Darrin, you are a pretty knowledgeable poster. However I'm not buying any of the above.
a) Like the Sp*rs with TD, the Cavs tanked to get him. The then Coach Lucas eventually was fired because their management wanted the coaching staff to play rookies and less experienced players. Of course he wanted to play the vets because he was trying to win. Their agenda: draft the HS phenom from Akron, OH
b) There are or were several lottery picks on that very Cavs squad before LeHype even got there. So of course, they will amass a pretty good record with lottery picks and LeHype
c) The EC, to put it lightly, sucked ass and it's been like that for years. Do you think LeHype would have won an average of 50 games in the WC? Maybe these last two years - I'll give you that, but not before these last two years. In the EC, you could win 42 games and be at least a 6th seed. That changes this year because it seems like there will be a little more comp.
d) The year they got out of the EC (as you noted above) was a fluke. Don't let the thrashing he single-handedly gave you guys cloud your judgment. Why? Tell me what happened when he played a real team from the WC? That's right - he got swept
e) Look at the number of fouls he has called against him as compared to other "stars" both present and historically (even MJ - go figure). In short, they don't call fouls on him. So he has the ball in his hands for 85% of every possession when he is on the court, plus he gets a pass from the refs
f) I find it strange that for the 1st 5 years in the league, he never even sniffed all defense
3rd team, now all of a sudden he is
1st team all defense 2 years in a row? WTF?
LeHype is pretty good, I'll readily admit that. However, he's done jack as far as I'm concerned to warrant the kind of hype he gets. Kobe has done way more than he has and the fact that Kobe is still even relevant in his 15th year in the NBA is downright remarkable. Question, do you think LeHype will be relevant in his 15th year in the L? I don't. That's not to say he's not good - because he is. He's just been given too much too soon before he's even won his first Finals game.
We'll probably agree to disagree on this, but that's cool. The media is desperate to find the next MJ when he's been playing for the Lakers for going on 15 years. They've been hyping him up since HS. They have created a monster who has no discipline who won't reach his full potential because no one had the balls to stand up to this media . What a pity.