Joe Johnson vs. LeBron James
James: 73 G, 73 GS, 37.7 MPG, 26.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.3 BPG, .568 FG%, .376 3P%, .748 FT%, 29.1 PER
Johnson: 74 G, 74 GS, 32.6 MPG, 15.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG, .454 FG%, .406 3P%, .820 FT%, 15.5 PER
Similar to Paul Pierce in Brooklyn, James has spent most of the season as Miami’s power forward in their quicker lineup, creating matchup nightmares all over the floor, but he’s back to playing small forward in their starting lineup. Positions be damned, James can do it all: drive to the basket, score in the post, cut off screens, hit three-pointers, defend nearly any player in the league, find open shooters with cross-court flick passes, rebound over larger players… you name it, it’s in his arsenal.
James will likely cede the MVP award to Kevin Durant, who’s in the midst of a season similar to a 25-year-old Michael Jordan, but that’s no knock on the four-time MVP: James is the league’s most terrifying team player in the league. Despite Johnson’s crunch-time heroics, he’s got nothing on LeBron’s sheer talent.
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