Celtics, Spurs, and Thunder all have a pretty good chance of beating them and especially the last two who will have home court advantage. If the Lakers are somehow able to turn things around and get there they'd give them serious problems too.
Agree on the Thunder. I don't see the Spurs hanging with the Heat. Bron Bron can actually guard Tony Parker and there is nobody on the Spurs to guard Wade nor the King.
Leonard, Ginobli and Jackson are all pretty good defenders. The Spurs have enough to get the job done.
[Study Break: Procrastination] I don't know why people hate or dislike LeBron so much. I feel that, while he's made a few poor choices, he's still one of the more "humble" superstars in the NBA. I was here on this forum in 2008 hating on LBJ with you all. I celebrated with friends when he was slept in the finals in 2007. I also recall specifically a game where LBJ was held to 3 points in the first-half against the then-defensive-minded Rockets...everyone was so happy (he finished with 20+). But given the circumstances and what he has been able to achieve, he is one of the more likeable persons in the NBA. I think he did everything he possibly could in CLE (minus the game 5 vs BOS). LeBron stuck with the Cavaliers and his team was progressing. After the Pistons were broken up, LeBron's Cavs were supposed to be the best team in the East. He played hard and he waited. He watched Wade win. He himself led his team deep into playoffs. The time was suppose to be his (the Mavs/Spurs in the West were supposed to age out of his way). Then two teams that were nowhere in contention (one bounced in the first round, one didn't make playoffs) made controversial trades that put LeBron in what I feel is an "unfair" situation. If people are forming super-teams, he should be able to, too. I don't believe age alone is enough of a criteria to determine whether or not leaving a team is justified. He left in free agency. He didn't throw his teammates or ownership under the bus. He didn't demand a trade or insult them verbally, in public, for months on end. He didn't cheat on his wife (that we know of). He could have been more upfront, but it would be silly to expect a superstar to come out and say he's leaving (if he even had his mind made up before-hand). He played 7 great years of basketball and was able to accomplish a lot. He shouldn't have to waste another five years before the public gives him permission to leave. All things considered (CLE market, cap space, quality of teammates relative to other contenders, other teams building up), he made an understandable decision to leave. The way he announced it could have been better. So many people hold him to such ridiculous standards, I can't help but sit here with a "?" on my head. The fact is that if you compare LeBron's team with the other top 3-4 teams in the NBA, LeBron would be the best player, a followed by 3-5 players from the other team before Mo Williams appears on that list. Is this not applicable to LeBron because of the tattoo on his back? He led his team in almost every statistical category. He has easily been the best player in the NBA since 2008. I think LeBron prolonged his career by moving on. If the LAL and BOS ordeals of Summer 2007 never took place and LeBron left CLE because couldn't win, I would have never become a fan of his. Maybe he's no longer the innocent kid that simply smiles and laughs in every interview, showing signs of arrogance here and there, but he is far from the villain that people like to believe he is.
Bro, it's just how the world works. The best get hated on and it's mainly due to jealousy. If you were around back when Jordan played, ALMOST EVERYBODY I knew in Houston hated him and said "he isn't that good", "all he does is dunk", "he gets all the calls". Think about how much people here hated Kobe back during his rape trial and when he "ran shaq out of town". Most all said he'd never win a championship without Shaq, his career was over blah blah blah but Kobe quietly shut them all up - just like Bron Bron is doing right now. They will all come around and see that Lebron is not a bad guy at all and they will understand that they were lucky to watch this guy play in his prime because he'll go down as top 10 or possibly even top 5 in NBA history when it's all said and done. The guy is amazing.
Continuing... Most common excuses/reasons people have for hating LeBron: 1) Dancing on sidelines 2) Miami Heat: "The Decision", Not 1, not 2..., "you still have to live your life..." (Sidekick, afraid of competition, etc.) 3) Game 5 vs Celtics 4) The "Chosen One" tattoo 5) Check my $tat$ t-shirt 6) (Recent) Moments of weakness in the 4th Quarter 7) Not shaking hands with ORL 8) Promising championships to CLE 9) Zero Rings What are some others? I feel that so many of these are insignificant, especially if you consider that he is (was) a young adult with the camera on him 24/7. He has an ego, we all know that. He's still not saying "that team has no chance" or "trade x player from my team". Outside of the bball court, while not spotless, his character has been admirable. Many of his flaws of these are ego/insecurity and publicity issues. People talk about the younger guys, KD and Rose in particular, being loyal and humble. We all admire them for this, but they haven't been tested in the league long enough. They can't possibly say anything else. They haven't had the pressure or hype (even if self-imposed) as being the best player in the league for 4-5 years in a row yet. They don't have the pressure of "title or bust". If they stay with their respective teams after 7-8 failed years, we can give them credit (although it still wouldn't be the pressure that LBJ faces; not much is comparable because of his talent, hype, and subsequent expectations). Howard was another icon who preached loyalty and commitment. He flamed out in more embarrassing fashion than LBJ. CP3 also left. Safe to say these three players never had a legitimate second option. Times have changed. Players drafted into "underprivileged" markets should not be expected to retire there. LeBron James is really a once-in-a-lifetime NBA player. He hasn't been as fortunate as others. If he fails to win a championship in the next four years, then, yes, he will have fallen short. In fact, if he retires with less than 2 FMVPs, we can all probably agree that he didn't live up to his potential. This is my two cents (maybe a quarter, in this case ), hopefully, explaining my change of heart and thought process when comparing LBJ to other players in the NBA. I would like to conclude by saying: We are all witnesses! note: I don't typically spend an hour defending celebrities on the internet, but it's food for thought.
Haha, yeah, I understand. Thanks for your reply. Short, but the message is concise . I agree that winning a FMVP will quiet a lot of people. Winning two would solidify his place in the game. Though I understand that he can only silence critics by winning the entire thing, it's still puzzling to see all the hating...for what I feel to be really, really ridiculous reasons. But I'm sure you're right. Back to my task at hand, hehe.
Very few ppl denied MJ was great and only the ignorant said that all he does is dunk (after his first few years b/c that is basically all he did his first few years). Ppl hated him b/c he was selfish and kept winning. (something Lebron has yet to do but will eventually do). Kobe. well there are still ppl calling him a rapist etc. Again, nobody was doubting his talent (after his first few years b.c all he did was try to go 1 on 5 when he had other players on his team and didnt do it as well as he did later in his career). and the thing about Kobe is that he whined and ran Shaq and even PJ out of town and threatened to leave himself etc. but he stuck it out with the lakers AND he did all of that so that he could be the center focus of the team. Lebron did the opposite (he didnt want to be the man). Once again. it isnt that anyone is saying Lebron sucks or isnt the best player in the league. and really who cares if he is a good guy or not? So it isnt a matter of proving to us haters that he is the best. its proving to us that he isnt a douchebag. but why would he even care what we think anyway? i know that if i were him i certainly wouldnt. it's only superfans like you that care whether or not random ppl on a bbs think Lebron is a douche or not. you are right about one thing though. this year seems to have all the stars aligning for the heat to win with ease. i'm still pulling for SA or OKC to win it all though.
This "All Jordan did was dunk" line is so bogus its not even funny. The guy scored 28.2 pts per game his first year. Hell his coming out moment at North Carolina was because of a clutch jumpshot he hit. No one, except Shaq, could dunk 28 per in the NBA. People need give this line a rest.
I was one of those guys that hate Jordan. I didn't consider him the GOAT (Olajuwon obviously was the GOAT). Yeah he's good, but he had Pippen. Yeah he's the greatest clutch shooter of all-time, but he pushed off (not to mention the big shots hit by teammates). Of course he scores more than anyone, he takes more shots. Then the internet became an important of my life, and I looked back upon his career, and was shocked at how truly great he was. Also watching Quitten here in Houston made me think less of Quitten and more of MJ. I thought he was what Kobe is, but I was wrong. GOAT, and no question about it. I haven't made the same mistake with LeBron. If he had MJ's killer instinct, he'd surpass him. It isn't that LeBron is unclutch, its that at times he is passive. During the regular season, that's fine, but when the playoffs come, and its crunch time, he needs to take over like he did last night.
Props for admitting you wrong, doing some research, opening your mind, and changing your stance. Many people can't do that. I still know people (only in Houston) who said Hakeem was better than Jordan. I feel that the Lebron haters will come around in the same way. Lebron was raised by a single mother who obviously has issues, he came into the league at 18 with a huge ego and really had no class at all and he was NEVER humble. All that has changed. He's made a few mistakes, some big ones, but man this year he's just different. He's humble. He said he worked with Hakeem this offseason and learned about life, how to be humble, and how to have class and how to be a good father. I'm not really a Lebron superfan, but I like to defend him because I think he's a good guy, a good role model, and he's only 25 years old!!! The guy is just getting started. He's in his prime actually right now and has a good 7-8 prime years to go. Lots of rings in his future.
On the contrary, you are the very definition of a Lebron super fan(based on the way you've been posting for the past 2 years). Wish Bosh hadn't gone down because honestly Bosh being out may be the best thing for him.
He's already in his 9th season. So in 7-8 years, he'll be in his 16th-17th seasons. Still prime by then? I don't think so. He'll probably be a bench player by then. Players usually decline after their 12th season. Lots of rings in his future? Yeah, maybe when he's an old player who jumps on a good team and wins with them, sort of like Jason Kidd.
I don't see myself hating LeBron as much anymore. It truly appears that he's growing up as a person. Finally shutting his mouth and just playing ball. Still fun to root against him, though. What still bothers me a little is that the LOFs will somehow never allow their god to be blamed for anything. Does that still make me a hater, Mr. LeBron-only Fan?
No, you are no longer a Lebron hater. You are being open minded about it and you see the change in him.
