LABron James Discussion: The Final Year?

I’m just saying there is no one on this site that does nothing but blindly butt kiss LeBron and Not acknowledge his faults “on the court”. It’s insulting to hear you keep saying it, to me at least, because I WILL push back, as well as others here for sure, when criticism of his play gets over the top and agendized with blatant inaccuracy. And the “emotionals” blasts too.

OK, spent some time and found the couple of descriptions of LeBron, your opinion I grant, back on Oct 12. And my response pushing back. Which doesn't qualify ME as as a "blindly following," "groupie", "butt kissing", "emotional" about the guy.

@Toklat
"To me, I just see LeBron as the epitome of selfishness and he brings a stench to the game I can barely endure. And as always, I am only referring to basketball."

@Me
"You and I are on the same page about many and most things but WOW when I watch him on the floor with my Lakers and all of the things he does well and proper with the right plays made .... a stench to the game .... WTF?! Now that we have more ball handlers in crunch time we should also see the ball pounding go down. Even that doesn't qualify for what you just said. Epitome of selfishness on the floor? Come on man he's been closer to Magic Johnson's style of play than Jordan or Kobe. And his efficiency scoring is higher than Mike and Kobe's by a long shot advanced metrics. Someone has to score the ball on our team consistently over his time here and he has done just that.

Career True Shooting Percentage (TS%)

• LeBron James: ~59.0%
• Magic Johnson: ~61.0%
• Michael Jordan: ~56.9%
• Kobe Bryant: ~55.0%

Agree to disagree vehemently I guess. The other stuff with comments and manipulation toward FO is not "on the court stuff". Come on Coach."

 

What issues were there when LeBron, Luka, and AR played last year? We lost because we had no big man and no depth. Those guys played fine together overall and I’ve heard nothing that suggests they don’t get along. If that were an issue LeBron would have left and/ or Luka wouldn’t have extended.

LeBron will be fine when he rejoins the team.

 

There are some around here, me included, who are simply Laker fans. We hope that players and circumstances find a way to work themselves out. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I am always rooting for players until it becomes overwhelmingly obvious that something has to give. I probably was hopeful that Westbrook would work out. I loved AD towards the beginning and was always hopeful something good could come with him. That said, it was an easy pivot for me to switch to being a Luka fan. Playing these games with him, it is easy to see the gravity he brings. We have basically lost AD and Lebron and we have a better team than we did before Luka. If you would have told me that Lebron would be out and we traded Luka for AD and then asked me where I thought the team would be, I would have said a losing record. He is a constant double team and is dangerous from everywhere on the court, it is leading to AR, Rui and Ayton to having outstanding offensive seasons because they have some fairly wide open shots.

I have never been a fan of Lebron off the court, his openly shared political stances are trash, IMHO. But, that doesn't matter, because he is a very good player and that is what I am here for. You can argue that he is getting paid too much, but I don't care about that either. I am fully convinced that he has made more for the Lakers than he has cost. That is really the bottom line for the owners. Past that it comes down to salary caps and what ownership can afford. It is an ongoing problem and the whole league and all the owners are dealing with it and need to figure out how to navigate the money. Personally, I think that the superstars are making too much money and that it should be based on
% of the cap and their current %'s are just too high. The best guys, are making a lot of money outside of their player contracts. Lebron makes 52 million from his contract but makes somewhere between 90 and 126 million outside that contract per year according to Google AI. It says his net worth is 1.3 billion.

He could afford to take a pay cut for one or two years without it making him skip a beat and if he wants to win a ring, that is what he should do.

I am really glad he chose to come to the Lakers, everything we have going right now is mostly because of that. Don't see a good point in bashing him because you simply don't like him as a person. One thing I learned a long time ago, never think that the people you see and admire from afar, seem as good when you meet them in person. Most everyone has flaws and personality traits, just like the rest of us and many of them are just as likely to be morons as any other idiot you have met. I have met a number of famous winemakers who I literally can barely stand. There are lots that are cool too but just saying. Same with musicians, actors and other people in other industries who are famous and well respected. Just because they are good at something you enjoy, doesn't mean you are going to like them as human beings.

Bottom line is, unless athletes are breaking laws and are completely morally repugnant to me, I don't care about most of the personal stuff, I try to ignore it as best I can. I don't get the people hating on Lebron but I defend most players, even on other teams. Good players are fun to watch and even more fun to beat. No point in tearing people down and being a true Laker fan, I simply root for the team and players to succeed.

 

I had to do it. Wemby is monstrous, I've never seen a defender as good as him. Teams percentage at the rim drop below league average, but the better figure is their attempts are halved at the rim. That's just amazing impact on a game - Imagine a team takes 40% of their shots at the rim and against him it's 20%.

 

Push away, I will do the same.

 

And I very much appreciate it. Bc of time restraints I rarely watch anyone besides the Lakers and whoever they are playing.

 

I have no interest in what anyone does off the court or during their personal time. I like watching good basketball and winning championships.

 

Same, that is why I don't get some of the Lebron hate, it seems to be over other stuff. I like watching good basketball and winning rings but I also get that it ain't easy and life and ball is a journey. Nobody gets to the top of the mountain without the challenge of the climb.

 

Then drop the f****** name calling. You know better.

 

We all like different things when it comes to basketball and see it differently. If you like LeBron's game, great, I'm glad. Me personally, there were times I saw him playing selfishly and going for records more than winning. When he plays the right way I give him his flowers. Again this is just my opinion. I'm all for him coming back and helping the team. If he starts doing things I believe are detrimental to the team I will point it out. It doesn't mean I'm necessarily right or wrong or that I hate him. It is just how I see it. I don't expect anyone to change how they see the game bc of me and I have no intention of changing my views. If we all came here and posted the same LeBron is the King posts this place would be boring as heck. I'm not sure why posting contrasting opinions is seen as a bad thing? To me it is what makes it worth coming here.

 

Other than naming the emotionals " The Emotionals" I'm not sure what name calling I have done and that was only in self-defense...lol. I've been called much worse on here several times and I couldn't care less. I don't identify as being a @#$mffk+@#$ so being called that doesn't bother me...lol.

 

Read above. It’s been a lot more than just that.

 

no real dog in the fight, but i feel like toklat was responding to a comment pioneer made that was directed at a group that probably didn't include him. i initially had my own response but chose to let it go.

lebron generates strong opinions that lead to caricaturizing the opposing viewpoint.

 

I'm not in a fight and not going to be. I just don't get offended in that way. If I offended anyone my most humble apologies and I'm moving on. I liked LeBron's interview, as usually he said all the right things. I can sympathize with the sciatica. Hopefully, it doesn't flare back up. I have great expectations for this team.

 

"Don't Push Me"





If you push too much, bad things will happen. Like like to AD.