LeTravel, LaQween, LaDouche - La Going to LA

[queridiculo]

Classic.

[closg00]

LeBron passes up last shot; Miami loses

“I know the chatter will begin,” LeBron James said.

Is that chatter” as in talk? Or “chatter”as in “chattering” teeth?

Just five nights after he was taken to task (by some harder than by others) for not attempting the game-tying shot in the All-Star game, LeBron James had a brilliant fourth quarter until that quarter came to an end. With the game on the line in Utah, James passed to Udonis Haslem for an open 17-foot jumper that missed, and Miami’s winning streak was halted at nine.

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/03/03 ... ami-loses/

Sweet!!

[Zonkerbl]

I can't knock him for that play. He was double teamed and he passed it to a guy who was open and can make that shot. He's a team player -- that's part of his game.

Of course he could have also just elevated and taken the shot. I think it shows faith in his teammates, especially if he told Haslem before hand that he was going to pass it to him if he's open.

I hope he doesn't end up like Karl Malone, who will forever be remembered for wilting against MJ in the finals. I liked Karl.

[Severn Hoos]

I have plenty of antipathy for the persona and (so far) squandered greatness of LeBron, but I have to agree with Zonker on this one. How many times did MJ pass of to Paxson/Kerr/Armstrong for that final shot? Remember the last shot over the Suns in '93? (Don't answer that - I don't want to know that half the board wasn't even alive when that shot happened...)

On the other hand, I don't know why it would bother Zonk if that's ultimately LeBron's fate. I think it would be less of an indictment of him personally as the system and environment that handed him everything at an early age, to the point where he learned too late what it takes to be a champion. But that chapter remains to be written.

[closg00]

BS, Bron should-have and could-have gone for the win just as easily as he passed-up the shot. He did the same thing at the allstar game, that clip is inserted as part of the highlights.
http://www.nba.com/video/games/jazz/201 ... recap.nba/

[jimij]

I absolutely agree that LeBron made the right play there. I've got no problem with a superstar hitting an open man (and a relatively good shooter) for the game winner as long as said superstar is the one creating the shot. I'll kill for LeBron playing hot potato with the ball against Dallas last year where he didn't do anything to create opportunities for himself or others.

That said, I still find it ridiculous that LeBron's first reaction after the game is not to be bummed that they lost but to worry about the criticism that he'll take in the media. The guy cares more about his brand than wins and losses.

[pancakes3]

if he did take the shot, he probably would have crab dribbled anyway. douched if he did, douched if he didn't. i think haslem should have swung it one more time to wade on the wing. it would have cut it pretty close but wade was wide WIDE open. shame on lebron for taking so long to make his move...

[miller31time]

It doesn't really matter whether he passed on the shot or took it for himself. The scrutiny his every move brings from the national media is what comes with the territory when he inked his contract with Miami and teamed up with two other superstars in Wade and Bosh.

[Nivek]

It was the right play. He was doubled, he passed to the open man. A double-teamed Lebron shooting the ball gave the team maybe a 35-40% chance of winning. An open Haslem from that range was probably 50-50.

[DCZards]

If Lebron took the shot against the double team and missed, he would have been scorched and called selfish for not passing the ball to a wide open Haslem. He can't win. Someone should tell Lebron to not even respond to the chatter...and just point to the Heat's W-L record.

[FAH1223]

Kobe torches the Heat and gets his revenge on Wade who fouled out

Artest played his first real good game in a long time

[fishercob]

I'm over my Lebron hate.

It's been building for some time, actually. I just haven't gotten around to posting my proclamation.

As a Wizards fan, I was ahead of the curve on hating Lebron. We hated him before it was cool and we had good reason. Observing Lebron recently, as well has his detractors, has made me appreciate him more, empathize with him and appreciate his greatness.

To me, this is about basketball. I hated Lebron because I didn't like how he played the game, hated his entitlement, how he carried himself, etc. Some of that was real, some of that was sticking up for my team. But Lebron has evolved. He plays the game the right way. Read that again -- he plays the game the right way. People don't appreciate how good he is.

He's made bad decisions in his PR, principally The Decision. Firstly, he has since apologized and openly expressed regret. Secondly, his job is to play basketball, and he got horrific advice from his handlers. It was awful, but it's done now. I'm over it.

I loved rooting for him in 2008 and I am looking forward to rooting for him again this summer at the Olympics. I am concerned that American basketball fans won't get behind him or the team because of the constant media backlash against every little thing he does.

About that media backlash: every time the Heat lose it is Lebron's fault. He makes the right play and passes to a shooter or a guy who has a mistmatch and THAT guy doesn't deliver? Lebron's fault. The constant nitpicking and criticism crossed the threshold of stupidity months ago. He has a ways to go to join the pantheon of greats and he may or may not get there. Goodness knows other greats have struggled to get there too -- including Jordan, Dirk, Olajuwon, etc.

It's not that I'm rooting for him now, per se. I'm not. I don't like the Heat and especially their fans. But there is an element of wanting to shut SKip Bayless and every a-hole on Twitter up, as well as wishing that purported "basketball fans" would appreciate how good he is and how important he is to The Game.

[Ruzious]

It's not that I'm rooting for him now, per se. I'm not. I don't like the Heat and especially their fans. But there is an element of wanting to shut SKip Bayless and every a-hole on Twitter up, as well as wishing that purported "basketball fans" would appreciate how good he is and how important he is to The Game.

Yes. This idea that Lebron is diminished for not taking last shots is absurd. Most of the supposed great closers over the last few decades don't have good percentages taking the last shot. If he sets up the closing shot by passing well out of a double-team, he's done what a great closer should do. If he doesn't have a Robert Horry or Steve Kerr as a teammate hitting those shots, that's not his fault. Imo, like him or not - Lebron is easily the best player in the NBA. And Wade has actually become more irritating. Wade's ESPN commercial - where he's "pretending" to be a prima dona - has become ironic.

[nate33]

I still hate Lebron, but I must admit I'm developing a grudging respect for his game. He still whines and cries too much, but I've got to give him props for his defense. He is a terror on that end of the court and you gotta love two-way superstar players.

[Nivek]

I don't like Lebron the guy, but he's a phenomenal player. Like nate, I hate the constant whining to officials. But that guy can play. And I agree with fish that he plays the right way for the most part. To me, the criticisms of Lebron's late-game play usually just highlights the deficiencies in our basketball analysis. It's all so superficial and meaningless. This morning, I heard about 30 seconds of Mike & Mike yammering about it, and then my son said basically WTF? and I was turning down the radio to tell him why the points being made were inane.

[DCZards]

Well said, Fishercob. Great to see Lebron getting some love. I've often been a lone voice in this thread. Lebron does whine too much and The Decision thing was downright stupid. I was glad to see that Lebron himself admitted that The Decision was a mistake.

But Lebron's basketball talent--on both ends of the court--is the real deal. He is clearly the best player in the game. One of the things I like most about Lebron is his composure. He almost never reacts to the rough stuff or opponents efforts to get under his skin.

My guess is that a lot of Lebron haters are grudgingly coming around and that when he puts on the old red, white and blue "USA" jersey this summer he'll be just as loved as the other players on this summer's Olympic team.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

I'd never thought (actually I guess I hoped) I'd see the day when there were multiple empathetic post about Lebron James, nonetheless on the same page of our sacred hate-Lebron thread.

No one in their right mind will deny that Lebron is a great player, a physical specimen or that he has a combination of athletic tools that compiled together create a perfect storm for him to use against opponents. The guy is 6'8'', 260 lbs. and just about as fast and pound-for-pound strong as anyone in the league. But for me, that's were the praise ends.

I could careless about the whole "4...5...6...7 championships" thing -he was simply excited to be joining a new team and frankly what the hell else would you expect him to say- or that he poked fun at Kendrick Perkins after he got dunked on by Griffin or his disgustingly annoying nail-biting habit or that he walked off the court in the Orlando series without shaking hands with opposing players -unsportsmanship-like, yeah, but shoot, if anything you can't complain about a player being very emotional (possibly not thinking right) after losing a series his team was favored in and probably should have won- or even the mega docouche bag/wannabe hipster fashion he and many of his fellow teammates and players display on a startlingly regular basis. Those things are petty, and again to me are minor in the grand scheme of things. I'm not partial to disliking James, but what I am partial to is basing my opinion of him off of my observations of his frequent behaviors.

Do I even have to mention his greatest hits of things he has said, done, or gotten away with throughout the years? No man is beyond redemption, but when someone consistently behaves in a certain manner, I'm going to assume that the person is beyond redemption until he proves to me otherwise. From "Their trying to hurt me," to embarrassingly egotistical and over-the-top warmups with teammates, to Crab Dribbles, to shirts stating "Check My $tats," to poking Arenas before free-throws (which any other player would have been T-ed up for), to "The Announcement," to dancing during games, to throwing up Jay-Z-like hand jesters, to whining to the refs when people breath on him too hard (yes, many players are prone to whining, but some take it to a new stratosphere that I previously thought was unattainable), to obvious flopping (again, the whole new stratosphere thing; some players don't even bother to even realistically sell it); the list goes on and on and on and on with Lebron. I won't even get into his playoff failures (first Olympics as well) or the fact that he felt he needed to join two other great players to win it all, all of those things are well documented, there's no point in beating a dead horse.

All these things have guided me in my disliking (not hatred) of James and should probably guide yours as well. Let us not forget, we didn't select Lebron James when he drafted to be our punching bag, its just his body of on and off the court work has put him at our eye level.

[cwb3]

Good thoughts from all. . .still hate him though. . .can't help myself.

[fishercob]

Cnt, the other thing I forgot to mention is I think Lebron comes by the character flaws -- evidence of which you recount -- very honestly. I think the combination of of being preternaturally and prodigiously gifted from a young age and being poor with no father figure was a very tough combo. I'm guessing that as a kid, most every adult in Lebron's life wanted something from him -- whether their intentions were nefarious or not. When you're told repeatedly that you're special -- particularly when you're not old or wise enough to know better -- you start to believe it.

Nearly everything you mention is in the relatively distant past. He has evolved, matured, and become more outwardly humble. If I'm going to hate on the guy for being a certain way, it's only fair to give him credit for improving that behavior. To not do so would make one a hypocrite.

[DCZards]

Do I even have to mention his greatest hits of things he has said, done, or gotten away with throughout the years? No man is beyond redemption, but when someone consistently behaves in a certain manner, I'm going to assume that the person is beyond redemption until he proves to me otherwise. From "Their trying to hurt me," to embarrassingly egotistical and over-the-top warmups with teammates, to Crab Dribbles, to shirts stating "Check My $tats," to poking Arenas before free-throws (which any other player would have been T-ed up for), to "The Announcement," to dancing during games, to throwing up Jay-Z-like hand jesters, to whining to the refs when people breath on him too hard (yes, many players are prone to whining, but some take it to a new stratosphere that I previously thought was unattainable), to obvious flopping (again, the whole new stratosphere thing; some players don't even bother to even realistically sell it); the list goes on and on and on and on with Lebron. I won't even get into his playoff failures (first Olympics as well) or the fact that he felt he needed to join two other great players to win it all, all of those things are well documented, there's no point in beating a dead horse.

These things are just as petty and minor as the things you mentioned in the previous paragraph. You should have followed your own advice about not beating a dead horse.