I'm 33 and saw Jordan in his hay day and I agree with you. Lebron is even better now then he was 5 yrs ago in cleveland. He's only gotten smarter along with improving his jumper. I think the lack of "clutchness" that people like to critique him on just makes him actually human and not a robot. He has to walk the fine line of trying to be the facilitator and the man. Magic never had that problem. He was always the facilitator and just took what the D gave em. Lebron has to not only play that role alot but be "Jordan/Kobe" too. Nobody else has had that mountain to climb. He's doing it pretty well I think
Game 7 is a man's game
- Thread starter floydvane
- Start date
I'm 33 and saw Jordan in his hay day and I agree with you. Lebron is even better now then he was 5 yrs ago in cleveland. He's only gotten smarter along with improving his jumper. I think the lack of "clutchness" that people like to critique him on just makes him actually human and not a robot. He has to walk the fine line of trying to be the facilitator and the man. Magic never had that problem. He was always the facilitator and just took what the D gave em. Lebron has to not only play that role alot but be "Jordan/Kobe" too. Nobody else has had that mountain to climb. He's doing it pretty well I think
HawkeyeMHA
Well-Known Member
Anyone who knows basketball knows that Lebron is a very very good player. In addition I actually like him and despite one comment at a boys and girls club (my talent...) I think he is quite humble and mature for the amount of scrutiny and pressure his is under at his age. In terms of skills he is very very good.
DP5555
Well-Known Member
The crazy thing to me about Lebron is sometimes if you are just casually watching a Heat game you might think to yourself "Man Lebron hasn't done anything spectacular in this game".... and then they'll show his stats and he has like 24 pts, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists lol. That to me is what makes him so great. People expect him to do spectacular things because he is capable of doing that. However, an average game by Lebron is still a double double. Something that almost any other player would consider one of their best games of the year, but because Lebron is held to a higher standard it's just another routine performance.
His overall impact on a game is what puts him in the discussion for potentially being the greatest of all time. Now like I said earlier, ultimately he won't be a part of that conversation unless he can match Jordan's number of Championships. However, I think it's a fair argument to suggest that when Lebron is playing his best he impacts a basketball game in more ways than any other player I've seen (scoring, assists, rebounding, lock-down defense, and overall basketball IQ).
His overall impact on a game is what puts him in the discussion for potentially being the greatest of all time. Now like I said earlier, ultimately he won't be a part of that conversation unless he can match Jordan's number of Championships. However, I think it's a fair argument to suggest that when Lebron is playing his best he impacts a basketball game in more ways than any other player I've seen (scoring, assists, rebounding, lock-down defense, and overall basketball IQ).
Think about Lebron in the different NBA finals that he has been to: this year, he had to guard Tony Parker because no one else could guard him. Parker is insanely quick and Lebron shut him down.
Last year, he guarded pretty much everybody including Durant (6'9'') who is one of the best scorers in the league, and Ibaka (6'11") who is just a freak athlete post.
The year before he guarded Dirk quite a bit, because once again no one else really could.
I don't really remember too much about the first time they played the spurs.
His defensive versatility alone makes him one of the best players ever. Add to that the fact that he can average nearly 30 points and 10 assists a game...
Last year, he guarded pretty much everybody including Durant (6'9'') who is one of the best scorers in the league, and Ibaka (6'11") who is just a freak athlete post.
The year before he guarded Dirk quite a bit, because once again no one else really could.
I don't really remember too much about the first time they played the spurs.
His defensive versatility alone makes him one of the best players ever. Add to that the fact that he can average nearly 30 points and 10 assists a game...
Agreed. One of my favorite Jordan passes was to Bill Wennington in the waning seconds of Jordan's 55 point game at MSG. As much as he wanted to score, he wanted to win (a regular season game, by the way). LeBron was the only reason the Heat were even in Game 6 of the series and tied scoring the most points in a Game 7 winning effort (with Tommy Heinsohn in 1957 - a double OT game). He's good.
That and a little help from the Zebra's.
Makavelihawk
Well-Known Member
Get real. Go see how many steps Manu took before he took any contact. Then come back and report.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
I thought this was about Game 7? Jordan never played in a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.
Knight78
Well-Known Member
Incorrect. If the refs don't swallow their whistles when Ginobili drove the lane and was fouled by any one of three players, the Heat lose Game 6 and don't even get to Game 7. Even Jeff VanGundy, who was on his knees the entire series paying homage to LeBron, said he didn't see how there wasn't a foul called on the Ginobili drive. The "turnover" occurred with 2.4 seconds left; a foul called at that time would have put the time remaining on the clock at most 2.4 seconds, probably less. Ginobili makes one of the two free throws (he's a good clutch free throw shooter so he may have made both) and the Heat lose because Allen doesn't get the snow-bird layup and foul shot to allow them to win by 3.
Makavelihawk
Well-Known Member
He took 8 steps b4 he got fouled whiner. Go look at the tape. If you're gonna cry about a missed call, don't ignore the missed call that preceded it.
