WOOT! We survived LeBron Rules!!!

[bru87tr]

Lebron should've dished the ball and allowed the team to stay in the game, otherwise, damned good balling from him in game 7.

Regarding the shirt, we backed that play up and watched it frame by frame and there wasn't a shirt-grabbing that any of us could see. Pretty minor compared to the shorts-dropping of Ron Artest, anyway.

Regarding his 3rd person, historical persona, he's been treated as a god since he entered his teen years, I think he's handling it better than Michael Jackson........

Thankfully, they've surrounded him with Celtics castaways and we survived the series with Ray showing up for only 1 game.

you are joking about the shirt grab, right ?

[bru87tr]

First off, I liked LBJ before this, and I like him now. Yeah he gets tons of calls and still has the audacity to complain about the ones he doesn't get, but whatever.

We beat him. He travels every time he drives, gets tons of calls despite initiating contact, and got away with a blatant grab and a double-dribble today. Oh, also, we beat him despite him going bananas offensively. Good for us.

While he's a cocky guy (with good reason), to those who say he wasn't gracious in defeat, what postgame press conference were you watching? He went on and on about how much of a Pierce fan he is, etc. And he gave credit where it was due. I didn't hear about him complaining. As for talking in the 3rd person and implying he could use more help, can you blame him?

lebron did suprise me at the press conference. he gave alot of props to pierce and said how much of a fan he is and he watched him before he came into the league and was always a fan of his play.

that suprised me and he got my respect cause I figured he would be a sore loser considering his third person talk and the way he acts on court.

but the guy gives credit where its due.

I tell ya, my heart was pounding cause of that jerk. my heart hasnt had that much of a workout since 2002!!!! got to give the guy credit whether refs favor him or not. he single handed almost killed the celts. I said the cavs had no business beating the pistons and getting to the finals, but after wathing him against the celts I take that back.

[DieselCeltic]

LeBron is one helluva player. We all know this. Is he better than Kobe, NO. Never. People might disagree. Remember, Cavs ALMOST eliminated us. LeBron doesn't have another ALL-STAR to go to. We have 3 and still struggled.

I didn't appreciate LeBron leaving the court so quick and not even shaking/congratulating us.

[Athanacropolis]

LeBron is a class act, and it's not his fault that game 7 was officiated by Ken Mauer, Bennett Salvatore, AND Eddie F. Rush. Might as well call that the Stern Button Crew. But in all honestly, I didn't think the refs were too horrible that game. But yeah, the out-of-bounds foul was ridiculous.

I still like LeBron...just glad the Celtics don't have to deal with him anymore!

[DelMonte West]

we move on DESPITE the hosing the refs gave us in game 6....and tried again today...Remember PP's "charge" in game 6?.....Delonte ran over Rajon today(more blatantly by the way)....and Kenny Mauer calls a block....Lebron double dribbles right in front of the C's bench---NO call...even Big Z ripped out Perk's jersey early on...NO call on Mauer's watch........nice.

Don't forget Mike Breen openly pining for a flagrant call when Brown fouled Big Z late in the 4th.

I respect James' game, but the bias the media has for him is disgusting, ESPECIALLY with the dittoheads at ESPN.

[Kids Are Alright]

-= original quote snipped =-



you are joking about the shirt grab, right ?

Did you replay it? Just because Doc goes nuts doesn't make it a shirt grab

3 of us, all diehard C's fans couldn't see it.

[sam_I_am]

I think in previous years it was true that Lebron got favoritism from refs. But this year I was screaming at TV about a call. Then they showed replay and sure enough, Lebron was getting fouled.

I think the jersey call was awful but the refs did immediately give us a makeup call when they called a block on Ben Wallace that was clearly a charge.

Lebron doesn't need help from the referees. He is only 23 and over the next 10 years will absolutely dominate this league as none other has since Jordan. He showed us something new this year. He showed that he himself can be the best defender on his team. Last year it was all about great defenders around him shutting down the Pistons while Lebron handled the load offensively. This year he took his team to 7 because of his brilliance even while shooting badly in 5 games.

If Cleveland can keep Varejao, West, Gibson and Lebron together and add a legitimate #2 playmaker to take some of the burden off of Lebron and replace Z when he gets old..... they are going to dominate the East for the next decade. Thank god for us that Boozer screwed the franchise over because otherwise Cleveland would already be racking up the trophies.

[Darth Celtic]

-= original quote snipped =-



Did you replay it? Just because Doc goes nuts doesn't make it a shirt grab

3 of us, all diehard C's fans couldn't see it.

i know a real good optomitrist then.

U must have watched the wrong play. Even on just the abc replay LBJ grabs the shirt and yanks it back so his jersey was 12 inches behind him keeping him from running after ball. U can' tmiss it.

[lojowo]

I pretty much agree with the sentiment of this string.

I cant blame Lebron for when the refs blow the whistle because thats the referees decision to give Lebron the call.

Its when Lebron EXPECTS every call that drives me crazy.

[Scalamental]

If Cleveland can keep Varejao, West, Gibson and Lebron together and add a legitimate #2 playmaker to take some of the burden off of Lebron and replace Z when he gets old..... they are going to dominate the East for the next decade. Thank god for us that Boozer screwed the franchise over because otherwise Cleveland would already be racking up the trophies.

They should probably start by getting good players. Lebron will win for the next ten years if Jason Kidd's corpse and another 2nd banana star player joins the team.

[MyInsatiableOne]

You remember that play where the announcers were mad at Perk for arguing the call when LeBron collapsed and started clutching his shoulder?(An obvious act) Was I just wearing green colored glasses or did LeBron step out of bounds before running into Perk?

That play alternately cracked me up and pissed me off. When he was on the ground clutching his shoulder, my dad and I were saying "yeah right" and sure enough then he pops up and nails two FTs.

I like LeBron a lot, but the flopping and acting and expecting the calls and getting the calls ruins it all for me. Which is a shame, as he's so good he doesn't need the help.

[Gus McCrae]

1) Lebron absolutely pulled Pierce's shirt, He pulled it so it becasme untucked and tugged it for about 18 inches past pierce's waist.

2) that aside, please don't say lebron only gets foul calls or undermine how great a player he is. The guy SINGLE-HANDEDLY took the Cavs to game 7 against your "great" team. He also took the cavs to the NBA Finals last year.

yes, he does travel sometimes, i think the refs give it to him because he gets hacked worse than anyone in the NBA constantly. if Ray Allen absorbed those types of checks and hacks he'd be on the floor everytime.

Celts beat the Cavs, Lebron scared the $hit out of you in the process.

[ParticleMan]

To give props, I do think Lebron was very gracious after the game, especially to Pierce.

But during the game his antics and whining are really starting to tick me off. That and the refs blatantly let him get away with it. it's incomprehensible.

i'm not saying he's not a great player. he is. he just needs to clean up his on-court act a bit, and the refs/NBA need to stop sucking his dick.

[tombattor]

I think in previous years it was true that Lebron got favoritism from refs. But this year I was screaming at TV about a call. Then they showed replay and sure enough, Lebron was getting fouled.

I think the jersey call was awful but the refs did immediately give us a makeup call when they called a block on Ben Wallace that was clearly a charge.

Lebron doesn't need help from the referees. He is only 23 and over the next 10 years will absolutely dominate this league as none other has since Jordan. He showed us something new this year. He showed that he himself can be the best defender on his team. Last year it was all about great defenders around him shutting down the Pistons while Lebron handled the load offensively. This year he took his team to 7 because of his brilliance even while shooting badly in 5 games.

If Cleveland can keep Varejao, West, Gibson and Lebron together and add a legitimate #2 playmaker to take some of the burden off of Lebron and replace Z when he gets old..... they are going to dominate the East for the next decade. Thank god for us that Boozer screwed the franchise over because otherwise Cleveland would already be racking up the trophies.

Yup. I agree with pretty much the entire post.

Another thing about Lebron and fouls is this. He's so physical and draws so much body contact, it really puts a lot of pressure on the refs to call something. And Lebron being such a great player and talent, he'll get the calls, more often than not. The same goes for every other great player that forces the action.

[ParticleMan]

I'm not talking about the judgement calls. Of course those will go to Lebron, all stars get those calls. and for most of the series, i think it's been called very well. but suddenly, in the 4th Q of tight games, Lebron plays with a different set of rules. Lebron Rules. I'm talking about obvious, clear calls in open space that perplexingly refs just seem to ignore.

There was the charge in Game 6. that's been talked about to death. how can the refs blow such an obvious and critical call? i have no idea.

Then the shirt grab. Again, how do you miss that? It's right there, in the middle of the court, clear unobstructed view for 3 refs, Pierce gets his shirt pulled, stumbles, kicks the ball out of bounds, and the refs just look around like nothing happened. Cavs ball. WTF?!?

Then the double dribble. Lebron drives, stops, puts two hands on the ball, then keeps dribbling it back out to reset. Hell, even on the playground you don't get away with that crap. I'm not talking about Lebron taking an extra step or whatever. I'm talking about an obvious call in wide open space. what the hell are the refs looking at???

It's like the refs are just afraid to call something on Lebron. I have no idea why. Maybe it's because they're intimidated by a 6-9 260 guy flailing wildly every time a call goes against him. Maybe it's from the league. Who knows. All I know is I'm f-ing sick of it. The league and refs need to clean up their act. Rules are rules. Everyone has to play by them. It's good to be the King, but not that good.

[3LeafClover]

I thoroughly agree with the original post in this thread. And everyone is very pleased that the Celtics made it through to the next round by a hair's breadth, but all the points of contention raised here would have been amplified had the C's lost as the powers that be intended.

Now is the time to complain about the bias - not after a loss, when it would merely seem like sour grapes. The NBA's latest promotional poster child is in fact a great player - of course, this goes without saying - however, the integrity of the game is at stake; the very game that Lebron claims to love and have an appreciation of its history. It feels similar to watching professional boxing, with the same level of corruption and "foul" play.

The league is motivated by merchandising. Whoever is the most marketable player is the favored player. Pete Rose was kicked out of baseball for possibly manipulating the outcome of games; so what is to be said of referees who are carrying out orders to do just that? The part that's most aggravating is that it's almost an accepted reality. The commentators joke about it like it's no big deal.

Michael Jordan was the best... shoe salesman of all time. That's what it's all about now - selling merchandise. Yes, Kevin Garnett's # 5 Celtics jersey was the top seller, but the NBA and its investors are concerned with their long term interests, promotion of young players with upside.

What's going to happen now is the atrocity that almost happened will be forgotten, because we are giddy about winning a series that should have, in all likelihood, been a blowout if not for the disparity in free-throw attempts. Now is exactly the time to complain.

Stern didn't get the dream Kobe vs. Lebron Finales cash cow he wanted. As Celtic fans we can only hope that a Celtics vs. Lakers matchup is his second choice. Still makes me sick to my stomach.

[lojowo]

[Mugging Pierce and stealing the ball? No foul.]

Where the Hell was Paul Pierce's Mom during that steal in the 4th quarter?

It was a clear foul as Lebron plants one arm on Pierce back, pushed him to the floor as he reached for the ball.

If Pierce did the same to Lebron, it would have been called.[/quote]

[hickfromfrenchlick]

^ I didn't think that was a foul.

To the guy who didn't see LBJ grab Paul's shirt, you must have been watching the wrong play. (It wasn't the steal, it was when the ball went off Paul's leg -- because LeBron clutched at him twice.)

I do agree with the people here that said that sometimes it looks like LBJ gets a BS foul call and when you look at the replay he did get hacked. Case in point: when KG cleanly blocked him, the replay showed that Posey threw his arms into LeBron's torso. But he also gets away with a lot of ticky-tack stuff. And the NBA's continuation rule has gotten to the point of absurdity. Delonte drew a handcheck foul about 19 feet from the basket (at which point the whistle blew), dribbled twice to the tin and shot it, and the ref was about to give the "and 1" sign. Luckily it dribbled off the rim. Unbelievable. It's really stupid. And needs to be corrected.

And to whoever said LeBron would "never" be as good as Kobe, I think that's ridiculous. LeBron is a great jumpshot away from being the most dominant wing player ever. I'm not saying it will happen but it can happen. It's not like he's got Tony Allen's or Rajon Rondo's jumper as a starting point. LeBron's so young -- who knows what his upside is? Kobe's been in the league for 12 years. You learn a thing or two.

[Kids Are Alright]

oh nooooooooo! we DVR'd the game and watched and rewatched the first camera angle of Pierce turning it over in the 4th, but we missed the 2nd camera shot before the commercial break.

In my defense, the 1st angle showed nada.

The 2nd was so obvious, the ESPN clowns actually mentioned it on national TV.

Pretty sad, eh?

[MyInsatiableOne]

^ I didn't think that was a foul.

To the guy who didn't see LBJ grab Paul's shirt, you must have been watching the wrong play. (It wasn't the steal, it was when the ball went off Paul's leg -- because LeBron clutched at him twice.)

I do agree with the people here that said that sometimes it looks like LBJ gets a BS foul call and when you look at the replay he did get hacked. Case in point: when KG cleanly blocked him, the replay showed that Posey threw his arms into LeBron's torso. But he also gets away with a lot of ticky-tack stuff. And the NBA's continuation rule has gotten to the point of absurdity. Delonte drew a handcheck foul about 19 feet from the basket (at which point the whistle blew), dribbled twice to the tin and shot it, and the ref was about to give the "and 1" sign. Luckily it dribbled off the rim. Unbelievable. It's really stupid. And needs to be corrected.

And to whoever said LeBron would "never" be as good as Kobe, I think that's ridiculous. LeBron is a great jumpshot away from being the most dominant wing player ever. I'm not saying it will happen but it can happen. It's not like he's got Tony Allen's or Rajon Rondo's jumper as a starting point. LeBron's so young -- who knows what his upside is? Kobe's been in the league for 12 years. You learn a thing or two.

^^That's what pisses me off the no end, when the refs wait to see if a shot goes in or who gets possession on a rebound or steal before blowing the whistle. As if the outcome determines whether indeed it was a **** foul or not. AARRRGGH