Lebron owned the Bulls when everyone here said the Bulls would beat them. Bron is only 26 and you guys won't like it, but he WILL win many rings. At least 3.
What about defense? Stopping the other team's best player? Making plays? Doing everything on the court that a player can literally do. Lebron is NOT a perfect player yet by any means as he's still very inconsistent in clutch/closing moments. He's still only 26. And he still has a long way to go before he perfects/rounds out his game. But the other players who are in contention just don't impact the game consistently overall like Lebron. Dirk doesn't defend. Dwight isn't as good offensively. Wade is inconsistent defensively, and rarely guards the best offensive player (that's Lebron's job). Kobe can't get to the rim nor defend on a high level anymore. Durant isn't a playmaker nor defender. Paul is injured a lot.
This is a tough one between Lebron and Dwight. What's more important, facilitation or interior defense? You can't go wrong with either, but for my money I am taking the C that can defend the rim, be an anchor and score on the block. All of that said, If I have one game to win, there are quite a few players I would pick over Lebron, even though he might be the best overall. Lebron has questionable intangibles, leadership abilities and attitude.
You also said the Heat will win the finals and Lebron will score 40+ points in game 6, and you bet a large sum of money for it. Whatever happened to that?
Age is irrelevant... It is all about games played, personal attributes and luck. Tracy McGrady was washed up by age 29-30. Steve Francis was the same... It is different for every player... What is truly amazing about Kobe is how many games he has played in (More than Larry Bird and a crapload of other HOF's, and he is still going strong) Basically, Lebron better get some savy sidesteps, stepbacks and a killer post game before it is too late... I think he will be fine, but in all honesty, everyone can see that Wade is the guy that should have the ball with the clock ticking down. Does that impact Lebron's legacy? The fact that he has a better closer on his own team? It shouldn't, Lebron giving the ball to Wade is intelligent, and I hope he doesn't get railed for it unfairly...
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Then there is no best player in the NBA, because Lebron is clearly a better player than Kobe, Dirk, Wade, or Derrick Rose, or anyone else. I can't stand the guy, but can you really honestly say that any other player in the NBA is a better player than Lebron? It's like saying that Bill Russell was a better player than Wilt Chamberlain, this is a blatantly false statement no matter how many rings Russell has. Since someone must be #1, it's going to be Lebron, and that's unfortunate.
i totally agree. more people aren't talking about dwade's poor decicion making down the last few possesions in those games. he is to blame as much as lebron is for not taking shots. lebron is still the best. mvp rose couldn't overcome playoff intensity either. the thing is... haters should hate em while they can cause it won't take much more tweaking to get the heat a few rings... they're already in the finals in year 1. which is as far as john stockton and karl malone ever got. *snicker*
based on what exactly? the same sort of consensus reputation that said dirk was a playoff choker when he wasn't?
People think Dirk was ridiculous this year. I'm not sure I have seen anyone carry a team in a more ridiculous fashion since Jordan and Dream, when Wade carried Shaq's fat ass to a fourth ring. Avery Johnson ran legitimate triple teams at him... Dwayne Wade's midrange game and giant nutsack are conducive to ending basketball games...
they certainly were in the 2006 finals. but there wasn't much in the way of that last year. he was getting the chances early in the season and didn't produce. he didn't do as well as lebron late in close games throughout the whole season. and in the chicago and boston series it was lebron hitting huge shot after huge shot to put those games away (despite the fact they won both series 4-1, the last 7 heat wins were all close in the 4th, with the heat even trailing in some), with wade contributing mostly in the epic game 5 comeback against chicago at the end. lebron delivered far more often in whatever one wants to call "clutch" situations last year. even in the finals when lebron sucked, a large part of the criticism wasn't that he was going 1-8 in the 4th quarter and not giving wade a chance to shine, it's that he was going 0-2 and not being aggressive. wade had all the chances in the world and outside of a couple of jumpers in game 3, he basically did nothing to stop the heat collapses either. so i'm not sure based on their first year together, when a highlight reel of their big/clutch plays/shots would mostly feature lebron, why it's obvious that wade is the one to go to at the end.
I don't remember either of them being clutch together, ever. I do know that Dwayne Wade did not have the ball in his hands as much as he should have in the finals, not even close. Lebron wasn't being aggressive, but he DID have the ball in his hands, making a Wade a spot shooter. That is what made it so pathetic... (For the bed wetting of Lebron alone, I would give Wade the ball) Hell, at least he will go down firing...
Im sure throughtout the game , Wade and Lebron improvise alot of the possessions. But in those clutch moments in the 4th , the coach should call better plays or least call a play they practice.. Its mainly iso plays for either of them... As you've mentioned, having Wade and Lebron as spot-up shooters in those situations looks horrible and forced...
It's pretty simple. No one is talking about the NBA right now and LBJ is a lightning rod for conversation. Putting LBJ at nbr 1 gets people talking about the NBA. You can't deny that. Put anyone else nbr 1 and no one cares. It's pretty smart.
You must not have watched Hakeem that much then. He was absolutely better from '92-'95. He was a different player.
yea, I don't get it. Look, I am a kobe fan, think he is great, one of the greatest, and love his intense approach and no nonsense win or go home mentality. BUt I know he is 33 years old now, he is downhill, still special player, but losing steps and its just mother nature taking its course, he is not in his prime anymore but how do you guys say lebron is better than wade? Wade makes huge defensive plays for them, he stuffs hte stats, and he closes games/rises to the high level games. He has got one finals MVP(matters more than season MVP) already. If you have seen my post, you know i don't have much respect for the way wade conducts himself these days, but i think he might very well be one if not the best player in the game, and better than lebron
yes, because in my book, best player is not just what i see in a box score, it is mentality, ability to rise, close games, etc. in my opinion lebron is a special stat stuffer, but he is perfect for the role he chose to goto and is in now, as the number 2 option to Dwade. He may put up great stats, close down defenders.No doubt he is a special player, i am not saying he is not special, but he is just like pippen(he did those things above too-accept at a much more higher level, consistent level) to Wade being proportionally ofcourse more like MJ
Lebron shut down the MVP. Completely nuetralized him. Wade is not better at defense. Wade isn't better at playmaking. Wade isn't better at shooting. Wade isn't better at rebounding. Wade is a better slasher. I trust Wade slightly more in the clutch. That's it.
Best player to me is who effects the game the most in a positive manner. That's Lebron. I don't understand why the last minute matters much more than the other 47.
