NBA thread

[debaserr]

Originally Posted by ETF_RR

Personally I'm not a big Heat fan at all, and I doubt they'll make it past the conference finals, they're too inconsistent, and IMO too arrogant.

I'd say having the 3rd best record with 3 good players and cast-offs in their first season together is a sign of consistency.

the media scrutiny of the MoHeatos has led people to miscalculate how good they are as a team.

what does arrogance have to do with anything?

[Dirty]

Yep the hatred for LeBron has definitely lead people to believe things that are untrue... People in general don't give the Heat as much respect as they should get and they under rate LeBron in my opinion. Look at this dudes numbers this year, they are nuts as usual. He just makes it look so easy sometimes that I think people just expect his team to win every single game or something. Hell they got the number 2 seed.

Good thought eric, i agree with a lot of that stuff... Any thoughts on the Mavs or Magic?

I love Dirk. Love his game, he has a repertoire like a Pierce or Kobe. Just move after move after move depending on how you wanna play him. And Chandler has been a great addition for them, adds a big body in the post. I watch the Mavs sometimes and I think they are a good team, but something just keeps them from going to that next level. They have a top 5 or top 10 player in Dirk and from what I remember they only made it to the finals once (when Heat beat them with Shaq). Perimeter size and defense maybe? As for Magic, they are nothing when Dwight is out of the game and he's in foul trouble constantly. They aren't as good as when they went to the finals a few years back and the east is tougher than it was back then. If they weren't playing the Hawks, I'd say maybe the Magic could get upset. But the Hawks are the biggest frauds in the NBA. People look at their record and think they are good, but they are garbage. Just watch a game of theres VS a good team. I don't know how they went 7 games with Boston a couple years ago, but Atlanta on the road is especially anus.


I am going to root for the Heat and Lakers and for the Heat to win. I actually like Lebron and I would love to see him tell the rest of the fans to kiss his ass. eric is right, nobody is gonna be more motivated than LBJ to kick some ass, I expect some monster games. Because honestly, when leBron wants to go to the rim, you just can't stop him. Plus I don't like Kobe so I hope they lose. But realistically, the lakers size is just a joke. They can send a championship ring to the Grizzlies management for trading them Gasol for nothing a few years ago lol.

FUCK its the playoffs I am getting so pumped up!

1st round matchup I am really pumped for:

Celtics VS Knicks. Celts win in 5 I think but it should still be more exciting than any other eastern matchup because of all the star power.

All the west matchups except Lakers-Hornets.

Spurs have some injuries to deal with, and like eric said, they arent going that far anyways because of their lack of big men. Bonner is a soft white guy who hangs out behind the 3 point line and Blair is undersized with no hops. I really could see Grizzlies taking this. Dallas Vs Portland... Meh, more interested just to see who wins cause this could be a tough matchup for Dallas in the 1st round. Most excited for Thunder - Nuggets. Holy hell what a track meet this could be. Probably the most entertaining matchup. Gonna be a ton of points, but Thunder are gonna win. Thunder are SOO stacked right now with young talent, it isnt even funny. I love what they are doing.

[Bloozcrooz]

Originally Posted by Dirty

Plus I don't like Kobe so I hope they lose.

If your not a fan then your definatley going to hate Kobe. Anyone with as many championships under his belt as he has breeds hate in the hearts of competitors. Make no mistake though the numbers speak for themselves. And when he retires I venture to say he very well have a better resume than Jordan. Kobe wins trophys on his game face alone.

Reason I dont like Lebron is his shady charactor when it comes to the game. He could beat people up and drink and drive or do whatever he wanted in his spare time and I wouldnt care. The fact that he wimped his way out of Cleveland and has admitted to not wanting to be the man when games are on the line(cleveland&miami) is pathetic. The guy has awesome athletic ability and no heart. Which in my book is a recipe for chicken ****.

[Thom Yorke]

Does anyone else think LeBron has already established himself as one of the best of all time, or am I way out of line here?

[Bloozcrooz]

Originally Posted by Thom Yorke

Does anyone else think LeBron has already established himself as one of the best of all time, or am I way out of line here?

That would be the equivilent of annointing a new stud quarterback one of the best of all time...after a couple seasons. Without him ever winning a championship. Theres no denying the fact that the guy is great and will be great for a long time. The best of all time at this point in his career not a chance. Doesnt have the numbers or the rings yet but im sure he will accomplish that before he retires. I think still he finishes just behind Kobe in stats and rings, and Kobe didnt have to abandon his team to do it...... Neither did Micheal Jordan

[Dirty]

Originally Posted by Boozinbloozin

If your not a fan then your definatley going to hate Kobe. Anyone with as many championships under his belt as he has breeds hate in the hearts of competitors. Make no mistake though the numbers speak for themselves. And when he retires I venture to say he very well have a better resume than Jordan. Kobe wins trophys on his game face alone.

Reason I dont like Lebron is his shady charactor when it comes to the game. He could beat people up and drink and drive or do whatever he wanted in his spare time and I wouldnt care. The fact that he wimped his way out of Cleveland and has admitted to not wanting to be the man when games are on the line(cleveland&miami) is pathetic. The guy has awesome athletic ability and no heart. Which in my book is a recipe for chicken ****.

I respect kobe as one of the all-time greats, but I just can't stand the guy. He has this fake tough guy attitude I don't like and I've just never liked how he deals with the media. But that aside, I hate the Jordan comparisons. I used to say LBJ will be better than MJ. I laughed at people who said MJ could NEVER be topped in terms of greatness... but I've come around to join those people. You can't compare anyone to Mike, he is one of a kind. He is the true definition of competitor and winner.

Kobe's first 3 rings were mainly because of Shaq. Kobe was great, but that was Shaq's team. We will probably never see anything again like Shaq in his prime. Dwight isn't even close to being in the same conversation. And Kobe WAS the guy these past two championships, but look at all the help he had. Game 7 last year he was pathetic, one of the worst games I have ever seen him play. And they still won because of their awesome big men.

And this goes for anyone... If you like Kobe and hate Lebron YOU NEED TO STFU ABOUT HIM DITCHING CLEVELAND. Kobe wanted out of LA in 2007 when the lakers wouldn't trade Bynum for jason Kidd He was ready to skip town after Shaq left because he didn't think the team was trying to be competitive. He was gonna do the same thing, only he had way more talent on his squad than Lebron. LBJ had NO help at all in Cleveland. he gave them 6 years of being amazing and got fed up with them not putting guys around him.

Thom Yorke, yes I do think LBJ has already made himself into one of the all-time greats. His numbers are just sick. And people want to always point to rings... Jordan and Kobe couldn't have won a championship with that team around LBJ in Cleveland. Does anyone disagree? It's like people hate on the guy for taking a terrible team to the NBA Finals and consistently being one of the best in the league. WTF?? LeBron has already put in pretty much the best 7 years of basketball to start a career you could ask for. He's for sure going to be one of the greatest, I already have him penciled in. Even if he would suddenly die, he'll still be looked at as an all-time great.

[Thom Yorke]

Yeah I put no stock into rings. That's a team thing. Remember that series vs. the Magic that the Cavs lost (forget what year it was)? James had one of the most ridiculous series ever, but his team dragged him down yet again. If you're going to go by team stats the Cavs went from 66-16 and 61-21 with James to 19-63 without him.

I can say with confidence that he is the most talented player of all time, but you have to put up a bunch of excellent seasons to build up a body of work to really be considered an all-time great. I think he's done that though. What he's doing in today's game is more impressive than what Oscar Robertson did.

[debaserr]

Originally Posted by Boozinbloozin

If your not a fan then your definatley going to hate Kobe. Anyone with as many championships under his belt as he has breeds hate in the hearts of competitors. Make no mistake though the numbers speak for themselves. And when he retires I venture to say he very well have a better resume than Jordan. Kobe wins trophys on his game face alone.

Reason I dont like Lebron is his shady charactor when it comes to the game. He could beat people up and drink and drive or do whatever he wanted in his spare time and I wouldnt care. The fact that he wimped his way out of Cleveland and has admitted to not wanting to be the man when games are on the line(cleveland&miami) is pathetic. The guy has awesome athletic ability and no heart. Which in my book is a recipe for chicken ****.

first of all, I'm a huge Kobe fan. he's been my favorite player to watch for some time now. he's such a complete player.

comparing him to MJ? Kobe has no case. just take a look at their playoff stats.

I'd much rather take LeBron as he is. there's too many wife-beaters and drunk drivers around as it is.

he left cleveland because their management did a laughably terrible job in free agency and the draft. I don't blame him at all.

I don't recall him ever saying he didn't want the ball in his hands with the game on the line. not everyone can be Kobe. if LeBron would ever improve his game(jumper, post offense, and lock-down 1v1 defense) he could be the most dominant ever, but he seems to be content doing what he has been his entire career.

let me show you a pic of a player with no heart:


now let me show you LeBron's career averages:
27.7ppg / 7apg / 7.1rpg / 1.7spg / .8 bpg

he has heart.

granted, his effort was questionable last year in the playoffs because he already knew he was gonna be a MoHeato...

[ETF_RR]

Originally Posted by eric generic

I'd say having the 3rd best record with 3 good players and cast-offs in their first season together is a sign of consistency.

the media scrutiny of the MoHeatos has led people to miscalculate how good they are as a team.

what does arrogance have to do with anything?

I'm not saying they're not a good team, and I'm not saying they don't have great players. But I don't think they're championship bound THIS year, will they win a championship or multiple championships together? Probably. Will they this year? I don't think so. And while they do have an impressive record and even more impressive stats especially in LeBron, they're record against the elite teams, the other main playoff contenders, isn't honestly that impressive.

And what does arrogance have to do with it? Any basketball player knows, I know from personal experience, if you go into a game with arrogance instead of just confidence, you won't do as well as expected. Possibly such as the Heat recently losing to the Cavs? One of the worst teams in the NBA. Granted, it was obviously an extremely hostile environment, they should of won that game. And I don't know for sure, but I have a pretty good feeling that especially LeBron and D-Wade "knew" they were going to win that game easily going in.

I don't hate the Heat, and I don't under rate LeBron. I just don't think they operate well enough together yet to win it all.

[Bloozcrooz]

Originally Posted by Thom Yorke

Yeah I put no stock into rings. That's a team thing. Remember that series vs. the Magic that the Cavs lost (forget what year it was)? James had one of the most ridiculous series ever, but his team dragged him down yet again. If you're going to go by team stats the Cavs went from 66-16 and 61-21 with James to 19-63 without him.

I can say with confidence that he is the most talented player of all time, but you have to put up a bunch of excellent seasons to build up a body of work to really be considered an all-time great. I think he's done that though. What he's doing in today's game is more impressive than what Oscar Robertson did.

Of all time? really? Now were just jumping him all the way to the top in front of Jordan without history under his belt? Wow...id say thats a reach definatley. Well your entitled to your opinion but in my mind and the minds of many fans and super star althletes of old...Jordan...Barkley...to name a couple. All the talent in the world doesnt cover up the fact he sold out and abandoned his team. Basketball is a team sport yes and sometimes you dont have the team around you to win the championship every year. However imagine how much more commendable it is upon winning one. Once you do put all the pieces in place, and didnt have to sell your legacy to do it. Im not questioning Lebrons talent or ability merley pointing out what turned me off as a fan. For me to not like an athlete is really an unusual thing. Considering all the outcasts and radical personas I tend to root for. However the desire to win and want the ball is something they all had in common. I cant say the same for Lebron giving the history lesson right from his own mouth.
As far as rings go maybe I can see a lil of your point there. But they do sweeten things a lil when making a case for the best of all time. I mean does Kobe or Jordans name hold the same clout if you take away their rings? Either way time will tell and maybe Lebron will develop his attitude to a want to win mentality. Till then id say he has a long way to go before he's labeled the best player of all time.