First things first… Lebron doesn’t foul anyone, you know that as well as I know that. As a matter of fact, even the officials know he doesn’t foul anyone. Typically, on your normal sunny day you won’t find me complaining about the officials. I don’t like to use it as an excuse for the Celtics losing, but when something sticks out so blatently, I can’t help but bring it up. I was watching the game tonight between the Heat and Cavs, and saw that James went to the free throw stripe 21 times, which doesn’t seem like so much after his 17 he had taken with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. I wondered… How many times does he foul other players? Well without getting into it too much I’ll just throw a list of players out to you and their average fouls per 48 minutes (which is more relevant than fouls per game because time played per game slants the results as some players play 33 mpg and some 40).
Personal Fouls Per 48 Minutes by Qualified Players:
Kevin Garnett: 4.0
Gerald Wallace: 3.2
Paul Pierce: 3.5
Dwyane Wade: 3.1
Kobe Bryant: 3.1
Chauncey Billups: 3.2
Kevin Durant: 2.7
Chris Paul: 3.2
Lebron James: 2.2
The 2.2 mark for Lebron james puts him in 207th out of 213th in the league for qualified players. So you’re telling me, that the guy who we are going to talk about being Defensive Player of the Year plays his defense without fouling anyone? Gerald Wallace is getting considerations for DPOY and he has 3.2 fouls per 48. Listen, you do not play great defense without fouling at some point.
Actually, now that I think about it, alot of the reason he is getting these considerations is because of his blocked shots. What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think of a Lebron James shot block? Oh thats right, him coming from BEHIND to block a player who doesn’t see him coming. Therefore, he puts himself in not only a position where he wont get humiliated, but also where it is hard for him to foul as he is not facing up on the player and can simply go for the ball (nevermind how he tends to get in with the body but who sees that?).
I figured I would add KG because people tend to like to talk about how much he fouls. Well would you lookey here, he has the highest fouls called against him on the list. Hmm but fouls never get called on him?
We know that players like Lebron and Kobe get special attention and you can’t take anything away from that because it is just simply going to happen. But, when James foul total is so small compared to even Kobe’s, then something is wrong. It is no wonder the Cavs play such outstanding defense. They have the “Defensive Player of The Year” only having 1.75 fouls (per game) called against him. On the year, he has not yet reached 5 fouls in a game, and only 3 times has he reached 4 fouls in a single game. 6 times he has not had a single foul called against him in a game. Really? No really.. A guy who is so active on the court, and plays 38.5 minuts per game doesn’t have a foul called on him for the ENTIRE game, not once, not twice, but 6 times. Hard to believe.
Now Cavs fan, since I’m sure you will find your way in here, explain to me in real terms how this is so. How does your favorite player, Lebron James, only foul 2.2 times per 48 minutes? I don’t need any, “Oh listen to the Celtics fans cry now,” no, I am confused and really need the answer to this mind boggling question. Heck, Lebron makes Kobe look like a player who hacks the crap out of everyone. Is James really that good?