No doubt that LeBron takes too many 3's. But so does Kobe Bryant. In fact, Kobe takes far more than LeBron and his shooting % is not that much higher. And when it comes to ft/3pa ratio, LeBron is much better than Kobe. There are several ways of looking at it. Over the last four years:
3pt attempts
Kobe-1718
LeBron-1356
FT attempts
Kobe-2993
LeBron-2922
3pt %
Kobe-34.8%
LeBron-32.9%
% of all shots that are 3pt attempts
Kobe-24.7%
LeBron-20.0%
Both of them shoot far too many 3's and bail the defense out too much instead of putting more pressure on them by driving more. I don't think his not being good at the line diminishes his driving ability because it still has other positive functions besides his ability to make the ft's. It gets the other team in foul trouble earlier and makes them use the bench more. It draws attention to him and leaves his teammates open for open shots or unblocked for offensive rebound chances. I think making the ft's would definitely enhance his game but not making them doesn't diminish it. At least I don't think so.
Ateam, when I said I wanted to have Jordan or Kobe shooting the jumper, you've got to keep in context. It was the lesser of two evils. Of course you don't back off and give them open shots. But with great players, you can't take everything away from them and I'd rather live with them taking 20 footers than driving and getting in the lane.
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