The 2011 NBA Playoffs: If you want to crown them, then crown their ass!

Discussion in 'Basketball' started by Playboy Red Devil, Apr 14, 2011.

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  1. deuteronomy

    deuteronomy Member+

    Angkor Siem Reap FC
    United States
    Aug 12, 2008
    at the pitch
    Club:
    Siem Reap Angkor FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My sense is that they both skipped some steps in their development given their prodigy status.

    LeBron, of course, has shown up much more like the deal. NBA championship finals team defenses can be very challenging. I would not be surprised if he takes on this area of his game, next.
     
  2. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    People have been saying that LeBron needs to work on his jump shot and develop a low-post game for at least 6-7 seasons now, it's not going to happen.

    He's good enough to win without those extra assets, but they need him to attack the paint. I agree with C-Webb about his points production: it should have been much higher with Wade missing a significant portion of the game.

    Having said that, no one will care about these things if Miami just defends home court in the last two games.
     
  3. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    True - this is only a lasting story if they fail to win the title, but it does serious damage to Pippen's argument that he's better than Mike.
     
  4. Dr. Know

    Dr. Know Member+

    Dec 5, 2005
    Macondo
    They did a segment on ESPN about how Cuban has completely remained silent during the finals and he's trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible.
     
  5. BocaFan

    BocaFan Member+

    Aug 18, 2003
    Queens, NY
    Although very few Finals have gone to 7 games recently. Away teams are 1-and-5 in the past 35 years in game 7's, which is not good, but a very small sample size to read much into it.
     
  6. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    I can't believe I'm going to say this, but the level of scrutiny LeBron is under is a bit OTT. I just spent 30 minutes reading several articles that question his mental fortitude. IMHO, if you discount his timidity in the fourth quarter, James has had a decent to good series so far.

    The one game he truly let his team down was game four.

    He plays more minutes than any of his team mates, has done so for these entire play-offs. He is required to do all the big and small things on both ends of the floor. And then they expect him to have enough left in the tank when they reach the Finals to carry his team offensively in crunch time.

    Can he do it? Probably. But is it reasonable to expect him to do it every night, as a given? I hate the Decision as much as the next guy, but I think it's time to give the guy a little bit of a break...
     
  7. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    I just think either you are built to handle that kind of pressure and thrive on it or you're not. Magic had no jump shot either, but found ways to score in big moments. Lebron is a people pleaser - which there's nothing wrong with - but you gotta have the ruthless cold blooded - I could give a crap about what you think and anything but winning -- and I'm so far above you in skill that you are just "supporting cast" -- the kind of insane ego that folks like Jordan and Kobe have. Not the nice guy, let's hang out be friends, and have you met my mother and girlfriend?
     
  8. os_mutante

    os_mutante Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2003
    City of Bad Carls
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And even in that one Wade has completely escaped criticism even though he screwed up the last play and missed a tying FT. Still, where is the LeBron who won games down the stretch against Boston and Chicago? He hasn't shown up at all this series.

    Ultimately whether it's OTT or not the microscope on LeBron isn't going anywhere.
     
  9. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
  10. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    The thing is, I do believe LeBron thinks he is the best player on the court.

    For some reason, that doesn't transition into an attitude where he wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line. It's an odd combination...
     
  11. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    BTW, going back to that coughing video, I still can't believe how little respect Dirk still gets from most of his NBA peers. Is it just down to him being a German or is there more going on there?
     
  12. os_mutante

    os_mutante Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2003
    City of Bad Carls
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe he still has the stigma of being a "soft Euro" player. Whatever, if he wins they'll all shut up. Charles Barkley even said that after Dirk wins he'll join the club of white players that it's cool to wear their jersey in the hood, joining Bird and Nash. :p
     
  13. Dr. Know

    Dr. Know Member+

    Dec 5, 2005
    Macondo
    Lebron has only scored 11 points in total in the 4th quarter in all of the games so far in the finals. When you're considered to be the best BB player in the world that's unacceptable especially against a Dallas team who bring it up a notch in the 4th. Do you think Kobe would be choking this hard in the 4th if he were out there?

    He deserves everything he gets.
     
  14. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    Kobe had a few sub-par Finals games last year (he shot 6-of-24 in game seven) and no one cared about that.
     
  15. deuteronomy

    deuteronomy Member+

    Angkor Siem Reap FC
    United States
    Aug 12, 2008
    at the pitch
    Club:
    Siem Reap Angkor FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Part of it is that he is still feeling his way in Miami.
    Again, I would offer that even one year of college would have helped him in this and other areas.
     
  16. Dr. Know

    Dr. Know Member+

    Dec 5, 2005
    Macondo
    But that was overall. We're talking about the 4th, the most important. Kobe might play like crap most of the game sometimes but for the most part he always turned it up in the 4th.

    Lebron has done nothing in the 4th in 5 games already. 11 points only in all combined???? Dirk has 35. Think about that for a moment.
     
  17. I. Tristeza

    I. Tristeza Member

    Oct 7, 2004
    San Antonio, Texas
    4th quarter scoring this series:

    Wade - 40 pts

    Nowitzki - 52 pts

    If the fourth quarter is where we're measuring greatness then it's the German in a landslide.
     
  18. Dr. Know

    Dr. Know Member+

    Dec 5, 2005
    Macondo
    Unless a fall from grace happens like in that other final against Miami the deutsch will cement his place amongst the greatest ever and amongst the greatest final performers of all time.
     
  19. wallacegrommit

    Sep 19, 2005
    I'm feeling a game 7. I think the Heat will pull it together and force a deciding game. The story of this series seems to be that the more desperate team kicks it up a notch, whether it is from game to game or in the course of each game. You don't want to be the team too far ahead in this series, it is almost better to come from behind and finish with a big run.
     
  20. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    I actually think it's talked about a lot - and also hurts his Jordan arguments
     
  21. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    He may think it - but I think he shows tons of doubt and uncertainty in his ability to make a play when it matters.

    The WSJ I think did a study of how often the Mavs high five and chest bump vs. the Heat - and the Mavs do it much more. Colin Cowherd pointed out that you aren't seeing Lebron smile out there - they just aren't having much fun which is one sign of how much confidence he's playing with. Compare that with the Celtics series where it seemed they were having a blast.
     
  22. onefineesq

    onefineesq Member+

    Sep 16, 2003
    Laurel, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Dark Knight is right. People who pay attention to the Kobe vs Michael "argument" care. Only Kobe fans ignore it. The fact that Kobe was only the go-to guy on 2 championships, and in one of those (last year) he was decidedly average in the clutch even while winning the MVP puts a death knell on the Mike vs Kobe thing. Mike was simply far superior. Period. This finals is making Pippen look REALLY stupid for saying what he did, especially since he played with Jordan. And it's also make LeBron look soft. The guy is better than what he's showing, but ultimately you ARE what you show. I mean, the guy has like a total of 10-12 points in the 4th quarter of all 5 games combined. Oy vey. That's putrid. Needless to say, this is a series that would be over if you replaced James with a prime Jordan.
     
  23. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    To the same degree as with LeBron this year?
     
  24. Belgian guy

    Belgian guy Member+

    Club Brugge
    Belgium
    Aug 19, 2002
    Belgium
    Club:
    Club Brugge KV
    They were talking about it in the context of the whole "next MJ or Jordan's heir" discussion... They did not use it to discredit his reputation as an NBA superstar.
     

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