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Sorry Lakers won't make the finals much less swept the Heat. Only an idiot would think otherwise.
Below are some excellent extrapolations from the article:
It's only when you look deeper do you realize LeBron will never even be mentioned in the same breath as Kobe Bryant when our children discuss the legends of this era.While LeBron may enhance the very poor player by getting him easy baskets, I'm not so sure James' skill set is the best to match with another perimeter player.http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ycn-10828807I guess we're all dying to see Kobe pretty much hammer the coffin closed on this ridiculous conversation by sweeping the Heat in the Finals this year. I think that's pretty much inevitable, and will finally make it completely lucid to LeBron James and Miami Heat fans that he is never going to be the kind of legend we consider when we discuss the "Pantheon" of great players (credit: Bill Simmons).
Sorry Lakers won't make the finals much less swept the Heat. Only an idiot would think otherwise.
The writer:
Brett David Roberts
Brett is a 30 year old freelance writer who writes about NBA Basketball. He writes for Maddux Sports and is also syndicated in national media outlets. In addition to basketball, Brett now writes baseball columns for The Diamond's Edge (www.thediamondsedge.com).
Education/Experience
BS in Technical Management from DeVry University
Motto
If you aint laughin' , you aint livin' !
Every NBA player can be superiority if they can shoot 30 times in a game.
Of course the Lakers cant sweep the Heat Wade would never let that happen ...
Seriously, though the best line was: "...will finally make it completely lucid to LeBron James and Miami Heat fans that he is never going to be the kind of legend we consider when we discuss the "Pantheon" of great players."
Im not saying I agree with this ...yet. But Simmons is a Clips season ticket holder was at this game and was (is?) a HUGE Lebron James fan. I think he goes too far to speak so absolutely, but the fact that even his biggest supporters, not just Skip Bayless are calling out James ...is telling.
I have not given up on him yet, he may prove us all wrong in June ... but I'm starting to have some doubts and concerns he may NEVER be as great as his talent suggests ..which is sad, not funny.
Lol the writer also wrote:
When referencing a historically great pick-and-roll combo, who references Magic and Kareem??? It's always Stockton and Malone. Did Magic and Kareem even run many pick-and-rolls?Because that is the bottom line: James is not good enough to get it done on his own, so he has to piggy back with other superstars. He might as well just get Dwight Howard in on the deal and make it ridiculous. James and Howard would be the deadliest pick n roll combo since Magic and Kareem, and would go on to win several championships. But mostly because Howard makes teams that much better on the court and would enable James to have less pressure on him since he clearly has proven he is incapable of handling that pressure already.
Kobe really didn't need to piggy back. He had Shaq, but that was just fortuitous; the Lakers got Kobe for Vlade Divac. He can win championshps with or without great second fiddles. Jordan needed Pippen, Kobe needed Shaq and Gasol. Every Option 1A, needs an option 1B. Durant has Westbrook; Blake Griffin has Chris Paul, and so on. Teams don't try to do it with one guy that often anymore, with it of course highly debateable if such a strategy has ever worked (Hakeem was certainly without a legitimate superstar second fiddle since Drexler was ancient by that point).
And lmao "Kobe didn't need to piggy back."
The piece is a certifiable hack job.
Lebron does deserve some props though... he finally has being unleashing a post game on the league, and settling less for bad jumpshots. He's not flawless by any means, but I still think he just has a type of court presence that helps elevate the play of teammates better than anyone in the league. What he did with such an AWFUL supporting cast in Cleveland should not be ignored by any means. He had those guys playing way over their heads on an yearly basis, by instilling a great amount of confidence in them by constantly trusting them and even giving away some of the types of shots a leader like himself should generally be taking. To me, the fact that they would win 60+ games a year, but somehow flame out in the playoffs was proof that he had poor talent surrounding him, simply playing way above their actual talent level. To win championships, as important as the team concept is, you MUST have talent to compliment the team concept as well.
IMO, Lebron's type of leadership that he has is what is hurting him the most in his situation in Miami. It seems like he is more interested in keeping the morale of the team high, and doesn't want to step on the shoes of Wade, despite the fact he is a superior player to Wade.
To me, there is only one thing holding Miami back from being one of the greatest teams ever, and it is Wade being the #1 option when Lebron should be. If Wade willingly deferred to Lebron, I think it would make them so much better, because Lebron, although egotistical, doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would just take that away from Wade unless Wade gave it to him.
I'm not gonna lie, I am definitely a big Lebron fan still, despite all that has gone on. But this is just my personal thoughts on his situation. I still think he is the best player in the NBA, and if I could build a team with the current NBA players, he would be my #1 pick, without question.
lol extrapolations
If you ain't laughin, you ain't livin
You've been running around this Forum the last few days spewing this & bull story.
You're out of your in' mind, dude.
Isn't that starting to happen this season now anyway? LeBron averaging close to 30 PPG, Wade close to 20 PPG. LeBron getting more touches. Has more FGA (albeit only 1 more per game) and going to the line 3 more times. So LeBron is essentially "the guy."
I don't really see a problem with the two co-existing. People do seem to minimize the fact that they did get to the NBA Finals in their first season together last year. More important than having LeBron the undisputed #1 option is having Wade the closer.
It's clear that LeBron is the best player on the planet for the first 3 1/2 quarters of games. Let Wade close out the games. Same with the threepeat Shaq-Kobe Lakers. They let Shaq dominate the game and in the closing possessions of close games, Kobe had the ball in his hands to make decisions, take clutch shots, and hit free throws. People have been saying it since last year. Let LeBron dominate the game for those first 3 1/2 quarters. Then hand over the game to Wade.
MJ>Manu>Kobe>LeBron
Your entire time at Spurstalk has been spent swallowing & bull.
You've no room, got.
Perhaps, but, I ain't lettin' it (your James low post malarkey) go in abject silence any longer.
Ya a-hole, you.
I agree entirely with this post. I have always felt Lebron is like a "guard" version of Shaq. It's not that Lebron is neccesarily a choker, its that he doesn't have a skillset that the best closers have. He has a very different skillset that comes in extremely handy for the majority of the game, and still can be very handy in closing situations too, just not as handy as a skillset that guys like Kobe, Carmello, Wade, and Dirk have (basically a combo of an ability to use moves to consistently get space for jumpers and hit tough jumpers)
So you don't see any growth in his post game whatsoever?
None.
I've seen no evolution to his game this season at all.
Agree he is the most dominant player and the only guy that you can consider trading for Dwight Howard straight up with no fillers, not because Dwight is better but he is a BIG. I agree maybe it would work better the way you say it, but that is what is part of the problem. You don't want a Shaq/Kobe like struggle but the best player needs to lead the team. When shaq was that for the Lakers Kobe was wrong for taking bad shots ...later when Shaq lost his "shape" and injuries started to take hold that was Kobe. Shaq held on to power too long, Kobe went after it too soon.
Problem is though Jame is the more dynamic, dominant talent right now in the clutch Wade is still the more complete and reliable player. And even though I agree he is the better talent, maybe they should just defer all big shots to Wade. Miami fans have been calling for that since last season ...until Lebron was the star in the clutch against the Bulls and Celts and we thought he hd broken through. Then Dallas happened and we face the same questions we have faced since his breakthrough against the Pistons in the ECF.
Maybe, we were wrong thinking since he has done so much at a young age that he would just keep getting better. he has but not the way we thought. I have maintained on here consistently that he has the talent to surpass both Kobe and MJ (legacy wise) ...while some here have called me crazy. Lebron is THAT talented.
Then either you haven't watched him, or you are a moron.
I think both are correct.
And Cully is right, his post game has NOT gotten better. His footwork is still atrocious. His shot selection has just gotten better. he has eliminated the long 3's and most of the long 2's and is attacking from the high and mid post. He is scoring from there, quite well. But it's not a true post game ... really it's a "drive" game. Which to me, more than any improvements Bron has made ...has been a great adjustment by Spo. From those spots he drives quick before help can arrive or he finds the open man. Wade is STILL a better post player at his height ...but wade even had a sneaky good post-game in college. Lebron could have done this before this season, but he seemed to prefer to survey the court from the top of the key, extended. I don't see great improvement in his low post game. I see smarter decisions by him, and the coach.
Last edited by Killakobe81; 01-13-2012 at 12:53 PM.
I've watched him and his progress is nil.
Lebron HAS to develop a consistent jumper that he can hit even with a small amount of space for him to consistently be a lethal closer. His skillset is what holds him back.
The reason he failed against Dallas was because they forced him to shoot tough jumpers all game long, thanks to a strong zone defense, and he never was able to really get in a rhythm, and thus crumbled in closing time. Chicago and Boston generally allowed him to get in a rhythm early, and it was too late by the end of games.
Their inability to consistently beat a strong zone defense may still be their downfall. While I still think the Heat will win the le this year, there is ONE team that has a chance to beat them again IMO, and that's Dallas (if they get their stuff together and Odom breaks out of his slump), simply because they still run a very strong, swarming zone defense, and have the personel to matchup with the Heat and make Bron/Wade work both on offense and defense.
I think it's not perfect, but I think it's improved. Mainly because of the fact that he feels comfortable to consistently use it, and use it correctly. That IMO shows growth and improvement, and is more what I was referring to.
I agree his moves and footwork still needs a lot of work, but he definitely is using it far better than he ever has.
Not surprising given your Suns prediction and the fact you really know nothing about basketball other than "Kobe good, Duncan bad".
What you really mean is:::
Kobe: 5
tired old bag Duncan: 4
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