I will defend LBj in this situation...shake hands? When the team has confetti, they are happy...no...I have no problem with him leaving the court...
he missed an opportunity show some real class, be the king. for me one of my favorite part of playoff hockey is when both teams line up after a series and shake hands. everytime ive ever seen it is has shocked me. the time it takes for 20 guys with skates on to shake hands. these guys physically spent between 4 and 7 games attempting to kill each other (in some instances literally, some figuratively). i always liked that.
I think my point was missed here...One time is the exception, but with what was going on, the celebration, I am fine with it...I understand shaking hands, but do baseball players to it? I understand sportsmanship, and in my opinion leaving the court in a situation like that does not make Lebron a bad sport...Before the game he shakes hands with everyone.
Who cares about the media...lbj should, they hold the key in some relevance to his popularity. that being said does he have to care, no. but i tend to think he does care. he talks to them all the time... and i commend him for that. he realizes he derives value from that, free advertisement for his personal brand.He keeps them in a job, i understand he is obligated to talk to the media, but if he doesn't one time after a season ending loss who gives a [censored]...if hes contractually obligated (as it appears he was) then he should. sorry but in addition to that its in lebrons best interest to do it, it really is. whether he realizes that in the moment, he knows it. whether he "owes" it to the fans, kids, media, etc is debateable, imo. but given time to rationalize it hed spend some sort of time with them, thats been shown by him before.
Once again i think maybe the point was missed a little...I am not saying never ever do anything with the media, but if they don't get their story till the day after is it really that big of a deal? Is it like he said I am never talking to them again?
THe media drags him through the mud after one thing like this, not any different than anyother high level person. be it obama, bush, liddy, ceo, poli, sports star, movie star, etc.and they want him to talk to them all the time...not doubt who wouldnt?kinda goes both ways one would think...so lebron should pick and chose when he wants to talk and only talk then? maybe theyd chose to listen only when they want to listen, write only the snipets they want, etc... it is a two way street no doubt bu tthats not the attitude he should want or take.
It was one time, you bring the president up...Would you be mad if John McCain would of said the night of the election when he lost if he shut down all media outlets and then talked about it the next day? LBJ has been more than favorable to the media, this was a one time thing, should not of been a big deal...they already choose what they want to say, how many times have guys bad mouth LBJ put shit out there that are false hopes, rumors, etc...But that is a whole nother issue, all I am talking about is the fact that LBJ one time said I am not in the mood to talk to them, the season is over, let me dwell on that, and I will talk in a day.
As for LBJ/Jordan...
Jordan is who he is because of the titles...Obviously another top 50 player in the history of the game playing alongside him helped...
id have to look it up but pippen wasnt the same with hakeem and sir charles one year after playing with mj...
Pippen was past his prime when Jordan left. Obviously Jordan helped Pippen, the same way Stockton helped Malone, etc, but pippen's year when Jordan went to baseball showed the type of player he was, and he was voted a top 50 player of all time when they had that in the nineties. Not sure what year.
If you would put a top 50 guy alongside LBJ they would rule the league...Some have mentioned Amare, Bosh...Guys that are all-stars year in and year out but not top 50 players, and still with guys like that I think they would rule the league...
could/would/should. the thing is now who wants to play with lbj, will he take the pay need be to assemble a detroit red wings caliber roster?
The Cavs are the only team in the league that will be able to sign LBJ plus another superstar like Bosh/Wade etc in the 2010 free agent class. LBJ wont need to take a paycut. Ferry already has them set up.
So if LBJ is able to put up title victories anywhere around 4, depending on the talent that he has around him, he will go down as the best player and surpassing Jordan...
under the assumption you automatically crown mj the greatest ever. those old timers dont... wilt, russell, kareem etc...
Well whoever you call hte best player, he has a very good chance at surpassing.
The kid is 24...and a 5 year vet. (it will be intersting to see if him, kobe, garnett can play till 35 or whether they are cooked after say 13-16 years..)Yeah the jumpshot is not great yethis 3 ball has improved greatly., he is still finding his niche for his gamehes got his niche......His free throw stroke is not great...Give him next year, and I think he improves all that with the way he works on his game and I think we honeslty could see a title in Cleveland and LBJ really starting his legacy...If not he will stay in Cleveland and bring a guy like Bosh in with him and win one that year...
personally id like to see the cavs run a high pick and roll with a bigger player who can pull of the screen and pop or roll. with those two im not sure how you could defend it.. im really not sure how with the way the game is officiated today. (few if any offensive foul calls)
We will see about the years, but Kobe is already at 14 years and still in the prime of his career most would say...Obviously LBJ is taking a hit on his body having to do a whole lot to will his team, but Jordan did the same early in his career.
As for the 3 point shot, it improved yes, but there is still quite a big of room for improvement...I belive he only shot 32 percent.
As for his niche I would say no he hasn't found it...The reason being 1-5 is not a niche in basketball...Yes he knows some of his hot spots, but the great game he had in game 5 he started the whole fourth quarter with the ball at the free throw line, something we had not seen from him...his game is going to evolve, to make it easier on him to score...He will see more time in the post, and inside the 3 point arc...
