The LeBron James Thread

[BlueNGold]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Also keep in mind that before the quitting happened, Rondo was tearing us a new ***hole.

Sure, we'll never know what might have happened but like Ex is mentioning, history wasn't favoring the Cavs.

[rangerrick012]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

What we do know is this:

No team in recent history has won without a 1-2 Combo and/or post presence.

The guy quit like Kobe did that one year and it was spineless and pathetic, but looking at the overall picture, that team wasn't built for titles.

Do you care to even discuss that in general terms? I've asked several times who was the last team to win without a 1-2 combo or a post presence and people just continue to do the "LBJ quit" thing. We all know he quit, but I'd like to hear people's takes on those two specific elements when it comes to getting a ring. Cleveland clearly didn't have either of the two.

I think the point of bringing up 'he quit' is because people thought he could be the guy to break the mold, like Jordan broke the mold in winning without a dominant big man, like Detroit broke the mold in 04, people thought Cleveland and LeBron could break the mold. Now people want to do revisionist history and say the Cavs never had a legit shot anyways, sorry I'm not buying it. There's a reason why they're the only team to win back to back 60+ games and not make the finals once. Instead of stepping up to the challenge and breaking the mold, so to speak, he shrunk. That's why he can never be put in that top tier of greatness, no matter how many titles he wins from this point on.

You keep ignoring that he got a team with less talent to the finals in 2007. Play off 60+ wins as if it's nothing. That team was built around LeBron and his role as a scorer and facilitator for the shooters on that team. The 'yeah he quit, but so what' attitude is what I don't understand. It's tough to judge and say they wouldn't have won anyways. We don't know that for a fact, and never will b/c LeBron gave up without a fight.

[BlueNGold]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

He never "shrunk" in 09. He actually had some of his better performances in that series. Orlando was just the worst possible matchup at that time because the Cavs had no bigs good enough to guard Dwight 1 on 1.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

I think the point of bringing up 'he quit' is because people thought he could be the guy to break the mold, like Jordan broke the mold in winning without a dominant big man, like Detroit broke the mold in 04, people thought Cleveland and LeBron could break the mold. Now people want to do revisionist history and say the Cavs never had a legit shot anyways, sorry I'm not buying it. There's a reason why they're the only team to win back to back 60+ games and not make the finals once. Instead of stepping up to the challenge and breaking the mold, so to speak, he shrunk. That's why he can never be put in that top tier of greatness, no matter how many titles he wins from this point on.

You keep ignoring that he got a team with less talent to the finals in 2007. Play off 60+ wins as if it's nothing. That team was built around LeBron and his role as a scorer and facilitator for the shooters on that team. The 'yeah he quit, but so what' attitude is what I don't understand. It's tough to judge and say they wouldn't have won anyways. We don't know that for a fact, and never will b/c LeBron gave up without a fight.

I never once said they never had a shot. Stop making stuff up

So you admit that he would have broken the mold. Good. That's all I needed to hear. Fact is he isn't Jordan. We know that for fact. He was going to have a hell of a time to take a team with no post and no Robin to a title. But he got closer than any other superstar would have taken Cleveland. The regular season is not the playoffs, but keep on bringing up the regular season wins as if that means something [hint: it doesn't mean squat if you don't have the right elements].

You keep ignoring that he got a team with less talent to the finals in 2007.

Oh, and 2007 says hello btw

No I don't, but nice try again.

Going back to 2007, it only speaks to how great a presence LeBron had. This goes back to me saying 'LeBron's impact was such that he could take an average team and make them into title contenders'. He's not Jordan or even maybe Kobe but his abilities have been something scary. Does it all make sense to you now? And that 2007 team like you said was much worse than anything he's had in the past 2 years.

[TMagic]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Just a quick question for Clevelanders:

I see a lot about how Cleveland was "embarrassed" by The Decision. Do you all REALLY feel embarrassed? If so, why and how? This is not meant to be slight at all, I'm genuinely curious.

I'm just trying to get some understanding about how it was embarrassing for individuals in the city. I don't recall Bron mocking or saying negative things about Cleveland on the Decision. If he was attacking Cleveland, I can see that being embarrassing.

I just think that if it were my team/city, I really cant see myself being embarrassed by that. I feel like I'd more embarrassed by some of the things that some of the people of Cleveland have done in response to Lebron's departure, including tonight.

The sign that brings up Lebrons father. What the hell is that? Thats just wrong. Period. I dont see how anybody can stand by that and be supportive of personal attacks like that.

So, at least for me, I think that Clevelanders response to LeBron could end up being more "embarrassing" than LeBron bolting on them.

Being mad, hurt, or sad are feelings that I feel are applicable to the situation. I've been having a hard time fully understanding being "embarrassed".

Have you ever been made fun of?

Friends got jokes all the time, right? It's all good when it's just you and a couple homies talking crap. Like that Captain Morgan's commercial with the 4 guys sitting around the sofa cracking on each other. Good fun, no emotions. Put that same conversation at a crowded restaraunt or bar with a bunch of fine ladies around. Suddenly, the dude catching the hairline and fat jokes isn't as accepting of the ridicule. If all the females were laughing and pointing at him, he's be pissed, guaranteed...even if the jokes were exactly the same. A part of being embarrassed is predicated on the volume of people who are making fun of you. C'mon son, lol...you've been there.

Bron cracked on us, and dissed us. Left our franchise in the worst possible situation you can leave a team in...all the while pumping up our hopes. He referenced our pain by naming "The Decision" in a way that coincided with our past. OK, that all hurts bad enough. But to purposely get on stage and make sure you gather up a huge audience before you stick that knife in? Wow. One douchebag making an innappropriate sign doesn't reflect on a city. It's one individual sending a message to another. LeBron inviting the world in to ridicule my entire city...that's embarrassing. He didn't have to talk smack...just teasing us publically only to drop a building on us is joke enough for the peolpe laughing.

Announcing early in FA that he planned to leave would have been a story. Basketball fans would have digested it first, then sports fans in general, and eventually the wider world over a period of weeks. Nah, LeBron made sure EVERYONE, including people who don't even follow basketball or sports in general were paying attention while he delivered the fat jokes. Made sure everyone would be talking about it the next day. Made sure all the tired "Cleveland is a dump" cliches and snickering at CLE's sports misery striking yet again is THE story around the whole world.

Even on here you see it on OS...vitriol aimed at CLE by people I would wager have never been here, and only care to comment cuz they've been sucked into the totally predictable backlash to the backlash. Do you go on different websites tho? Do you know what it's like to literally have millions of people pointing and laughing at you and your city? I'm born and raised here. They're talking about my streets. My restaraunts. My family and friends. LeBron and co. followed through on this debacle with no regard to how it made us look. Is it "teh wurst thing evar? Lol, nah. But it does annoy a Clevelander as much as e-crap can, I guess. It really does suck to know your franchise will be stuck in the mud for half a decade, but that's another subject.

I will say this tho...I really believe in my heart that when "The Decision" was conceived, the parties involved expected it to be CLE, and by the time he had actually decided, it was too late. This was Maverick's baby, and Bron wasn't going to pull that rug out from under a real freind, just to spare the feelings of a town he had an inferiority complex against anyway.

Ok. I can see what you're getting at Macca. I guess it all really depends on one's perspective.

In my mind, I never thought bad of Cleveland when LeBron made his decision to leave. Not a negative thought about the city crossed my mind. I felt bad for them, but that's about it.

But then you had the little mini riots, Gilbert's rant, and guys going after LeBron about things completely non-basketball related. That type of stuff makes me think of Cleveland differently.

I look at it like this. If I have some friends that I invited a friend or two to some get together with people they don't know. There they start acting up, doing things that I disapprove of. Even though I didn't do anything, I would be embarrassed because I would feel like they are representing me. So they are making me look bad.

It's like when I see people of my background shown on TV, especially in the news, uneducated or doing some type of crime. That embarrasses me a lot. It gets to the point where I feel like I have to go above and beyond in my interactions with people everyday to show them that we all are not like that.

So that's how I look at the whole situation. I feel like if I lived in Cleveland, I'd be more embarrassed by cities reaction than anything else. I would feel like my city is making Cleveland look bad.

But I can totally see where you are coming from. Like I said in the beginning of my post, it really depends on the individual.

[BlueNGold]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Every time I come into this thread I'm reminded that I chose Cleveland in the poll at the top.

[cquigley]

I just now saw jordans comeback commercial to lebrons and all I can say is dang, cold.

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[jda1202]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

I just now saw jordans comeback commercial to lebrons and all I can say is dang, cold.

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Thought it was fake.

[cquigley]

Thought it was fake.

Idk but that def looked like MJ

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[sportzbro]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Its just a mash up of lebrons commercial and an older jordan commercial.. coincidentally, jordans in combination with lebron's comes across as a huge b*tch slap & looks legit.

[jeebs9]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Every time I come into this thread I'm reminded that I chose Cleveland in the poll at the top.

Your not the only one. I thought the idea of him leaving Cleveland was down right crazy. The only places I thought he might have had a chance...were Bulls, Knicks, and maybe the Nets. But after Bosh said he was signing with the Heat (Boozer and Amare sigining to the Bull and Knicks). That's when it really hit me that the door for LeBron leaving was opening slowly.

I mean could anyone see him on the Cavs this year? With the team they have right now.

[cquigley]

They had a Robin, just not a Batman...

You're kidding yourself if you think lebron wasn't batman, regardless if he quit or not he was still the only reason the cavs did anything these past few years. 60+ win seasons and the finals were all him.

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[jeebs9]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

I'm pretty tired of the Batman and Robin talk. Kind of repeated throughout the thread too many times to be still bringing it up lol.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Man this thread is 8,129 posts long including this one, every point/argument in this thing has been repeated and beaten to death too much.

[jeebs9]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

lol Exactly... is this the longest thread of all-time? It had to break some sort of OS record.