hitmantb
11-06-2014, 01:59 PM
In 2011, had LeBron performed anywhere near his average numbers in the finals, they would have won for sure. A lot of people gave a ton of credits to the Mavs, but I honestly think it was because mentally, LeBron was torn between winning the title without FMVP and risking his career to be Pippen 2.0. Next year, Wade started to decline and LeBron easily took ever the team, and they won two titles. After four blow out's by the Spurs in 2014, LeBron pressured Wade to get out of his contract and ended up leaving anyway. Wade ended up making far less money than he would have otherwise. Other than two meaningless supporting cast championships that didn't add much to his legacy, Wade was clearly the biggest loser of the Miami trio.
Irving is only 22 and still in the process of padding his stats for individual rewards. To him, winning a championship as a supporting star is not nearly as important as winning individual awards. LeBron is already showing signs of decline and Irving is clearly trying to pull a Kobe here, not backing down from the the king and hoping his age would be a bigger asset should the king shows further vulnerabilities. This is why LeBron made the whole thing public to escalate the issue immediately, while he still has control.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11831408/lebron-james-kyrie-irving-reportedly-exchange-words-state-cleveland-cavaliers-offense
Unfortunately, LeBron's weight in Cleveland is far greater than Shaq's in LA. LeBron wins off sheer physical gifts, just like Shaq and will most likely see a bigger decline than say, Kobe did at same age. This will be one hell of a show. As a Spurs fan I really hope they will get a couple of injuries (both Irving and Love are fragile, James himself is showing wear and tear from mileages) and pick up a 2012-2013 LA season. They obviously have the talent to win it all but Irving has made it clear he is not going to hand over the team without a fight or trade.
Prediction:
Dion Waiters gets Stephen Jackson-ed to set an example, more drama to follow!
Irving is only 22 and still in the process of padding his stats for individual rewards. To him, winning a championship as a supporting star is not nearly as important as winning individual awards. LeBron is already showing signs of decline and Irving is clearly trying to pull a Kobe here, not backing down from the the king and hoping his age would be a bigger asset should the king shows further vulnerabilities. This is why LeBron made the whole thing public to escalate the issue immediately, while he still has control.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11831408/lebron-james-kyrie-irving-reportedly-exchange-words-state-cleveland-cavaliers-offense
Unfortunately, LeBron's weight in Cleveland is far greater than Shaq's in LA. LeBron wins off sheer physical gifts, just like Shaq and will most likely see a bigger decline than say, Kobe did at same age. This will be one hell of a show. As a Spurs fan I really hope they will get a couple of injuries (both Irving and Love are fragile, James himself is showing wear and tear from mileages) and pick up a 2012-2013 LA season. They obviously have the talent to win it all but Irving has made it clear he is not going to hand over the team without a fight or trade.
Prediction:
Dion Waiters gets Stephen Jackson-ed to set an example, more drama to follow!