The Lebron Thread (2014-15 Pt. 2)

[Jaivl]

Best player + sufficient support + health = championship

And that's true since... I guess this year, because Durant + good team + only injury was Ibaka for 2 games = eeeeng.

[Ursusamericanus]

I'm with Brenice on this. They should go all the way. People referring to their overall record or even their total record with LeBron this season or pre-trade statistics are forgetting that they are literally a completely different team now. The only numbers that matter are the ones that only include the game against the Suns and everything after. They have a .833 record in the 18 games since then with wins against the Clippers, Bulls, Wizards, Blazers, and Thunder.

The season didn't really start until the trade, and with LeBron's return and now the Perkins acquisition, I don't see any team taking them down. Offensively they've been overwhelmingly good, defensively they've been pretty mediocre, but let's not forget that the 2001 Lakers were pretty weak defensively until the playoffs when they really locked down and played great on both ends of the floor. There was a legitimate concern about the interior defense collapsing when Mozgov sits, but Perkins is a huge upgrade over Haywood and that can definitely make a difference for the few minutes Mozgov isn't playing each game. If the Warriors are healthy they could give them a tough time (though I don't even think they'll make it to the Finals), but I'd take the Cavs in that series.

[PaulieWal]

Honestly at this point I will be surprised if a team from the East wins the title. The West is absolutely stacked with 2 or 3 teams that I would take over the Cavs (not to mention Bulls/Hawks could play outta their minds and give Cavs all they can handle). How about we all wait for the playoffs to see the teams match-up with each other? And Kyrie/Love never being in a playoff game let alone the Finals has to matter. We have seen players (superstars, all-stars, role players, and even scrubs) struggle in their first few playoff outings. With this Cavs team you are expecting 2 of their best 3 players to go all the way. They could do it but I could also see Love or Irving struggling. Hell I kinda expect Blatt to struggle in the playoffs and earn his stripes.

Only time will tell. No point in arguing about it now.

[Brenice]

Wait and see! That's a lack of confidence. Could the Cavs lose? Yes. Should they be favored? Yes, when you throw out the records. Sounds to me like some LeBron stans have a lack of confidence in LeBron. I don't. I know the Cavs have enough to win it. Like LeBron in Miami against Dallas, LeBron with sufficient support should win it. But if LeBron plays like he did against Dallas, they lose. I don't think that will happen.

[rich316]

Brenice, I think we need to see a little bit more from the Cavs before we can crown them as the favorites. Kyrie, Lebron, and the supporting cast have been very good lately, but we need to see Love become a consistent weapon for them. We've seen flashes of him being good for them, but we need a period of a few weeks where he is scoring well every game before we can say they are definitively better than the Hawks, much less whoever comes out of the West. And the era Lebron as the definitive best-player is over, IMO - the best player belt is somewhat up for grabs, if not Anthony Davis. Lebron could have it by the end of the year in a close decision, but he has been far too inconsistent and has had horrendous turnover problems for it to be a clear edge.

[Brenice]

Brenice, I think we need to see a little bit more from the Cavs before we can crown them as the favorites. Kyrie, Lebron, and the supporting cast have been very good lately, but we need to see Love become a consistent weapon for them. We've seen flashes of him being good for them, but we need a period of a few weeks where he is scoring well every game before we can say they are definitively better than the Hawks, much less whoever comes out of the West. And the era Lebron as the definitive best-player is over, IMO - the best player belt is somewhat up for grabs, if not Anthony Davis. Lebron could have it by the end of the year in a close decision, but he has been far too inconsistent and has had horrendous turnover problems for it to be a clear edge.

Love doesn't have to be a major weapon offensively. He needs to accept his role, rebounder and stretch forward. When causes people to cooperate. He is.

LeBron is still best player in the world. Don't get fooled by his play when he thinks his team is not to win it. They are a threat now. When the playoffs start, you'll see the front running LeBron, the great LeBron. The attacking LeBron.

[PaulieWal]

Yes, I said wait and see because that's the smart thing to do. This year the field is open and I am not ready to anoint any team the favorite this year from the West, let alone the Cavs. It has nothing to do with "confidence in LeBron". What does that mean anyway? It's because I feel that there are stronger teams in the West and I really don't have confidence in this Cavs team as a whole until I see Irving/Love play in the playoffs in some meaningful games.

Also, calling people stans because they disagree with you is pretty weak when no one in this discussion is being a stan or irrational/unreasonable, more like you dislike LeBron and feel the need to attack others for no reason (whomever you were referring to that in that post: myself or others).

[Brenice]

Wait and see? That's weak. This is Realgm. What you need, more stats

[Joao Saraiva]

Wait and see? That's weak. This is Realgm. What you need, more stats

Somebody just got pissed. I wonder if it's because LeBron just took a crap on that Wizards team.

25 minutes of play and almost 30 points on a blowout... lol

You're that guy like Skip Bayless. You try to show LeBron is the only contender, because if he wins his team was so much better and it was all expected, so there is not a lot of credit. But if he loses, then there is a lot to blame him for.

But how could we expect anything diferent? You've been hating on LeBron for years and years now. I hope you get to cry a little more like you certainly did after 2012 and 2013.

[JordansBulls]

Bradley Beal didn't play. That changes the dynamics of the game yesterday.

[Joao Saraiva]

Harden has had 3 subpar games in a row and Houston is not looking to get a better record than Cleveland. So LeBron might be able to catch up with James Harden in the MVP run.

The only guy standing might be Steph Curry... I wonder if there is still time to catch up, but it's not looking good for LeBron. #2 in the MVP race sounds like the most likely scenario right now.

[Joao Saraiva]

Bradley Beal didn't play. That changes the dynamics of the game yesterday.

I know. With Beal back Cleveland shouldn't make it out of the 2nd round.

I mean, the Heat were really stacked (the only reason why LeBron won right?) and they added Dragic and Whiteside!
The Wizards are much better too.
And how about Jimmy Butler? Anything but 15 championships in a row with 15 FMVPs is a failure, but even then he wouldn't be GOAT because he wouldn't win with a franchise that never won before.

[JordansBulls]

Bradley Beal didn't play. That changes the dynamics of the game yesterday.

I know. With Beal back Cleveland shouldn't make it out of the 2nd round.

I mean, the Heat were really stacked (the only reason why LeBron won right?) and they added Dragic and Whiteside!
The Wizards are much better too.
And how about Jimmy Butler? Anything but 15 championships in a row with 15 FMVPs is a failure, but even then he wouldn't be GOAT because he wouldn't win with a franchise that never won before.

You are all over the place. I mention one thing and yet you mention like 15 things irrelevant to what I said.

[Joao Saraiva]

Bradley Beal didn't play. That changes the dynamics of the game yesterday.

I know. With Beal back Cleveland shouldn't make it out of the 2nd round.

I mean, the Heat were really stacked (the only reason why LeBron won right?) and they added Dragic and Whiteside!
The Wizards are much better too.
And how about Jimmy Butler? Anything but 15 championships in a row with 15 FMVPs is a failure, but even then he wouldn't be GOAT because he wouldn't win with a franchise that never won before.

You are all over the place. I mention one thing and yet you mention like 15 things irrelevant to what I said.

With the kind of posts you make about LeBron, did you really think I was going to take you seriously?

[colts18]

Bradley Beal didn't play. That changes the dynamics of the game yesterday.

Shawn Marion didn't play yesterday which changes the dynamics of the game even more than Beal's absence. Marion is an all-star while Beal is not. Marion has led a team in PER and WS before while Beal has not.

[Joao Saraiva]

Bradley Beal didn't play. That changes the dynamics of the game yesterday.

Shawn Marion didn't play yesterday which changes the dynamics of the game even more than Beal's absence. Marion is an all-star while Beal is not. Marion has led a team in PER and WS before while Beal has not.

And Marion did it in a team that never won before. Even tough he didn't win, he still takes extra credit.

[PaulieWal]

Wait and see? That's weak. This is Realgm. What you need, more stats

You what now?

This is how you have derailed the discussion here so far:

You: Cavs should be favorites (okay, fair enough. That's something you can argue for within reason.)
Myself + some others: We rather wait and see especially because don't believe that much in Kyrie + Love yet
-------
You: "LeBron stans are not confident enough" or whatever

That's why people don't take you seriously. So much unnecessarily trolling.

[Ursusamericanus]

Next Thursday against the Warriors...

[Brenice]

Wait and see? That's weak. This is Realgm. What you need, more stats

Somebody just got pissed. I wonder if it's because LeBron just took a crap on that Wizards team.

25 minutes of play and almost 30 points on a blowout... lol

You're that guy like Skip Bayless. You try to show LeBron is the only contender, because if he wins his team was so much better and it was all expected, so there is not a lot of credit. But if he loses, then there is a lot to blame him for.

But how could we expect anything diferent? You've been hating on LeBron for years and years now. I hope you get to cry a little more like you certainly did after 2012 and 2013.

Wrong. First, Ive been a wizard/bullet fan for far too long to worry about losses. I give credit when credit is due. As a wizard fan I watched LeBron eliminate us 3 times in a row on the playoffs and felt he would surpass Jordan as GOAT until his mental weaknesses started popping up.

I was hard on LeBron after what happened in the Dallas series but gave LeBron credit against OKC in 2012.

In 2013, LeBron's play early in the series would have cost the Heat if not for Ray Allen. He got lucky.

In 2014, LeBron and the Heat were in over their heads. Not his fault.

The problem with LeBron stans is that they want to ignore his flaws, make excuses, and don't like when someone brings his flaws up.

But those very weaknesses LeBron has is what makes people claim a wait and see attitude. I guess they want to wait and see how LeBron plays in the Finals.

It ain't about Kyrie and Love. They aren't rookies and I've seen rookies perform well in the playoffs. I thought Kyrie was picked for Team USA for a reason. Kyrie has proven to be a top 4th quarter closer. Love is a role player on this team and he will buy in like Chris Bosh did. They will play fine in the playoffs.

The LeBron fans and stans are getting used to LeBron letting them down and THAT IS WHY they want to WAIT AND SEE. Realgm is all about analyzing basketball. Y'all need to stop taking your cue from LeBron. How stacked do you want his teams to be before you are confident?

LeBron's team is stacked enough right now to win the chip. His team last year wasn't. Do you really think LeBron is playing for next year? LeBron wants more than one and after seeing the deterioration of Wade right in front of his eyes and knowing his own age, does not want to waste years.

[Brenice]

Wait and see? That's weak. This is Realgm. What you need, more stats

You what now?

This is how you have derailed the discussion here so far:

You: Cavs should be favorites (okay, fair enough. That's something you can argue for within reason.)
Myself + some others: We rather wait and see especially because don't believe that much in Kyrie + Love yet
-------
You: "LeBron stans are not confident enough" or whatever

That's why people don't take you seriously. So much unnecessarily trolling.

Until you referee every troll the same, you get no respect. I know I ain't the only person you saw use the word STAN. It's just that I used it referencing LeBron fans that got you twisted. Stop being so sensitive. Stop LeBron-ing.