going to wear down eventually…inevitably he will lose his first step and that’s really what puts him at that next level. He has the passing ability but he does need a better conceptual (X’s and O’s) understanding of the game and a better jumper to finish his career as one of the all-time greats. Otherwise, it’s just going to be painful watching him in his thirties…maybe a more solid post game could help.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Sanpitch says:
This is why Mike Brown should never win COY!
Whoever titled the article wanted hits, because Barry is knocking the coaching of Lebron not Lebron.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
well you can’t really blame the cooach for lebron having a crappy jumper or not knowing how to run a screen and roll lol thats high school shit or when in the NBA the assistant coaches job. Can we pleaseee stop finding reasons for everything not to be lebrons fault…
January 21st, 2009 at 4:58 pm
JayTea says:
Lakers hired some greek free throw guru to work with Shaq. I think he got above 60% that year!
January 21st, 2009 at 4:59 pm
fallinup says:
@ GEE
Haha, when Rick offered that to Shaq, I was enthused to see the results as well. Shaq wouldn’t go for it though…because the “granny shot” looked sissy. I for one, think it’s better that big men shoot underhanded at the FT line. They can get more consistent with the shot and not have to worry so much about handling the ball with their big hands.
Rick Barry is one of the greatest pure shooters ever. Plus he’s always been known as a jack ass. It’s not him being jealous. It’s Rick Barry being Rick Barry.
And what he said wasn’t jealousy at all, Dime. Stop ridin’ Bron’s jock and defending him like a psycho girlfriend.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Aaron says:
Barry was one of the purest scorers ever. He deserves respect and he can say whatever he pleases about the game of basketball.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:04 pm
eddy says:
if kobe has a flaw…please tell me what that is, please….
January 21st, 2009 at 5:05 pm
GEE..."What the deuce?!" says:
fallinup that would have been hilarious to see yet interesting. Shaq really let pride ride him on that one.
LeBron should have went and set that college game on fire. I would have loved to see dude in college. He probably would have learned more and be more of a complete player.
Again since none of the coaches appear to be tellin him anything, he is teaching himself.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Jay says:
Seriously, you guys need to stop sniffing LeBron’s jock. One dude criticizes him and you call him a jealous old man? He speaks the truth and LeBron SHOULD be aware of it. I’m sure the dudes at the Cleveland organization have been babying him (especially recently) to ensure that he doesn’t get pissy at anybody. LeBron needs to be aware of his weaknesses so he can hurry up and correct them.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:11 pm
GEE..."What the deuce?!" says:
Eddy no player is perfect. Personally I think Kobe can allow himself to get the best of himself.
Either in the since of totally giving up when he feels there is no hope of winning a game, or in doing to much to win.
Being a better teammate and leader when his guys mess up as well. A scowl or hars word is not always the proper method of motivating or teaching someone. Not saying give them a hug, but saying I think he forgets that them dudes are grown men that are older sometimes than he is.
He complains to the refs to much. How did he do with techs last year?
These are just his flaws in my opinion. Others may vary.
Again no player is perfect.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:26 pm
robmo35 says:
I will certainly agree that Lebron is an extremely talented player, but between him, Jordan, Magic, Bird, and even Kobe who would you rather have on your team in their sixth season. All things being equal I think that most would want any of the other four playing in their prime over Lebron. He is a very good player, but he has yet to attain that legendary mystique that his predecessors achieved. He wants to be mentioned in the same breath with the greats, but he has yet to prove himself to be one of the greats. Until he develops other parts of his game, like moving off screens and working on his jumper, he will simply be someone like Vince Carter, flashy but someone you can’t count on in the clutch.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:37 pm
A-Slam says:
@GEE, couldn’t agree more. Take Bill Russell For example. He stated he never yelled at a fellow teammate during his entire playing career. There’s more aspects to being a great player rather than just being able to score a whole lot of points. And while ill agree that ‘Bron need’s to develope more skills I think in terms of being a great teammate and leader I think there’s no other like LeBron.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:38 pm
mole says:
rick barrys sons have the exact opposite problem. They can shoot the ball…thats it.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:39 pm
mole says:
rick barrys sons have the exact opposite problem. They can shoot the ball…thats it.
no d
no passing
no dribbling
no rebounding
January 21st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Andy says:
well, I do expect a “king” to have better FT% and 3PT%
January 21st, 2009 at 6:30 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Wow Dime calling Mr Clutch a bitter old man??
Way to stand up for your boy!! And make yourself look completely assed out bias.. LMAO..
How does he sound bitter when he is saying what everyone is saying?? He just aint jocking Lebron like you foos and everyone who says Lebron is the best player in the world with no rings, no League MVPs, just a finals sweeping and a couple of All Star MVP’s..
Lol dont lose yourself in the hype Dime..
January 21st, 2009 at 6:35 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Lebron is a perfect blend of excitement, marketing, acting and advertising.. You think Nike would give him 95 Million before he even dribbled a ball if they werent going to hype him as the greatest eventually?? its been six years since so this is overdrive time people..
Its amazing how brainwashed we can be sometimes..
January 21st, 2009 at 6:36 pm
LakeShow84 says:
But for what its worth Barry is mighty bitter at everything..
January 21st, 2009 at 6:42 pm
ab_40 says:
sign him to a 10 day coaching contract… is that possible? LeBron will listen and learn. but hell who does use screans effectively. I don’t see a lot of them in the nba, in euroleauge, in eurocup, in earochallenge. nowhere. and yes lebron’s jumper is still ugly.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:35 pm
UncheckedAggression says:
Funny, all the Kobe fans jump in and claim that Lebron fans are accusing Barry of being an old jealous dude. Maybe a few are, but not as many as are coming on here just to repeat their claim that Lebron ain’t special…
Of course James has flaws. Every player in the NBA does. But a lack of understanding for the game is not one of those flaws, like several people have mentioned. Barry criticized his jump shot and his use of the screen–both things that the Barrys excel at. Rick’s prognosis is definitely valid. And James is still dominant. Those people that think Lebron will lose his effectiveness when his athleticism is on the downturn simply don’t understand basketball. He’ll improve, but it isn’t just his athleticism that he relies on. The guy plays the game with the mind of a point guard.
But whatever. The people that think Lebron is overrated are going to continue believing that regardless of what others say or what they see with their own eyes. The finals will be a lot of fun this year.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Diego says:
Yeah, dagwaller naild it in post 9.
And Barry may be a cranky guy–and I think he was always considered at least a bit of a prick when he played–but he could really play, and particularly shoot.
By the way, Barry himself did indeed shoot all of his free throws granny style–and he often led, or was near the top of, the league in FT%. (This was not exactly back in the day of Peach buckets for hoops or George Mikan for a big man. The game was strong in Barry’s days, and his granny free throw shooting was as strange to see then as it would be now.)
January 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Mark says:
He’s got unlimited potential physically. His skill is getting up there.
I’m sure Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan took awhile themselves to get better.
January 21st, 2009 at 8:04 pm
JCARR says:
Not like Rick Barry is like Eric Snow… Rick Barry is legit player… who sees more potential in LBJ
January 21st, 2009 at 9:14 pm
garry says:
Wow,How tall these guys are!If they want to date,maybe they only can find tall girls from some searching sites,as far as i know __TALLLOVING.c om__cute, hot , talented… whatever u can come up with…LOL
January 21st, 2009 at 9:22 pm
G says:
I don’t think LeBron is ‘flawed’ enough to hurt his game, and the cavs are looking like a title contender and he’s obviously pretty responsible for that…
also, hes been working with cleveland’s staff on his shooting so i dont think thats going to permanently cripple him
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:13 am
Mista TKO says:
Wow….
I’m actually impressed wit the majority of people on here today,
I came back expecting to see a whole bunch of Lebron’s the greatest, Kobe Sucks, Rick Barry is jealous/gay/hating/stupid etc… comments, but people acted like they actually took the time to read through what he said and just didn’t give an instant Knee jerk reaction.
Bravo to almost everyone that commented.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:29 am
Ian says:
john
brent barry can play hes good wtf u talking about???
and bitter old man jealous isnt barry a fukin hofer????
doug
u had to throw the kobe thing in lol
yo kobe fans relax no idea why u bring him up rick didnt say kobe is perfect which he isnt or that he is better than bron this is just a comment on a flaw we all know he has
ps
rick is pissed about everything so this shit shouldnt be a surprise
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:26 am
thomasmmm says:
“I watch the game very carefully, he doesn’t use screens effectively and this is not LeBron’s fault. It’s the fault of the people who are teaching him. … There is no doubt in my mind that LeBron, if shown these things, would do them, because he wants to be a great player. He wants to win a championship. As great as he is, he should be better.”
Barry is saying that Lebron doesn’t have to use his athletic ability all the time – he can fuse that with being a cerebral competitor (use the system, improve his shooting form, or at least his FT routine). Kobe has this advantage over him, don’t you think?
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:34 am
dc says:
reasons why it wouldn’t have hurt LeBron to spend a year or two in college. “King” James would have had to work on his shooting and learning the Xs & Os of the game.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
eddy says:
@ GEE
im talkin about basketball “playinG” (dribbling, passing, shooting, defense) related, there is no flaw in kobe’s game…that teamate stuff and attitude is a mindstate…
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Sccob says:
It isn’t nothing I haven’t said about Bron Bron before.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
SagJism says:
Just wanted to state that No, bill Russell might not have yelled at his teammates but in his day, most of his team was white and the majority of arenas he couldnt even get food athe hotels because he was black. Now since the 80’s, name one of the greats who didnt yell, argue curse and even fight their teamamtes when needed? Jordan? Bird? Zeke? All were greats, all were champs and all when necessaryt, will kick your ass if your not doing what you needed to do on the court to win. LEARN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL B4 YOU SPEAK, YOUNGIN.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 am
Tweezyy says:
The guy is like 24 give him a break….the kid is nutty
January 24th, 2009 at 2:54 am
Powerslave says:
LeBron’s flaw is that he’s too awesome
January 24th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
zaki_ffm@hotmail.de says:
we can talk on MSN about it…
February 1st, 2009 at 4:21 pm
steve says:
he’s a paid sports talk show host. His job is to talk about sports and he made valid points about Lebron, who still has a hitch in his shot and doesn’t make cuts off the ball as sharply as he could. Instead of people saying stupid stuff like “he’s being cranky” if you disagree you could provide an actual counter-argument.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Tomorrow says:
He is being an idiot in his analysis! OK, even though he is an NBA great, he is a moron. He makes a comment about Lebron not coming off screens correctly. This may be one of the most ignorant comments I have ever read. Yes, if looking at it from a spot up shooter’s mentallity, Lebron does not properly come off of screens. Looking at if from a penetrator’s mentallity, he is using his screens perfectly. Lebron is and should be looking to get to the basket first, and if nothing is there, then spot up and shoot. He is using his screens to swipe his defender off of him to give him space to create, not to spot up and shoot. He is not Ray Allen, he is Lebron James. He can get to the basket and slam it home with two steps from the three point line. Also, if he wanted to criticize his shooting a couple years ago, that’s acceptable, but Lebron has made leaps and bounds in both his shooting form and accuracy this year. He also shoots a career better in both FG% and 3pt% than Rick Barry. Go figure…