Lebron has never stopped KD from scoring big and efficiently . Sure he has put better all around numbers and leads the head to head matchups by a wide margin but he's no KD stopper http://www.basketball-reference.com...Kevin+Durant&player_id2=duranke01&idx=players
Dwayne Wade was two years younger than LeBron now who's being called "in his prime" that's hardly past prime. James Harden was nowhere near equivalent to what Bosh and Wade were back then, as they are now. That Miami Heat team was a stellar team, they added Ray Allen. He had a better supporting cast, outside of Russell, Kd didn't get the same production.
Thanks for that head2head tool. I didn't remember that Lebron and T-Mac had some nice duels when T-Mac was still healthy.
The only issue I have with that is prior to the finals, his numbers were .452 .446. .873 5.2 3.3 1.7 0.1 17.6. He was about the same as Bosh, though it's hard to compare different role and positions. Not saying that KD didn't have a great serious, but the wet the bed Harden came out of nowhere.
They aren't about the same. Bosh played elite defense in addition to hitting clutch shots. Harden can't duplicate anything Bosh did defensively.
what's most important isn't what harden was or wasn't before or after the 2012 finals, though. it was that he was hot garbage during that series, whereas lebron's supporting cast wasn't.
I was just disputing the Kwame Brown comparison. You knew what Brown was, Harden's first choke came out of nowhere. And I'm not disputing that Lebron had the better cast, just nitpicking the details.But Bosh elite defense? KG and West were both shooting well and scoring better than their scoring average and Amare was just a couple points under but he still shot 55%. As for James' cast, don't forget they added Battier in the off season. Who knows would have happened in 2011 if they had him.
As a preemptive measure, ESPN reports Cleveland stores have had shelves cleared of all excuses in case Lebron is swept. Back orders have been made for husbands who have forgotten anniversaries, and even the schooling system will suffer strife with students who have not done homework being advised to take their dogs to school in lieu of a store-bought excuse. Greyhound and several urban bus lines have been contacted over reported changes to routes, that will now pass twenty times a day past the residences of Coach Lieu, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving. Said players and coach have been advised to proceed with extreme caution lest they be thrown under the bus in a sweeping motion in the next few weeks.
Were there excuses in 11 and 14? Sure as hell weren't when we won. To the point where his choking superseded us winning. Maybe when he got beat down by the Spurs there was. In 15, imaging if Kobe was missing Pau and Lamar. I don't think that's making an excuse.
i lol'd. mash: i'm not fully up to date on the thread of your argument here. is it that lebron had excuses for losing two years ago? if so, i agree. he had no chance without his top supporting players. but if it's that he's generally had poor support, i think that's bs. he joined two super teams during his prime. durant did the same. imo, neither gets a pass for their lack of competitive spirit, period. both great, great players (lebron among the very greatest ever), but sorta wusses.
What I'm saying I think are saying that people made excuses him for the legit losses (11 and 14) and I don't recall any of that, especially in our title run. He was mocked until he won that first one. And I'm pretty sure the media was harsh on him in 14, but I could be wrong. Now, is the media doing that now, yeah I could see that, which is stupid. He's picked up the FA's wanted, sat out games to rest, and everybody healthy.
If i understand the point you're making, you mean the media was fairly critical of him when he lost, and I think in the moment, at that time, that's true. It was later when people started to say well look who he has, he needs help, blah blah blah. I actually give LeBron a pass for '07 and for '15. '07 because it was his first time there and he wasn't even really supposed to be there yet (similar to the '08 Lakers who weren't supposed to make the Finals that soon and weren't ready for the C Bags/had key injuries in Bynum/Ariza). And '15, no Love, Kyrie for only one game, LeBron played great, he legitimately didn't have enough help. The other losses, no excuses, those were choke jobs, and if they lose this year, not a choke job, but no, no excuses, these teams are very evenly matched and everyone is healthy. The hater in me very much wants to point out that LeBron would be 1-6 in the Finals if not for an amazing Ray Allen shot and a hobbled Curry/Draymond Green game 5 suspension. But you can do the same thing to other greats like Kobe, MJ, etc who had teammates step up in big moments, so I won't go there. I do hope he ends this season 3-5 in Finals though, looks so much better as a hater than 4-4. I'm tired of the MJ comparisons too, and the skipping over Kobe. If he wins these Finals (or even loses I guess) I'd say Magic comparisons seem a little more appropriate, because Magic was constantly in the Finals (9 times, 5 wins), and LeBron is constantly in the Finals (8 times, 3 wins so far). He's not 6 for 6 MJ, and he's not 5 for 7 Kobe, and he's never three-peated. He could also very well finish his career with the exact Finals numbers are Magic, 9 trips, 5 wins.
