Maybe this sounds dumb, but why does everyone think LBJ is going to get better? Ok, perhaps he will up his stats by a point here and there, but everyone thinks he's got a whole other level he can take his game to. What's he going to do? Start averaging 40/20/20? Is that even feasible without seriously hurting your team? Just because he is young, does not mean he's going to get significantly better. It may very well be the case that he's close to his limit now. Some people just peak earlier in life. Also.. it is my firm belief that LBJ will never attain the status of Jordan or Magic with Mike Brown as his coach. This guy is just.. dumb. I remember a quote from early in the season where he basically said his game plan was to let James and Hughes do whatever they want. In the Wizards series, each of his last-minute plays were utterly predictable: - Feed ball to LBJ - LBJ bangs up to the post, shoots if possible, otherwise pass to 3 pt shot All you have to do is double-team Lebron and have the perimeter players ready to swing across to the open man. Magic had Riley and Jordan had Jackson, two of the greatest coaches ever. Unless, James gets a new, better coach, his legacy will be like Oscar Robertson's. Amazing individual stats, but unknown to people that don't regularly follow basketball.
LOL, after hearing someone say Lebron James is the combo of Jordan/Kobe/T-mac/Bird/Magic, and people are actually buying it, I would say James is certianly overhyped. Lebron has special telant, but he is not at Jordan, Bird and Magic's level yet, and Kobe, IMHO, is still a more dangrous player. What we saw from Lebron in the clutch time last night? Missing shots, missing free throws, turnovers and of course, finger nail biting. He basically did all he could to give the win to Pistons. For some reason, Pistons just couldn't cash it. So after the game ended, you can almost predict it, all credits went to Lebron: King James beat Pistons again. Haha.
Some of you guys are impossible to please. I thought I was skeptical. Remember game 3? LeBron carried them to victory. A 21 year-old player carried his team from 10 down late in the 3rd quarter to a very convincing win over the NBA's "best". A game later he doesn't play his best and they still win a tight one. Does game 4 nullify game 3? MJ had bad playoff game sometimes, but at age 21, LBJ is WAY ahead of MJ's curve. Where he ends up remains TBD. jdrock, why do most think he will get better? Why not? The guy has improved markedly each year so far and shows no sign of hitting a plateau. Most great NBA players don't peak out at 21. Are you saying the only way he can get better is to average 40/20/20? I don't really get where you are coming from. How much better did Yao get this year from last year? A lot, but his stats only went from 18/8 to 22/10. I completely agree with you on Mike Brown. But keep in mind Riley/PJ were not Magic/MJ's first coaches. Just from reading the Cleveland paper online a couple of times, there were times this year when Brown's relationship with the team was a bit rocky. I predict he will mature/improve a lot as a coach or will be tossed out in 1 or 2 years. Remember, this is his rookie season as the head man.
Even when Lebron can't score he makes the big plays. If Lebron can take his team to Eastern Conf finals that would be incredible. 21 and I think he is the best in this league, or at least the best guard even if the cavs lose.
Best small forward. This kid is sick. But I hate the Cavs, I hate their jerseys. I hate Larry Hughes. I wish LeBron would get traded.
I think if the Cav's beat the Pistons, nobody should be allowed to say Lebron is over-rated anymore. They say the mark of greatness is making those around you better - well look at who Lebron is surrounded by. It's not so impressive, and yet here they are up 3-2 against the team that is the favorite to win it all this year. If that isn't making your teammates better, I don't know what is. I'm in awe. I didn't think the Cav's could win a single game this series. My respect for Lebron has probably doubled in this series.
Dude. What has Larry Hughes ever done to make you hate him. He's always come across to me as a pretty decent guy. Soft-spoken, responsible off the court. Maybe he's over-paid, but what could possibly make you hate him.
Ok maybe I don't hate him. But I hate the Cavs and hate how they signed this guy. LeBron deserves better... even if there weren't better alternatives, they should have just signed more role-players. Instead of expecting Larry to be LeBron's sidekick.
Lebron has court vision that is reminicient of Magic...with athletic ability like MJ/Malone...at 6'8" 240lb.....James can take over games and elevate the play of his mates..We should feel privileged to watch this kid develop into an all time great.
I'm gonna wait till the series is over, if they did go on to win however i think Miami would beat them. I'm actually disgusted at the fact that if Pistons get bounced, and Spurs get knocked out. Dallas has a real shot at winning it all, i want to vomit.
LeBron is already the best player in the NBA at the age of 21! Hand this guy the keys, fellas, stop your hatin' and your denial, just admit that this guy is freakin' unbelievable and will only get much better (intangibles, not necessarily stats-wise) in the future. It's hard to argue against this guy anymore...He's a mix breed of the best qualities of the best players in league history. I think him and Dwight Howard are absolute freaks of nature, and are scary good.
You said it, it sounds dumb. Lebron can get much better on defense, his FT and perimeter shooting can also improve. The kid has a fire and desire about him to be the best player in NBA history. LBJ is not overrated, taking this team to within one game of the EC finals against arguably the best team in the league speaks to the kids greatness.
You said it! I'm with you on Dwight Howard too. He's also in my top 5 favorite players. I expect him to take a very big step next season.
If the kid can win 5 more games this season, he's automatically up there with magic. 21 one years old. What were you doing at 21? What were most pro ball players doing at 21? This guy is something special. No one knows how to label it yet, but I hope we can all agree he is a special player.
