Lebron on play-in games: "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired"

Lebron really is the worst.

The play-in tournament and the format used was well thought out and is having the intended effect on the stretch run of the regular season.

 

I don’t like the play in games. I would also love the Lakers to lose a play in game.

 

Lebron should fire his PR agent before he speaks again. The Lakers team voted to cancel the playoffs last year. Nut up

 

Making the late regular season more interesting at the expense of potentially having less talented teams in the playoffs IS a stupid idea, but it's already done.

Should have thought about the consequences before.

 

how can anyone not love the play in games is totally beyond me...lololol

 

I agree. It's not like the 9th seed will be any worse than the 8th seed. Either way they'll likely get blown out by the top seed, so in the big scheme of things it doesn't make a difference. But it makes for more drama and more meaning than a regular season games, especially for the fans of the fringe teams. (4 relatively evenly matched teams in a do or die situation in each conference).

 

I think it's just resistance to change generally. But it's hard for me to see any valid reason beyond that to oppose it. Usually the issue with playoff expansion from a fan perspective is you are weighing the excitement of having more teams in the hunt, both in the regular season and the playoffs, vs. devaluing the regular season.

The play-in tournament with the way the NBA set it up adds the excitement of more teams in the hunt, a few extra high stakes post-season games, and amazingly did that by making the regular season more important than it was before implementing it.

 

Honestly, the play-in gives the 7th and 8th teams a last minute chance to tank for the lottery.

 

Other than being a good father, he is useless as a role model, leader. Tainted by his entitlement attitude.

He is a huge reason they NBA isn't as great as it once was, because of his super team mentalilty. Those that saw Magic/Bird, and Jordan/Dream era saw true Champs. Kobe too as much as I hate to say it.

 

Yall really go too far with this sometimes lol...

Bird, Magic, Jordan, all played on superteams with 3 or more star players and multiple HOFamers. Lebron ain't doing anything different.

Bird was over there playing with Mchale (7x All-star, NBA First teamer, all defense, etc etc...), Parish, Dennis Johnson, Ainge...all these dude MULTI-TIME all-stars...how was that not a superteam?

Magic was playing with Worthy and Kareem (an all-time top 10 player...)

Jordan had less help than those two I'll grant you that but Horace Grant and then Rodman were no scrubs.

Like today's players aren't doing anything differently.

 

All those guys never left to chase a ring, ever. They stuck it out every season. Big difference. Lebron has been from coast to coast chasing a ring.

Dirk was the last one to do it, I hate the Mavis but I pulled so hard for the Mavs vs Heat superboys.

 

Schroeder contracted COVID shortly after this lol. I don't think it goes into why they didn't get vaccinated, and I don't really care. Couldn't have happened to a nicer team

 

So Lebron should have just stayed in Cleveland despite them literally doing nothing to make the team better? Why?

If Lebron forced his way out, I get it, but he literally played out his contract and went to a team that was serious about winning. Cleveland at the time wasn't. The owner was just going to milk Lebron for all that he was worth and had he never left would have likely never won a damn thing.

I'm sure Lebron would have stayed if he, like Bird, was playing with 4 all-stars too.

All I'm saying is the only thing that's changed is players realize they have no reason to be loyal to owners who aren't loyal to them. That's it. The players that are naive enough to be loyal, like Dame, meanwhile get trashed for never winning a ring...it's a no-win situation for players.

My only issue is when players do it mid-contract. You signed a contract, honor it...but even then it's not a huge issue.

 

I guess the difference between those players of former years and most of today's superstars is that the oldies were lucky to be on a stacked team. Today's players collude to form superfriends teams. In that sense, Curry is more like the oldies, lucked into a great situation. If OKC had kept the Big 3 intact longer, they would be remembered like Curry's Warriors rather than LeBron's Miami and Lakers, or the current Nets.

There were great players in the past who weren't so lucky and were never on great teams. Who know what their legacies would have been if they colluded to form superteams like today. Imagine if Dominique Wilkens forced a buyout and signed with the Celtics for cheap. He would not be remembered as a great scorer who couldn't carry his team to championship.

 

I respect your argument. LeBron has the right to leave. I just have more respect for stars that stay true to the fans especially when you are from that area. He could have stayed and eventual won it.

 

That scenario is much different. The 8th seed would still not have HCA and has to defeat the top seeded team four times in a series. There's a reason why 7/8 seeded teams rarely upset higher seeds.

 

Given that this only affects the lower seeded teams, I don't agree with the argument that it makes the regular season meaningless. If a team wants to avoid having to play in the play-in, play better in the regular season and get a higher seed!

 

That's interesting. I don't know if HGH and the vaccines are a bad cocktail.

 

Can you explain how? What's the pathway, here?

If LeBron never left Cleveland, the Cavs would always be great but not 'the best.' So year in, year out, unless a star FA didn't mind being second fiddle to LeBron and signed with Cleveland, the Cavs would always end up drafting late in the first round. That's a recipe for disaster, considering how inept the front office for the Cavs had been throughout LeBron's first 7 years in the league.

Since LeBron's Cavs were always among the top teams, the Cavs wouldn't be able to draft Kyrie nor Wiggins to trade for Love. And, if by some miracle the Cavs made it to the Finals, the Warriors would be waiting for him. He'd most likely get swept every time.

Then you turn into the guy who, not only can't win a ring, but always loses badly in the Finals. Got swept by the Spurs in '07. Then by the Warriors in 2016 or 2017 or whatever.

LeBron gets lots of flack for fleeing to Miami, but I guarantee you that almost every other person, if given the chance, would also bolt for Miami. Better weather, better chance for a ring, you don't have to work as hard because of Wade and Bosh, the money is similar, Riley is the front office, etc.

 

So then it sounds like you're completely against the idea of free agency for players that are deemed to be superstars?? LeBron has never pouted or forced his way off a team in his entire career, while also delivering NBA Finals appearances or championships to every fanbase he's played for. LeBron does plenty of **** to be criticized for, but his dedication to the fans or the game is not one of those things.