The LeBron James Thread

[BlastX21]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

@Wheelman, there's no such thing as an "easy way" to a championship. Case in point: the Heat could have easily lost to both the Celtics or Pacers. Every series minus the first round was a struggle. LeBron had to battle through Bosh's injury, Wade playing badly half the time, his bench playing badly, and then his own injury. I dont think, after this playoff run, that you can say he took the "easy" route looking at the struggles he had to overcome.

[LionsFanNJ]

This could be a modern day dynasty that is built around defense and fast break styled offense. If Ray Allen decides to sign there or a Jason Terry, man...

Miami doesn't have the cap space to sign a Jason Terry or Ray Allen

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

The shame of it all is hatred/blindness/bitterness is causing some to not be able to really enjoy a once in a lifetime talent. As a bball fan you have to be able to spot when a man's game matures. The scary thing is he is just entering his prime at 27. What free agents will flock there to get those open looks because of the pressure he puts on opposing defenses? This could be a modern day dynasty that is built around defense and fast break styled offense. If Ray Allen decides to sign there or a Jason Terry, man...

Only thing I have to say to this is that no one is missing out on his talent. I hated Jordan with a blind rage in the 90's as he consistently picked apart and slaughtered my Knicks team, doesn't mean I couldn't respect his game. Everyone is seeing LeBron play and from the looks of it everyone respects LeBron as a player, they just don't necessarily like him as a person.

[NYJets]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

The idea that Lebron took the easy way makes no sense at this point. Fact is, the Heat are clearly Lebron's team at this point, and they won the title because he played out of his mind this entire postseason. If Cleveland had been able to get a legit 2nd star to play with Lebron, and he then won a title, nobody would say that's the easy way, so I don't think the fact that he changed uniforms makes it the easy way. He was the man on a championship team, and that's all that really counts.

Now, it definitely would have been a better story if he had done it in Cleveland. To do it in his home state, for a struggling franchise, in a struggling sports town. Would have been great. But I don't think that takes away from his accomplishment.

[slimm44]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Does anybody really think that any player could get somebody to WANT to play here?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ysmLA5TqbIY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Couldn't embed the 2nd one:

http://youtu.be/oZzgAjjuqZM

[The 24th Letter]

"easy" and "winning a championship" shouldn't be in the same sentence in the first place...

Quick question: Someone was saying last night that the Indy series saved the Heats season with Bron really having to buy into the big man role with his rebounding, and having to guard PFs etc. with Bosh out...

Think that's true?

[BringTheHeat]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

People need to stop with the "easy" nonsense. Makes no sense.

1. At the Heat's party LeBron pisses the world off by saying it's going to be easy to win multiple championships. (1,2,3,4...) "He's disrespectful! It's not easy to win a title"

2. 2 Years later, when he does win one, the same people, "Well he did it the easy way so it's not as special"

[wwharton]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

That Celtics series exposed CLE to the fullest. They had absolutely no match-up advantages outside of LBJ at the 3. Mo Williams was faded and blended by Rajon Rondo in that series and the same goes for the Garnett/Jamison match-up. Those were the two guys that were suppose to take on some of the score and creating load. They were skinned and dressed. As for the Mavs and Bulls teams from last year, 100% sure might be pushing it but 99.99% is a safe venture. You're talking about a less refined LBJ with a mediocre supporting cast, a coach with an inept in game philosophy going up against two teams with both superior coaches and players with-in the schemes they ran.

You're making some pretty big assumptions, especially considering you're acknowledging that team didn't have the player he is now. My point is, if the thought is that going to Miami played a huge role in the player we saw in game 5 on Thursday, I can buy that to an extent. But blaming everyone around him is the real easy way out. You're right, that team around him wasn't good enough to win a ring... we saw that. But I don't think it's so easy to say they couldn't in those situations with this guy we just saw. And if not, how big are the pieces needed really? These teams we're talking about weren't really power houses... they were all very competitive, even with James still playing/not playing like he was.

Players don't need to run away to stacked teams, and every loss doesn't just mean you need to bring in someone else that's shown they can do better in the past. Durant made it VERY clear he wasn't ready to lead his team to a championship. Harden wasn't the extra piece he needed to be. Should Durant leave? Should OKC be in a rush to dump Harden for some vet who's dropped 20 and 10 in the past (and why does this seem so easy to get by so many people)? Lebron can do and go wherever he wants, for whatever reason he wants. But I'm not going to justify it with the other 11 guys being horrible on teams with the best regular season record in the league, winning series every playoff trip they've made including one to the championship. That entire team, Lebron included, was the reason they didn't win and the entire team needed to get better to get over the hump. It's great to see that James is getting better. It would've been better to see him do it with the Cavs.

[LionsFanNJ]

"easy" and "winning a championship" shouldn't be in the same sentence in the first place...

Quick question: Someone was saying last night that the Indy series saved the Heats season with Bron really having to buy into the big man role with his rebounding, and having to guard PFs etc. with Bosh out...

Think that's true?

Id say its a big part of it. I think that's the first series Bron really had/decided to work in the post for a lot of his points and it started opening things up for other players. I think from that series on Bron had some ridiculous percentage of baskets in the paint too. I thought i've seen a stat that he shot something like 20% on baskets outside the paint?

[Cavsfan4life]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

People need to stop with the "easy" nonsense. Makes no sense.

1. At the Heat's party LeBron pisses the world off by saying it's going to be easy to win multiple championships. (1,2,3,4...) "He's disrespectful! It's not easy to win a title"

2. 2 Years later, when he does win one, the same people, "Well he did it the easy way so it's not as special"

I think what people mean is even though they had a tough playoff run, it all started with them signing 3 all stars and arguably two of the top 5 players in the league. If they didnt win a championship quickly they would continue to get flack.

[HMcCoy]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

Some of you seem to have lost perspective here. I'm seeing alot people say that "this" LBJ should have been here all along. Stop for a second and think. How many people learn all the life lessons (and lessons on the floor) they need to learn and hone their craft to to a level equal to their talent by age 25? How many NBA players have done it. The CLE where exposed for for what they were. A team with second class talent led by a guy who wasnt prepared to take them any further than where they got because he hadn't developed the skill (both physical and mental) to do so at the point. And lets be frank, how many truly big time free agents have ever gone the state of Ohio of their own free will? Players sign different places for more than just basketball reasons. LBJ was going any further than he went in CLE. Sometime you gotta leave home to grow up.

In the immortal words of the great N.A.S.: Knee. Grow. Please.

Artest, Ariza both said they would have signed with the Cavs if they thought Lebron was staying, and STAT also said he would have signed long-term in CLE. And MIA's huge signings? Z, Joel Anthony, Eddy Curry, Shane Battier and the corpse of Mike Miller are the "1st rate talent" that flocked to beautiful South Beach? Like most dudes, you ignore the fact that Lebron signing an unprecedented 3 year deal had a MAJOR impact.

I swear, revisionist history like this is the norm, even here in Cleveland and it's killing me...it's KILLING me.

[HMcCoy]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

The problem with those CLE teams is that they weren't built to win playoff series against high level talent and high level coaching. The weaknesses that team had were in fact highly magnified by what the playoff atmosphere changes about the game. Good playoff basketball involves consistent excecution on both sides of the floor, a gameplan thats expansive enough to endure chamges, a roster with players that are versatile enough to respond to gamplan adjustments and a coach with the ability to inspire his players and put his players in position to succeed a high percentage of the time. He also needs to be able read and react to the opposing side's changes in strategy in real time at best or worst case after each game. When I look at the Cavs roster and its coaching staff (both then and now) I dont see how anyone could think they are/were title ready. That teams was built for what it accomplished.

James scored 21 of his 38 points in the first quarter to help Cleveland beat Boston 124-95 on Friday night, handing the Celtics their worst home playoff loss ever and taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals.

The only game in the series Bron actually gave effort. After taking the C's to the last seconds of a game 7 in 09, and demolishing the C's by double-digits twice including a 20pt drubbing in the reg season and a 30pt nuking in game 2...Suddenly this team couldn't beat the Celtics? Give me a break. Not one person outside the C's organization gave them a chance against the Cavs going into that series.

He quit.

[HMcCoy]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

And this is the problem I have the most with all of this. The fact that this LeBron is what fans have craved for his entire career and while he was in Cleveland. Throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs the Miami Heat were the Miami Cavaliers and LeBron did what he had to do to get his team to the Finals. Guys were walking corpses through three rounds of the playoffs just like the Cavs and LeBron put them on his back playing more minutes per game than he did in his 60 win seasons in Cleveland. He played his *** off and literally carried them to the Finals. That Game 6 against the Celtics LeBron won pretty much single handedly.

Mike Miller came in last night after literally doing nothing but stealing money for two years and was hitting threes even with hands in his face two feet behind the three point line and guys are talking about Mo Williams wouldn't have ever helped LeBron? Guys are talking like matching up against the Lakers none of those guys would have ever been able to do anything to contribute? Don't buy it.

Nobody can take away what LeBron has accomplished here. He's a champion, period and he put on a helluva show en route to doing it. His perfomance in the playoffs and Finals was amazing and just as a pure basktball fan a joy to watch. But let's leave it at just that a joy to watch. This wasn't redemption. This wasn't deserved or none of this other stuff that we're trying to classify this as. This isn't a case of some unfortunate series of events just randomly befalling LeBron that knocked him down and he got back up from. This is a self inflicted gunshot wound that LeBron did to himself and the fact that he had the opportunity to do what he did last night three years ago and he flushed it down the toliet by quitting on his team cannot in my mind be stressed enough.

I know the Star Wars analogy has been used before but it is soooo very much fitting of this situation it's not even funny. LeBron was seduced by Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade into turning his back on everybody that believed and supported him through everything. Through every Skip Bayless tirade, through every sideline dancing controversy, every handshake ducking debate, confiscated dunk tape misstep and further he was supported and he let a guy swoop in just like a predator and prey on his biggest fear. Not winning a ring in his career. Just like Palpatine was able to prey on Anakin's fear to seduce him to the dark side, Riles and Wade preyed on Bron. Congrats LeBron, you're a champion. You cheated yourself a much greater reward had you done it in Cleveland like you promised them, but you're a champion. You won it for a group of people that will discard you just as quickly as they discarded Dwyane Wade in favor of you if you're not repeating this in a few years. I hope it was worth it.

/end rant

THANK YOU!!!!!

You're making some pretty big assumptions, especially considering you're acknowledging that team didn't have the player he is now. My point is, if the thought is that going to Miami played a huge role in the player we saw in game 5 on Thursday, I can buy that to an extent. But blaming everyone around him is the real easy way out. You're right, that team around him wasn't good enough to win a ring... we saw that. But I don't think it's so easy to say they couldn't in those situations with this guy we just saw. And if not, how big are the pieces needed really? These teams we're talking about weren't really power houses... they were all very competitive, even with James still playing/not playing like he was.

Players don't need to run away to stacked teams, and every loss doesn't just mean you need to bring in someone else that's shown they can do better in the past. Durant made it VERY clear he wasn't ready to lead his team to a championship. Harden wasn't the extra piece he needed to be. Should Durant leave? Should OKC be in a rush to dump Harden for some vet who's dropped 20 and 10 in the past (and why does this seem so easy to get by so many people)? Lebron can do and go wherever he wants, for whatever reason he wants. But I'm not going to justify it with the other 11 guys being horrible on teams with the best regular season record in the league, winning series every playoff trip they've made including one to the championship. That entire team, Lebron included, was the reason they didn't win and the entire team needed to get better to get over the hump. It's great to see that James is getting better. It would've been better to see him do it with the Cavs.

THANK YOU!!!

It isn't Lebron's success that has me so pissed...it's the revisionist history that pretends The 66-win Cavs sucked, or that Lebron was completely blameless. I hear it NON. STOP.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

THANK YOU!!!!!



THANK YOU!!!

It isn't Lebron's success that has me so pissed...it's the revisionist history that pretends The 66-win Cavs sucked, or that Lebron was completely blameless. I hear it NON. STOP.

I feel you man. Cause we can go ahead on back to the old Playoff threads here at OS and the old Playoff prediction threads and look at how many guys had the Cavs either winning a championship or in the Finals or the very least the Conference Finals and as soon as Bron split to South Beach, all of a sudden it's....'LeBron was supposed to win with these guys?' I suppose in a few years if the Thunder still haven't won a title we can start saying 'Durant was supposed to win with these guys?' 'Derrick Rose was supposed to win with these guys?' If Kobe never won those two rings with Pau. How badly would Pau suck now? How bad is James Harden going to be three years from now?

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: The LeBron James Thread

OSU,

I just wanted to tell you that you made my entire life when you posted this gif. I literally laughed at it for like 5 minutes straight and almost cried.