The last legit Eastern Conference contender Lebron faced?

You're right that the Hawks shouldn't have struggled with a 38-win Nets team in the first round.

The 2008 Celtics shouldn't have struggled with a 37-win Hawks team in round one, but they did, and it didn't mean they weren't a contender.

 

So your argument is that Lebron never had to play a good team in the playoffs because he always ends up winning. That sounds to me like an argument that is win-win for someone who doesn't respect Lebron; either his team loses, proving he isn't really all that great, or his team always win, proving that he never had to play anyone that great.

If the Warriors end up winning a string of several championships, are we going to retroactively determine that every other team in the league during this period sucks because they never beat the Warriors?

For that matter, are the 1991-93 and 1996-98 Bulls overrated because, by winning championships every year, they proved that no other team was actually a true contender, and thus, they never had to play anyone tough?

 

the hawks were kind of like the 2014 pacers. great start, .500 finish. and not just a 10 game finish, but weeks and weeks of playing .500 ball. i wouldn't consider either team a contender by the time we got to the playoffs.

the 2008 celtics kinda crapped the bed in the first 2 rounds with i think ray allen missing practically every 3 he took and the team not being able to win a road game, but they were dominant all regular season and i think still dominant at home in the first 2 rounds. then they proved their regular season dominance wasn't a fluke against the pistons and lakers when they finally figured out what they were doing.

 

It's still not easy to make the finals that many times and win two of them

 

2003 Detroit won a championship that way. No one commanded a double team, they just played defense hard and ran Rip off a bunch of screens. Hell, they almost beat the Spurs the next year. I wish star-less teams could have as much success as that team did.

 

The Pacers provided some decent resistance. 6 games in 2012, 7 games in 2013 and 6 games again in 2014.

 

LeBron James has only beaten 7 total 50 win teams in his entire career that is now longer than Michael Jordan. By comparison, Jordan faced and beat 20 fifty win teams in that amount of time.

LeBron's toughest opponent that he ever beat was the Pistons several years removed from being champions without 4X DPOTY Ben Wallace and HOF coach Larry Brown.

2 of the teams LeBron beat that are 50+ win teams were last years hurt bulls and anomaly Hawks. 2 other 50 win teams are the Thunder and Spurs in the Finals. That leaves 3 total 50 win Eastern Conference teams that LeBron James has beaten in his entire playoff career before last years weak ass run. This year, if the Raptors win, he gets to beat a 50 win Raptors team that has struggled to beat Indiana and Miami.

 

2012 Celtics.

 

I would guess Boston the year he quit on the Cavs when the rumors started swirling that Delonte West was banging his mom.

 

Then 2008 celtics didn't win over half their games in a 2 month mid-season span, nor did they lose Paul Pierce halfway through game 2.

The Hawks of May 2015 were not the juggernaut Hawks of January 2015, neither in composition nor in effectiveness.

 

It's sad to realize what a cakewalk the Eastern Conference Playoffs are compared to the West. The West beats up on each other, LeBron walks into the finals well rested. What a travesty to basketball.

 

Just like the Lakers in the 80s.

 

It's unfortunate that 10 years after LerBon retires that the new generation of fans won't know how easy it was for James going to the finals. All they will see is the statistic and think how awesome he was.

 

like Jugdish pointed out, the lakers in the 80's had it very easy. the only 2 years in the 80's they didn't make the finals they lost to a rockets team with 40 wins and 51 wins. the 51 win team was the 2nd seed to LA winning something like 62. but no one points out how easy it was for magic to make it to the finals every year.

 

last year's Atlanta was pretty legit

 

Funny how OP asked the last Eastern Conference contender Lebron faced and not the last Eastern Conference contender Cavs/Heat faced.

You know the difference? Is not the eastern conference teams suck but which ever team Lebron play for instantly becomes a contender. What happen to cavs after lebron left? lottery picks one after another. What happen to Heat after Lebron left? missed playoffs and second round exit.

This is more a Lebron impact than the eastern conference teams sucks. You put Lebron in anything western conference teams that team will immediately becomes a contender even it is Pelicans and lakers.

Dont hate just embrace his greatness.

 

certainly not this year's toronto

 

But, one big thing is that Magic and the Lakers played and beat legendary teams in the Finals, while LeBron coasts to the finals and loses.

 

Magic lost in the Finals quite a few times as well.

 

man raptors suck