He's got a long way to go for MJ talk but there was no doubt in my mind he would come through and will the Heat to victory. We are looking at the best player in 20 years and already a top 10 all-time if he never does anything else.
As much as I hate the heat, even I have to stand in awe at Lebron from time to time. What a game and what a finish!
He's not there yet, but in time he may challenge MJ for the greatest of all time.
He's got a long way to go for MJ talk but there was no doubt in my mind he would come through and will the Heat to victory. We are looking at the best player in 20 years and already a top 10 all-time if he never does anything else.
To be fair though, the Pacers defense on his last 2 buckets was absolutely atrocious. Not sure wtf the coach was thinking benching their best defender.
I said that exact same thing. It doesn't really make sense to me. I know the Heat spread the floor with Bosh, Lebron and three shooters so it only made sense to have one big guy out there but you gotta be able to protect the paint. With reasonable rotation on that last shot the big guy could have helped off Bosh and had a guard rotate onto Bosh to help out. The Heat only had 2 seconds, so it's not like there was so much time that they couldn't just go hyper active and try to force multiple swing passes.
Really though, even without Hibbert out there you still have to provide help on Lebron driving to the rim. You literally are comfortable with ANY other outcome than that. And for the life of me I can't understand Paul George's stance on Lebron off the catch. He gave him so much space and was begging him to drive left where there was no help. Even if you want Lebron to drive left you simply cannot give the guy that much room to do so. That's just basic defensive stuff that I teach to my grade 9's. Of course you want to push a guy to his weaker hand but you still have to be in front of him. And again, he was forcing him away from help.
That says to me there was a breakdown with communication because the big man in the back has got to be screaming that he's got no help. I also think that there must have been a breakdown in the message from Frank Vogel. I'm sure their game plan was to keep forcing Lebron left because he's absolutely obnoxious going right but you've got to make sure guys know that help has to come if you are going to be that blatant about it.
I mean, I just don't get how you concede a layup with 2.2 seconds left. That's not even long enough to get a defensive three seconds call. The big guy should've been camped in the middle of the paint, Chris Bosh be damned.
And now what sliver of hope the Pacers had of an upset is gone. They aren't winning four out of six games. They just aren't. If you want to pull off an upset, you absolutely have to win game one because it's too hard to rattle off four wins in five or six games against a superior team.
Yeah, that final play made no sense whatsoever.
I've seen warm-up layups defended more vigorously than that. That was the absolute last play you want to give up... I'd rather they double, triple team him and force Allen to make a wide open jumper than give Lebron a free layup. Hell, they would've been better off fouling him and forcing him to make the free throws! Just mind boggling.
I have gone from disliking LeBron (the TV thing, mostly), to grudgingly respecting him (as a Thunder fan) to really liking him and enjoying him as an athlete.
For someone in his position, he has never had anything resembling off-court drama. He's great with fans and the media. And he is the best basketball talent ever. He doesn't have Kobe/Jordan's insane competitive drive or killer instinct (and because of that he may never be as "good"), but he's the quintessential teammate - he is at his best when his teammates are all involved, and that is more of a Magic Johnson trait than Jordon or Kobe, who would go off for 40-50 points without even looking to pass.
He is the most talented player of all time! There is no one even close to him on a pure talent perspective. By the time his career is over he will be universally recognized as the best player ever. Only people who will disagree are Chicago fans or dinosaurs who are unwilling to come to grips with the blatantly obvious. I'm a Lakers fan so I think there is an argument that Magic if he didn't get sick would have had a better career then Jordan anyway.
I also have no understanding of that last play as well. I only toned in right at the end and assumed Hibbert had fouled out when I didn't see him on the court. You double Lebron and let anyone else beat you as far as I'm concerned.
Last edited by bigbabybuda; May 23, 2013 at 12:34 PM.
"My Name Is My Name" ~Marlo
"I'm just a Gangster I suppose and I want my fu***** corners"~ Barksdale
grammar Nazi
Noun
(slang, idiomatic) 1. A person who habitually corrects or criticizes the language usage of others, especially in situations where it is unnecessary, e.g. an informal conversation.
Notes: This behavior is almost always found in people with very low I.Q's, whom have a very low sense of self worth. Impotence is also commonly linked to Grammar Nazi's.
I think it is crazy to say its a guarantee that he will surpass or even match Jordan. I would hazard a guess that you might not have followed or watched a lot of basketball in Jordan's prime to be saying that.
The below image is a bit outdated, as it doesnt have Lebron's trophies from this season or last season, but nevertheless it illustrases the point nicely.
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Last edited by wendelclark17; May 23, 2013 at 7:51 PM.
That is an epic illustration.
That call on Lebron for his sixth foul... what a joke. The NBA is such bush league compared to every other league from a refereeing standpoint. And the incorrect shot clock violation for Indy too.
I would love to see it happen but I don't think Indiana can win this... unless one of the key three for Miami is hurt to finish out the series.
12 team Full Dynasty w cap. 13F, 7D, 2G, 5B.
G 4.25, A 2.75, PPP 1.5, SHP 3, Hits 0.4, Blocks 0.5, PIM 0.25, DFP 1
W 5 OTL 1 SO 6 SV 0.25 L-1 GS 1
F:Stamkos, C Stew, R Johansen, B Dubinsky, Max Pac, Umberger, B Ryan, D Backes, T Ruutu, Lucic, Ott, MSL, Heatley, C Kunitz, J Benn, L Adam
D: C Fowler, Kronwall, A Goligoski, JM Liles, M Giordano, K Letang, N Nikitin, R Josi
G: J Quick, A Niemi, C Anderson, Rinne
I'm surprised that DWayde is playing like such shit... his play near the end when he travelled was simply horrible. So many things he could've done with the ball on that possession.
"My Name Is My Name" ~Marlo
"I'm just a Gangster I suppose and I want my fu***** corners"~ Barksdale
grammar Nazi
Noun
(slang, idiomatic) 1. A person who habitually corrects or criticizes the language usage of others, especially in situations where it is unnecessary, e.g. an informal conversation.
Notes: This behavior is almost always found in people with very low I.Q's, whom have a very low sense of self worth. Impotence is also commonly linked to Grammar Nazi's.
Well, by the letter of the law that's a foul. He was wider than he's allowed to be but to make that call at that point is stupid and speaks to a greater issue with NBA officiating. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason to half the stuff they call. Refs allow way worse illegal screens than that on pretty much every play. In fact, it's become something of a skill for players to be able to set great illegal screens.
Now, we don't know what kind of discussions took place on the court and maybe a well timed tip from the Pacers coach about illegal screens shifted the ref's attention. Or perhaps there was a discussion between an official and Lebron about it and there was some kind of warning.
But again, to call that foul in that situation of the game is just... *sigh*... I mean, there's absolutely no art to the way a game is officiated these days. Refs just aren't great at setting a tone to the game and then allowing the players to play. It seems like there are quotas of certain calls that have to be made each game as mandated by the league so the refs are constantly feeling their strings getting pulled by the league office.
And this is a league where a guy has been proven corrupt and another guy has shown a clear vendetta towards a player and has actively acted on that in games. It's outrageous. The lack of consistency from play to play, quarter to quarter, game to game is just embarrassing. The best compliment you can give a ref is that you didn't notice him. I always notice the refs in NBA games, which means there is something wrong.