LLLLLeBron 3-5 Finals Record Without SuperTeam

LOL yep poor goat smashed his winky and rolled over in shock. Just like Harden kicked the King in the nuts. No wonder he missed all those shots.

Ball Don't Lie
James Harden suspended 1 game for kicking LeBron James in groin

By Eric Freeman4 hours agoBall Don't Lie

The Houston Rockets went all out after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers by two points on Sunday, even going so far as to declare James Harden "the new King James" after having vanquished LeBron James in regular-season battle. Unfortunately for Harden, it looks like he will see some punishment for deposing the old monarch.

The NBA announced Monday that Harden has been suspended one game for kicking James in the groin with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter. Harden was issued a flagrant-1 foul during the game, but that has since been upgraded to a flagrant-2. Harden will miss the Rockets' Tuesday game at the Atlanta Hawks, another East contender.

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Take a look at the play:


in need of further review. It would be wrong to suggest that the NBA suspended Harden simply because LeBron is LeBron — again, it's not so nice to kick anyone in the groin — but people tend to listen when James talks.

Regardless, Harden will certainly be missed for Tuesday's game with Atlanta. Houston is already playing without star center Dwight Howard, who has been on the shelf since early February with a problematic right knee. Harden is an MVP frontrunner for a reason — the Rockets' offense revolves around him — and playing without him on the road against one of the NBA's most balanced squads is not a recipe for success.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...-kicking-lebron-james-in-groin-235901796.html

 

To be completely accurate, the FIRST thing to be written about Kobe had he missed FT's would have been about how not clutch he is, or about how he failed his team, or about. . . you get the idea.

 

Haha

 

Matt is right. He would also been fined like a Million bucks for kicking James. The real question I wonder is what would it have been if Lebron had kicked Harden? The league seems to cater to Bron more than any star I have ever seen. Is it a shock that one of the biggest floppers has NEVER been even warned about flopping? (to my knowledge) And yes I am talking about Bron. Harden deserved to get at least a fine cause you don't kick a man in the pecker even if it is probably shrunk thanks to Florida vacationing.

 

Oh I agree Harden gets the most love from the refs than any player I can think of in the past years. Even more than when Wade was on a free throw run a few years back. But I think Lebron goes farther than that when he speaks the league seems to make changes for him. I was happy to see some media call out the league for all of a sudden extending the AS break cause Bron complained about not having more time off. The year he mentions it then it happens. Like I said, I don't believe he has ever been fined for flopping yet there are numerous examples of it. Kobe got fined for a made up rule (4 times I think) of "unnatural basketball act"

there are star treatments and then there is Lebron treatment

 

Real- I think it has more to do with them catering to the nba fan of this generation and era of the NBA. First, Kobe was too much like MJ in every way even when it came to his disdain, real or perceived, of others. His battle with Shaq and the eventual break-up of the Lakers was a great thing for the league who seemed to be worried that LA winning too much hurt their small market and bottom line. That is the only thing that explains the veto of the Paul trade. Now, back to the Bron thing. The new generation fan isn't about team but about player. No team outside the Lakers and Spurs have a truly successful history for fans to jump on that bandwagon. Add in the fact that most fans get all their info from these so-called experts from the bought and paid for media it is easy to see how Bron became the face of the league.

Think about it even on the Lakers Board if anyone said anything about Lebron's game other than it was "amazing, otherwordly, no one comes close etc" it was attacked as simple hate or Kobe-fanboy(ism). The media made it to where Lebron is untouchable. He choked the other night and all ESPN was talking about is if he was going to drop 40 on the C Bags to "show the world he means biz" after that twitter pic of course. Fans eat it up. Imagine if Kobe choked those 2 free throws. It wouldn't matter if he dropped 96 shooting 90% from the field while getting a triple-double. The line would be "Kobe destroys rebuilding/struggling C Bags" and the topics would be "Does Kobe need to prove it against REAL competition." If we can't even criticize his game on a board that supports a team with one of the greatest of all time on it then what are others going to do? It is essentially a marketing thing to make more money. They double-standard is amazing but fans are now fans of players and that is easily overlooked. No one can talk about the King in too dark of a light cause these reporters no longer watch games, they are more about being celebrities than they are about being reporters. Lebron is easy to use he is the big shining star in a conference that is just floating about a pile of hot crap. That also has something to do with it, that conference, the media has to promote a conference that has been a joke since Lebron came into the league. Prior to the birth of the King all the media did was slam the L'eastern conference. He came and those comments went away and we fans went right along with it.

The league is starving for someone to put their "unofficial (ESPN)" face on. It can't be Harden although he is forcing them to pay attention to him. The guy can ball but would he be as effective if people actually saw how much he is gifted points? Guys like Curry and Thompson don't fit the bill either they are exciting but in my opinion are too much like the old school dudes shooting outside. Westbrook is too easy to hate. Durant seems to passive about his position. Dwight is a joke. Davis is still in a crappy city that the sports media doesn't want to promote. CP3 is being exposed for the flopper he is and, thanks to DJ showing up without him, Ginger Spice is diminishing. Notice Lillard gets no love even though he and Westbrook may be the closest things to Kobe-like assassins in the league right now. The league needs that feel good story for their backing. More importantly they need the guy those sports media celebrities can wax poetic about without having to do much real work. Lebron is great for highlights. Its easy that way. At least thats what I am thinking.

 

still prefer lebron (and the media treatment thereof) to harden (and the media treatment thereof). at least lebron can have huge impact on a game when the refs aren't blowing the whistle. harden basically disappears. and i'm being fed "mvp" on this? get the hell out of here.

i agree with puffy that the league is having a hard time finding someone to promote. durant is the logical choice, but he plays in okc and has been hurt a lot lately. i'd rather they keep pimping lebron than turn to harden out of desperation. i don't want to see another 2006.

 

I agree. I don't like the media hype of Lebron, but Lebron is a generational talent who can impose his will on a game. Harden, on the other hand, is a ref created concoction that would lose half his productivity if the refs didn't blow the whistle anytime anyone gets within an inch of him. His game consists of running into people and falling down. That's bovine excrement. Personally I'd take Damian Lillard, Russel Westbrook, or Steph Curry over Harden easily. Those guys can also impose their will on a game.

 

his A/TO ratio leaves a lot to be desired. he's rebounded better this year, though. otherwise, i think he's a poor man's gilbert arenas.

can't say that for lebron.

i also agree that without the refs, i take guys like lillard over harden, no question. the fact that we even have to invoke the refs' influence should say all there is to say about that guy's game, though.

 

Real- Kobe was loved up until the media realized that he is in fact as good (or better) than MJ. Once they realized that they wouldn't just be waxing poetic about a great player but possibly having to admit that we might be witnessing the next GOAT or at least a top 5 talent ever so closely to the departure of MJ it became a diminish Kobe at all cost game. Kobe is the only player I have seen to have his championships discredited at every turn. No other player has been subject to that type of scrutiny. No one says Timmy couldn't win without Manu/parker. Never heard Magic get knocked for having Kap, James, Coop, Scott and crew. Never seen Isiah get slammed for having that bad boy team. Nope, those guys are all celebrated. One of the most underrated players to play the game, in my mind, was Scottie Pippen. None of the media ever talk about the fact that it was Pip who guarded the other teams best player and it was Pip who could also drop 40 in a game with ease. MJ benefited from having Pip as much as Kobe did playing with Shaq. Of course it isn't even spoken about. Why? Because Kobe was truly the next "once in a life time player" who came right after the current "once in a life time player (MJ)." Kobe was supposed to fall from grace and fail but no he carried that William Parker team to the playoffs and nearly beat the 1 seed. He was suppose to stop being a highlight reel but no he rattles off a few 50 point games, a few triple-doubles and dominates all the "next best players" year after year. Kobe has defied every aspect of their attempts to clear space between MJ and the "next MJ."

That is where Lebron came in. He gave them a face to put to the "next" thing. He was unique like Shaq was except he wasn't a center (who didn't get nearly the pub as the small guys). He was big, he was fast, he was stronger than most and most of all he reminded people of a more athletic Magic so MJ's legacy was safe. Unfortunately, Kobe kept being Kobe. Lebron needed more praising, more celebrating, more special attention because Kobe kept being Kobe. They (the media) went on the repeat mode to tell us how great Bron is/was and once the seed was planted the fans ate it up. Writers who wanted the big paying gigs knew what to say and what to talk about if they wanted to get on those quality shows like Cold Pizza, ATH, PTI etc. And unlike other players they went year around to keep everyone's knowing exactly what Bron is doing. Bron did a charity event.... Lets have 2 segments on his humility. Bron talked about cleaning.... Lets have a poll on why Lebron is bringing clean back to the NBA. I personally wonder what time will tell when we look back at his career if it will stand the scrutiny of fans who weren't privy to such lopsided media love and affection.

 

35 shots to get to 37 points... Who would ever do something like that?

 

I think the kobe hatred paved the way for the LeBron worship. someone had to be the mj buffer for the next transcendant superstar. had LeBron come first, maybe kobe gets more media love. and of course, the rape allegation looms huge over all kobe discussion in the press, even now.

what I can't believe about LeBron is that he managed to control the heat narrative such that he's a team guy as opposed to a guy afraid of a real challenge. he subsequently managed the Cleveland narrative similarly: hero going home instead of rat scurrying off a sinking ship. kobe certainly would have been the latter in similar circumstances, imo.

but again, LeBron is almost as good as the media suggests, so I'm less concerned with it. it's second tier guys like wade and harden (who's maybe more third-tier, imo) that annoy me more. in the race to anoint stars, I have to endure the propping up of inferior talents. LeBron, kd, even chris paul (yes, I know everyone here hates him, but he's been dominant at his position for a decade), you can toast them and not get an argument from me. those guys are at least worth talking about alongside the previous generation's greats (kobe, shaq, td, kg, dirk) in terms of long term impact and sustained excellence.

 

Real- The simple answer is reporters aren't reporters they are wanna-be celebrities. I mean think about this, these guys are "experts" who speak on ALL sports (well really the one's they really enjoy) yet guys like Cowerd and SAS are on tv for 2+ hours, on the radio for 2+ hours and supposedly watching sports for several hours AND preparing for their shows. How in the heck can they be "experts" on all things sports? There only answer is to take what someone else is talking about "say a Kevin Ding article" and run with it. Not to get into politics but they remind me a lot of the Foxnews team. It isn't that they don't have valid points on things and that stuff they talk about isn't worthy of talking its just that it is so one-sided it fails to EVER be impartial. The media isn't impartial anymore. I honestly think the unwritten rule is "wanna get on ESPN then toe the company line and repeat what everyone else says." How else do we explain that Westbrook's current run gets a mention or two and is barely compared to anything yet we have countless topics on how Bron has been beasting since that photo? Lazy reporting and inept reporters. Isn't it sad that fans can literally list the 1 or 2 reporters that they feel actually report news and actually has "sources" to back them? They started dogging Kobe and now it is just second nature same as with dogging the Lakers. LA is the only team I have yet to see constant graphics on how many injuries we have suffered over the past 4 seasons. Nope, its just "Lakers suck" and "Clippers new team in LA." Sad part is the fans eat it up and start to follow suit. Thats true tragedy of this media circus we fans are just as lazy.

 

yeah, i don't know whether i should have foreseen the effects of the blogger revolution, but they're here. and they're disastrous.