how can lebron's ring be tainted when his production has been BETTER in the playoffs this year than any year except that 09 run when he was out of his mind?
I think his ring will be legit. But fact still stands that he'll still be the most hated player in the league outside of Miami fans. The one that's tainted is Bosh's ring
Prime isn't just about age isn't about seasons played too. Kobe was 31 last year but he was already out of his prime. Players like Kobe and KG that came out of high school peak earlier because they have so many miles on their body. When KG got to Boston they had to greatly reduce his minutes and he still ended up missing more games than he ever had.[/QUOTE] I will admit for the first year the 76ers probably had Moses and Dr. J in their prime and maybe even in the second year. I could probably agree with you that for a very short amount of time the 6ers had a more talented team. Don't get carried away. There aren't numerous other examples or you would have named them. I had already named the team you put as your greatest as one of the teams in the 80s with 3 HOFers. I also noticed that you just decided to ignore my statement about the league being deeper back then and a stacked team these days will have an easier time dominating. I'm guessing you decided to do that because better competition is just another excuse.
1 ring in Cleveland would have been far greater than 20 rings in Miami. His rings won't be tainted, but that doesn't mean that he isn't a coward, or selfish...
A few years down the road no one will remember that, just like all championships. Nobody looks at the asterisks...they just look at the trophies. As upsetting as it is to the Lebron haters, he's shown that he's willing to eat his pride and be known as a champion and not as a would-be champion if he just had the right players around him. I'm not sure it was that ridiculous to glamourize the biggest free agent signing of the decade (heavens!), but it got him and his team more media coverage and more people followed Miami because of it. Regardless if you hate him or love him, he created more passion for basketball...in the end it was a smart move...people certainly didn't stop watching b-ball because of it, if anything it created more watchers- in that respect he is the Jordan of this era and you are all oblivious if you think otherwise. Wake up folks...You've been punked.
I watched the Celtics series. Lebron was the one who closed out games 4 and 5 (have you forgotten the 10-0 run to finish them off)? The only game where Wade was clearly better than Lebron in that series was Game 3, and the Heat lost that one. D-Wade may have "sparked" the comeback last night, but the only reason they even needed to come back from such a big hole was that he was complete garbage all game (series, really) up to that point. Six turnovers in the first half, nine for the game. But hey, at least he had those two assists. And FYI, Lebron had 8 points and an assist in the last 2:06 of the game, including the game-tying and game-winning shots. The complete ignorance of people who keep claiming this is Wade's team is just astounding. When a guy has more points, rebounds, assists, steals, MVP votes (522-24) and shoots a higher FG%, 3P%, and FT% than his next best teammate (while regularly guarding the other team's best player), it is his freaking team. Some of you people are just so blinded by your dislike for the guy you can't see it.
I dont like lebron, but I dont think its tainted, if he wins. I dont really cared that he went to Miami with other superstars, the thing I dont liked was the TV show, if he only did a press conference, like all players do, then it would be ok. It could be tainted, if the refs clearly gives the games to the heat, like the Lakers vs Kings series, or Rockets vs Mavs in 05. But now its not tainted.
New reasons pop up with every post. Now we're also using 'the league was tougher back then.' What's next? Why not cheapen every other championship since the 90's because the league has been changing. So that's why I re-stated the question - to include all your circumstances. It's not 'right' to compare them because they weren't at their peak. Fine, compare them to whatever talent they had when they won their championships. Evidently there were mostly over the hill, so I guess they weren't that great...although they still won titles. And if you feel I didn't answer appropriately and 'there is nothing left for me to say to you about it.' It's ok, we're just talking basketball, man. The pompous attitude on a b-ball bbs is a bit over the top though. ^Someone gets it.
Yea, just like a middle class American family could settle for an apartment instead of a house, and donate the extra to charity Why are we even here on the internet when we could donate that extra $30-$50 monthly fee away to the needy Bottom line: The Decision did something positive at the expense of a bunch of angry sports "fans". I hope every star pulls a stunt like that from now on.
Would Dream be Dream If he bolted to another superstar talent in free agency? (Nope, instead he won with two rookies, Otis Thorpe, and a ragtag bunch of roleplayers...) It is truly baffling that there are folks who cheer for Miami. It is truly baffling that there are folks that think Lebron's actions will not impact his legacy. Most guys become ring chasers when they are over the hill. Interesting...
The Decision had nothing to do with charity and everything to do with one person thinking he's bigger than the game. He could have donated his own money without the spectacle. Hell he couldn't even donate his own money, he had to find sponsors. A little humility goes a long way. It won't be tainted but it sets a bad precedent. I don't wanna see more super teams of whiny, ego-driven players with an inflated sense of entitlement. So go Mavs and go Dirk for not bailing on your team when things got tough.
Kobe was out of his prime because he has been to the Finals 7 times and had more mileage on his legs than Jordan during the 2nd 3-peat. Those 3 players were all playing great ball at that time. Allen had a career year scoring, Pierce was dropping 25 a night and KG had a great year. His minutes were reduced because he had more depth on the team. Well that's the year that they won so that alone shows how silly this whole point is. They have been named already. You just choose to invalidate them for bogus reasons. And a stacked team these days won't have an easier time dominating. The Heat don't have any more talent than the Lakers (Kobe/Gasol/Bynum/Odom/Artest) or Celtics (4 all-stars).
Troll elsewhere. 1996 Houston Rockets Dream 33 Drexler 34 Barkley 33 2010 Miami Heat James 25 Wade 28 Bosh 26 Other trios of interest (ages as of first season together): 2007 Boston Celtics Garnett 31 Pierce 30 Allen 32 1980 Boston Celtics Bird 23 McHale 22 Parish 27 1982 LA Lakers Abdul-Jabbar 35 Magic 23 Worthy 21 1995 Chicago Bulls Jordan 32 Pippen 30 Rodman 34 Of the above lists, excluding players from the last decade, only Rodman is not on the 50 Greatest Players list. All of these groups were formed, for lack of a better word, "naturally" (i.e. through the draft or trades). Heat detractors will continue to argue that the trio was contrived, and thus illegitimate, while Heat fans/bandwagoners will claim that their formation was no different than what we've seen in years past... Both are wrong. Three players at this level coming together on their own terms during their prime is definitely unprecedented, but it doesn't make their team any less legit or result in "tainted" rings... or maybe it does a little--I'm still digesting that one. That said, I personally hope that this isn't a sign of things to come in the league for reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum.
