In Defense Of Lebron James' Finals ( Editorial)

John "I NEVER mince words" 3:16...

 

I agree with this (along with much of what you wrote).

I can't lie -- his performance has been amazing. That team he's on is a bunch of scrubs. he's doing it himself. Much like Kobe post-Shaq. I expect people to appreciate what Kobe did on those Smush / Luke / Kwame teams. Bron is balling. No other way to put it. hate him all you want (I encourage it), but give credit where it's due.

Having said all that, many of the "experts" are calling for a break in tradition and want him to be the Finals MVP. Uhh... we don't give MVP to a player on a last place team. Why are we breaking tradition for him? If you do, I expect a re-vote of all the MVPs Kobe got screwed out of because his teammates sucked.

 

I appreciate the objectivity real, and as LaBronz premier Lakersball hater, I must clarify why I hate him so much.

30% Media Hype: he was anointed the chosen one before he did s***. His skills and speed and physical abilities have always been self evident, but you earn your titles. You earn your praise. The media has changed the requirements for the qualities that make a player great to fit whatever LaBronz happens to be appearing at the moment. He hasn't won many titles? Well his stats are enough to declare him the greatest. He doesn't take the last shot to win games. Well he's just so unselfish that he wants his team to win through other players hitting the big shot. He has no real control over this point, and it's not a reason why I hate him personally, just the reason why I hate to hear any fan or 90% of the media talk about him. Most fans just regurgitate BSPN's latest tag lines and have no understanding of what LaBronz's liabilities really are in actuality, nor any perspective in comparison to the greatest players ever. Now that he's actually playing much more like the player I would call great, he will be crowned the greatest ever rather than people saying "Finally, he's starting to live up to the hype".

10% He's a delicate flower: For all the talk about how big and strong LaBronz is, he seems to be the biggest baby I've ever seen when he gets the smallest injury. He get's hurt and instead of sucking it up and playing through it, he writhes on the floor and acts like he just got shot. LaBronz does this for pretty much any and every ailment that befalls him. Have you ever heard that LaBronz was hurting from an injury previously unknown because he didn't talk about it? No I thought not. It's because he cries at the drop of a hat for any and all injuries. I respect the Kobe's of the world that play through the pain. The guys you find out have been hurt for a week and you never heard about it until they have a bad game, and then the athletic trainer, or coach reveals the injury.

10% Labroning: He flopps so much he had a whole social media craze of teens prettending to get hit and acting like the got shot falling to the floor.




Need I say more

50% LaBronz's rotten soul: Ok, maybe it's just his demeanor and what he says, and how he acts, but I'll just say his rotten stinking soul. Here's the meat and potatos of why I hate this guy's guts so much. He's a d***. Not like Kobe's a d*** either, but like a person I can't respect because the ways in which he's a d*** are just so terrible.

Exzibit A:
"LEBRON STILL HATES HANDICAPPED KIDS
26JUN

For all the idiots who can’t understand all the hate directed at LeBron, here is a nice cut-and-dry example for you – LeBron mistreating a kid in a wheelchair. LeBron is such a douche that he can’t even *pretend* to be nice to handicapped kids at public events. From UFC fighter Chael Sonnen:

Let me tell you a story about LeBron. He asked the UFC for tickets for my fight against Anderson Silva. We sit the guy front row, and all through the night he snubs our fans. He’s a guest in our house and he refuses to sign any autographs or take any pictures unless your cup size was later in the alphabet than he was able to learn.

I had a UFC employee tell me he saw a mother wheel her handicapped child up to him to get a picture. Lebron was walking towards them. When he reached the kid, the mother stopped the wheelchair. Lebron took the wheelchair, wheeled it out of the way and kept walking.

…

Next time I see him he will shake that little boy’s hand, even if I have to break his arm off and take it to the boy.

Note that this is the second story about LeBron pushing a kid in a wheelchair out of his way. Great guy, that LeBron James.
"

Exzibit B:
"He's a crappy tipper. You'd think when you care so little for chump change that you eschew single dollar bills, you might be willing to throw that insignificant money at common paupers who work for tips. But LeBron is a skinflint notorious to the waitstaffs of Cleveland's posh steak houses. After Sceneexposed him for leaving a $10 tip on an $800 bill for him and his friends, LeBron's handlers blamed it on a misreading of a receipt, which makes no sense."

Exzibit C:
"
ORLANDO, Fla. – Head down and shoulders slumped, LeBron James(notes) headed off the court as the Orlando Magic streamers shot off above him.

Dwight Howard(notes) was hugging Hedo Turkoglu(notes), dreams of Beating L.A. dancing in their heads. James wasn’t bothering to stick around to shake hands, offer congratulations or pretend there was a bright side to the Magic ousting his Cleveland Cavaliers from the East finals with a 103-90 victory in Game 6.

James was off the floor before the confetti could hit his shoulders.

He later dressed in silence in a corner of the locker room then put on some gold, oversized headphones and headed for the door. Normally one of the last to leave, he was now one of the first. With anger and frustration evident in each step, he charged through the back halls of Amway Arena without greeting anyone, got on the team bus and soon was off to the airport.

There was no looking for his mother, Gloria. There was no talking with Nike executives. And forget addressing fans and media – Mo Williams(notes) was left to answer for the defeat.

LeBron was gone. The King was silent."

LeBron on Not Shaking Hands after Playoffs elimination by Magic:
"I’m a winner. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand."

Exzibit D:



Exzibit E:



Exzibit F:



Exzibit G:

A few of LeBronz's many many quotes...

"We tried our best as a team. Tried our best to bring a championship to (Cleveland) and just tried to play hard every night. I have the utmost respect for this franchise, the utmost respect for these fans, and you know, just continue the greatness for myself here in Miami and try to get better every day."

“No, I can’t change my game dramatically and I don’t think (Dwyane Wade) can either,” LeBron said. “It doesn’t make any sense to do that. I’m not going to.” He paused adding: “I’d just be a role player at that point.”

"Looking on paper, LeBron and Chris and D-Wade are great basketball players."

LeBron after Carmelo Anthony sinks Game-Winner against him:
“It’s finally me being on the other end I guess,” James said. “I’m so used to being on the other end making shots and looking at guys."

LeBron on 2009 Game 2 vs Magic after a Win:
"I don't take time to look at what I do as an individual while I'm still playing this team game. When I'm done and retired and I'm gone away from the game, I can look back on what I did as an individual. As long as I have 14 teammates, I will never look upon what I do as an individual. That's not how I approach the game."

Then...

LeBron on 2009 Game 3 vs Magic after a Loss:
"I'm only one guy," James said. "I took Hedo (Turkoglu) in the first game and Rashard (Lewis) hit the winning shot. I took Rashard in the second game and Hedo hit the shot. If I could clone myself, we'd be all right. But I can't."

"A LeBron James team is never desperate."

"I spoil a lot of people with my play," James told ESPN. "When you have a bad game here or there, when you have 3 bad games in a 7-year career, then it's easy to point that [bad] game out."

"On his way up, I got a piece of [McGrady's] arm and also a piece of the ball, which made his shot short [an airball]," James said. "You know, I guess it was a great defensive play."

“A lot of players know how to play the game, but they really don’t know how to play the game... if you know what I mean. They can put the ball in the hoop, but I see things before they even happen. You know how a guy can make his team so much better? That's one thing I learned from watching Jordan."

The list goes on and on and on and on...



TLDR...

LaBronz is a D*** and I will hate his rotten guts forever

But he's playing much better right now

 

Yes, it is a consensus that James is playing well...workman-like but not really spectacular. Then Barns shows up and throws it down...right between the eyes.

 

Barns has some serious pent up aggression toward LeBron..... and I love it.

 

Ya had me until this part

 

wow... @Barnstable really doesn't like LeBron...

But as long as you can say he's having a great series, I pretty much agree with everything else.

 

James also moonlights as a Solid Gold dancer...

 

I think it's fair to wonder if he's a legend. He's definitely a transcendent talent. The problem is the media has told me since he was 17 years old that he IS a legend when he hadn't done anything legendary yet.

If LeBron wasn't so terrible with PR and if he was a relative unknown at 17 years old, given the same career up until point, I think he'd be considered a legend. Now? Now I don't want to give him that credit because he hasn't earned it. Real legends win rings and they do it in a signature way. So far he's got two rings, neither of which I can remember signature moments of his (maybe the Splitter block?) and three (about to be four) losses in the Finals. That's not living up to his hype, but if his name were Paul George instead of LeBron James, I'd say that's a legendary run.

 

For a lot of reasons you listed, this is not an enjoyable series for me, real. I dislike LeBron, but I've got nothing to hate on this series. One big excuse given him during his career has been "he has no help", well this time it's true. This Warriors team is not an all time great team, no, but this Cavs team has no business being in this series every single game against them. They are because of LeBron though. No Love, no Irving, your best players are Mosgov, Thompson, Delevadova, JR Smith? Casual NBA fans wouldn't be able to identify half those guys if shown them in a lineup. I just don't think you give the Finals MVP to a player on the losing team, but no Warrior has made a stronger case for it than LeBron has, so I get why people are bringing it up. The crazy thing is that this series outcome is not determined, it is not over, and if Cleveland wins, I won't be able to say a bad words about LeBron this time. He will have earned this one, you'll get no hate from me this time around. Even if they lose you won't be hearing any hate from me, no star I can think of should be able to beat this team 4 of 7 games with this roster, not MJ, not Kobe, I just can't see it.

 

There's still the things like flopping and whining that bother me, but I'm with you as far as his play on the court. He's been tremendous. It's hard to have any hate for him in this series. Everything else in his career? Fair sport. This series though has been impressive.

Most impressive.

 

For all the nice things I said and for all the numbers LeBron has right now he hasn't been aggressive enough tonight. If you're going to go out, go out fighting and clawing the entire way. He knew they didn't have enough and he packed it in tonight.

He's had his head down now for the last three minutes. I don't take back what I said about an impressive run, but I completely understand hating on him for the way he gave up tonight. Which sounds weird because he has 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists and has played just about every minute. Did he burn himself out? Possibly, but I still didn't see the heart that an All Time Great possesses.

 

Great stat-line, but yeah, maybe not as much urgency as you'd expect from him. I don't like giving excuses to anyone, especially not LeBron, but yeah, he has to be out of gas, he's carried this team and played almost every minute of every game here. Everyone's tired, I know, but LeBron has a huge role with this roster, he has to run the entire show, again, for the first time ever, I can't hate on that.

 

I still have respect for the performance he put on this series, but this game looked more like the hate-worthy LeBron that everyone is used to. If Kyrie and Love are healthy I think we're looking at a Cleveland title this season. I think Golden State is a great story, but I find them incredibly unique and I don't know about the repeat-ability of this style.

Then again, we said from the start of the season that Kyrie and Love are both injury prone guys. This wasn't a surprise at all.

 

This game is symbolic of the way I see LeBron. Great stat line, but no heart.

He is an all time great player, but he would not be in my top ten if I was drafting from all the greats that ever played. He would not even be my starting all time SF. I still believe Bird was greater as a SF.

 

I agree but not because Bird is better than LeBron, just because he's a real killer. There's no one that stuck fear in my heart the way Bird did at the end of games. I'm just not that worried about LeBron beating me.