For All Who Think Lebron Is A Great Humble, Guy

[bigdaddyhawg]

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming

I guess Stein is just a hater.

[TomBigBeeHog]

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming

I guess Stein is just a hater.

Maybe he is, who knows?

Some said the same types of things about Lebron and Spoelstra, even going so far as to say that Lebron intentionally bumped Spoelstra coming off the court. That died down and was forgotten. This will blow over too, if it hasn't already.

James just wants to win a title for his city. He doesn't have to coddle Blatt. Blatt is in the big boy league now and it is not a place for softies.

Edit:  I always thought Lebron was great. Never thought he was humble nor ever thought he needed to be.

[husker71]

I would never want my superstar to be humble  at least a crunch time I want him to think that there is no mfer in the world that can stop me.

[hawgwild child]

Not gonna lie, I love seeing Lebron lose

[Lando Calrissian]

If you don't recognize Lebron's greatness you are just plain stupid or simply trying to be stupid on purpose. 

[Lando Calrissian]

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming

I guess Stein is just a hater.

MJ punched teammates in practice.  What a leader!

[Dr. Starcs]

Lebrons greatness.

2-4

[onebadrubi]

Lebrons greatness.

2-4

So you don't think Lebron is great? 

[Lando Calrissian]

Gotta win A LOT of games just to be in position to get into the Finals, not to mention actually get there.  I love how people assume it's easy.

[usf15cc]

I don't think it matters how many ring Lebron wins. People are still going to hate on him. It's true people hate greatness.

[poloprince]

Cavs owner is dirty and Bron has forgiven, but he hasn't forgotten. The best players in the world should never be inbouding the ball with the game on the line. As a coach in a playoff game you shouldn't be attempting to call timeouts you don't have. Blatt appeared to be in over his head at times and If anything Lebron saved his job.

I like Blatt though and I get that he was a rookie coach in the NBA this season and had it not been for injuries he may have been a champion. I believe the mistakes he made were rookie mistakes and I'm kind of giving him a pass on his mishaps. He also mismanaged minutes of several players including Lebron.

[TomasPistola]

Blatt was an idiot in that series. Even as shorthanded as they were, with the "best player in the world" there were a ton of ways good coaching could have at least forced a game 7.

[DLUXHOG]

So you don't think Lebron is great? 

Lebron is awesome, great, etc., however..... Curry is the best, if not one of the best scorers the game has ever seen........

[hawgwild child]

Gotta win A LOT of games just to be in position to get into the Finals, not to mention actually get there.  I love how people assume it's easy.

I won't say its easy for him, but playing in the East is nothing like playing in the West playoffs.  He hasn't had much resistance in the East.  U put cleavland and Miami on the teams he played on in the West playoffs he probably only gets there twice.  I'm so sick of the East, Phx won 48 games last year and OKC won 47 and neither got in the West Playoffs.  The east gets teams in with losing records.  He's only had to worry about 1 team each year in the east

[chiefhawg]

Lebron is awesome, great, etc., however..... Curry is the best, if not one of the best scorers the game has ever seen........

One of the best.
Oscar Robertson 14 year career  25.7 ppg
Jerry West 14 year career 27.0 ppg
MJ 15 years 30.1 ppg
Curry 6 years 20.9
Durant 8 years 27.3

Long way to go.

[intelligence]

I don't think it matters how many ring Lebron wins. People are still going to hate on him. It's true people hate greatness.

everyone loves Jordan though.

[usf15cc]

Well i don't love jordan or kobe, but i love me some Lebron. Screw the world ride hard Lebron!!

[k.c.hawg]

I've had two very strong opinions since I became aware of him when he was in High School. First one was 'this guy is going to be a major train wreck. A coddled superstar being handled by an ex con that is going to get millions. For a guy that came out of high school and got millions he has represented himself very well, no major run ins with the law, no crazy scandals, has always seemed to be focused on his craft.'

Next I hated "The Decision", didn't like the fact that a group of guys tried to take the easy way to win a championship. After further review the guy gave the money from it to charity, won a couple of championships and came back to Cleveland to try and win one for Cleveland. If that is the worst thing he does in his career I certainly won't hold that against him.

My opinion of him now (even though the NBA is not one of my go to sports) is the guy is a true freak of nature and has done an outstanding job of transitioning from a high school kid with a questionable upbringing to being the face of a league and a marketable superstar.

[Biggus Piggus]

Hatchet job.

[jry04]

Lebrons greatness.

2-4

This makes me laugh every time I see someone say it. How about you post how many first round exits MJ has compared to LBJ. I will help you out, LBJ has 0.

Yes, LBJ doesn't have a great record in finals, but he has been to 5 straight, and 6 total. That is pretty amazing. I find it incredibly stupid that people think that having a 2-4 record in Finals is terrible. Do you not realize how hard it is just to get to the Finals? If LBJ  plays 6 more years, makes 4 more finals, and wins 2 of them, he will be 4-6 in Finals appearances. People like you will laugh at that and say it is a terrible record, but fail to realize he will have more Finals appearances than Duncan, Kobe, MJ, Shaq, Magic, etc.

It is a far better accomplishment to make the finals and lose than to get bounced in the first or 2nd round like Kobe and MJ did numerous times. Nobody considers the teammates LBJ has compared to MJ and Magic. At one point, Magic was playing with 4 HOF in the 80s. MJ's team, the year that he retired to try baseball, went 55-27 and made the 2nd round of the playoffs without MJ. The Cavs roster in the finals wouldn't have made the playoffs, and weren't expected to make the Finals.

[jry04]

Lebron is awesome, great, etc., however..... Curry is the best, if not one of the best scorers the game has ever seen........

Curry is the best shooter, not the best scorer. There is a difference.

Carmelo Anthony, to this point, has been a better scorer in his career than Curry.

Side note:

People say LBJ is running out of time, but MJ went 3 years in between winning championships. Duncan went 7, and Kobe went 6. Duncan's first ring and last ring were 14 seasons apart, while Kobe's first and last were 10 years apart. As long as his teammates stay healthy allowing him to play less minutes over the course of a season, I think LBJ will play 6 or 7 more seasons. I see him making the Finals 3 or 4 more times in his career, minimum.

[Pork Twain]

This makes me laugh every time I see someone say it. How about you post how many first round exits MJ has compared to LBJ. I will help you out, LBJ has 0.

Yes, LBJ doesn't have a great record in finals, but he has been to 5 straight, and 6 total. That is pretty amazing. I find it incredibly stupid that people think that having a 2-4 record in Finals is terrible. Do you not realize how hard it is just to get to the Finals? If LBJ  plays 6 more years, makes 4 more finals, and wins 2 of them, he will be 4-6 in Finals appearances. People like you will laugh at that and say it is a terrible record, but fail to realize he will have more Finals appearances than Duncan, Kobe, MJ, Shaq, Magic, etc.

It is a far better accomplishment to make the finals and lose than to get bounced in the first or 2nd round like Kobe and MJ did numerous times. Nobody considers the teammates LBJ has compared to MJ and Magic. At one point, Magic was playing with 4 HOF in the 80s. MJ's team, the year that he retired to try baseball, went 55-27 and made the 2nd round of the playoffs without MJ. The Cavs roster in the finals wouldn't have made the playoffs, and weren't expected to make the Finals.

MJ went to 13, only exiting in the first round, his first 3 times.  The only consistent stud that MJ had on his team was Scottie.

You are trying too hard here.  End results matter...

[Dr. Starcs]

Who did Jordan lose to in the eastern conference compared to the juggernauts that lebron has had to get through?

Fact is, when lebron has had to go up against real competition in the west after cake walking in the east, he's failed to win 4/6 times.

Was he short-handed this year? Absolutely. But the greatest players are always judged by how they perform on the biggest stage and ultimately whether their team won or not. Was he great in the finals this year? Arguably so, although his shooting percentage was darn near awful.

[jry04]

MJ went to 13, only exiting in the first round, his first 3 times.  The only consistent stud that MJ had on his team was Scottie.

You are trying too hard here.  End results matter...

The Bulls went 55-27, advancing to the 2nd round when MJ didn't even play. Do you think the Cavs roster, that LBJ took to the finals, would have made it out of the first round, or even made the playoffs without LBJ? They were a lottery pick 3 years in a row without Love and LBJ, so we know the answer to that.

[WarPig88]

I won't say its easy for him, but playing in the East is nothing like playing in the West playoffs.  He hasn't had much resistance in the East.  U put cleavland and Miami on the teams he played on in the West playoffs he probably only gets there twice.  I'm so sick of the East, Phx won 48 games last year and OKC won 47 and neither got in the West Playoffs.  The east gets teams in with losing records.  He's only had to worry about 1 team each year in the east

I think this bs. The West is top heavy but their best teams had losing records against the likes of Atlanta and Cleveland.

They don't play the same schedules either so simply going off overall records is misleading to say the least.

[Adam Stokes]

The Bulls went 55-27, advancing to the 2nd round when MJ didn't even play. Do you think the Cavs roster, that LBJ took to the finals, would have made it out of the first round, or even made the playoffs without LBJ? They were a lottery pick 3 years in a row without Love and LBJ, so we know the answer to that.

Not to mention looking at how putrid Miami was this year when the only major difference is there was no LeBron.  LeBron makes his team better than any other player in history.  If they can stay healthy next year, watch out.  (I will claim bias, I mainly dislike Jordan because he trounced my Jazz, so I'm secretly rooting for LeBron to somehow surpass Jordan's greatness.)

[WarPig88]

Who did Jordan lose to in the eastern conference compared to the juggernauts that lebron has had to get through?

Fact is, when lebron has had to go up against real competition in the west after cake walking in the east, he's failed to win 4/6 times.

Was he short-handed this year? Absolutely. But the greatest players are always judged by how they perform on the biggest stage and ultimately whether their team won or not. Was he great in the finals this year? Arguably so, although his shooting percentage was darn near awful.

Anyone who has ever played on a basketball team where they were the only legit scoring threat understands that their shooting pct is going to be lower than when they can pick and choose their moments to attack as a scorer.

Lebron was playing outside his comfort zone in this final because he HAD to be a volume shooter just to keep his team in the games. Furthermore, Golden State new this and still couldn't stop him from being effective for nearly the entire series.

For instance, in game 6, the Cavs only had 14 assists total and Lebron had 9 of those.

Jordan never won anything when he was asked to carry as much of the load as Lebron has had to do in at least 3 of the finals that he has played in.

[WarPig88]

Not to mention looking at how putrid Miami was this year when the only major difference is there was no LeBron.  LeBron makes his team better than any other player in history.  If they can stay healthy next year, watch out.  (I will claim bias, I mainly dislike Jordan because he trounced my Jazz, so I'm secretly rooting for LeBron to somehow surpass Jordan's greatness.)

Not just MIami, that Cavs team he left turned in one of the all time worst performances in NBA history without him, losing 28 straight games at one point.

[jry04]

Who did Jordan lose to in the eastern conference compared to the juggernauts that lebron has had to get through?

Fact is, when lebron has had to go up against real competition in the west after cake walking in the east, he's failed to win 4/6 times.

Was he short-handed this year? Absolutely. But the greatest players are always judged by how they perform on the biggest stage and ultimately whether their team won or not. Was he great in the finals this year? Arguably so, although his shooting percentage was darn near awful.

I guess you didn't watch MJ much. He had some pitiful shooting performances, too. Basketball has always been a team sport. GS was the better team. LBJ almost won by himself, but he couldn't get it done. MJ in his prime wouldn't have won with that roster, either.

The funny thing is, people always say "how many good players did LBJ have to go against?" Well, in 15 years we can address that question. Rose may end up an all time great if he is healthy. Gasol has had a great career, and helped Kobe win a few. Jimmy Butler is a rising star. Carmelo is an all time great, even though they didn't make the playoffs this year, they have in the past.

What great teams did Jordan have to go through in the East to win a title???

Jordan won his rings in the last 3 years of Isaiah Thomas' career. Nothing like he was in his prime. Larry Bird had a bad back the last few years of his career, forcing him to retire. MJ won his first 2 championships the last 2 years of Bird's career. MJ won when Magic was exiting the league. LAL isn't in the east, but was still a power back then.

All of the powers in the 90s were mostly in the West. Houston, Seattle, LAL, Spurs, Portland, Jazz, Suns. The Knicks, Magic, and the Pacers were the 3 teams Jordan played in the East worth a darn in his prime (consistently), kind of like LBJ with the few teams he has had to face. The Pistons were consistently finishing 5th-8th in the East in the 90s when Jordan was in his prime winning titles. The Celtics had a few good seasons, but after Bird retired they finished above 5th one time in Jordan's career. Jordan entered his prime as other greats were on the decline, and the new studs were in the West. Similar to LBJ.

LBJ has had to play a solid Bulls team, pretty good Pacers team pre-George injury, Orlando with Howard, 2004 & 2005 Pistons, Miami Heat with Wade in his prime, Boston Celtics with the big 3. No, those teams are not great, but they have still been solid competition with potential HoF players.

If the Bulls finished in 3rd in the East when MJ didn't even play, how great was the East?

[ErieHog]

Curry is the best shooter, not the best scorer. There is a difference.

Carmelo Anthony, to this point, has been a better scorer in his career than Curry.

Side note:

People say LBJ is running out of time, but MJ went 3 years in between winning championships. Duncan went 7, and Kobe went 6. Duncan's first ring and last ring were 14 seasons apart, while Kobe's first and last were 10 years apart. As long as his teammates stay healthy allowing him to play less minutes over the course of a season, I think LBJ will play 6 or 7 more seasons. I see him making the Finals 3 or 4 more times in his career, minimum.

LBJ only has 3-4 more years of being a primary star left;  in part, that's why he spent last offseason trying to reinvent his body-- and for his trouble, the Cavs struggled when he wasn't the strong physical presence he used to be, early in the season.

LeBron packed the weight back on, and went back to the wearing, grinding style of physical play that made him a nightmare at 28.  It was good for the short term, but not the long.

Player effectiveness, historically, used to nosedive once they passed the 35,000 minute mark.  Now, we're seeing players play pretty well,  up to and past the 40,000 minute mark.   With a guy like LeBron, it wouldn't be shocking to see him motor through the 50,000 mark as an effective player.

What is most striking, is just how much basketball he has played;   Kareem is, as with many things, the weird outlier when it comes to player metrics-- and even he didn't bear a workload like this.

Kareem played 19 years, to LeBron's 11-- and LeBron should pass him in playoff minutes in no more than 2 more season.    If LeBron's health doesn't break down more (say, 75 games a year) and he plays a normal per game minute rate for the next 4 years, he's going to have well over 50,000 minutes played by the end of season 15-- and this is a league where athleticism matters more than ever-- he can't be hidden like Kareem was the last 5 years of his career.

LeBron is still the best player in the world-- but that window is getting smaller, fast.

[Inhogswetrust]

Hatchet job.

Lebron is not even close to being the first star player to not like his coach and having a real say in what happens on the court. I think most of there time it takes a special type and different coach to be able to handle stars of that caliber.

[jry04]

LBJ only has 3-4 more years of being a primary star left;  in part, that's why he spent last offseason trying to reinvent his body-- and for his trouble, the Cavs struggled when he wasn't the strong physical presence he used to be, early in the season.

LeBron packed the weight back on, and went back to the wearing, grinding style of physical play that made him a nightmare at 28.  It was good for the short term, but not the long.

Player effectiveness, historically, used to nosedive once they passed the 35,000 minute mark.  Now, we're seeing players play pretty well,  up to and past the 40,000 minute mark.   With a guy like LeBron, it wouldn't be shocking to see him motor through the 50,000 mark as an effective player.

What is most striking, is just how much basketball he has played;   Kareem is, as with many things, the weird outlier when it comes to player metrics-- and even he didn't bear a workload like this.

Kareem played 19 years, to LeBron's 11-- and LeBron should pass him in playoff minutes in no more than 2 more season.    If LeBron's health doesn't break down more (say, 75 games a year) and he plays a normal per game minute rate for the next 4 years, he's going to have well over 50,000 minutes played by the end of season 15-- and this is a league where athleticism matters more than ever-- he can't be hidden like Kareem was the last 5 years of his career.

LeBron is still the best player in the world-- but that window is getting smaller, fast.

Agreed. That is why I said I see him dominating for another 4 years, and playing for 6 or 7. I think he wins 2 more rings in the next 4 years, and then will have to make a decisions to be like Kobe and take a huge salary hurting his team's ability to win, or take a pay cut to get better players and win. I think LBJ is a big enough competitor that he will want as many rings as possible, and take a pay cut after his new contract he signs this summer is up.

[DLUXHOG]

Not to mention looking at how putrid Miami was this year when the only major difference is there was no LeBron.  LeBron makes his team better than any other player in history.  If they can stay healthy next year, watch out.  (I will claim bias, I mainly dislike Jordan because he trounced my Jazz, so I'm secretly rooting for LeBron to somehow surpass Jordan's greatness.)

I think MJ aficionados would disagree...

[Dr. Starcs]

If there's one thing he's proven, its that he'll take the easier way out to win a ring (or two)

[Lando Calrissian]

If there's one thing he's proven, its that he'll take the easier way out to win a ring (or two)

Find a team that has won the Finals with just 1 all-star.

[jry04]

If there's one thing he's proven, its that he'll take the easier way out to win a ring (or two)

Your hate for LBJ is laughable. Anyone who has followed the NBA before the 2000s knows this argument has no merit. MJ had multiple All-Stars play with him in their prime. Magic had as many as 4 future HoF on his team at once in the 80s. Nobody has done it by themselves, and nobody will. You have 2 types of players in the NBA. Those that want to play for the money, and those that want to win. The competitors want to be on the best team and win every year. The Cavs wouldn't spend the money needed to build a team, so he found someone who would. Now the Cavs will spend, so he went back. I cannot think of a single NBA championship team that didn't have at least a few All-Stars.

LBJ will never catch MJ, but he will definitely pass him in finals appearances and league MVPs.

[Dr. Starcs]

Hmm. A championship team with only one all star. Lets go all the way back to 2014. San Antonio Spurs had one all star (Tony Parker).

You lebron lovers need to join the f&g forum. You'd fit right in with the tiger apologists.

[Adam Stokes]

I think MJ aficionados would disagree...

I more said that just going off what evidence we have.  Cavs once LeBron left were terrible.  Heat once LeBron left were terrible.  There really wasn't a lot of team turnover those years either.  Bulls when MJ retired the first time; still pretty dang good with a #3 seed in the conference, #7 in the NBA.  LeBron still has a lot to do to be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan, but I think the argument can be made that he makes his team's better because of his array of skills.

[WarPig88]

Hmm. A championship team with only one all star. Lets go all the way back to 2014. San Antonio Spurs had one all star (Tony Parker).

You lebron lovers need to join the f&g forum. You'd fit right in with the tiger apologists.

LOL!

Maybe one all star, but there are THREE hall of famers on that team.

I like how you left that part out.

[Dr. Starcs]

2 of which were darn near 40 years old when they beat down the "big 3" of Miami.

He asked a question. I answered it.

[WarPig88]

2 of which were darn near 40 years old when they beat down the "big 3" of Miami.

He asked a question. I answered it.

That's a far cry from what Lebron just played with.

You only PARTIALLY answered the question when you chose to ignore the facts that Spurs had a complete roster and a couple of all time greats.

No, you didn't just answer the question, you also added a snide remark as if you had struck gold.

Turns out you're a poser.

[Dr. Starcs]

Find a team that has won the Finals with just 1 all-star.

Pretty sure I did answer his question completely.
You call me poser, I call you illiterate. See how fun name-calling is?

[WarPig88]

Pretty sure I did answer his question completely.
You call me poser, I call you illiterate. See how fun name-calling is?

Like I said, it wasn't your fact finding that is the issue, it was your ignorant taunt afterward that made you look like either an ignorant hater or someone who thinks partial truths are the same the whole truth.

Neither of which is a positive thing.

[Dr. Starcs]

I stated a fact. You started the name-calling. There are other debatable merits on this issue that reasonable people can disagree on. If you'd like for me to answer a different question, feel free to ask away. I can't guarantee to have an answer for everything.

It looks like we are both pretty set on our beliefs and may as well just end it here.

[WarPig88]

You lebron lovers need to join the f&g forum. You'd fit right in with the tiger apologists.

That was JUST stating a fact?

I guess you are the kind of person who plays loose with the truth.

[hawgwild child]

I think this bs. The West is top heavy but their best teams had losing records against the likes of Atlanta and Cleveland.

They don't play the same schedules either so simply going off overall records is misleading to say the least.

Top heavy?? Spurs lost there last regular season. Game and went from the 2 seed to the 6 seed.  There's isnt a lot of difference between the 2-7 seeds and then u throw in PHX and OKC the top 10 of the 16 would come out of the west.  If it was bs they wouldn't be in talks about getting the best 16 in, instead of top 8 from the west and east.  OKC was 9th in the west and would of been 4-5 seed in the east.  If u think the east is anywhere close to the west that's ridiculous

[Dr. Starcs]

And I guess it's ok for you to criticize someone for omitting certain parts of a post while doing the exact same thing.

10-4. Or should I say 2-4.

[Sed76]

Lebron is a great player. He just rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

[HawgnCorona]

nm

[HawgnCorona]

Hmm. A championship team with only one all star. Lets go all the way back to 2014. San Antonio Spurs had one all star (Tony Parker).

You lebron lovers need to join the f&g forum. You'd fit right in with the tiger apologists.

Yeah but Kahwi Leonard was the MVP. So TP was not alone...

And LaBron would not act this way on a team coached by Greg P or Phil J...