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No way can people put any sort of blame on him if they lose, he's been amazing in this series and has proven that he is quite possibly the best player in the NBA, if you put LeBron on any team with a half decent support cast they win it all.
The opposing view is here:
Recognize LeBron's greatness now ... or your own stupidity later
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127314
LeBron needs a ring before we can think of crowning him king
By Mike Freeman
CBSSports.com National Columnist
So it's actually true ... LeBron James isn't God.
Based on the way Gregg Doyel and many other James worshippers committed third-degree face licking on James after he hit the winner in Game 2, you would think James created heaven, the stars and Halle Berry. Doyel's story after that game wasn't a column, it was a marriage proposal.
Thus, yes, when the Cleveland Cavaliers drastically underperform in the Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic (the Cavaliers should be losing this series 3-0) there's going to be backlash and much of it will be aimed at his holiness.
In some media quarters, LeBron is beginning to get LeBashed as the product of a hyperactive hype machine fueled by ESPN and Nike.
This column is just a friendly reminder that LeBron James and Yakhouba Diawara have the same number of NBA championships.
James is fantastic, James is classy, James is eternal. But there has been a bit of a coronation of him as the greatest when he hasn't won a damn thing. Yet.
Championships still matter, and that's the source of the building backlash. If James loses this series -- and it's a 50-50 proposition at this point -- his legend will take a dramatic hit because he will again have advanced deep into the postseason and walked away without a ring.
James' apologists will say it's the supporting cast, but that excuse doesn't have an indefinite expiration date. It's already getting old. In fact, if James loses this series the only Jordan he should be mentioned with is LaMont Jordan.
Just kidding ... but not by much.
It's about les (and not scoring les). It's about rings. This is why putting James in the same conversation with Michael Jordan at this point is -- as Keith Olbermann might say -- premature joculation. Jordan was the ultimate closer and James has yet to demonstrate that kind of galactic ability.
Doyel uses Dan Marino as an example of a great player who didn't win a championship. That's true. Marino is likely the most technically skilled thrower the NFL has ever seen (Peyton Manning and John Unitas are right there as well) but other players were better quarterbacks.
See the difference? Without a le, James might be considered the best athlete the sport has seen but Jordan, with his multiple les, would still be viewed by most as the best basketball player in league history.
That's why this series is so vital for James. In some ways, a portion of his legacy is at stake. The distance between Dominique Wilkins and James is not as great as some people want to think.
Just imagine what some will say if Carmelo Anthony or Dwight Howard earn a ring before James. Or if Kobe Bryant earns another le, this time doing so without Shaquille O'Neal. If any of those things occurred, James would face more criticism than he ever has before.
James is young and has a decade to win championships, but who knows how many more times he'll get this close?
The backlash has started, the microscope enlarged, the expectations grow.
This is James' world now and if he gets tapped out against Orlando, the legend of James would suffer some damage just. As it should.
Then the backlash would develop into a serious case of whiplash.
Last edited by duncan228; 05-26-2009 at 04:26 PM.
No way can people put any sort of blame on him if they lose, he's been amazing in this series and has proven that he is quite possibly the best player in the NBA, if you put LeBron on any team with a half decent support cast they win it all.
What else he can do more? He has 41 ppg.
Kobe won 3 rings with Shaq. Give Lebron either Dwight or Bosh and he will win a ring every year.
Theres plenty of other players in the NBA past and present who has good stats who never won a ring. Why should we treat Lebron any different?
Yeah he is definitelly the best and I agree with you that he has no blame if they do not manage to win.
But, I do think many will put blame on him, forgetting that he is the MVP and played like a god all season
Last edited by Bukefal; 05-26-2009 at 02:40 PM.
ok. even if they don't win the ring, you can tell what about him??
If you put Kobe or Wade instead of Lebron in this Cavs roster i'm not sure they'll win more than 50 games.
We should treat him different because of the hype that is preceding him. At first, its kinda hard to blame him when Nike and whatever sports drink is the one making the commercials, but when you tattoo "Chosen 1" on your back, you're eating into your own hype. He may as well have tattooed a bullseye on his back.
Put LeBron on the Lakers instead of Kobe and the Lakers win 75 games and cruise to a
+1
The Lakers went 42 games in the LOADED west in 2006 with the roster below. Don't ing tell me he cant get 50 games in the East with Lerbon's squad.
Smush Parker
Kobe Bryant
Luke Walton
Lamar Odom
Kwame Brown
Maurice Evans
Andrew Bynum
Brian Cook
Vladimir Radmanovic
Ronny Turiaf
Jordan Farmar
Sasha Vujacic
Shammond Williams
Aaron McKie
wow..Lebron and Pau Gasol is greater then Pippen and Jordans squad.Put LeBron on the Lakers instead of Kobe and the Lakers win 75 games and cruise to a
Lebron and Pippen had better oponents.
People always "conveniently" forget this.
And there are 5 All-Stars (past/present) on the Cavaliers, that ain't no scrub team.
I didn't tall that they are a scrub team but they looked good because of Lebron.
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