Sports analyst Max Kellerman recently appeared on the TV show ‘No Debate’ to share his opinion on the Los Angeles Lakers’ talisman LeBron James and where he stands in the greatest players’ list this season.
“LeBron in his prime – 5, 6, 7 years ago went through a five-year stretch, where he averaged 30 PER [Player Efficiency Rating]. That’s historically great. He doesn’t do that anymore. Hasn’t done that for a while. He’s now mid to high twenties – 26, 27. He fell off. Now that is what Kawhi has raised up to – 26, something like that in the regular season,” he said.
“No, we get to the playoffs. What LeBron has been doing in the playoffs in recent years? He’s going from 26, 27 to 31, 32 in the playoffs. The thing is Kawhi is doing the same thing. Kawhi’s PER in the last couple of playoffs is over 30, close to 30. And he’s doing it as the reigning and defending Finals MVP. By the way, PER is mainly an offensive stat. So offensively when it matters the most he’s basically LeBron James,” the analyst continued.
“LeBron defensively for Miami was the all-time great player. He hasn’t been that way for a while. He ain’t Kawhi level on defense. So if when it matters the most they are about the same offensively, but one guy is better defensively and also a defending champ, then LeBron has to prove to get the title back. When the Clippers face the Lakers in the playoffs, I think they gonna win and it’s gonna happen because Kawhi outplays LeBron,” Kellerman explained.
