In Defense Of Lebron James' Finals ( Editorial)

Very true! I was referring to their games as well. I honestly believe Lebron zoned out in 2011 because Wade was on his way to getting the FMVP. For all the talk about "making guys better" Lebron's all star teammates suffer statistically while his stats balloon.

 

I had to replay it several times when late in game 6 Curry juked his man from the left top of the key and came driving to the basket, and LeBron was near the basket on the right side and for whatever reason didn't take the required 2 or 3 steps to come over and contest Curry's layup. That one was weird as hell.

 

I guess we'll never know what his extra motivation was

I thought this was a good assessment of Lebron performance ( before Game 6)

http://bballbreakdown.com/2015/06/16/why-lebron-james-should-not-win-nba-finals-mvp/

 

SO Real, I wrote a couple responses to your great write-up but decided post this thought instead.

The fact that a post like this has to be made in defense of Lebron tells me he isn't as great as we are being made to believe. I've consistently asked questions of the boards (CL and LB) on a wide range of unspoken criticism of LBJ's game but have been called a hater which I am not. I am simply not sold on his greatness. Since the Finals all we have seen and heard about is how Lebron was tired, Lebron did too much, Lebron should be praised for bringing pride to Cle, Lebron didn't have enough, Lebron's 2 Finals wins are more impressive than nearly everyone else's yada yada yada yada. What we don't here is:

1. He has feasted on the East in the Playoffs. He, at the very most, has faced 1 tough opponent heading in the Finals. Someone posted a stat that he has faced 2 (I think) 50 win teams in the playoffs prior to the Finals.

2. MJ, Magic, Bird, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan etc were never allowed to be "tired" as the greats. MJ and Kobe both played with serious illness but didn't make anything of it just went out and did their damn job. Lebron takes mid-season vacations to revitalize himself for the playoffs. Then the playoffs come and we get the "OMG look at his playing time!" Don't get me wrong he played a ton of minutes but it is the FINALS. How many times have we seen Kobe pretty much go every minute of every game of the Finals? Real greats aren't concerned about rest. Hell even DWade never complained (to my knowledge that is) about being tired and needing a break. Lebron doesn't stop even though he is supposedly "the greatest specimen in sports" according to the media.

3.Over his ENTIRE career Lebron has put up a bunch of great stats with the exception of 80% (totally made up stat) of the 4th quarters/overtime/crunchtime. He has always been afraid of the moment when greatness is needed. When the Miami Heat won the FInals I said (on CL) that Chris Bosh should of been the MVP. Of course I got blasted cause, "OMG, Lebron is putting up these great numbers. You're just a hater!" The fact was that nearly every big play late in the games was made by Bosh. We, as Lakers fans, laughed at how often Bron disappeared in the 4th quarter it was a wonderfully written comedy. Once the Finals was over it was blasphemy to think anyone else made it happen cause Bron makes teammates better (when they win) and can only do so much (when they lose). On a side note: Would love to see what his stats are for 4th, OT and crunchtime possessions.

4. He can be single covered. Even in Shaq and Kobe teams said they will let anyone else beat them. Kobe and Shaq both saw constant double and triple teams. GSW played the greatest player in the world straight up while playing small ball. Think about that for a second! The biggest guy on the court is Lebron James. The best player on the court is Lebron James. No one can stop this guy and yet he didn't average 50 a game on this small team. In fact, the guy guarding him, and rightfully so, won the MVP. The Last finals he lost the guy checking him won the MVP as well. Lebron, as someone said, has surpassed Scottie Pippen as the greatest role player or as Dr. Evil would say, "#2" the game has ever seen. As a fan I am more afraid of Chris Bosh late in games than I am of Bron. Heck Im more afraid of Irving.

I asked the other day in my Lebron thread if we will see the opposite of the Jordan effect with Lebron. MJ's greatness got greater as he got further and further away from the game. Now, MJ played with 12 scrubs and carried them to 6 straight Finals victories. It seems the shine on Bron is getting dimmer and dimmer. I think once it is all said and done most will launch him off the Mount Rushmore they put him on. In the end I am still not convinced that he is as worthy of all the praise that he seems to get.

 

Thanks man same to you.

The reason I asked the question of how will the media turn on him was because I truly do not believe he is an all time great. I honestly look at him a little like Shaq (Shaq is an alltime great in my book). Shaq should have gone down as the greatest center and possibly the greatest player to play the game. His agility and power were completely unmatched. Like Kap he literally changed the landscape of the game. He was gifted the physical tools, the charisma and the health that just isn't seen with guys his size. His problem? His work ethic sucked. He relied solely on just being better than everyone else and it showed over the course of his career. Lebron has relied on him being bigger and stronger than everyone else. His physical tools are amazing. He has truly not developed a great deal given his starting point. Is it any wonder that his defense only improved after spending the summer playing with Kobe? Up until 3 seasons (maybe even 2) his post game was horrific like Dwight Howard bad and his jumper has always been suspect. He relies totally on his physical ability. Shaq talked about being great and he came through in the clutch. He wanted the ball. He didn't want to pass it to a teammate no matter how many people were on him. He wanted the team, the game, the success and the failures on his shoulder. Lebron has never wanted any of it. He wants the accolades, the endorsements, the "Brand" but not the failure, not the criticism and damn sure not the chink in his armor. Lebron chased rings because he knew he couldn't do it on his own. He only returned to Clev because the Heat were a dying ship and Clev had a bright, bright future for immediate success. In the end, he was the one that called for the attention as he celebrated to his hearts desire every time his team had success.

Now, I don't care one bit about all that if you are asking if the numbers he put up were impressive. Yes, the numbers as they stand alone are impressive. If he were Lamar Odom or Ron Artest we would praise him for doing great. However, he isn't that tier player he is supposed to be the greatest EVER and the guys on that tier get picked a part. Kobe never got a pass for his teammates, fatigue, illness, shooting %, etc etc etc but Lebron does and we don't mind. If we looked at his game like we look at Kobe there would be no talk of GOAT and a whole lot of discussion on "choking." There are no consolation prizes for greats. Lebron shouldn't get them either.... if he is truly a great.

 

I'm not sure if you guys ever heard of her but Anita Marks has been on ESPN radio all weekend. Probably just locally here in NY since she covers the NY football Giants.

She brought up how tentative James looked in game 6 and she specifically brought up Kobe/MJ and how she fet they wouldn't go out without putting up a fight. LBJ ended up with 30 shots but early on he wasn't as aggressive as she felt he should be.

The unbiased coverage is few and far inbetween.

 

He'll end up an all time great, but he still won't be invited to the exclusive Killer table reserved for the greatest of greats. That's ok, in 50 years there's only a couple men invited to that table. Even if he smashes all records and gets to 11 Finals, those who did less will still be considered greater in some of the areas that matter most to men.

In some ways I respect Delladova more.

Biblical verse rephrase. "To him who has been given much, much is expected."

Very few have ever been given close to a package that he was born with. Same with Shaq.

If you put Kobe in either of their bodies with his drive and work ethic, a few more records would be destroyed. He's bigger AND stronger AND faster AND more athletic. He's supposed to dominate. Is it too much to ask to live up to your potential?

I have zero doubt Kobe has gotten the most out of his body. Can you say the same about LeCramp and Snaq?
(Kobe will never have such nicknames) just jokes about shooting too much lol