LABron James Discussion: Personal Time

i like to give guys the benefit of the doubt, but showing up after it was too late to impact and thus deflecting blame would be classic lebron.

i'm hoping he comes back next week and helps us get to the 8 spot and have at least one playoff series to watch.

 

LeBron did want Caruso back and I think he will advocate for Reaves to be brought back as well.

We need LeBron back though if we're going to do anything this year.

 

I don't understand this lakers thinking re: Lebron. Guy literally played on an injury to beat a team that a few weeks later the Lakers couldn't beat even with the other team not having their star.

Anyways the good news is that while yes adding a superstar will fix a lot of teams problems - seems the teams issues (size, rebounding, handling AD's double teams) are specifically Lebrons' strengths

 

" These are the 7 most important regular season games of my career"

Lakers will go 2-5 and finish 11th

 

Sounds less optimistic than Ham did last night

 

i just think he hasn't earned a rep as a guy who weathers storms, career-long. when the odds get long, he steps away. and some would say this is wise. and it probably is. but it's not noble.

this is the second time he claimed a stretch run was important and then missed basically all of it. i don't think he's malingering; i just think if he were another player (like maybe his superstar teammate?) he'd be getting crucified by the fans and media right now.

no calls to trade him (nor should there be, btw).

yes, i think we'd have won at least 3 more games if he were playing right now. we'd be in the race for 4-6 seed right now with that.

 

He did lead a 3-1 comeback in the NBA finals so not quite sure how he always he steps away when odds are long. I think with us it's just a case of him ageing and his body not being able to hold up the way he expects. In his mind, he's still that dude but his body can't take punishment like it use to

I'm sure he didn't plan for his foot to give out in that game against Dallas. That was in the midst of a 27 point comeback as well. He could have just packed in in and accepted that loss if he wants to step away when odds are long, considering the odds were very long that day and he gutted it out and got helped a win with 11 in the 4th.

 

Lebron has always played out his contract and played hard for his team - what he has done is leave when he has the opportunity too. (thanks Cleveland management first stint with lebron). These are not the same things. I do not think he feels loyalty to team owners at all and for him franchises equal team owner. So fault him for that but he's played thru injuries and given full effort when he's on a team - the greatest game I've ever seen a player play was the game 1 of the 2018 finals where everyone knew the Cavs were going down.

The fact he got injured playing thru an injury after he got the scoring title is testament to this

 

He played for the scoring title for himself not the lakers. It would have looked extremelly bad had he immediately stopped.

It's not a testament to that at all, IMO.

 

yeah, while i'm definitely not on the lebron-hating team, i'm not sure i can get to where nick and pioneer are here. he played on an injury to get the scoring title, but we're being even more careful about it when a team goal is at stake. one could argue that some of the examples given above also serve to glorify the legacy first and foremost. when those interests align, great for all. when they don't, he has a pattern of which one is going to be prioritized.

and again, kobe killing himself to get us to the playoffs in 2012 when we knew the best case scenario was a smackdown to the spurs in round 1 damaged both his career and the franchise. so again, lebron's probably right to be sitting. but you can't expect everyone to be jazzed about it.

 

I’m still really uncomfortable whenever Kobe and LeBron are compared.
I’m not going to list the reasons as to why, because it will take too long and turn into a fruitless debate.
I will just leave it at this: they were the best player of their respective era.

 

pretty much expected this woudl be the outcome...he's still out another 2 weeks but "hopeful" to play in last 3 games. Kinda tells me that it DEPENDS on where we're at in the standings by then...if we have a shot at getting 6th seed, I think he will play. If we're basically in the play-in, then I think he rests up

 

Can any reporter actually tell us what the damn injury actually is?
A foot tendon problem leaves a lot of grey area like a whole ocean's worth

 

i think he'll play if we can make the play-in, tbh. i'm sure he wants a shot at a playoff series this year.

 

Think you misunderstood. I'm saying that if we have a shot at 6th seed with only 3-4 games left, he will play.

But if we only have 3-4 games left and we're pretty much locked into playing in the play-in regardless of whether we win or lose those last few games, then I think he'll rest up to play IN the play-in games.

 

I literally don't get the point of this...who is lying here?

The sources that reported are pretty legit and usually do not get stuff wrong.

Is LeBron like starving for attention or something?

 

If the man is injured then he shouldn't play. It doesn't matter what our playoff position is IMO. If he tried to play just to help our position ,when he should have sat out, NOBODY is going to cut him any slack, if he goes out and breaks a bone in his foot, and missed a large chunk of next season. If we put off his evaluation, then he told them that he wasn't there yet. Kobe was Kobe, Lebron is Lebron, IMO...somebody should have told Kobe, to go sit his a** down somewhere, and it would have extended his career. Which would have been better for him and the Lakers.

 

I'd trust the player's word, over an anonymous source all day everyday.