Re: The LeBron James Thread
She's probably just opening one of her juice bars there or something.
Bad timing though lol
She's probably just opening one of her juice bars there or something.
Bad timing though lol
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"To the last minute, to the last second, to the last man, we fight" -
Re: The LeBron James Thread
Yeah but if this wasn't in the "LBJ Thread" I woulda fell back a long time ago, lol.
You make some very good points (and explain them well) so it's cool, but I do think they are irrelevant for THIS discussion. They are relevant in general, but my comments are stemming from the thought that Lebron needed to leave the Cavs, and now needs to leave the Heat. The argument has been that based on the players around him, these would be the correct decisions for him (then and now).
If we look back and see what the players were able to produce around him, and the break downs that you have provided, we may find that assuming nothing changes leaving one or both was the right choice. However a player making that decision, with that kind of talent, on teams that are that close, would not (should not) be thinking like this.
And even as fans, we shouldn't use this to predict the future so absolutely. Before this season started, who expected Leonard to be the finals MVP? Yet, if he played at a level we expected (which still is pretty good) the Spurs probably don't win... or at least are in a dog fight for 7 games. Nobody thinks Chalmers is a world beater, but most of us probably believe if he played at an average level for what he's shown in the past, the Heat would've had a chance at winning... not to mention Wade and Bosh.
The 09 Cavs team didn't have anyone step up outside of Lebron to take them over the hump... we now know that. The 10 Cavs is a bit of an unknown, and the 11 Cavs with an LBJ on the team is a complete unknown. Players have made names by stepping up in big situations. Battier, Miller, Ariza... Leonard. Green in spurts. Just pulling names off the top of my head but you get my point. It's hard to say there would NEVER be a player to step up enough to help get that team over the hump, considering Lebron is SO good, it wouldn't need to be much.
Beginning of the sesaon, who felt this way? HUGE questions on how much Duncan could still contribute, already mentioned the solid but unknown Leonard, nobody knew what Diaw could bring. Patty Mills? It's easy to say this looking back.The Heat were worse this year than they were last year by almost every metric. In spite of everything you mentioned. The Spurs got deeper and better. The long view says the Spurs should have won.
Those teams weren't good enough to win. That's clear because... they didn't win.
But that doesn't mean the next year's team isn't good enough to win... before the season even started. In that case, I think being close is as good an indicator of their chances as any (before the season starts... but for those who don't think regular season success says much, then it's as good of an indication until the playoffs start). If this Heat team comes back next year with the EXACT same pieces, they will go into the season as favorite to at least win the Eastern Conference.Comment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
I think it depends what we mean by fundamental disadvantage. Mo Williams is not a second option I would select for LeBron James if given a free choice of anyone in the league. As such, having Mo in Cleveland as a second option in '09 instead of, say, Chris Bosh, would surely seem to reduce the chances of Cleveland winning.
However, I believe Cleveland's "reduced" chances (i.e. their chances with Mo Williams) were still quite viable. I do not assume Cleveland was good enough. I believe they were good enough. Again, on the contrary, I believe the worst mistake is often assuming that losing automatically means one was not good enough. Sometimes there's two teams more than capable of winning and a worthy competition occurs, with one team hitting some fortunate shots (or the other team missing some fortunate shots) that ultimately leads to a decision slanted one way or the other.
Separately, I often feel hindsight can skew our thoughts negatively, but also positively. For instance, had the Detroit Pistons lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 (say, in 6 or 7 games of a competitive series), many of us would likely be sitting here talking about how Detroit never had a chance because they lacked a go-to superstar and historically, that put them at a fundamental disadvantage. In fact, that was the stance of many before that series took place (too many "good" players, nobody great). As we know, the Pistons did it, and now in hindsight, that entire squad finds itself on the right side of history, getting way more respect and "I knew they could do it because they were all great" angles than at any point prior to their matchup with L.A.
In short, sometimes we say things can't/won't/shouldn't happen... until they happen. Many said those Cavs couldn't have won with that roster. I felt they most certainly could have. Clearly, it is inherently a losing argument (since, you know, they lost) but I do not feel they went down because they simply had no chance of winning.
Well stated. Jason Terry is another player who comes to mind. If he'd been touch-and-go in the 2011 Finals and the Heat cruised, I think the accepted train of thought would have been, "Sorry, can't win an NBA championship when your second option is a short shooting guard coming off the bench." But get a guy to step up and make things happen (as Terry did) combined with numerous other fellers achieving at high levels (DeShawn Stevenson) and suddenly good things may happen.
Mo Williams didn't step up in the '09 Eastern Conference Finals for most of that series. In fact, he played well below his own established level for games 1-4. I believe Mo playing like Mo may have been enough to catapult that club to a Finals appearance. I even think a 43% shooting Mo may have been enough. Was the Cavs winning ever a sure thing? I believe not. But did they have a solid chance? I believe they did, absolutely.Last edited by VDusen04; 06-23-2014, 03:03 PM.Comment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
Thing that bothers me most about the dumping on the Cavs roster after the fact, is it's just lazy really. There's too much "LeBron was never going to win with Mo Williams as his second best player" and not enough discussion of what LeBron as a player didn't do in those series. What Mike Brown didn't do as a coach. I believe with even Spo at the helm of that team they'd at least gotten to the Finals. The Cleveland offense broke down in those series to LeBron dribbling the air out of the ball for twenty seconds with everybody else standing around watching. A system focused on better ball movement would have done wonders for them, especially when you consider that despite that offensive system, Mo Williams still averaged 18 and 3 for them though he shot poorly at 37% from the field and 37% from three. Delonte averaged 14 per while shooting 44% from the field. Hard to come crashing down on the Cavs entirely when you've got Rashard Lewis shooting 48%, Pietrus shooting 47% and Turkoglu shooting 39% from three. Those dudes just went off and STILL almost lost the series.Comment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
I'm willing to bet that she posted something like this last summer when they went to Akron to visit.
It was bad timing but I don't think it means anything nor do I think she was trying to be a bitch.Comment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
Are we really going to pretend that she did it "unknowingly"?? lol
C'mon y'all.Comment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
Nope, all a part of her PLANComment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
It is kinda suspect to do it at this time, but I've never heard anything about her to suggest she'd be doing something like that.
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
Lebron has no reason to return to cleveland. They didnt do anything for him his first 7 years, and he won't win a title with irving. Also the cavs are terrible, he would be stupid to even think of going back. Stay in miami bro
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
Really, if there was a reason for her to do this for the giggles, it would only be because she's still upset over Cleveland treated after he left. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Am I really analyzing Lebron James wife's tweets? What has my life become lolComment
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Re: The LeBron James Thread
LOL, it's hilarious isn't it?? It's like this league just sucks you in, and there's nothing you can do about it.Comment
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