Sorry, the King is Kobe

Yes, I'm a Kobe fan, and have been since his days in Philly, my old stomping grounds. Yes, this is an indictment on Lebron, who's mere existence has caused more debates in my life over the last 7 years than Politics and Religion combined. Hell yes. I'm about to start Lebron bashing, and if you don't like it, I suggest you leave now.

Well maybe not bashing, see I do, in fact, love watching Lebron play. But don't make excuses for Lebron James, there's none that would suffice anyway. He is supremely talented, the most gifted athlete the NBA's ever seen. But by no means is he the best player in the game....not yet.

Lebron to me is the equivalent of Peyton Manning in basketball shorts. Two athletes who can produce astronomical stats that tend to lead the media & fans alike to crown them among the greatest of all times. Hold on...not so fast .

First of all, let's stop with the Jordan-Lebron comparisons, it's a whole new era, and regardless of how clouded your memory may be, Michael Jordan, like Kobe Bryant as well, would struggle against this Celtic defense, and your kidding yourself if you think otherwise. But let's cut to the chase and get down to business.

- No, what Lebron did in Game 5 is not the same as what Kobe did in Game 7 against the Suns in 2006. Kobe was coming off of being ridiculed by his coach, his team & the media, for shooting too much in an overtime loss in Game 6. A game in which he scored 50 pts. For someone who's been criticized as a me-first, selfish player his whole career, for someone who played out of his mind (alongside Smush & Kwame no less) to even force a Game 7, his sensitivity to the backlash, while not condoned, is at least understandable.

On the other hand, no one on Earth has ever called Lebron selfish, in fact, it's his ability to "make his team better" that everyone cites as the sole reason he's supposedly the best in the game. Actually, everyone encouraged Lebron to shoot more, to be more aggressive, after his lackluster Game 4 display. And he proceeded to sleepwalk through the whole entire game. Kobe & the Lakers against the Suns in '06 weren't expected to win anything, let alone the title. Lebron and these Cavaliers had the best record, two years straight. You don't do that if your team is complete garbage, like most people seem to believe now.

- No, Don't talk to me about stats either. We need to remember that sometimes, stats can be misleading. Lebron, like Peyton Manning, dominates his offense in a way that allows for huge numbers, but not necessarily postseason stability. Also, Kobe came in the league having to work himself into the rotation, and then he had to work with Shaq, while Lebron, like Jordan before him, came into the league with free reign over abysmal teams. They were allowed to jack up as many shots as they wanted, and earn the accolades and stats that go with it. If Kobe was given that opportunity, he may not have 4 rings, but he would sure as hell be statistically far superior to what he is now, which still isn't too shabby.

The Cavs offense, regardless of Mike Brown's ineffectiveness, revolves around Lebron isolating at the top of the key looking to create. This allows him to dish out of traffic to a team full of spot up shooters, thus, creating big assist numbers. Is that truly making his teammates better? I don't know, they made it to the NBA because of their shooting ability, so I think at best, he creates an environment for them to utilize that skill. There's no such thing as "making someone better" at a sport. Passing the ball to someone who can't do anything with it won't make them any better, you can throw an alley-oop to someone in a wheelchair to test this statement if you wish.

At 6'9, 250 lbs (depending on lunch) Lebron should be pulling down 8+ rebounds a game, after all, he is a forward, and he's in position around the paint to do so. Likewise, Rajon Rondo doing that is much more impressive, standing at 6'0 and weighing little over 175 lbs, but nobody is rushing to call him the best in the game. You place Lebron in a true offense, like the triangle, that is predicated on everyone touching the ball and making decisions, and his assists go way down. Put the ball in Kobe's hands, isolate him at the top of the key every possession, and tell him to create, and I guarantee you his assists go up. Either that or he scores 81 pts.

-Yes, let's talk about actual Basketball skills. Substance, not style. Actual perimeter defense, not running up and blocking shots from players you let get by you in the first place. Looking at this series, it's painfully obvious that, for someone of Lebron's stature, he is severely lacking in two key areas. His mid-range game, and his post up game. It's inexcusable that someone that size has yet to develop low post moves. It's almost as criminal as Dwight Howard's "big man" skill set. Everything with Lebron is either a long three, for which he has shown time and again his inconsistency, or drives to the basket, which will diminish rapidly as soon as his physical gifts give way. Pull up any footage you can find of Lebron guarding Kobe, and you'll witness the strange difference. Kobe Bryant can post Lebron James up, and has success doing it. His footwork, shooting ability and anticipation is why he's able to do that to someone bigger, stronger, and faster, skills that Lebron better hone if he ever hopes to win when it matters.

To put it plainly, Lebron is a physical specimen who has yet to fully develop the necessary skills to elevate to the next level. It's not the team, or the coach, that stopped Lebron from beating the Celts. It was his game. Yeah I'm bias, but the utter disrespect to Kobe Bryant that he's faced his whole career is insane. Sure he played with Shaq, and fought off the Pacers on a sprained ankle in the Finals while Shaq was on the bench fouled out in a pivotal game. Yeah, he played with Shaq, and also happened to average 30 points as the "secondary" option during that second title run. Yup, he played with Shaq, and was also the sole reason Shaq and company weren't swept against the Pistons in the Finals. You want to continue to downgrade him for sacrificing his game to win titles with Shaq, fine, get back to me after he finishes another 3-peat...