Around the NBA 2.0

[EnigmaticProblem]

Like I always say. . . What good is a triple-double, if you ain't clutch?

[LA Forever]

I wonder where Scottie Pippen is?

[Pablo Escobar]

Lebron scored his first and only 2 points in the 4th quarter with about 30sec left in the game.

He's definitely the next MJ worthy

[Slava]

If that was "Now or Never" for LeBron, I guess he should retire. With Batman hobbled, it was his turn & time. Nope. LeRobin. No clutch gene.

http://twitter.com/#!/REALSKIPBAYLESS

Skip Bayless' 12 days of Christmas

[The Skyhook]

Me and my boys were having a blast watching this game. I can't remember the last time people got this happy seeing someone fail.

[RocketPower23]

You know, thinking back to last year, the people that say that missing Perkins was the reason why the Celtics lost just astounds me. For one, Wallace brought an actual offensive presence and provided spacing that Perkins never did or could. On a night where everyone was clanking at the rim, Wallace was a pleasant surprise and delivered. Two, he played Gasol better than Perkins did or at the very least guarded him just as well when he was on him. But what really just makes me laugh is the people that point to the fact that with Perkins in the lineup, the Celtics wouldn't have faced the rebounding deficit they had in game 7. Really? Kendrick Perkins, through 5 games recorded 34 rebounds, which comes out to a whopping 6.8 rebounds a game. He grabbed over 10 rebounds once and for the remainder of the series he grabbed 7 or less rebounds with 3 being his lowest total in a game. Meanwhile, the inferior Rasheed Wallace managed to grab 8 rebounds. Guess what, the Celtics were a poor rebounding team all year WITH Perkins, but somehow a player who isn't a good rebounder to being with would have made all the difference. And the kicker here for me is, Mr. Interior Defender failed to record a single block through 5 games. Oh and that Wallace guy got 2 blocks in game 7 in case you were wondering. People drawing conclusions right out of thin air.

I only bring this up because people are trying to draw comparisons between this year's series and last year's, when the two are totally different circumstances.

[Optms]

Couldn't help but feel there was a sort of invisibility people thought Miami would have if they made it out of the East. I'm somewhat glad they're facing elimination. Lebron continues to show the world how overrated he really is.

[LaLa]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o74t3j-P0QM[/youtube]

Karma's a biatch D-Wade.

[Pablo Escobar]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o74t3j-P0QM[/youtube]

Karma's a biatch D-Wade.

I saw that on the gb.. what pricks, Dirk's not like Lebron who faked an elbow injury and continued to bitch about it

[The_Trade_Seer]

These poor kids from Miami are just in over their heads ... they have all the talent in the world but don't have half the heart of the Mavs. They could still win games 6 and 7 on pure talent alone, but heart usually beats talent and the Mavs actually do look destined to win a title this year.

It's ridiculous how Lebron is being slammed though ... Wade played like garbage against the Bulls and Lebron has been the Heat's MVP for the entire season and the first 3 rounds of the playoffs.

People are expecting or should I say demadning he pop off for a record 63 points or at least 50+ and that just isn't his game. If he went for 50+ that means he is being a ball-hogging idiot and Wade and Bosh are just standing around. For goodness sake the guy got a Magic Johnson like triple double last night and is being ridiculed ... are you kidding me?

[The_Trade_Seer]

I have trouble respecting LeBron. I think it's 'cause I have better footwork than he does, and he's supposed to be a basketball player-- Potentially, supposedly, the greatest of all time.

Hahahaha, I hear ya. I felt the same way about Shaq ... why can I hit 85% and he can't hit 60% from the line.

Or, it could be the fact that he's poisoning the game I love with "crab dribbles", and the chaperoning prattle. You know what, I'll shut up before I author a weighty tome.[/quote]

That's not just LBJ but almost the whole new generation of NBA players. I still scream "that's a travel" about 10 times a game and young pups just look at me like, "what are you talking about", hahahaha.

Just can't seem to like the guy. . .

For me it was the marble bass relief of his own head in his house that irked me ... I mean, what are you Nebuchanezzar, are you kidding me?

I will defend Lebron from what I consider to be baseless attacks as he is an amazing creation of a ball player, but I am not a die-hard Lebron fan and apologist. I've been a Kobe guy through and through since 96' and a Shaq guy since 90' and my fave players in the 80's were Barley and Nique ... but Lebron is a talent like no other, period.

[Shamizy]

Triple doubles don't mean **** if you don't get the W.

[The_Trade_Seer]

No one is complaining the bad shooting, Kobe shot 6/24 in the most important game of his life

And defended and rebounded like a BEAST, don't forget that!

but still its rather what Lebron didn't want to do that's gaining attention. He was afraid to take shots. His 8 pts came on a fastbreak off a Wade steal, 2 FTs on a clear flop and a put back off a Bosh miss.

Lebron is not "afraid to take shots", he is simply committed to efficiency. He NEVER really looks for his shot first, his mentality is almost always to make the best basketbakll play available, whether it be a jumper of his own, an open 3 for a scrub like Eddie house and an open layup for an old dude like Juwan Howard. Lebron is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than Kobe and Jordan in that way.

He was plying hot potato in the 4th quarter when the Heat needed a closer. Its acceptable for a player to try and fail, like Kobe & MJ did but its kind of silly to not have the heart to try especially for someone with a chosen 1 tattoo on his back.

Again, Lebron is not wired like Kobe and MJ, they are nothing alike. Lebron is wired like Magic. Kobe and Jordan are like twins, seperated at birth by a decade, whereas Lebron is more like Magic. Get used to it and appreciate it for what it is.

His defense was rather horrible as well. Marion has been doing whatever he's wanted all series long, and in the last game Terry had his turn.

Lebron locked down Derrick Rose, the MVP of the league ... if he's tired and struggling a bit on D I don't blame him ... much.

I don't know why people get so caught up in box score stats. It's not about LeBron's numbers, rather his mentality and level of effort during the game. He was doing a lot of standing around and generally seemed like he wasn't very involved -- and this after claiming he was going to be more aggressive coming in, as well as Terry calling him out and proceeding to go off on him. He doesn't seem to deal with pressure all that well, and the difference between him and Wade in those situations is night and day.

Wade is a natural scorer ... he's no Kobe or Jordan but his mentality is far more similar to theirs than Lebron's is. However if there's 10 seconds on the clock and the game is on the line I would rather put the ball in Lebron's hands than almost anyone else's in the league ... not because he has the best chance of SCORING but because he has the best chance of making the correct basketball play.

Anyway, LeBron is still a great player, but he's not comparable to Jordan who had a "go for the throat" mentality. LeBron just doesn't have it. Many great players don't.

I don't agree though I would agree that Jordan and Kobe's mentality was stronger. However where Kobe and Jordan would "go for the throat" by trying to score, Lebron would do so by simply making the right basketball play.

Oh, and AI -- LeBron was not the best player against the Celtics. That was rather clearly Wade. LeBron did a great job down the stretch, but overall Wade was better in that series. LeBron was unquestionably the man against the Hawks and Bulls though.

Lebron averaged 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.8 blocks while playing around 45 mins a game ... Wade averaged 30.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals and .6 blocks while playing around 41 mins a game. I would agree that Wade had a little better offensive series but seeing as offense is ONLY 50% of the game (something fans almost always forget) I still believe Lebron was the MVP of that series.

[The_Trade_Seer]

^ Don't be goofy ... Lebron had an off-game, so what. I watched Jordan have many bad performances. Nobody is talking about Lebron's 9 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals, just his 8 points on 11 shots, well I'm sorry but that is just stupid! 8 points on 11 shots is equal to 24 points on 33 shots, something Jordan did quite often, without putting up 9 boards and 7 assists.

When this series is over and the Heat win everyone will probably still be dissing Lebron and talking up Wade because he was the MVP of a measley 7 game series when Lebron was their team MVP all year long and through the first 3 rounds of the playoffs ... garbage.

Wade is stepping up in the finals and Lebron is playing crap...

Dude, this is ONE SERIES ... each series is all about matchups and everyone knew Wade kills the Mavs and that is what he is doing, so what. Bosh played better than Wade during the Bulls series due to the matchups ... it means nothing.

I thought Lebron was MJ and Wade was Pippen but last time I checked I never saw Pippen outplay Michael in the finals so you can justify it any way you want, fact is when susperstars have bad games they still want the ball but not Lebron he doesn't want to mess up his stats so he just stays in the corner and lets Wade do all the work.

Nonsense. In the game he had only 8 points it was the Heat that to bailed out on him, fooling around with the ball for 21 seconds and then tossing it out to Lebron 30 feet from the hoop with a few seconds on the shot clock. Last night the guy had a triple double and all anyone wants to do is attack him, it's pathetic.

[andrewww]

These poor kids from Miami are just in over their heads ... they have all the talent in the world but don't have half the heart of the Mavs. They could still win games 6 and 7 on pure talent alone, but heart usually beats talent and the Mavs actually do look destined to win a title this year.

It's ridiculous how Lebron is being slammed though ... Wade played like garbage against the Bulls and Lebron has been the Heat's MVP for the entire season and the first 3 rounds of the playoffs.

People are expecting or should I say demadning he pop off for a record 63 points or at least 50+ and that just isn't his game. If he went for 50+ that means he is being a ball-hogging idiot and Wade and Bosh are just standing around. For goodness sake the guy got a Magic Johnson like triple double last night and is being ridiculed ... are you kidding me?

disagree.

lbj was the best player in the chicago and philly series, but wade's been the guy in the boston and dallas series, who happen to be the 2 toughest outs for miami imo.

does lbj catch some unfair flack? yes. but he brought this on himself, and how people keep making excuses for the guy is beyond me.

for those who say dwade is starting to become a douche too, you guys just havent followed ball intelligently for the past decade. wade's always been lebron-lite when it comes to antics, just look at their pre-game rituals. wade does chin ups on the basket, lbj does his powder toss. if that doesnt scream "look at me" i dont know what does. these guys also exhibit entitlement arrogance, and it's obvious they care about their stats and will flop like hollywood to get their way, not to mention the percieved notion that they colluded to form a superteam (why else would mike miller not sign the same contract with the lakers on the first day? its because he knew his boy lebron was going to south beach).

for better or worse, it's obvious kobe doesnt play for stats, but rather to win (sometimes he's too stubborn and that's a legit knock on kobe imo). even gary payton has declared kobe's work ethic second to no one. he's a true student of the game, and represents a lot more of what is right with basketball than those clowns from south beach.

[Slava]

You still don't score 11 pts in 5 4th quarters by making correct basketball plays. Taking fadeaway 3s while knowing your shooting is not good is not a correct basketball play.

Forcing inferior talent in Chlamers to make a play with the shot clock dieing is not a correct basketball play and he was even rebuked by Wade for that.

I really don't know how you can make a case for Lebron here. If he was atleast above average heat win this series already.

[Pablo Escobar]

Triple doubles don't mean **** if you don't get the W.

THIS

[LA Forever]

I believe he could be one of the greatest to ever play the game, but his weak mentality is what is preventing him to reach that level. He gets critized so much for failing his team and disappearing when it matters the most, but when the opportunity presents itself, (Wade was out for some time during Game 5) he was still nowhere to be found. He should have taken over the game at that time and silence all the critics and haters. I admit, I make fun of him at any chance I get because he makes it so easy for me to do so. He’s free to rise up to the occasion and shut all of us up, but time and time again, he folds. He has a fragile mentality that is not immune to any criticism and ridicule. If he had the mentality of let’s say… a Michael Jordan or even a Kobe Bryant, we would not be here cracking jokes about him. The fact is that he is nowhere near their level when it comes to taking failure and criticism and using that as fuel to elevate their game. If any of those two players had as bad of a game as LeBron did in the Finals, best believe that they come back the next day with a strong performance.

LeBron James himself said that Game 5 was going to be the biggest game of his life. He did follow it up with a triple double, but only scored 2 points in the 4th quarter, when his team needed him the most. Yes, he rebounded, which is a given due to a man of his size and athleticism, and yes, he dished out dimes, but when the game is on the line, a player with your ability needs to take over the game.

With that said, the series is far from over. He can either rise to the occasion and beat the Mavericks twice in Miami… or subject himself to even further criticism and ridicule. I just don’t believe he has it in him to do so. I’d like to see him prove me and the millions of people who want to see him fail, wrong.

[The_Trade_Seer]

for those who say dwade is starting to become a douche too, you guys just havent followed ball intelligently for the past decade. wade's always been lebron-lite when it comes to antics, just look at their pre-game rituals. wade does chin ups on the basket, lbj does his powder toss. if that doesnt scream "look at me" i dont know what does. these guys also exhibit entitlement arrogance, and it's obvious they care about their stats and will flop like hollywood to get their way, not to mention the percieved notion that they colluded to form a superteam (why else would mike miller not sign the same contract with the lakers on the first day? its because he knew his boy lebron was going to south beach).

I agree 100% I NEVER liked Wade and consider him to be very fake.

for better or worse, it's obvious kobe doesnt play for stats, but rather to win (sometimes he's too stubborn and that's a legit knock on kobe imo). even gary payton has declared kobe's work ethic second to no one. he's a true student of the game, and represents a lot more of what is right with basketball than those clowns from south beach.

The Mamba knows ...

[andrewww]

from lakersground...good overall assessment...

His offensive skill set is very limited -- every post-game pundit says that Miami has to get "Lebron in transition" or get "Lebron on the run" etc etec.

Lebron's repertoire is:

1) His transition game (& bulldozing layups)
2) A spotty jump shot

If his shot isn't dropping then defenses like the Mavs will limit his transition point to about 4 pts. Hence Lebron's offensive game is reduced to powder.


Lebron has never developed a post game - the few times he tries he looks like a robot chucking up a shot

Lebron can not create his own shot

Lebron has no fade away jumper

Lebron plays poorly off the ball

etc etc

more...

Well, James can create his own shot -- he just puts his head down and blows by you or through you. either way he either scores at the rim or gets free throws. In the open court, you simply have to foul him as soon as you can away from the basket and before he gets the ball up because otherwise he'll just bulldoze his way to the rim. He's a physical marvel, but his overall skill level is not commensurate with his physical dominance.

Lebron reminds me of Herschel Walker, remember him? Heissman Trophy winner out of Georgia back in the day. Played for the USFL, The Vikings, and Dallas. Great straight-ahead runner, but seemingly only ran at one speed, and had very little wiggle in his runs, lacking subtlety. It was all power. Somewhat robotic.

Lebron's scoring is similarly predictable and one-dimensional. Now, His passing is elite, but is so far ahead of his shooting skills that it's almost like two players trapped in one body.

Lebron plays poorly off the ball because he's essentially a ball dominant PG, but people look at his size and say, "no, he's not a PG, he's the ultimate swiss army knife-jack-of-all-trades-GOAT." No. He's a blown up point guard with a mediocre outside shot. The reason he gets a lot of assists is not that he has otherworldy court-vision (although his court vision is elite), it's that he always has the freaking ball in his hands. In many ways, Rajon Rondo is as effective a player, and does it with much less hoopla. if Rajon Rondo was 6 inches taller and about 7- pounds heavier -- they'd be the same player. Great distributor, horrible shooter. If I'm defending Lebron, I let him shoot all day long from outside because he simply is not a reliable jumpshooter. I actually think Lebron would become a much better shooter is he shot a set shot, like Magic used to shoot. Lebron has faulty mechanics in his jumper and although he's improved somewhat, it's still not reliable, which should start concerning him . He should be a much better shooter by now. Take away his shots at the rim and his percentages are not pretty.

He tightens up late in games -- I don't think people can deny that anymore. He's been known to cough up free throws, and he starts hurrying his shot. If he misses one or two early in the fourth, you can bet he'll become very passive the rest of the way because he starts thinking about the fact that he can't shoot. There have been many games I've watched him play where his shooting from distance late becomes almost embarrassing. Rememebr that one game against Orlando in the play-offs when he sank that buzzer beater? The next night ABC was still buzzing about it, and even interviewed him at half-time of the following night's game.

There haven't been too many game winning jumpers since then, have there?

People keep saying ,"once he develops his jumper, he'll be unstoppable."
Well, if it hasn't happened by now, will it ever?

He's a great player whose physical ability masks a lot of flaws in his skill-set.

But he is NOT the most complete player in the league. You cant say that about a guy in a sport where shooting is the quintessential skill, and it's a skill that he simply hasn't mastered.

The closest comparison in basketball is Shaq. Physically, no one was in Shaq's league physically (I would argue that Griffin IS in Lebron's league, however). But his free-thrwo shooting, indifferent defenses, and lazy rebounding prevented him from being THE most dominant guy ever.

I think James will have a similar career. Too many flaws in his game to be utterly unstoppable. But while he's got his legs, he'll put up numbers night in and night out. I do think he will win a ring or two. If he were paired with a true big, he'd win a lot more.

SGH