NBA Playoffs 09 - Page 135

no_comprender

Australia91 Posts

May 27 2009 11:56 GMT

#2681

also lebron is a lot younger than kobe so we give him more leeway to make bad decisions and fuck up, compare kobe at lebrons age and it isn't even close who the better basketball decision maker is, although these last few games he hasn't been passing as much, his high assist numbers are more a function of him having the ball every single possession that his amazing distribution in this series. but i mean does he have a choice, no one is stepping up and presenting enough a threat, or even creating opportunities for lebron to set them up. i feel like cavs are missing jj hickson more than people realize atm. he'd be useful right now

RowdierBob

Australia13433 Posts

May 27 2009 13:12 GMT

#2682

The Cavs are clearly struggling a lot against Howard at both ends of the floor. They're having to double him which just gives the Magic so much room to shoot from range. They have so many strong options on long range jumpers that they become really hard to stop if they're shooting hot.

On defence Howard is just a monster clogging up the middle which pretty much takes out Varejao and Z as an offensive threat (short of jacking mid to long range jumpers). So you're pretty much left with Mo Willliam, West and Gibson to provide effective support to LeBron and so far they just haven't been up to it. Maybe LeBron could show a bit more faith in them down the stretch, but can you honestly blame him for not?

Ace

United States16096 Posts

May 27 2009 13:46 GMT

#2683

On May 27 2009 17:28 BalliSLife wrote:
As a true fan of basketball i'm one of those people that can have many favorite players without riding on the cock of just one guy (the kobe fans) don't get me wrong i like lebron and kobe but when you diss lebron's style as just ramming people and scoring i don't see anything wrong with that. You wouldn't say the same for wade or jordan when they do the exact same thing, hell even iverson does that, it's just when lebron does it players fall down and lebron gets a massive dunk.

Replace rasheed with xeris.

hahahaha wtf?

dang Xeris so angry v_v

Ace

United States16096 Posts

May 27 2009 13:47 GMT

#2684

On May 27 2009 17:46 RowdierBob wrote:
I can't agree with you about LeBron Xeris. The guy is doing everything he can to get the the Cavs over the line but he just isn't getting the help he needs.

No one denies he has flaws, but for a guy playing in his 6th season coming straight from HS, his current ability and potential future is amazing.

This series has shown more flaws in the Cavs' supporting cast rather than LeBron imo. The Magic players have all stepped it up a gear, and the Cavs all bar LeBron are faultering in the pressure moments. The guys throwing down really impressive numbers, but he's go no one else there to help pick up the slack. Could you imagine how much better the Cavs would be with a Scottie Pippen in their ranks?

I really felt for LeBron today. Down the stretch he didn't have anyone he could go to and had to pretty much shoot or create for everyone else. The Cavs kinda remind me of the late 80s Bulls with Jordan.

Anyhow, that's just my take on things and I hope the Cavs still win as I can't see the Magic beating the Lakers (errr, no Denver; they'll win!... Please!).

Pretty much. The funny thing is Xeris's post is probably the exact same things being written in magazines about Jordan back then (but Jordan of course was far more dominant).

no_comprender

Australia91 Posts

May 27 2009 14:39 GMT

#2685

maybe if lerbon's teammates disliked him as jordans teammates did they'd complain a little more about not getting opportunities, but they've experienced lebron's willingness to get everyone involved so itd be a tough sell to claim he's not sharing the ball enough. it's too bad too, the 1st quarter of game one had me thinking the cavs were going to coast, lebron was finding the cutters and 3s were dropping, but now its ugly. it's up to lebron to get his team going as well as them stepping up, but the supporting cast seem to buy into the idea that with everyone else laying an egg the cav's best chance is to ride lebron. that makes it a lot easier on orlando and a lot harder on lebron

of course the other half of why they are losing is that they are giving up a lot of points, they can't stop howard and they can't cover the shooters

Servolisk

United States5241 Posts

May 27 2009 15:36 GMT

#2686

I'm kind of changing my mind from wanting a Kobe/Lebron final. Hard not to like the magic.

On May 27 2009 12:31 Hot_Bid wrote:

Show nested quote +

that's exactly what happened

Eh, not to argue any broader reason, but before Howard did that Varejao is pushing and grabbing him all the way from the FT line to the basket which is definitely a foul, and why Howard can't get into position. When players like Ray Allen are running through screens all the time they often get calls for people just having an arm on them as they move.

oneofthem

Cayman Islands24199 Posts

May 27 2009 15:37 GMT

#2687

i don't totally buy this distinction between skill and talent. first of all, skill is also based on and causally flows from physical characteristics of the body. also, skill does not seem to mean performance exclusively, what makes one move a skill and another a talent is an aesthetic standard. else talents would also be skill, since they help you score points and prevent scoring.

in the end the distinction is jst i think two tastes of how the game should be played, or the aesthetic standard of a good basketball player. it is not a clear distinction of a player's worth, and some people might prefer consistent performance in a talent like being stronger than anyone else.

aww fuck i want my wraith back

i wrote a long spiel about media rendering of the series earlier, and it seems that the reaction is finally here, but delayed by a game or two because of blind cavs hype.

city42

1656 Posts

May 27 2009 16:53 GMT

#2688

On May 27 2009 20:55 Monoxide wrote:

Show nested quote +

I'm not so sure that everyone would agree with your last statment there....

@ BlackJack: Lebron is 6' 8''? and even so Malone's era featured players who weren't huge. Some of them were tall but the majority were shorter than Malone, thats why Malone was soo good.

What the hell? The players in Malone's era were the exact same height as this era. They were also a hell of a lot more physical back then, and could get away with a lot more without fouling, so the fact that he consistently put up 27+/10+ for so long without missing any games is remarkable. The reason he was "soo good" is because he outworked every single person in the league, including His Airness.

CTStalker

Canada9720 Posts

May 27 2009 17:08 GMT

#2689

and malone was renowned for being one of the best physically conditioned athletes in the nba at the time
hell the guy still probably has a six pack

city42

1656 Posts

May 27 2009 17:16 GMT

#2690

That's what I meant by outworked. He was built like a tank and spent every waking moment of the offseason conditioning himself.

I was able to pull this up via google so it doesn't look like I'm pulling info out of my ass (like Monoxide):

http://www.nba.com/news/survey_2004.html

BalliSLife

1339 Posts

May 27 2009 18:10 GMT

#2691

Well said testie, very well said. I mean lebron has dropped nearly 40 points each game on orlando and yet last night the rest of the cavs got schooled by rafer alston, it was sad to see. Then again i am a fan of rafer because of his and1 days.

See it's not hard liking other players.

tonight

United States11130 Posts

May 27 2009 18:12 GMT

#2692

The media in MJ's time is nothing like it is now. It can't even be compared.

Xeris

Iran17695 Posts

May 27 2009 19:47 GMT

#2693

On May 28 2009 03:10 BalliSLife wrote:
Well said testie, very well said. I mean lebron has dropped nearly 40 points each game on orlando and yet last night the rest of the cavs got schooled by rafer alston, it was sad to see. Then again i am a fan of rafer because of his and1 days.

See it's not hard liking other players.

you realize that LeBron was on Alston for a lot of the game? he totally didn't respect him and got burned.

BlackJack

United States10574 Posts

May 27 2009 20:28 GMT

#2694

On May 27 2009 20:55 Monoxide wrote:

Show nested quote +

you're talking about a time when the Spurs started 3 guys all over 7 feet

Ace

United States16096 Posts

May 27 2009 21:08 GMT

#2695

On May 28 2009 02:16 city42 wrote:
That's what I meant by outworked. He was built like a tank and spent every waking moment of the offseason conditioning himself.

I was able to pull this up via google so it doesn't look like I'm pulling info out of my ass (like Monoxide):

http://www.nba.com/news/survey_2004.html

not only that, but I REALLy liked Malone when he played vs Rodman in the Chicago series. That guy was such a character.