I was watching NBA fastbreak the other night discussing Lebron's lack of ability to close out game....and guess what, every single one of the panals gave him a free pass and blame the loss on his teammates! Kobe and T-Mac(Orlando) never had this kind of treatment when their team were losing and it was always about them not being good playmakers or was selfish. Thank goodness their team is playing great basketball in a tough conference...otherwise we would never hear the end of it on how Lebron is better then them. Wade and Lebron just can't do no wrong in the media even if they tried...
Vince Carter at his peak never got the "teammates are letting him down" treatment either. Vince has deserved some criticism but Lebron's essentially doing the same type of stuff Vince did, just with better all around stats. To me someone who "coasts" is someone who only uncoasts when they have to, usually when its time to get serious and the game's on the line. And from that their stats are gonna look better in those situations. Doesn't surprise me much that Lebron would have decent crunch time numbers. I think Lebron falls shorter in the final 60 seconds stats Lebron in the World Championships was Captain Coast. Maybe he was trying to be an all-around team player/player within the system more than a 22 year old star centerpiece player. But he'd do not much of anything in a game. All of a sudden when his determination went up and had an aggressive streak he was an UNSTOPPABLE beast of a man...can recall a few memories me saying to myself GEE wiz guy why aint you doing that ALL GAME LONG?! Dwayne Wade on that same team wasn't the most perfect player everyone made him out to be on that (and he scary enough can still improve on things) but he was at least giving effort start to finish.
He'll get there. Not going to compare him with Jordan or anything, but barring a few exceptions, it takes years for great players to even sniff an opportunity to win a ring. Jordan included. Dream included. Give him some time, and he'll get his chance. Many people thought the same about Duncan, and while he's never been known as a clutch guy, he would carry the Spurs on his shoulders, and push them so far ahead of his opponents, that clutch opportunities were out of the equation all together. He put the Spurs another level ahead of his opponents and would keep the leads in the double digits throughout the playoffs during his second ring. Who needs to be clutch when you outclass your opponents so much that it's not even an issue? I imagine the same will ring true for Lebron, and hopefully the Rockets when they eventually get their opportunity. Not doubting the poise of our big guns, but I'd rather not be in a situation at all where we have to rely on clutch shots in order to win. I'll happily take double digit wins every game when we get our shot at a ring.
LeBron absolutely took over at the end of the fourth quarter against the Pistons. He nearly got the game winner on a 30-footer, but they just called it back and the game is going into overtime. But LeBron has been sensational in clutch time this game. Lets see if he finishes it out.
Huh? Anyone 'doing the same type of stuff Vince did' makes you a great player automatically. 'Just w/ better all around stats', you make it sound like that's something to scoff at. And Lebron has taken his team further than Vince w/ less talent in the playoffs.
I'm amazed at how unimpressive Lebron is to watch compared to his stats. Physically, he is a notch above everyone else but his shot won't ever be consistent and I'm surprised at how poor his passing is. Sure, he makes some nice, fancy passes but his ability to consistently see the court and find the best option is not on the level of Tmac or Kobe. I never really watched him much before last year's playoffs so I just assumed that because he averaged 7 assists he was the best passer in the league not named Kidd or Nash. I was wrong. His attitude is also crappy. He looks like he has adopted the Kobe Bryant selfishness of previous years but he didn't adopt Kobe's killer instinct. Simply put, I think he is out to get his numbers and neither has and probably never will have what it takes to get a ring. I won't mention his defense.
^ LeBron's a superb passer. I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing selfish about his game. You could argue he's too unselfish, actually.
Except when he whines and pouts like a lil' b**** when one of his teammates has the nerve to ruin his triple double by going after the same rebound (re: Varejao).
When was that? I honestly don't think LeBron cares about his stats. He has T-Mac's personality in that respect.
When he played us a couple of days ago. Varejao and bronbron bumped into each other as they were both going for a rebound and Lebron had this b****y look on his face for a good 10 minutes and was giving Varejao the stink eye for ruining his stat padding.
Like when he doesn't pass to the open man on a 2 and 1 fastbreak and instead shoots a fade-away jumper. Not only is that selfish it is also stupid. I've heard rumblings in the media over the last 2 years that Lebron has developed a real diva attitude both on and off the court. I figured it was probably BS but after watching 8 or so of his games this year I absolutely believe it.
I've watched LeBron play a ton, and I've never seen him do that. Ok. We must be watching different games. To my eyes, he's very good and willing at finding the open man.
Lebron is a stud. His only weakness is his intensity. He doesn't play full out 82 plus games a year. However, few players not named Jordan and Bird do that.
This is just stupid. We do know Lebron got annoyed with sideshow bob, but we don't know why. I highly doubt it was because it messed up his stats. More likely it was just because of sideshow being the naturally clumsy oaf that he is.
If you're talking about the play against the Rockets when Worrell was saying "that's just selfish"...hate to break it to Bill and you, but a pass would have been picked or knocked out of bounds. He made the right call on that one
i think bullard tried to call it selfish. i think he even realized watching the replay that the defender was in a lot better position than he thought b/c he seemed to hesitate a little to call it selfish on the replay. like he had to stick to his guns but he realized it was a non-issue. i don't see how anyone can watch lebron play and not think he's a good passer. and this getting annoyed about stats thing/varejao thing sounds like a bunch of seeing what you want to see.
