LET'S GO HAWKS!

[freedom]

I haven't watched LJ play very much and I had never seen him in person before last night. What he did to Milsap and the Hawks defense was impressive. IMO, he won the game for them last night. It's time for coach Bud to earn his paycheck and come up with a new plan.

IMO, James is the best player in NBA history. I don't think anyone, including Jordon, Chamberlain, or Magic could come take him one on one. He excels in every aspect of the game. But he flops and whines for calls as much or more than anyone I've ever seen. He also gets away with more contact on defense than his counterpart in every game I've watched him in. The hawks can beat this team, they've shown it already, but in a close game a couple calls one way or the other can make a difference. They have to outplay the LeBron effect to win.

 

[GeauxLSU]

They could have easily beat them last night with even average shooting, especially perimeter.

 

[Falcon1]

IMO, James is the best player in NBA history. I don't think anyone, including Jordon, Chamberlain, or Magic could come take him one on one. He excels in every aspect of the game. But he flops and whines for calls as much or more than anyone I've ever seen. He also gets away with more contact on defense than his counterpart in every game I've watched him in. The hawks can beat this team, they've shown it already, but in a close game a couple calls one way or the other can make a difference. They have to outplay the LeBron effect to win.

Let's pump the brakes a little bit here. I may agree with your statement if it read "Lebron is the best 1 on 1 player in history" but I can not agree that he is the best ever. Jordan was the most mentally tough athlete I have ever seen, and it showed in his game the way he rallied his teams. That being said Lebron is by far the best player in the game today and it is tough to stop even with a pretty good on the ball defender like Demarre as we saw last night. Now that Demarre is probably out I am not so confident based on the amount of contact Lebron gets away with on offense and defense as you said. His whining last night was driving me crazy.

 

[Trader Jordon]

IMO, James is the best player in NBA history. I don't think anyone, including Jordon, Chamberlain, or Magic could come take him one on one. He excels in every aspect of the game. But he flops and whines for calls as much or more than anyone I've ever seen. He also gets away with more contact on defense than his counterpart in every game I've watched him in. The hawks can beat this team, they've shown it already, but in a close game a couple calls one way or the other can make a difference. They have to outplay the LeBron effect to win.

I might be "stirring the pot" a little bit, but heck its always fun. The statement "James is the best player in NBA history" is very bold and I personally believe so far from wrong its not measurable. Luckily the NBA is played with 5 players on a team and no 1 person has ever won a championship without 4 others. This isn't street ball so nobody will ever be playing him one-on-one. I will let you pick a category to measure his greatness and can offer multiple players that surpass him in those respected categories. James has "leadership" issue that Chamberlin, Jordan, Magic and Bird never failed at. He has also choked countless times in meaningful games and was forced out of the city that he loved in order to "build" a team that could help him win. Do you think Magic called Bird and asked him if they wanted to start a team together? Hell no! They were the best and wanted to play against the best. LeBron is a very gifted athlete and the best individual in the game now. BUT, is far away from being categorized with some of these other legends. He plays on both ends of the floor which is rare this day and age but doesn't carry the "leadership" or "killer instinct" that the legends do. I'm not a Kobe Bryant fan but if you put his drive in LeBron's body it would be the greatest player to ever walk.

Bill Russell has 11 titles and Oscar Roberson averaged a triple double for an entire season and Pistol Pete scoring averaged was 44 a game with no 3pt line. James has a long way to go......

 

[freedom]

He is better at every skill than Jordon, except driving the lane and that's a close one. Shooting, passing, rebounding, and shooting the 3. All this bull**** talk about intangibles is the part that isn't measurable. There are other individual players that are better at certain aspects than James, but his skill set combined with his size and strength is unmatched.

And just for clarity, I'm over 40. I've been an avid basketball fan since the early 80s. I'm just saying that because I've seen and followed the game since then. I also don't even like LeBron. He's a crybaby. But, judging an individual players greatness is just that. I doubt any team playing today could beat Showtime, or even the Celtics or Pistons at their peak.

 

[Trader Jordon]

He is better at every skill than Jordon, except driving the lane and that's a close one. Shooting, passing, rebounding, and shooting the 3. All this bull**** talk about intangibles is the part that isn't measurable. There are other individual players that are better at certain aspects than James, but his skill set combined with his size and strength is unmatched.

And just for clarity, I'm over 40. I've been an avid basketball fan since the early 80s. I'm just saying that because I've seen and followed the game since then. I also don't even like LeBron. He's a crybaby. But, judging an individual players greatness is just that. I doubt any team playing today could beat Showtime, or even the Celtics or Pistons at their peak.

I watched LeBron completely lay down in his first run with the Cavs against the Celtics and would have been completely embarrassed to be a teammate. James is not a better shooter than Jordan and doesn't take it the rack better, he is not a better defender nor a better passer. This coming from a guy that doesn't like either player. They played at different times against different caliber of players and rules, hard to compare but he IMO doesn't hold a candle to MJ. He's a freak athlete that can do amazing things but not a Legend by any means.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Say what you want about him, if he takes the Cavs from obscurity (or oblivion?) to the championship in ONE year his place in NBA history will be absolutely solidified.

 

[offbeat404]

word on the street is carroll has no structural damage to left knee, will be day-to-day
*fingers crossed*

 

[Al Capone]

It's always going to be an opinion on who's the best player to play. I'm a huge LBJ fan so I think he's the best to ever play and will go down as the best to ever play. Jordan obviously great as well. Jordan's early career was also a lot like Lebrons, getting to playoffs only to get knocked out early in. It took Phil coming to the Lakers with an up and coming VERY GOOD Bulls team to get them over the hump. The year Jordan retired from basketball to pursue his baseball career the Bulls won 55 games!!!!!!!!!! That's right they WON 55 GAMES WITHOUT JORDAN! That tells you all you need to know about how good that group of players was. Lebron left the Miami Heat and they won 37 games the next season. Lebron left the cavs and they won 19 games!!!!!!!! Jordan less team won 55, Lebron less teams won 37 and 19!!!!!!! Add them together and you get what Bulls won without MJ............that's all folks.

 

[freedom]

I watched LeBron completely lay down in his first run with the Cavs against the Celtics and would have been completely embarrassed to be a teammate. James is not a better shooter than Jordan and doesn't take it the rack better, he is not a better defender nor a better passer. This coming from a guy that doesn't like either player. They played at different times against different caliber of players and rules, hard to compare but he IMO doesn't hold a candle to MJ. He's a freak athlete that can do amazing things but not a Legend by any means.

How old was he? He also took a mediocre team to the eastern finals on his shoulders. Lj has a better shooting percentage from 2 & 3, despite shooting many more 3s, Jordon only took 1 or 2 a game, generally when wide open. He has more assists per game. He's also a better rebounder. Lj has made the all defensive team 6 times vs Jordons 9 in fewer seasons.