In February, NBA all-time great Michael Jordan said he had watched film on LeBron James and decided the way to guard the reigning MVP was to force him to his left every time.
"So if I have to guard him," Jordan said, "I'm gonna push him left so nine times out of 10, he's gonna shoot a jump shot. If he goes right, he's going to the hole and I can't stop him. So I ain't letting him go right."
A few days following that report, James sank the Orlando Magic by driving left for a game-winning hoop. Two nights ago, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, LeBron did it again; with 2.2 seconds left on the clock Paul George of the Pacers guarded James' right a tad too aggressively, and paid the price. James whipped past George in a flash to the left, and finished a lefty layup as the backboard lit up, signaling time had run out.
Of Jordan's blueprint, James said, "That theory is wrong, I guess." James is ambidextrous, according to ESPN.com, and while he plays predominantly right-handed on the court, he writes with his left hand.
"Frank Walker, my first basketball coach, taught me how to make a left-handed layup," James said. "He wouldn't let me dribble the ball until I got the steps down to make a left-handed layup consistently. We used to do it before practice every day. He always told me I'd be a much better player if I could make shots with both hands."
An ESPN article said James drives to either side effectively, and the stats back it up. James went left 51 percent of the time this season, and right 49 percent. On those drives, 56.3 percent of his left-handed dashes to the cup ended with points on the board. LeBron shot 48.5 percent when he went to his right.
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