I don’t know about that. LeBron is a great lockdown defender on the perimeter when he makes the effort. He’s not only quick but his size makes him hard to get around.
Lebron can take a page from Kobe when he defended Westbrook. Even though Westbrook is a lot faster, Kobe is bigger and can at least sorta keep up with him, unlike Fisher. It bothered him enough that he wasn’t setting up the other guys or driving to the rim and finishing.
Lebron’s big, but he’s quick too. Maybe not as quick as Rondo, but quick enough to get his hands in the passing lane and force him to the outside. Cavs just better hope that Lebron wasn’t the only thing keeping Pierce in check but I’d rather have Pierce try to outscore the Cavs himself than Rondo getting everybody involved. Pierce might be able to make up the point difference if Rondo’s not scoring, but it would be harder to make up both KG and Ray Allen’s now that Rondo’s not passing it to them.
Ouch. You sure you’re a Lakers fan? :dubious:
Like they say, it’s all about matchup and I think the Lakers match up better with the Suns better than the Spurs did. Without Bowen hitting from the outside, and Jefferson being a no-show, Spurs didn’t really have much outside shooting to pull guys away from the middle. Lakers have that in spades. Kobe and light it up, and Fisher and Artest can get hot (I hope game 3 wasn’t just a fluke). Shannon Brown and Farmer can also shoot the 3, and Paul is capable of hitting a midrange 2. Plus, they’ve got Pau, Bynum, and Odom in the middle if they need it.
Phoenix is going to have to shoot lights out to beat the Lakers and I just don’t think that they can do that to win 4 games. The Spurs didn’t have enough personnel to match up to the Suns’ speed. Lakers can play half-court or get out on the break. I think you’re wrong, but we’ll see I guess. Lakers in 5.
Just curious, does anyone think this year’s Orlando is like last year’s Cleveland, in that they may have rolled over some weak competition in the first couple of rounds, but will be tested and maybe even beaten once they reach the conference finals? I just don’t see the Magic losing to either the Celtics or Cavs because they are so deep and can match up so well with either team. I’m convinced they can take whoever comes out of the Cavs/Celtics series in 5.
I’m happy I was wrong about my predicted Lakers loss in game 4, it looks like this team is getting better and better the more they play. That’s good because on the other side, there’s an Orlando team that’s been dominating everyone they’ve been up against. The Lakers need to get guys like Bynum and Odom to be more consistent if they want to have a shot at defending their championship. Game 1 against Phoenix is in a week so I expect the guys to come out with energy and fire after getting a week off.
The Jazz team was a tough out, but in the end they couldn’t match up to the Lakers’ size. They played a good series, except for maybe game 4. But a big FUCK YOU to those people heckling Derek Fisher about his daughter. Those Jazz fans can go shit themselves.
According to the unspoken rule between the Cavs and Celtics, tonight it is the Cavs turn to win so I’m picking them. I hope Pierce doesn’t go off after Lebron is switched to Rondo, it would be the last thing the Cavs need and they simply don’t have that much room for error what with their 1 man team and all.
Tested? Sure. But it just seems like everyone on the Magic has an intense focus right now. Stan Van Gundy I think is doing an outstanding job motivating them to improve every day. Dwight and Nelson deliberately stayed on the court to watch the Lakers celebrate after winning the championship last year to motivate themselves, and I really think it’s an image that stays with them.
It’ll be a tough battle, but I think Orlando will take the East again. Same with the NBA Finals, actually.
I still see Vince Carter as a wild card, and I’m not sure which VC is going to show up when it’s all on the line, but I think even with him playing mediocrely we can win. Oddly enough it’s more like Dwight, Rashard, and Jameer are the keys to the offense, and Matt Barnes’ and Pietrus’ roles of slowing down the top scorers are the keys to the defense (we know Dwight will control the paint).
Strangely enough, Vince is probably the least important of the starting 5 overall. If he steps his game up the Magic are unbeatable.
Looks like Lebron just quit on the Cavs. There was virtually no effort from him whatsoever on tonights game, probably the most important of his career.
As a long time Cavs fan, I’ll be in the corner alternating between knashing my teeth, vomiting, and weeping to myself.
Seriously, WTF. No idea how that team can lose intensity. Only thing I can say is unless they mysteriously rise up and win it all, Mike Brown will be looking for another job soon.
I have sympathy for you. Kobe did the same thing against the Suns a few years ago in game 6, just flat out refused to shoot and we lost badly and were eliminated
Heard an interesting theory on Colin Cowherd this morning. He said that Lebron was testing the team by purposefully having a bad game to see what kind of support he’ll be stuck with if he signs a long-term deal with the Cavs. It’s a crazy theory but…I dunno, it seems like something a guy like that would do if he wanted to win and wanted to see the kind of people he’ll have to play with during the prime of his career. If that’s the case, and the Cavs go on to lose the series, I think he’s gone
After last night though, I think Mike Brown’s gone for sure unless he somehow goes on to beat the Celtics and the Magic with some unseen coaching superpowers. The curse of the Coach of the Year lives on to destroy another coach!
i didn’t watch the game but from what i read he did kind of stink it up.
i don’t know about him “quitting” to see what the pieces around him could do. but i could see less than 100 percent effort so that when cleveland exits he has his built in excuse to go free agent and leave.
and i have yet to watch an orlando game but they do seem to be rolling.
and i think the lakers get rid of the suns in 6 (which i have a hard time wondering why 6 is the pick when the teams are close in talent since it means that the favorite closes it out on the road i mean why not 5 or 7). i really thought utah would give lala a series. but then i also thought that suns would struggle with a spurs team that had just dismantled dallas.
so if lebron leaves, where does he go?
I can’t imagine he would half-ass probably the most important game of the year in order to do that sort of thing. Maybe he’s laying the ground work for getting out of Cleveland.
Maybe his elbow is worse than they’re letting on.
I don’t know, but that whole performance was pathetic. The coaching was bad too - I’m not too knowledgable about basketball but it seems to me like Varejao gives Kevin Garnett fits and yet they mostly didn’t use him against him, and it’s totally clear that Mo Williams has no shot of guarding Rondo but he’s been doing it for most of the series. If there’s one thing Mike Brown should be able to do it’s to pick the defensive matchups, and he’s been horrible so far.
I’m bewildered by last night’s game, but I think LeBron is probably hurt worse than he is letting on and he may just be pissed at his teammates’ performance. The explanations that he tanked on purpose don’t make any sense. Cleveland is going to offer him a maximum contract, just like everyone else is. No one would even consider offering him less. (And of course Cleveland can pay him more than anyone else can.) And he’s already the franchise - they’ll do whatever he wants. Change teammates, fire the coach, whatever. He does not need to demonstrate anything to them, or for that matter, he doesn’t need an excuse to leave Cleveland if he wants to do that. Which I don’t think he will, but who knows- this is very surprising.
He didn’t look hurt at all. When his elbow was bothering him it was obvious that he was hurting, last night he looked like he simply did not give a shit about the game.
This article from Yahoo tries to look at what Lebron’s motivation is. I think it’s mostly right; he’s a guy who’s been given so much in terms of natural talent and adoration and has all that going to his head. He doesn’t seem like he has the drive that Jordan or Kobe has. However, I’m willing to take that back if we ever find out that he indeed tanked that game in order to test how good his teammates are
“I spoil a lot of people with my play. When you have three bad games in seven years, it’s easy to point them out.”
That’s a pretty damning quote, wow.
but if i could 50 milly and play in la or ny and get 55 milly to play in cleveland the extra ton of cash might not mean as much.
i mean i don’t want to dis cleveland. but i think there are several locales that might be more attractive from a living standpoint. and there are definitely locales where he has a better chance to win a championship. i mean he doesn’t appear to be a karl malone type that wants to go out as one of the best and never get a ring. shit even malone sucked up to the enemy and went to lala. 'course that didn’t work out too swimingly. but then again malone was at the end of the rope, lebron has got a couple more years in him.
oh and the 50/55 milly was just for relative purposes.
obviously he is going to get a heck of lot larger offer than that.
<snipped>
and just because i can.
kind of like tiger, marley?
i keed, i keed.
Almost all NBA players make several million dollars a year, and many make $10 million a year. But they almost always go to the team that offers them the most money even when they don’t really need the money and the difference is not that great. And the NBA has a salary cap. There are only so many teams that can pay him top dollar, and no matter what, Cleveland will always be able to pay more. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been saying for years that he’s not leaving. (The hometown thing is the other reason.) Granted, I also thought they would at least have a shot at a title this year instead of being on the verge of getting bounced by a Celtics team that looked creaky for most of the year. That does change some things.
and i totally understand what you are saying. but he’s probably looking at a 4 to 6 year deal that will be in the 140 - 160 milly range. at what point do you say i can’t spend it fast enough.
and get him a bunch of bling for those fingers and do his endorsements go through the roof? more than making up for the chump change he gets to actually play the game? i mean those endorsement deals in a big market city more than make up for the lack of a game check. s’why we almost lost duncan to orlando. if it wouldn’t have been for david coming and talking to him and tim being kind of laid back we’d only have 1, not 4.
Some point that professional athletes have not reached yet. Or human beings in general, come to think of it.
His endorsements are already through the roof. He has deals with Nike, Sprite, and McDonald’s, to name a few, and he gets tens of millions of dollars from those deals every year. These companies are known around the world, so they don’t care if he’s in New York or Cleveland. And he’s playing for a worldwide audience. People in China don’t care if he’s in New York, L.A., or Cleveland either. And as far as titles go, he’s got a better shot with Cleveland than with the teams that have gutted their rosters to make room for him.
it doesn’t seem so far this year, cleveland is getting further away from the goal of an nba championship, not closer.
getting blown out at home by 30 pts doesn’t seem to indicate long term competiveness.
and i understand international endorsements. but what happens to his value if he goes, to a ny or lala and gets a ring? that’s all i am saying. and that does nothing to speak to the fact that local endorsements are more prevalent. plus he gets to kaching with the local celebs. that kind of exposure does have value, i think.