Cavs/Pistons/LeBron

Talk about 'Much Ado' pundits arguing over whether LeBron was right in passing off the last shot rather than going for the tie and OT.

And further about his team leadership.

STUPID! Comparing him to Jordan and Magic... how about let's compare him to Kobe if Kobe had gone to Cleveland. IDIOTS! And what had Kobe done at LA while still 22?

LeBron is 22.

If he'd gone to college, he'd be a rookie.

But while OTHERS were doing nothing but learning the basic high level craft, LeBron was selling Cav's tickets and building up the fan base on a team that was otherwise irrelevant.

Sometimes you want to throw rocks at yer tv.

 

Pettyfog, I will give you the fact that LeBron is only 22 years old, but the fact remains that LeBron has set a higher standard for himself based on previous seasons. I am not sure if LeBron is hurt or what, but this entire season except for the month of March, LeBron has been playing very passively and not agressively.

Last night he scored 10 points.....10 effin' points in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. As you all know, I am a huge fan of the NBA. I have the NBA League Pass and last season the Cavs were a team I always watched because of LeBron. This season however, he seems to be coasting and going through the motions and that is just unacceptable to me.

Last night's game was a microcosm of LeBron's season. He made some nice passes from time to time, but never really asserted himself into the game. I understand wanting to get teammates involved but watching the game would think LeBron was the Cavs third option on offense.

The LeBron of last season would not have played in this fashion. Quite simply, LeBron has regressed this season. Perhaps his coach Mike Brown, who I think is a joke, is doing something to LeBron to make him play this way. I am not really sure. Regardless, LeBron seems to have lost the passion and desire as well as the killer instinct he had last season and as a fan of the game it is a shame to see this happening.

I hope he is able to come back stronger next season.

 

But thwe point is the dish LASt season was LeBron was carrying -or Trying to - carry the entire team.

He is still learning and he IS a smart guy... as opposed to his football playing childhood buddy.. remember Maurice Clarett?

He'll get it right.

But he'll never be Michael Jordan and why does he have to?!!!!

 

I understand LeBron is a great player. I am well aware of that. However, I will go on a limb and say I have watched more Cavs games than most anyone on this board over the last three seasons. And in watching those games over the last few seasons, LeBron seems to be taking his foot off the gas and being too passive.

That game last night was there for the taking. LeBron kept deferring to Ilgauskas and even Hughes in the last few minutes. Why? Z had a nice game, but this is crunch time in the Eastern Conference finals and LeBron played with NO sense of urgency.

Win or lose last night LeBron is not playing with the same passion, energy or enthusiasm as I have seen in previous seasons. This is NOT the media hyping him and then ripping him. As I said in my previous post, LeBron set a very high standard for himself in his first three seasons in the league. This year, however, has been a year in which LeBron has NOT gotten better and in fact seems to have regressed.

Comparisons to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade are inevitable. What those three have is a killer instinct. They will do whatever it takes to beat the opponent and you knew it. Last year in the playoffs and in the regular season, LeBron took games over. He scored when he was needed and got things done. This season he has not. Yes, the team is in the Eastern Conference Finals but who have they played to get there? A Washington Wizards team that was without its two best players and a Nets team that was barely .500.

Bottom line is this....LeBron better pick it up in this series or he will get ripped by the media and deservedly so. He is too good to just be a no show in games of importance like these. He needs to play with some passion and pride. I expect more of him and he should expect more from himself.

 

Lebron will probably never be that superstar player everybody wants him to be. Superstars have to want the ball and Lebron does not seem to want the ball. Kobe was winning titles at his age and even before that he wanted the ball and wanted the last shot. Lebron is a good player, but he is not on the same level as Kobe,Wade,Nash or Duncan and will not breakthrough until he wants the ball. This is something that can't be taught as it is natural instinct. This player was overhyped coming out of high school and especially after the Kings game where he looked like the best player to ever play the game of basketball. He is going to be a damn good player, but will not be the best of all time or even close.

 

"Kobe" WASNT WINNING titles at his age, that's the point!

Wanna post the rosters of those LA teams?

 

The Lakers won titles and Kobe was huge in helping them do that. Those rosters had to compete with very good teams from the West and a Kings team that was loaded. Cleveland has to compete with horrible teams in the East. Even now Kobe is doing good things with the Lakers in the toughest conference and is close to becoming title contenders again.

 

I personally do not think that comparing the Lakers with Kobe, Shaq and Phil Jackson is comparable to the current set up of the Cavaliers and LeBron James. I will be the first person to get on LeBron about his lackluster play, but to compare his team to that of the Lakers is way off base.

The Western Conference was NOT all that loaded when they won. Yes, the Kings were good and San Antonio was good, but I would actually say the West was NOT nearly as good as it is now and has been the past few seasons.

The Cavs do compete in a terrible Eastern Conference, but Detroit is still a good team and Chicago is NOT so bad either. When healthy, Miami is a good team on top of that. Thus, while the East stinks, it is not much worse than the West during the Kobe/Shaq days in LA.

Also, the rosters on these teams are NOT comparable at all. The Lakers not only had Kobe and Shaq, but they also had some great, great role players in Derek Fisher, Robery Horry, Brian Shaw and others.

FFC24, I do agree with you that Kobe was a big part of those championship teams. I would also agree with you that he is a player who wants the ball and at this point he is a better player than LeBron. I just don't think that comparing the two teams is something that can be debated.

 

HEre's the nut... Could Ilgauskas carry the team if LeBron were out?

Shaq could