ESPN Already In Full Damage Control Mode

[Originalman]

He doesn't have 4 finals loses, the games still have to be played

Shhh we don't use intelligence in this thread.

 

[Surreal]

Is Dirk in the goat convo? I see you "forgot" to mention he swept Kobe too.

Dirk is better than Bron

 

[Maluma]

But you DO care about the attention because this is what we are debating, arent we?

They have a 70/30 chance to win.

70/30? lol they are 5.5:1 to win according to vegas. get your money if you feel that strongly though

 

[Professor Emeritus]

There are very few people who believe that shyt. I'm just saying, ESPN does not need to force it down our throats everyday about it not being LeBrons fault, shyt is dikkiding to the MAX. We'll see how history views it in 20 years.

ESPN is in the money-making business.

They're not going to do anything to "force it down your throats" - they write articles that get clicks.

Look at you - you're a Lebron hating, and you not only read the article, but posted it to a message board where hundreds more people would read it. You are the EXACT target audience, and so they'll keep on writing the same stuff.

Do you even realize what a tool you are?

 

[Professor Emeritus]

LeBron can only play if he's surrounded by shooters who can defend. Once teams don't start doubling, his teams are forced to play straight isolation through him. and since he's only surrounded by shooters, none of them can get their own shot.

This is pretty funny because Lebron has never been surrounded by shooters who could defend.

First 7 years in Cleveland, only had a couple of shooters and neither could defend worth a lick.

In Miami he had Mike Miller, who got hurt right away and was never healthy enough to be decent at defense again. Mario Chalmers could sort of shoot and sort of defend. Then they got Shane Battier, who moved in and out of being considered a "shooter", and was so old he could only defend small PF effectively. Finally they got Ray Allen and Rashaad Lewis, who were way too old to defend. So he was never "surrounded" by shooters who could defend - the lineups always had a couple guys who could shoot with no D and a couple guys who could kinda shoot and kinda defend.

Back to Cleveland, Love and Kyrie were terrible at defense when he got here. Kyrie improved a lot this year, but has work to go to be considered a good defender. Love still sucks at defense. Mosgov and TT certainly aren't shooters, Delly can only barely defend, JR is decent at defense at times. Shump is just good enough shooter to be a "shooter who can defend".

If the Cavs run a lineup next year of Mosgov-Lebron-Shump-Smith-Kyrie, it will be the closest Lebron's ever had to the scenario you are talking about. And honestly, that's a sweet starting lineup, especially having Varejao/TT/Delly off the bench to round it out. They just need to trade Love for someone who can actually play defense, but also shoot at the same time.


My guess is that Lebron could succeed in many other offensive schemes too. First, though, he'd have to play for a coach who had successfully ran an NBA offense. 12 yeas into his career, Lebron's still never had a coach who had managed a single winning season without him.

Lebron lost the whole series in game 1 by choking.

What?

Now Lebron "choked" in Game 1? He had 11 points and 3 assists in the last 8 minutes of the 4th quarter. You expect players to shoot 100% on game-winning shots now, so every miss is a "choke"?

 

[Maluma]

This is pretty funny because Lebron has never been surrounded by shooters who could defend.

First 7 years in Cleveland, only had a couple of shooters and neither could defend worth a lick.

In Miami he had Mike Miller, who got hurt right away and was never healthy enough to be decent at defense again. Mario Chalmers could sort of shoot and sort of defend. Then they got Shane Battier, who moved in and out of being considered a "shooter", and was so old he could only defend small PF effectively. Finally they got Ray Allen and Rashaad Lewis, who were way too old to defend. So he was never "surrounded" by shooters who could defend - the lineups always had a couple guys who could shoot with no D and a couple guys who could kinda shoot and kinda defend.

Back to Cleveland, Love and Kyrie were terrible at defense when he got here. Kyrie improved a lot this year, but has work to go to be considered a good defender. Love still sucks at defense. Mosgov and TT certainly aren't shooters, Delly can only barely defend, JR is decent at defense at times. Shump is just good enough shooter to be a "shooter who can defend".

If the Cavs run a lineup next year of Mosgov-Lebron-Shump-Smith-Kyrie, it will be the closest Lebron's ever had to the scenario you are talking about. And honestly, that's a sweet starting lineup, especially having Varejao/TT/Delly off the bench to round it out. They just need to trade Love for someone who can actually play defense, but also shoot at the same time.


My guess is that Lebron could succeed in many other offensive schemes too. First, though, he'd have to play for a coach who had successfully ran an NBA offense. 12 yeas into his career, Lebron's still never had a coach who had managed a single winning season without him.




What?

Now Lebron "choked" in Game 1? He had 11 points and 3 assists in the last 8 minutes of the 4th quarter. You expect players to shoot 100% on game-winning shots now, so every miss is a "choke"?

so basically LeBron needs a couple "three and D" players?


Imagine this dude with Bruce Bowen

 

[Professor Emeritus]

so basically LeBron needs a couple "three and D" players?


Imagine this dude with Bruce Bowen

Wow...that got me thinking.

Bruce Bowen would have been an ideal role player for Lebron
Tony Parker would have been a great point guard for Lebron
Ginobli would have been the perfect guy to play off Lebron when they were on the court together, and keep the offense juiced when he sat
Horry would have been the perfect stretch-4 for Lebron

And just think of what might happen if Lebron had a real coach like Pop. Lebron's passing in Pop's system...

Holy shyt...all you'd need to add is a rim protector, and Lebron with Duncan's mid-2000s team would have gone through the NBA destroying teams, burning down their stadiums, and salting the earth where they had stood.

 

[Mantis Toboggan M.D.]

Wow...that got me thinking.

Bruce Bowen would have been an ideal role player for Lebron
Tony Parker would have been a great point guard for Lebron
Ginobli would have been the perfect guy to play off Lebron when they were on the court together, and keep the offense juiced when he sat
Horry would have been the perfect stretch-4 for Lebron

And just think of what might happen if Lebron had a real coach like Pop. Lebron's passing in Pop's system...

Holy shyt...all you'd need to add is a rim protector, and Lebron with Duncan's mid-2000s team would have gone through the NBA destroying teams, burning down their stadiums, and salting the earth where they had stood.

Man if he could've gone to San Antonio or if Riley could've coached the heat and rebuilt the showtime lakers

 

[LogicFirst]

You think for one second I'm going to

• Read all that shyt
• Care about all that shyt
• Give a fukk what anyone on ESPN says
  • Especially ja adande

Well you wrong

It was actually an interesting article you little fakkot. Better than your corny fukkin Shaq posts every ten minutes

 

[LogicFirst]

fukk that nikka ain't no sympathy from me. He asked for this when he left Miami to go back to Cleveland

He done spent the last 5 years of his career ring chasing and looking for super teams to help him win titles.

Thought he was gonna get with a new pair of All-Stars and cakewalk through the East to an easy title. Now he about to be assed out in the Finals out there with nothing but role players

Welcome back to 2007-10

Haters gonna hate.

 

[CashmereThoughts]

Damn some of y'all really need lebron to fail

He fails often enough, they good

 

[360dagod]

Yeah... try this argument with someone who actually cares about public opinion and media controlled narrative becuz I don't.

It's ALL LeBron fault. Nothing changes that for me. I don't care about legitimacy or any of that.

And we can all agree that in a different breed of LeBron hater.

sound like a rejuvenated Bron hater..U must smell blood

 

[Rell84shots]

Dirk is a better shooter than Bron

Fixed

 

[DoubleClutch]

LeBron in new world of lower hopes

By J.A. Adande
ESPN.com

OAKLAND, Calif. -- For once, LeBron James can just play basketball, unburdened by expectations or pressure. Kyrie Irving has a fractured left kneecap and is finished, and so are the Cavaliers' chances of winning the NBA Finals. You can't reasonably expect the Cavaliers to beat the league's best team, the Golden State Warriors, with Irving and the previously injured Kevin Love out. LeBron is off the hook.

There is only upside left for him: If the Cavaliers lose, you can't pin this on LeBron. But if the Warriors remain intact and the Cavaliers win, it will be one of the greatest achievements in the history of the NBA. They'd have to make an extra Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy for LeBron, as well as an additional ring, because this would count as double.

There is no multiplier if he loses. It still counts, though. There would still be the problematic 2-4 record in the NBA Finals hampering his case in the greatest-of-all-time discussion. Even if we make allowances for this year and for his losing to the San Antonio Spurs in his first Finals appearance with a roster full of "Who he play for?" guys in 2007, he'd still be no better than .500 on the biggest stage.

In this play, things are going to pieces like the scenes in "Birdman." He's running out of help to counter the NBA's top-scoring team this season. LeBron scored 44 percent of the Cavaliers' points in Game 1, and Irving scored 41 percent of the remaining 56 percent. Even if LeBron can maintain that pace and score roughly half his team's points, the Cavs need to replace half of the other half. There isn't enough room at the podium for all of the Cavaliers who will need to surpass expectations for Cleveland to win.

J.R. Smith could have a night similar to the one on which he made eight 3-pointers and shot 63 percent overall in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. If anything, this is Smith's his cue to get hot after shooting 3-for-13 in Game 1. It's sustaining that has been Smith's problem.

Mike Miller once made seven 3-pointers in a game, back when the Miami Heat closed out the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the championship in 2012. The key part of that sentence was "2012." Miller has made a total of two 3-pointers in the current postseason.

Tristan Thompson is such a relentless machine on the boards that he could be the new Terminator if Arnold Schwarzenegger ever leaves that movie franchise. But Thompson has yet to score 20 points in a playoff game. He scored the first basket in this series, then didn't put the ball through the hoop again the rest of the game.

If the Cavaliers can't prevail, it's perfectly understandable. We seldom mention that Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers were swept twice in the NBA Finals. By the end of the 1983 Finals, the Lakers were without three of their top six players (Norm Nixon, rookie James Worthy and Bob McAdoo) and lost to a formidable Philadelphia 76ers squad. In 1989, Magic joined Byron Scott on the sideline with a hamstring injury, and the Bad Boy Pistons got their first championship. These things happen. LeBron recognizes that so much is beyond his control.

"There are a few things that you would love to have going late in the season," he said. "That's being healthy, having a great rhythm, and then you need a little luck as well. We've had a great rhythm. We haven't had much luck, and we haven't been healthy.

"But I haven't gotten discouraged. I understand the moment that I'm in, and I'm not too much worried about the game. I'm worried about the moment. I'm happy with the moment. I'm excited to be in this moment once again, and I'm going to stay strong for my team, no matter who is or is not in the lineup."

Earlier in the week, LeBron listed the 2009 Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic among his better series, even though the Cavaliers lost. His average stat line in that series went 38-8-8, and he hit the winning shot at the buzzer in Game 2. But the Cavaliers' second-best player, Mo Williams, shot 37 percent for the series, and Orlando's Rashard Lewis killed them with corner 3s.

For now, when it's time to render final judgment on his career, the series LeBron will have to account for is the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. He had the better team and home-court advantage and couldn't come through. He wasn't the best player on the court (danke, Dirk Nowitzki) and wasn't even the best player on his team (both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh scored more points that series).

Will he be haunted by his missed shot at the end of regulation in Game 1 of this series? Will he wonder how the course of the series would change if the Cavaliers drew first blood on the Warriors' home court and Irving didn't play more than 41 minutes and expose himself to the additional injury risk that eventually did him in?

When he talked to the media Friday before news of Irving's injury status was released, LeBron even admitted that after missing those types of shots, "You have so many different thoughts in your mind, saying, 'OK, I should have done this, or I should have done that.' " He also said he was comfortable with the shot he took, a step-back jumper against Andre Iguodala.

LeBron has always felt more comfortable than we have about what he does on the court. We demand more and expect greater things from this unparalleled combination of athleticism and basketball acumen. He tries to immerse himself in the process more than the results.

As he often has said, including at the end of his interview session Friday, "You go out and play as hard as you can, and you live with the results."

If the rest of the series plays out similarly to Game 1, with big numbers and unstoppable stretches by LeBron and a victory by the Warriors, it won't be time for snarky comments. The only thing left to do will be to borrow the words from that kid above the tunnel at American Airlines Arena and send LeBron off with a "Good job. Good effort."

http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=13021160

I guess they have to make some type of storyline out of it

 

[Newzz]

This is pretty funny because Lebron has never been surrounded by shooters who could defend.

First 7 years in Cleveland, only had a couple of shooters and neither could defend worth a lick.

In Miami he had Mike Miller, who got hurt right away and was never healthy enough to be decent at defense again. Mario Chalmers could sort of shoot and sort of defend. Then they got Shane Battier, who moved in and out of being considered a "shooter", and was so old he could only defend small PF effectively. Finally they got Ray Allen and Rashaad Lewis, who were way too old to defend. So he was never "surrounded" by shooters who could defend - the lineups always had a couple guys who could shoot with no D and a couple guys who could kinda shoot and kinda defend.

Back to Cleveland, Love and Kyrie were terrible at defense when he got here. Kyrie improved a lot this year, but has work to go to be considered a good defender. Love still sucks at defense. Mosgov and TT certainly aren't shooters, Delly can only barely defend, JR is decent at defense at times. Shump is just good enough shooter to be a "shooter who can defend".

If the Cavs run a lineup next year of Mosgov-Lebron-Shump-Smith-Kyrie, it will be the closest Lebron's ever had to the scenario you are talking about. And honestly, that's a sweet starting lineup, especially having Varejao/TT/Delly off the bench to round it out. They just need to trade Love for someone who can actually play defense, but also shoot at the same time.


My guess is that Lebron could succeed in many other offensive schemes too. First, though, he'd have to play for a coach who had successfully ran an NBA offense. 12 yeas into his career, Lebron's still never had a coach who had managed a single winning season without him.




What?

Now Lebron "choked" in Game 1? He had 11 points and 3 assists in the last 8 minutes of the 4th quarter. You expect players to shoot 100% on game-winning shots now, so every miss is a "choke"?

Erik Spoelstra coached the Miami Heat to winning records in 2009 and 2010...before LeBron got there.