Westbrook truly stepped up his game yesterday he was fantastic. 43 pints. He took the attack to the Heat and while I can quibble with some of his shot selection, as an example why in a crucial moment late in the fourth quarter was he taking a jumper and not driving to the hoop. They couldn't cover him when he drove. He has game and is young. He will only improve. He will cut down his turnovers. He will temper his chucking. Learning when to dish and when to shoot. He will be a better distributor of the ball. He will be a better defender too. His upside potentially is to be the best guard in the NBA since Magic. Harden has been a major disappointment. Durant has suffered from guarding LeBron.
More like you speak to the kobetards,knicks and chicago bulls fans. Seattle supersonics fans are supporting miami heat.
Westbrook should not be criticized for being selfish in Game 4. He was a man possessed. Durant didn't have a good night and if it wasn't for Russ it would have been a blowout. I haven't seen a more "energetic" performance than his in a while. He'll learn to be a little more selective with his shots but i don't think he can change much more than that. This is how he plays. I think as fans we get too caught up in how players should be playing rather than really appreciating what a player naturally brings to the table. I think Pizza mentioned those Bosh 'tough guy' roars after a layup or a foul. They are really just painful to watch. I grimace every time he does that. I know he gets excited but it just looks so lame. How about the Heat supporting cast. Battier in the first 2 games and now Chalmers and that other guy, the rookie (sorry i forget his name). They've come up big. It might not be a popular opinion but i think Bosh and them guys have been the biggest reason the Heat are where they are. All due respect to James whose having a monster playoff run but we've seen many players in the playoffs before having a monster game and being let down by the bench guys or the no.3 or no.4 guys. os_mutante: Hatred is baggage bro, check it in at the curb.
It is team sport, not individual sport.Never in the history of NBA did one man won the title all by himself. But lebron is putting big numbers, and is the man on the team.He is going to win NBA finals MVP and a title as the man at a younger age then Kobe bryant. The performance in game 6 vs boston, was one man defeating another team all by himself.
Its also worth noting, the role players in game 4 stepped up due to lebron's many assists ( 12 ).They were double teaming lebron, and he kept dishing assists. Something durant's game lacks, playmaking & vision.
With the Heat experiment on the brink of winning their first title, I've come to the conclusion that the focal point of my hate (or rather, dislike) for them is Wade, and not LeBron. It's not rational at all, there is just something about the Flash that rubs me the wrong way. In spite of the decision and the prior play-off disappearing acts, I have a lot of respect for LeBron. And Bosh has handled suddenly becoming the "ugly" girlfriend* with a lot of dignity and maturity.
Yes, Wade is the one I understand people hating.Lebron hate is media driven, nthg more. But wade is truly arrogant.Vs pacers, when they tied 1 - 1 he claimed pacers celebrating like they won the series ala dallas in 2006.Vs OKC he said there is nothing in OKC, took a shot at the city. He also plays very lazy, and incosistent. He keeps crying for foul, rather then returning to defending. They say he is playing injured, and took cortisone shots in this playoffs .But I really doubt it, it sounds like one of the excuses kobe fanboy's make when there boy plays bad.
Wade is pretty dirty. And he has ratcheted up the dirtiness this playoffs. I do think he's playing injured though. My head says the Heat are going to blow this thing out tonight, my heart wants this thing to go back to OKC. I don't want the NBA to end just yet. Between this and the Euro it's been like sports nirvana.
I started hating Wade because of his stupid commercials and tacky dress style. But, as a player, I loved him before Lebron came over. Injured or not, he, the coach, and the rest of the fans knew Lebron is better equip to be the focal point of the team. All that 50 50 fair sharing notion was kind, but it was not effective. I always predicted that Miami was going to take it (since the start of the season) and it is inevitable for now. But make this interesting and take it to game 7 at least.
Crap - deleted long post. Anyway - Barkley said on Pardon the Interruption that he thought Lebron might be thought of as better than Jordan when he's done, and I think it's unlikely just on the mythos surrounding Jordan and how he transformed the NBA after it had been rescued by Bird and Magic. He also won't get as many titles probably but Barkley of course doesn't think that's necessarily the best gauge for greatness always. Robert Horry isn't an all time great. And I've been wondering if Kobe belongs in the 1.B Jordan stratosphere. It's funny how we are such slaves to the moment in sports - I was thinking before that Kobe was almost Jordan good - he certainly has probably been better at longevity - playing at a crazy good level for so long, and he's arguably a better scorer. Perhaps I'm just biased but I wonder if he belongs on the Mount Rushmore of basketball. I think Lebron might have a better shot at Mount Rushmore than Kobe?
Kobe will always be remembered as the guy who tried to be jordan, and failed.He won 3 rings by being second fiddle to shaq.Those titles count for shaq, not kobe.Much like wade or bosh now, they will get rings but its lebron's team.The lakers were shaq's team, not kobe's. I still think kobe cracks top 50 player all time, with his 2 championships as the man.But he hasnt been the face of the nba for long, between 05 - 08..until lebron took over.Lebron will be the face of the nba for at least 2 more years.
What?! Come on dude. Even if Shaq was the key figure on the lakers, it is incredibly unfair to discount what Kobe brought to the team. There is so much more to debate in your post, but I have a feeling its pointless.
Weird - I love Wade. Which is why it's so weird seeing him seem so miserable during this playoff run - what's that about? I guess maybe he's just really hurting.
There is an aura surrounding Jordan. It will take generations or an incredible feat (say if Lebron wins 7 rings) for us to put any player next to Jordan. Plus, the media and fans loved him, and that bias goes a long way. Kobe, for all of his greatness, is not so liked in the media and casual fans. He has only won 1 MVP in his career. He is known as a selfish player who was in the shadows of Shaq; the whole rape trial did not help his image.
Interesting list: http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8068148/nba-playoffs-top-25-performances-ever
Of course. Sir Charles has no rings at any level. Horry was never the man on his own team. LeBron is, and the titles will have to come if he's to be recognized like theyre talking about. Basketball's Mount Rushmore is Russell, Wilt, The Logo and Abdul-Jabbar, IMO. If you're going to add to it, Magic and Bird and Doc took waiting room numbers before Jordan. Kobe's looking up the number to call for an interview.