NBA Random Thoughts

[ralaw]

I've come to the conclusion that LeBron James is a great player, but he doesn't have that killa in him that most of the all-time greats have. He's a great player in meaningless games or times during a game when their isn't a lot of pressure, but when it matters most he just isn't the same guy. I don't know what happened, because with the Cavs he played big in big moments, but since coming to Miami he just doesn't seem to have it. I still like him though.

 

[DSGB101MM]

I've come to the conclusion that LeBron James is a great player, but he doesn't have that killa in him that most of the all-time greats have. He's a great player in meaningless games or times during a game when their isn't a lot of pressure, but when it matters most he just isn't the same guy. I don't know what happened, because with the Cavs he played big in big moments, but since coming to Miami he just doesn't seem to have it. I still like him though.

I feel what you're saying, but I think the difference between his Cavs/Heat days is that he has more options and that his passive nature hinders him. I didnt watch the game lastnight, but after watching the finals from last year over and over I really dont know what to say about him and his disappearing act......I know one thing is the zine defense is something they should be looking forward to seeing in playoffs.

 

[Bomberooski]

Portland gets the win over the Clippers last night and go to 7-2 and 6-0 at home.

Gerald Wallace is absolutely killing it right now.


TOUGH game tonight vs Orlando coming off a physical one with DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin. Could be a rough night.

 

[nwfisch]

Bulls :smug:

 

[FedEx227]

I've come to the conclusion that LeBron James is a great player, but he doesn't have that killa in him that most of the all-time greats have. He's a great player in meaningless games or times during a game when their isn't a lot of pressure, but when it matters most he just isn't the same guy. I don't know what happened, because with the Cavs he played big in big moments, but since coming to Miami he just doesn't seem to have it. I still like him though.

He's very much like Wilt in that.

Wilt could be a killer whenever he wanted to, but never really seemed interested in being that. He was content just being what he was. It's frustrating for fans but you can't really hate the guy if that makes sense.

 

[FirstTimer]

He killed the Bulls in the ECF last season.

Dude was daggers down the stretch on offense and defense.

 

[nwfisch]

He killed the Bulls in the ECF last season.

Dude was daggers down the stretch on offense and defense.

If Thibodeau would have played Boozer in the 4th quarters, the Bulls would have stopped him. :megatroll:

 

[ralaw]

He killed the Bulls in the ECF last season.

Dude was daggers down the stretch on offense and defense.

True, which is the part of him tha pisses me off. If he could do that against Chicago then why couldn't ge do at least half of that against Dallas? The difference was probably that in th ECF the Heat already had momentum, whereas in Dallas they were losing it and in just snowballed.

 

[FedEx227]

It's definitely frustrating, you watch what he did in the ECF or against the Pistons in 2007 and you see that killer mentality, you see what he could potentially be if he went balls to the wall every night.

The problem is, he doesn't really want to be that everytime. I can't tell you why, but he just seems content sometimes hanging out.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmH0ot-KtSw"]LeBron James Game 5 Show Against The Pistons - YouTube[/ame]

His psyche is weird, I think we all know that at this point. He's too worried what people think and how he's perceived so he just finds himself in this weird in-between phase. He probably could score just about everytime he wanted, but people say he's not a good shooter so he tries to improve his shooting. He thinks he's a great passer (and he is) but he seems so concerned with trying to differentiate himself from Jordan that he tries to pass so he can be more like Magic.

 

[ralaw]

Him being passive will probably continue as he'll continue to defer to Wade. Now, don't get me wrong Wade is probably the second best player in the league, but I'd like to see him get that killer instinct like Kobe has.

Did you guys here Kobe's comments after his 48 point game last night? He was talking about how he hates the Suns, because they use to beat the Lakers all the time in the playoffs and how he was voted the 7th best player in the league buy some poll. Kobe is pissed because of this stuff...Kobe uses anything for motivation.....I'm not sure LeBron does that. If he was voted the 7th best player in the league he'd probably just say, "Oh, people can vote the way they want!" LeBron is probably the most talented player to ever play the game, but he has a mentality like Lamar Odom.

 

[NAHSTE]

Just want to take a moment and brag about how awesome my $50 buy-in fantasy team is. Kevin Love and Al Jefferson in the front court ... :fap: Combined for a 50 and 25 last night.

Oh and James Harden was a late pick and he's currently 5th on the player rater.

:fap:

 

[FedEx227]

Him being passive will probably continue as he'll continue to defer to Wade. Now, don't get me wrong Wade is probably the second best player in the league, but I'd like to see him get that killer instinct like Kobe has.

Did you guys here Kobe's comments after his 48 point game last night? He was talking about how he hates the Suns, because they use to beat the Lakers all the time in the playoffs and how he was voted the 7th best player in the league buy some poll. Kobe is pissed because of this stuff...Kobe uses anything for motivation.....I'm not sure LeBron does that. If he was voted the 7th best player in the league he'd probably just say, "Oh, people can vote the way they want!" LeBron is probably the most talented player to ever play the game, but he has a mentality like Lamar Odom.

Definitely. I was once a huge fan of his and really at this point I still love watching him play but can't say I'm a fan anymore.

I've had to adjust my expectations around 2007-2008ish I thought to myself that this guy was going to be the best basketball player ever. Obviously since that time he's shown: a) he's never going to have the mentality to be that and b) he doesn't really want to be that. I can't blame him for that, I just have to adjust my expectations.

 

[FedEx227]

Just want to take a moment and brag about how awesome my $50 buy-in fantasy team is. Kevin Love and Al Jefferson in the front court ... :fap: Combined for a 50 and 25 last night.

Oh and James Harden was a late pick and he's currently 5th on the player rater.

:fap:

Just want to take a moment to get really pissed at Dorrell Wright (even though he finally had a good game last night). 5th round pick and he's been god awful.

 

[FirstTimer]

Him being passive will probably continue as he'll continue to defer to Wade. Now, don't get me wrong Wade is probably the second best player in the league, but I'd like to see him get that killer instinct like Kobe has.

Did you guys here Kobe's comments after his 48 point game last night? He was talking about how he hates the Suns, because they use to beat the Lakers all the time in the playoffs and how he was voted the 7th best player in the league buy some poll. Kobe is pissed because of this stuff...Kobe uses anything for motivation.....I'm not sure LeBron does that. If he was voted the 7th best player in the league he'd probably just say, "Oh, people can vote the way they want!" LeBron is probably the most talented player to ever play the game, but he has a mentality like Lamar Odom.

LeBron is odd. He's the anti-Kobe/Jordan in a lot of ways. Kobe and Jordan are fucking assholes and if you piss them off, you will know about it and they play with a constant chip on their shoulder. Thething that gets me is Kobe and Jordan are stronger mentally. With them eveen if they were having a bad night you didn't say shit to them or they could seemingly just turn it on and make you beg for mercy. Assasins. Lebron seems like a guy that if he's off to a bad starthe won't be able to turn it around and gets down on himself easily. He can turn it on and off and times but I never really recall seeing a game where Lebron started off really cold then turned it around.

Lebron is an odd guy. He obviously works his ass off and knows how to play...the issue is with him I think is he's a bit weak minded and can't decide if he wants to be MJ, Magic, etc. Too many people in his ear. Tough guy to try and evaluate because all the tangible measurables are there.....just something intangible is off....and it obviously can't be pinned down.

 

[NAHSTE]

Just want to take a moment to get really pissed at Dorrell Wright (even though he finally had a good game last night). 5th round pick and he's been god awful.

Saw that he had a good game last night ....

when I was looking at free agents to claim on waivers.


:megatroll:

 

[FedEx227]

LeBron is odd. He's the anti-Kobe/Jordan in a lot of ways. Kobe and Jordan are fucking assholes and if you piss them off, you will know about it and they play with a constant chip on their shoulder. Thething that gets me is Kobe and Jordan are stronger mentally. With them eveen if they were having a bad night you didn't say shit to them or they could seemingly just turn it on and make you beg for mercy. Assasins. Lebron seems like a guy that if he's off to a bad starthe won't be able to turn it around and gets down on himself easily. He can turn it on and off and times but I never really recall seeing a game where Lebron started off really cold then turned it around.

Lebron is an odd guy. He obviously works his ass off and knows how to play...the issue is with him I think is he's a bit weak minded and can't decide if he wants to be MJ, Magic, etc. Too many people in his ear. Tough guy to try and evaluate because all the tangible measurables are there.....just something intangible is off....and it obviously can't be pinned down.

Kobe and MJ were supremely confident, sometimes too confident. Obviously it got them success but it also caused a majority of their peers to hate them.

LeBron is not confident at all, he's a very insecure person who is constantly looking to please those around him and have people like him.

Kobe and MJ don't give a shit what you think of them, they are who they are.

 

[FedEx227]

Saw that he had a good game last night ....

when I was looking at free agents to claim on waivers.


:megatroll:

Fuck you.

 

[ralaw]

Kobe and MJ were supremely confident, sometimes too confident. Obviously it got them success but it also caused a majority of their peers to hate them.

LeBron is not confident at all, he's a very insecure person who is constantly looking to please those around him and have people like him.

Kobe and MJ don't give a shit what you think of them, they are who they are.

If James isn't confident now imagine how he's going to be when he no longer has the physical abilities that he has now? LeBron is very talented, but he doesn't have the skillset that would allow him to be effective when he his physical abilities begin to decline.

Another reason why I like Kobe so much is that he's in his 16th season, has 5 championship rings, etc, but he still is getting pissed by some random ranking of players? Imagine how LeBron will be after he wins just one championship?

 

[dell71]

LeBron is odd. He's the anti-Kobe/Jordan in a lot of ways. Kobe and Jordan are fucking assholes and if you piss them off, you will know about it and they play with a constant chip on their shoulder. Thething that gets me is Kobe and Jordan are stronger mentally. With them eveen if they were having a bad night you didn't say shit to them or they could seemingly just turn it on and make you beg for mercy. Assasins. Lebron seems like a guy that if he's off to a bad starthe won't be able to turn it around and gets down on himself easily. He can turn it on and off and times but I never really recall seeing a game where Lebron started off really cold then turned it around.

Lebron is an odd guy. He obviously works his ass off and knows how to play...the issue is with him I think is he's a bit weak minded and can't decide if he wants to be MJ, Magic, etc. Too many people in his ear. Tough guy to try and evaluate because all the tangible measurables are there.....just something intangible is off....and it obviously can't be pinned down.

Sure it can be pinned down. LeBron NEVER had anyone tell him he wasn't good enough. He NEVER had to prove anyone wrong. He's been the next big thing practically since he stepped on a basketball court. During that whole time he's also been busy trying to make sure his teammates know he's just "one of the guys" despite all the King James stuff. Deferring to others is something he's comfortable doing. MJ had the whole being cut in HS thing. Kobe had a different set of issues, moved around a lot always kept that defensive "new kid" mentality. Plus, he seems to have this insane drive to actually be MJ.

That said, I always thought LBJ got a lot of unneccesary flack about being clutch, because he was. He single-handedly got the Cavs anywhere they went during his time there, including the finals by making all sorts of clutch plays. Even last year in both the series against Boston & Chicago he manned up at the most crucial moments. So watching the finals against Dallas was just bizarre. Every 4th qtr he wasn't being a facilitator he was just getting the ball out of his hands as fast as possible. As awful as that was I still think he can recover. We'll just have to wait & see.

 

[Primetime]

I understand the hate on LeBron and I partially agree with it. But he was not the reason the Heat blew the lead last night by any means. Wade and Bosh were both miserable in the 4th quarter and OT. Wade shot something like 1-8 in the 4th quarter and missed 2 huge free throws. He also had a couple TOs in the 4th and OT iirc. Wade looked 10x worse than LeBron did, even without LeBron taking shots. It didn't seem like LeBron was deferring as much as normal, Wade was just taking bad shots with 12-15 seconds left on the clock.