Lebron has never been better than he has the past two years. Idc what garbage stat you cherry pick. He is undoubtedly the best player in the world and has aged like the fine wine he drinks. Pretty much indisputable at this point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There is absolutely no way lebron is better now than when he was with the Heat. His offense may be as good as ever, but his defense has taken ten steps back. Lol durant is averaging 35/11/7 so far in the Finals. There is no cherry picking any random stat, lebron has been taken to school by Durant so far and his defense shows it. You compare this to when he faced Durant when he was in OKC and that is in fact indisputable.
Two things. Is it possible that Kevin Durant got better? Obviously. Playing defense vs this Warriors team is much more than individual matchups, its not like KD is getting the ball on ISO every chance he gets and going one on one.
You are in the minority in this belief. I think you are just forced to keep pushing this narrative since you told everyone he was "declining"...yea, how'd that work out. On a non fictional note, the last 20 times a team was down 0-2 in a series they are 19-1 in 1st half bets. As of now its a PK. Playing Cavs 1st H and likely GS full game.
I sort of wondered if Durant would take any heat for taking the "easy route" but apparently not. Saw a stat that through 2 games he was assisted on 74% of his baskets. We saw JR literally run away from him in transition to cover Curry. Just don't think the difficulty level for Durant is all that high. Of course he looks this good - he has 2 of the best shooters ever flanking him! Just think we lose context. It's sort of like all the people that argued LeBron was actually bad in the 2015 Finals cuz his efficiency was bad when he was out there flanked by Shumpert, Mozgov, and Delly. Yeah, big shocker he didn't have a .700 TS% with that lineup. And I'm not even arguing that Durant hasn't passed LeBron or is on the way to doing so. Just not sure watching him dunk bc there's literally no way to guard this team is what proves it.
If the roles were reversed, LeBron would be off the charts in that situation and I can pretty much guarantee KD wouldn't sniff a triple double. Kevin was already a prolific scorer. Now you want to put him on the hardest team to guard with brilliant spacing and 2 of the best 3 point shooters we have ever seen? These easy looks is why he made the ***** move to goto GS. i will give him credit though, he is stealing the show....it will still be the most watered down championship in the history of basketball, but he had to know that coming in.
He can takes plays off frequently bc they have other scorers. Same on defense - he can roam and play off guys. His role is literally just to be awesome when he can - on both ends. His burden is pretty tiny. Not to discredit he's a phenomenal player. You can make a case he passed LeBron based on his two-way abilities, just don't think it's fair to paint this match-up as the proof.
Yeah...he is not "declining" because he is not human, and age is gonna take it's first loss with LeBron. and yes, the best LeBron of all-time played in Miami. Results, Stats, prove that.
Are they taking bets on who it was? Im not big in to gambling but id put a $100 on JR. No team with Lebron on it is actually likeable. Part of that is due to the player but its mostly due in large part to his groupie fans. Thats not referring to the actual Heat or Cavs fans. Im talking about the ones that switch teams based on where he goes and than want to talk like theyve been fans of that team forever. Theres just way too many groupies....i swear he may be the strongest man alive just to carry all the ***huggers hanging on to him.
Can likely be argued that he is losing a little on defense, and that's not an overreaction to the first two games of these finals either. He isn't human. I could see him playing 4-5 more years. Maybe Cle can find a way to sign Anthony Davis this offseason to keep the theme alive. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have a shiny quarter that says 90% of the team smokes. And yes Lebron included. You are just targeting JR because he's black....[emoji51] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well Love didnt have his Greatful Dead shirt on or his basketball shaped bong so, it had to be either JR or Shump. Lol
The cavs are pretty well capped out and Davis is already signed long term i believe. The good news is they can trade for Carmelo....oh wait no they cant cause outside of 3 players they have no assets.
he hasn't played defense in the regular season since 2012. namely due to all that it takes out of you. Can't play his minutes and also play D. Anthony Davis? He is under contract and the Cavs have no cap space and no assets. This is what they have.
LeBron hasn't and shouldn't play defense in the regular season. He is a worse shooter than he was in Miami. His form has regressed and he flares out his elbow too much. He was a much more efficient player in Miami. That said, I think he may be better now because of his leadership and mental toughness. What he did with last years team was nothing short of miraculous. Greatest sports feat I've ever seen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I think he's worse than he was in Miami but he's also very different. His passing seems much better and more of a focal point this stage. But he's not the elite defender, scorer, or shooter he was then. Super interesting to see where his game ages. He seems to be shifting more into a point forward type player - whereas I think most of us expected him to turn into more of a pure power forward with a post up game. Kyrie can take any sort of leap as a leader of the offense and not just a scorer I'd love to see LeBron work off ball more on offense and be more of a Draymond type player. Set screens for the PnR, roam on defense, protect the rim, etc. But I don't think we've seen that from Kyrie. He took a step as a scorer (one of seven players w a USG of over 30% and TS% over 58%) but he just can't be trusted to create for others.
As far back as I can remember, the Celtics are to blame for starting the trend of creating a "super team" during free agency. So while we can dislike what Durant and LeBron have done, it's not entirely unprecedented. Maybe somebody else can elaborate on that history. Or maybe it's that LeBron was the first MVP and scoring leader to abandon his team and join a "super team" (but I'm not sure that's true). I get that KD nearly beat the Warriors and then joined them and deserted Westbrook. On another note, is there a solution to the NBA's lack of parity? Perhaps a hard limit on max players per team and a hard salary cap? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was simply mocking the Warriors/Durant. What they have is good enough in most years....just not this one.
I think a hard cap and no max player limits would probably do a decent job. The cost of switching teams just isn't that huge. If Curry or Durant were on the open market with no limit to their salary they'd have to give up sooooooooo much to play together it would be harder. Mostly the 3-player super teams hurt parity but not in such an extreme way that it damaged the overall experience of the NBA. Curry's below market contract due to injuries and the league not smoothing the cap over time from the new TV deal which allowed KD to sign there were fairly unique situations that resulted in this current team. But the thing that makes it hard is these dudes are all in their prime and gonna be locked up long-term. Barring injuries there is going to be zero intrigue in the NBA for 3-4 years.
Yeah, good point about Curry. His resurgence has to be unprecedented. I'm just glad the Heat have a lottery pick and cap space to sign Hayward/Griffin. I'll just be in La La Land for the next few years until we have a legitimate shot again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The difference to me is, KD left and went to a team that beat him when they were up 3-1. It's a different level than LeBron. If LBJ had signed with the Celtics back in 2010, that would be similar. I understand happiness etc. but man, that is very odd behavior from a competitive athlete. The "if you can't beat them join them" mantra isn't in most men's DNA..especially when you obviously had the talent to beat that team.
No, I completely agree, I'm just saying what they did wasn't entirely unprecedented in the sense that there was a super team of All Stars created in free agency before then. They did take it another level, probably exponentially so. The question is, what are some good solutions for the lack of parity in the NBA? IIRC the luxury tax was a failed attempt to do so. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No idea. The NBA salary cap is like chinese arithmetic to me. And I agree, "super teams" have been formed way before LeBron etc. Sometimes it works (Heat) sometimes it doesn't (Lakers) Imagine if Patrick Ewing joined the 72 win Bulls team...wouldve been ridiculous.
Easy route? He had James Harden, Westbrook, and a DPOY candidate/NBA defensive first teamer in Serge Ibaka. James Harden was blanketed out of the series. And Durant was averaging 30/6/2 Durant is now averaging 35/11/7. A 5/5/5 difference.
That Thunder team was not this Warriors team. The Warriors won 73 games without him. You're not gonna convince me he's overcoming some incredible difficulty to score these points.
I don't think there's ever been a basketball team as good as this Warriors team. The Cavs had one of the most efficient quarters of basketball I've ever seen and the Warriors topped it and it seemed effortless... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This dude is literally doing it all by himself so far. LBJ is without question, the best basketball player I have ever seen. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
well do you think the Cavs can come back from 3-0. No, The warriors will win the championship. Can they go 16-0 in the postseason? I say Warriors in game 5 at home.
This wasn't a GREAT game. It was merely a competitive game amidst a dreadful playoffs. Lebron is still the GOAT. I don't care about rings. Jordan never had to play a team like these Warriors.
What can Lebron even do to get another ring? If he plays at a high level for 4-5 more years, but this Warriors team sticks together for those years, he would have to orchestrate an insane roster. Or, have Pop coach him in San Antonio.
We will see if theyll be able to keep Klay Thompson after next year. With steph and durant due to make somewhere around 30 to 36 million each,draymond is at 18 million next year, that is a lot of money tied to three players. Klay will be able to get a deal a little higher than Cj mccollum's contract from any team.
He's under contract for 2 more years I believe. If you mean they'll have to trade him to sign KD and Steph, then they'll still get some badass assets back.
