Charles Barkley who arguably had the best Olympics in 92 only averaged 4.1 RPg so... I think stats are jarred, andya LBJ did something only he has done, good for him. I wonder how tired he'll be this season, lots of mileage gained on his knees, he's a beast for sure.
Why shouldn't we play our best players? Basketball is something the US is good at and we need to defend that, and let them not forgot the NBA is the best league. I was tired of people questioning USAs basketball in recent years
well it happened. its not weird at all. lebron is probably one of the few people in NBA history that can be a triple-double threat every single night and in every single league/environment. magic or michael could have done it too, but neither one of them were even close to averaging a double-double. magic and pippen were the only ones to have more than 5 assists per game and neither of them averaged more than 6 assists per game. malone and ewing were the only two to average over 5 rebounds per game, but neither of them averaged more than 5.3 rebounds per game. if the dream team had the greatest players the United States had ever entered in the olympics, and not one of them came close to a triple-double, then i don't think it's hard to believe that Lebron James is the first to post a triple double in the Olympics, afterall he is hte first to post two triple-doubles during the NBA Finals Series. he's a beast, nothing else to say about it.
i don't understand some people that are like "i can't believe that lebron is the first one to do this" OK, WELL HE HIS. I KNOW THAT IT'S HARD FOR A HATER TO ADMIT THAT THE PERSON THEY HATE, IS ACTUALLY AN INCREDIBLE BASKETBALL PLAYER AND HE IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD, but it's true.
And this is based on ZERO fact, but I grew up under the impression that the Olympics were for amateurs, not professionals. I'd watch pro boxers in the Olympics! It's already common knowledge the US is where basketball is at. We don't need the Olympics to prove that. However, a byproduct is that we are getting more and more great players from outside of the US.
Whoa...LBJ fan are we? Haha. I, for one, am not denying he's a great player. It's just hard to believe it had never been done until now. Even still, the fact that he has done it, just like someone said, it's against competition that is pretty weak. Another reason why it's hard to believe it hasn't happened until now.
I watched the game, and it was darn impressive what he did. There was about 5 passes where the crowd (and I) was like "woah, did he just do that?" Weak competition or not, those passes were reminiscent of the Bird/Magic days.
Nothing wrong with sending the best. Just no need to glorify meaningless stats. Honestly, LBJ being the first to record a triple double from the US - I'm not sure weather to applaud him or be embarrassed for him. Again - blocking a chick's shot reference.
If hand checking was allowed like those guys had hahaha LBJ would have the "maxwells" n"DHarpers" of the L hand chkimg um getting under um, LBJ would whine! It's a different era we need to stop comparing not calling yours out, but no Magic was a triple double threat even with HIV in 92-Bird could have to with aBAD back....but they shared around the ball, itll be interesting to see and look at the points spread around bt the two "dream teams" (I mean one and only one of course)-but I think everyone had a opportunity and scored, and played well, I've see lots of jacked up shots, albeit made ones, by a Melo doing the "MJ shrug" up 40 pleeeeaaase! Anyways it's a different era let the players be, we need to stop threads comparing people, even I did almost do it, but I didn't list my maxwells andharpers of today's world, haha hand checking is a big differential between these eras...
I honestly don't get this man. Watching the game, he was easily the most impressive player and the best on the court. He did everything. Skip really should not have commented about LBJ this time.
Do you really think a 260 pound behemoth would whine if grown up in that environment and allowed to be more physical? Please, his athletic advantage would allow him to dominate any era. He is a transcendental player.
Yea a guy just throwing it out there such as, Stephen Jackson, would be in his head bc of hand checking...I know and respect LBJ, but I'm saying the 92 comparisons, and his trip double just adds wood chips to the fire b/t the two groups. I have said LBJ is a beast, but yes hand checking would wreck havoc on a for the most part mentally weak player.
I don't understand why the Heat won't trade LerBon for half of my best players in the roster in 2k12... and my 2 first round picks.
Think the Pistons wouldn't have thrown around LBJ, or the Celtics lol, he may of been able to get by Mchale, but not a Mchale clothes lining he'd think twice. A beast like him existed just now a days everyone wants to be the guy with the ball, not a guy who moves without ala ray Allen, ala Danny granger ala Wallace and others that have succeeded well. Everyone wants to be a guard and have the rock, is my point, so magic the 6'6 plump PG from mich. state was the first "beast" that could do it all. That he did even playing center in the finals one year...but ya LBJ rules would have been implemented by said such "dirty" or "rightfully don't come to this basket" rules -LBJ would be shattered to have such things done, he'd ask the refs with tears in his eyes, and ask why, they'd give a one word response followed by two a referree says -"Yao" "YAO Rules". "you're just too beastly we don't know how to call the game, yet in this NBA him, and wade the special move is the FREE THROW
Old hand checking allowed in NBA>>>>>>>>FIBA ball, o and ya it doesn't bother them, nor him ummm bc they're blowing them out! C'mon Melo doing "the shrug" up 40 when whatever my point is these guys are smug, and would not be nearly the players they are now if they played then with their now god gifted abilities shooting them through time back to the 80's thru mid 90's, blop ok theyre their and they're still going to struggle the NBA was more than just hand checking, hard fouls if you came to the hoop etc...put MJ at 40 and he did pretty good against those young guys. Oh, and talent super star wise is about even, dominant big man there exist one in the east one in the west at the current moment...those guys faced dominat bigs at the PF position, the C position daily, bc there was a large supply, after all the three point line hadn't yet been fel in love with, thus leading to how I began I end with talent has diminished because their aren't near as many great big men, some good shot blockers are tweeners, unlike the old days, and every guy that "grew up hearing he was the man" wants the ball, and jacks up too many long twos, and threes, I.e. Tmac, melo, LBJ, PPierce....anyways the league is way easier for a guy like lebron who is built in the magic mold I described the league adjusting to him earlier, there is far more marginal players now, than back then, and yes you still had role players, but think of a guy like Robert Horry (that's a roll player)-not many role players which is what I mean by marginal players, name me a player in the stature of a I know Horry is a rarity, but name me a guy that's a roll player like shandon Anderson who helped Utah get to finals twice having great D always, Bowen just retired but he can count, here's an old guy That was on that 92 squad matter of fact, name me a roll player like Chris Mullin, or a guy "rocket killer" Sam Perkins, Dennis Rodman, Eddie jones, Jeff hornacek, Kevin Mchale, Clyde Drexler (in Hou.), terry porter these guys I'm listing are borderline greats other than shandon as we ourselves witnessed...they all had an exact purpose, and each executed their stuff to perfection, from rebounding, to boards, blocks, and put backs, to open threes, all these guys relied on another at some point or all their career as a "role player" -players ae overpaid divas, and money changed the game, so players see stats as money, common sense one would think, after all even mr intangibles himself Battier never got "overpaid", yet was worshiped for his non seen on paper stats, I regress, the nba has changed for the worse, and I keep thinking it'll get better, nothing can be worse than when they were dressing in XXXL shirts and jeans, with glasses, and bling, yet that changed, but it still is going down hill, just look at Dwight, ignoring kids bc he's mad at the....Magic, not the city right? Whatever I regress
I know the game is different, nowadays, but let's not pretend you could use WWF type moves on opposing players. Physical play was a little more allowed, but you couldn't slam players into the ground or even clothesline players out of nowhere. Players still got ejected for unnatural basketball moves. It would still be technical, just no suspensions. Again with Lebron James, specifically, you cannot compare him to other wings, because he's very much atypical. It's one thing to foul a 185-210 pound guard, very hard. It's another thing to throw around a player who is near 6,10 and weighs almost 260 pounds of muscle, while flying down the court like gazelle. It's not quite the same. Physicality as I've said before, could actually work in Lebron's favor, because he'd be allow the same freedoms as the other player as his game is fairly physical. It's almost like putting a player like Rob Gronokowski or Jimmy Graham in the NFL, during 70s and 80s. Unguardable. I simply don't understand why people to detract from modern players, like Kobe or LeBron, because they would probably be even more dominant (or just as much) in the 80s or 90s. I don't think alot of teams would be equipped to slow such players on a nightly basis, while the way defense was played in those days was not quite as specialized as it is today. Though, there were defensive specialists, but I don't think the specialists had a prominent role as they do today.
