Is it wrong if i believe LeBron James is no longer the best player in the NBA anymore?

You people who start threads claiming Harden is better than Lebron are pure trailer-trash.

 

replace any other player with lebron and the cavs are not making the finals with this roster atm. (kyrie/love injured) even in the weak east

 

Lebron putting up Westbrook numbers this posteason:

28/11/8 on 42% shooting.

 

harden isn't a better rebounder or passer than lebron. harden is no where close to lebron defensively as well.

not to mention lebron's offensive game isn't as reliant on free throws.

the only thing harden truly excels over lebron at is 3 point shooting and free throw shooting.

harden is a GREAT player. he's just not better than lebron. nothing wrong with that.

 

Replace Harden with Lebron. This CAVs team get murdered by the Hawks.

 

You mean Westbrook?

 

Because he dominates and controls the tempo far more completely, in every single way.

 

When JJ Redick is your primary defender... oh wait. Lebron is still the best player in the NBA. He can dictate pace on either end better than anyone in the league, can guard four positions, and is as unguardable as any of the emerging offensive talents in the league when he's on.

People could argue there are players who are better on offense (I would still disagree), but Lebron's can take over a game on the opposite end. No one else can do both as well as he can.

 

is josh smith no longer in the nba?

 

LOL Westbrook? He's not even the best on his team! It's LeBron, Durant, Harden and Steph. Davis is coming though.

 

WTF? LBJ has been putting up these types of numbers the past 4 years, how is it "westbrook's numbers" when WB only did it this season and only by taking more shots than the rest of the 4 starters combined? Not really sure why you keep trumping him up when KD last year took a worse cast all the way to the 2nd round of the playoffs and WB can't even reach the 8th seed.

There is a clear difference between WB and the rest of the true superstars in the NBA which should be readily apparent from anyone who doesn't think NBA 2K is pretty much how the NBA actually works.

 

Skill wise Harden, Curry, Davis and Durant are all on the same level as Lebron.

But Lebron is just bigger and stronger than anyone else and that's why he is the best player in the league.

I think the ranks go a little like this if everyone is healthy:
Lebron
Durant
Harden
Davis
Curry
Westbrook

 

those people don't watch the games. they look at box scores.

harden played like crap in games 1-3 against gsw..doubt his numbers reflect that.

Something else to consider is how having lebron on the floor vs. westbrook affect the defense, and open shots for their teammates.

 

I hate this argument with a passion. Harden getting to the foul line is a good thing! Stop acting like it is bad. Points scored from the foul line are better because it gets them in foul trouble and gets the team closer to the penalty (not necessarily good on our team...but still)

Three point shooting is also a pretty big deal. I'm not saying Harden is better than Lebron, but it might be closer than you think.

 

Huh? He was absolutely putrid in game 3, but I thought he was a beast in games 1 & 2. I watched the entirety of both games, and I can say with 100% confidence that James did not play like crap in those games. Not quite sure how you are coming to that conclusion.

That aside, Lebron is still the best player in basketball, but I do believe the gap is closing. Curry, Davis, Harden and Durant are all right there nipping at his heels. In a couple years I would imagine Davis is going to be the new kingpin as long as he stays healthy.

 

Lowe & Russillo talked about the "top five list"

RR: ...Your list of top 5 player ratings?

ZL: As early as next year, Anthony Davis will be number one. If not next year, certainly the year after. A couple of front office guys unrelated said, "How sure are we, having not seen him play in awhile, how sure are we Durant is the 2nd best player in the league? How sure should we act he'll be the 2nd best player?" He's in the defacto two spot behind LeBron but Curry is making a run and Davis...those four in some order. Who am I missing? I guess the debate will be who is five. Curry is rising fast. He's an okay defender and maybe a good one on some nights. He is an offense by himself the league has never seen before.

RR: That's the best part. He's found that corner again. They don't do it that much anymore but the idea to get Iguodala running stuff with Curry off the ball. With Jackson, they got too predictable. Top 5, hasn't it been in transition?

ZL: Harden is the guy we're missing.

RR: Durant is another injury away from no longer getting benefit of the doubt. If healthy, he's two. I'll keep Durant there with LeBron. Davis & Curry are right there. If you're doing "Who do you want the net 5-10 years?", Davis' youth comes into play. There's not that many guys. We do have to mention Westbrook. When you said "How would we treat LeBron if this was Westbrook?" The reason we treat it differently is because Westbrook went on a tear where the bottom line numbers were impressive but watching it, it wasn't that impressive. It's fun. Anytime they played anyone good, they lost. It's fun to watch one on five but it's not great. If I was a coach, I'd hate it. When Kobe comes to your defense about shot selection...

ZL: Lets not go there. We'll get derailed. All those guys are a notch above Westbrook.

RR: Westbrook lost the MVP in the last few weeks. That blows people's mind that I would say that.

ZL: J.J. Redick said the same thing. He said "I'm watching SportsCenter and looking box scores. He said, "It has to be Westbrook, these numbers are insane." He said "...and then we played them and I changed my mind." It was the same kind of reasoning. I had Westbrook sixth on my ballot. He was so out of control defensively, they had bad defensive players all over the floor but he was part of the problem and not part of the solution.

 

I think what Harden did in this regular season was better than how Lebron performed.

However, playoffs are a different animal. Lebron is tested. Harden not yet. That's why I would want a CLE vs HOU final. Both of them would be motivated to go head to head.

 

Lebron is the best player in the league because of his defense. he alters shots for the defense than any of the top superstars in the league. Give him our team and we are up 3-1 on the warriors.