LeBron hating on Joe

High 5 · Post #1 » by **High 5** » Tue May 6, 2008 4:56 am

EJ on Inside the NBA quoted LeBron as saying he "wouldn't be caught off guard by the Celtics defense like Joe Johnson." LeBron is obviously a better player, but I don't think Joe got caught off guard at all, his teammates just weren't there to help him. If Marvin has a game 5 like his game 6, things may have been a lot different.

Skyhawk1 · Post #2 » by **Skyhawk1** » Tue May 6, 2008 5:58 am

OVERRATED ! The C's will sweep the Cavs !

evildallas · Post #3 » by **evildallas** » Tue May 6, 2008 6:28 am

Actually, I can see where he would think that, but it doesn't all fall on Joe. It's the teammates and the coaching staff that share the brunt of that comment. It would have been better if he hadn't personalized by mentioning Joe.

Joe had an amazing game 4 where he couldn't be stopped. Very LeBronesque. Everyone on the Hawks should have expected quick double teams on Joe next game. Heck, it makes sense from the standpoint that Joe often took a long time to decide that he's going to try to get by the defender during the season. The team should have been prepared and working on the travel day on spacing the offense and what to do when the double comes. Players should have been ready to make themselves available as Joe's outlets and secondary option should have been ready if the defense rotates well. Hell, I posted a poll asking which Hawk would step up when the double team took the ball out of Joe's hands in game 5. The answer didn't come until game 6. This doesn't even account for the difference in supporting casts and the Hawks not having particularly accomplished jump shooters to pass to.

I would expect LeBron to handle the double team better because that how he plays all year. Isolate LeBron, wait for double team and react with shooting cast of jump shooters.

bruno sundov · Post #4 » by **bruno sundov** » Tue May 6, 2008 10:29 am

JJ ripped a win away from the celts by his play in the 4th. I mean how much more do people want out of this guy. I still wish the Celtic's had never traded him.

td00 · Post #5 » by **td00** » Tue May 6, 2008 11:07 am

The focus will continue to be on Marvin until he proves he was worth the potential that he came in with.
3 years later, we have a guy who doesn't have a jump shot on the road.
In college, his game was cleaning up the misses in the paint. He just isn't getting it done at this level on the inside.
I am all for letting Marvin continue to grow, but I would think you know what you have after 4 years in the same system.
He has to be able to hit a 3, and hit a few buckets on the road. Right now, he should be considered the 4th or 5th option on offense. He was not projected for this when he was drafted.

conleyorbust · Post #6 » by **conleyorbust** » Tue May 6, 2008 1:08 pm

Lebron is an amazing player. The most dominant wing player I've watched since Jordan. He's also a bit of a moron sometimes. He, like Paul Pierce with his "guys on sub .500 teams shouldn't be all-stars" comment, has a selective memory problem. King James' last season ended when a defense that was almost as good as the Boston one simply shut him down. He put up comparable shooting numbers to Joe in this series.

I've been having an argument with a dude I work with and he keeps saying, "no one can guard Lebron, he's unstoppable". Its not true. If the Celtics decide that their goal is to shut down Lebron and force the rest of the team to beat them, they will. The could also decide to completely take away the rest of the team and see what the damage is if Lebron goes wild, after all - Mike lost the 63 point game.

The Cavs certainly have a chance to win. The Celtics, as demonstrated by us, aren't invincable. That being said, Lebron's team won 45 games this year. He isn't completely unstoppable.

TyroneSlothrop · Post #7 » by **TyroneSlothrop** » Tue May 6, 2008 4:38 pm

I'm not trying to apologize for LeBron's statement because I didn't hear it or the tone in which he said it, but I know he and Joe are friends and maybe what he was getting at is he's now seen on tape the type of defense that they played against JJ, and that Joe didn't have that luxury coming into the series? If not, then, yeah, he's being a bit of a dick.

ATLfan · Post #8 » by **ATLfan** » Tue May 6, 2008 4:49 pm

Joe and LeBron are good friends so I'm not putting much into this.

Venables · Post #9 » by **Venables** » Tue May 6, 2008 5:21 pm

Yep, Joe and Lebron are cool.

L&H_05 · Post #10 » by **L&H_05** » Tue May 6, 2008 5:53 pm

Joe and LBJ are real tight.. In fact, Joe is at LBJ's bike-a-thon every year in Akron...

LBJ was not "hating" on Joe... But the simple fact of the matter is that the defense the Celtics were playing on Joe in that game 7, is the type of defense LBJ sees in most playoff games, and many times during just the regular season..

LeBron has handled that type of defense for 4 years now.. And yes, the key is to have your teammates make shots, but I do believe LBJ is a bit more equipped to handle that type of pressure due to his experience of it, and his better court vision and passing ability..

But make no mistake about it, he was not hating on Joe..

JoshB914 · Post #11 » by **JoshB914** » Tue May 6, 2008 6:01 pm

^^^ Very true. We love Joe here but LBJ is in another league than JJ. Teams have been defending him like that since day one and he can handle it.

sh0win · Post #12 » by **sh0win** » Tue May 6, 2008 7:48 pm

LeBron is getting more arrogant year by year. I remember he was so humble back in his rookie year. Then the media's "King James" portrayal of him got to his head. Now he growls after every and 1 basket and occasionally flexes his muscles after he posterizes the imaginary defender on the 1 v. none fastbreak.

But I guess he does have a right to hate on Joe, since he is merely on a completely different level than Joe Johnson.

HoopsGuru25 · Post #13 » by **HoopsGuru25** » Tue May 6, 2008 7:53 pm

sh0win wrote:LeBron is getting more arrogant year by year. I remember he was so humble back in his rookie year. Then the media's "King James" portrayal of him got to his head. Now he growls after every and 1 basket and occasionally flexes his muscles after he posterizes the imaginary defender on the 1 v. none fastbreak.

But I guess he does have a right to hate on Joe, since he is merely on a completely different level than Joe Johnson.

I don't agree with this. I think Lebron handles himself on/off the court as well as he can for a super-star player. He also didn't say "I'm better than Joe". He's just saying he's more prepared which is true. This was Joe's 1st time as the number 1 option in the playoffs.

L&H_05 · Post #14 » by **L&H_05** » Tue May 6, 2008 8:08 pm

sh0win wrote:LeBron is getting more arrogant year by year. I remember he was so humble back in his rookie year. Then the media's "King James" portrayal of him got to his head. Now he growls after every and 1 basket and occasionally flexes his muscles after he posterizes the imaginary defender on the 1 v. none fastbreak.

But I guess he does have a right to hate on Joe, since he is merely on a completely different level than Joe Johnson.

This is inaccurate.. And I'm not sure if you're a Hawks fan, but if you are, than you certainly can't be happy with a rookie like Horford getting in an all star's face and then flexing his muscles after certain plays ???

Personally, I loved it... I loved that Horford wasn't backing down..I love his game and attitude...

As for LBJ, he has the right to do some of the things that he does.. He's played in the league at a high level for 5 seasons, and has carried his team to some post season success..

But at the end of the game, win or lose, he gives nothing but praise to his teammates and respect to his opponent...

And again, he wasn't hating on Joe...

High 5 · Post #15 » by **High 5** » Tue May 6, 2008 8:11 pm

I wasn't saying this is going to be some fued, I was just saying he was wrong. Joe wasn't caught off guard. Hating may be a strong word (even though I use it all the time even if it's just little things), but it is a condescending statement. LeBron is one of the greatest talents the league has ever seen, but that doesn't mean he's the smartest or most humble guy around.

prekazi · Post #16 » by **prekazi** » Tue May 6, 2008 8:33 pm

LOL! Why would he hate Joe Johnson? Come on guys you are not working on a tabloid newspaper don't try to start feuds. I'm pretty sure he just wanted to say "unlike Joe Johnson I'm used to being double or triple teamed every game".

Skyhawk1 · Post #17 » by **Skyhawk1** » Tue May 6, 2008 8:51 pm

They said on ESPN the other day when they were playing the Wiz, that Lebron was the one who came up with the "King James" thing. I personally do not like him. I do not get when people say he's the best player in the game. He's very good, but not the best.

tontoz · Post #18 » by **tontoz** » Tue May 6, 2008 9:14 pm

Lebron is averaging 30/8/7 on 48% shooting. Those numbers are just crazy. I think most people would probably be a little cocky if they were putting up those numbers. And i can assure you that MJ was never the most humble guy in the world.

I don't get the "hating" thing. I didn't see that as a criticism of Joe and all and I have probably defended Joe as much as anyone here.

JoshB914 · Post #19 » by **JoshB914** » Tue May 6, 2008 9:37 pm

Lebron is arrogant as hell (at least on the floor). It's one of the reasons he's so good.

NDaATL · Post #20 » by **NDaATL** » Tue May 6, 2008 11:26 pm

L&H_05 wrote:LBJ was not "hating" on Joe... But the simple fact of the matter is that the defense the Celtics were playing on Joe in that game 7, is the type of defense LBJ sees in most playoff games, and many times during just the regular season..

LeBron has handled that type of defense for 4 years now.. And yes, the key is to have your teammates make shots, but I do believe LBJ is a bit more equipped to handle that type of pressure due to his experience of it, and his better court vision and passing ability..

JoshB914 wrote:^^^ Very true. We love Joe here but LBJ is in another league than JJ. Teams have been defending him like that since day one and he can handle it.

JJ's been seeing doubles for the past 2 years as well.

The reason it's tougher to double LeBron is because Cleveland has shooters around him to knock down threes, as does Kobe/Wade etc. You can't leave them open. The Hawks can't shoot the 3 at all and thus teams can easily double JJ leaving everyone else open and we have Smith/Childress/Marvin open on the perimeter, and Bibby is just way too inconsistent. We absolutely can't make teams pay for it. If Marvin doesn't develop 3pt range NEXT year we MUST trade him or get a starter who can. We will never be a good half court team until we can knock down jumpers. And since Acie is our supposed future PG and he isn't a shooter, we HAVE to have shooters at the SF/SG positions. Just find a successful team that sucks at shooting as bad as we do. That team doesn't exist.