And that’s another season done with.
2010-06-18“Well, first things first: I will never say anything bad about Derek Fisher ever again. He could start launching the ball at his own basket for the first 40 games of next season and keep his starting job. Honestly, if there’s one guy who I’m happy about making me look like an absolute and total idiot, it’s Fisher, who deserves sucess in this league just about as much as anyone else.”
Cavs: The Blog, June 12th, 2009.
(I am very, very, very rarely right about anything.)
So, that’s that. Lakers are your back-to-back NBA champions.
Let’s get this out of the way first:
LeBron, Game 6: 27 points, 8-21 shooting, 19 rebounds, 10 assists. Satan.
Kobe, Game 7: 23 points, 6-24 shooting, 15 rebounds, 2 assists. Champion.
LeBron did have five more turnovers than Kobe, but still. For a couple of minutes there, I dreamed about how if Kobe lost while playing like he did, the LeBron/Kobe article would have to become about basketball. The whole “Kobe is a better sports human” thing would sort have melted after a historic choke in game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Celtics.
Alas. The Celtics got tight on the road, they missed Perkins, and Kobe’s teammates stepped up. History is the propaganda of the victors (do I really have to tell you again) — in a few months, this game will be remembered by most people as Kobe’s indomitable will manifesting itself in rebounding, defense on Ray Allen, and some late free throws. Or just be another of Kobe’s five championships, each one like the last.
I know — it’s not fair. Nobody cares. Life isn’t fair. There’s no reason that being a sports fan should be. Smile, clap, tip your cap, and hope one of your favorite athletes gets bailed out the same way someday. The Kobe/LeBron thing is what it always was — LeBron fans waving stat sheets and specific examples and Kobe fans pointing to T-Shirts with rings on them. Nothing ever changes. Nothing ever ends.
As bad as the Kobe nutjobs on the winning side will be, the conspiracy nutjobs on the losing side will be much worse. Not a great game seven for people that like basketball writing to be about basketball instead of legacies and championship organs or the paranoid ramblings of sore losers.
I am extremely happy for Ron Artest, and, to a lesser extent, Derek Fisher. And Gasol, kinda. Not Sasha.
So, the Lakers surviving a horrible Kobe performance because they played gutty defense and were fine with the game becoming a war. That’s another sheet in my “I’m really not sure firing Mike Brown without a clear replacement in mind was a good idea” folder. I mean, maybe they could have waited to see how good the Celtics were before firing Brown? Maybe?
In hindsight, what was the freaking rush? What idiot big-name coach did they think was going to come and help them recruit LeBron? Do they realize that coaches, unlike young players, often have fully formed post-basketball lives that they have no pressure to leave? I mean, I guess Mike Brown’s bonus forced their hands. But yeesh, this is a royal mess.
Ray Allen: very much available for the MLE.
That’s all I have for this season. What a year. First season doing this site from start-to-finish, and after I started doing NBC along with this, first season doing basketball as a real job. Not the outcome I was hoping for this year, but the journey couldn’t have been better. Thanks to all of you for making this such a great season for me and this site.
Hopefully I’ll be able to do the real off-season work here now: rumor breakdowns, player report cards, goofy posts, et cetera. Stay tuned, campers.
Outlawnyc, I’m delusional because I saw that Cavs team dominate the Lakers during the regular season? Do you understand that in basketball it is all about matchups? The CAVS choked they had the talent to win it all but they fell apart at the head starting with Lebron. Odom was inconsistent all year and he did nothing against the Cavs, you as a Lakers fan should recognize this because all Lakers fans do, he only shows up when he feels like it. Gasol is one of the best players in the league, however he only dominates certain games he had… Read more »
only east team that ever scared me as a laker fan was the celtics. I KNOW the lakers are a more skilled team than anyone in the playoffs but these celtics crushed us in 2008 with their toughness. I didn’t know if the lakers would step up. the cavs Stefan u were obviously wrong about the quality of the BOTH Orlando and Cleveland and the quality of boston as Boston CRUSHED both the CAVS and MAgic without Home court and nearly won the title in game 7 in LA. Lebron should take the heat for losing in the playoffs no… Read more »
I am the most realistic Lakers fan you will ever meet, I watched every Lakers and Cavs game this season and the ONLY team that scared me in the playoffs was the Cavs because of the matchup reasons. Artest was inconsistent the entire playoffs along with Odom, Gasol has the ability to play incredible but did you see Kendrick Perkins cause him to struggle when he got physical with him? Gasol does that against physical defenders, and he played soft in both Cavs meetings this season. Parker was a better shooter than Artest all year long by the way. Hickson… Read more »
Stefan, Mo williams is more talented than derek fisher as is jordan farmar — i’ll take derek fisher over both of those guys in the playoffs ANY DAY. If you’re arguing Kobe vs Lebron you have to compare artest vs Parker — ADVANTAGE Artest by A LOT. PF GASOL/ODOM vs the cavs 4s? LOLOLOLOL GASOL and ODOM are in a different UNIVERSE than the combo of jamison and varajao and I LIKE Jamison — Gasol MAY BE the best 4/5 combo player in the LEAGUE. C I’d take bynum over ancient SHAQ any day. If you’re a Laker fan I’m… Read more »
Also It can be said that no basketball player ever before has faced more pressure than Kobe Bryant did in game 7. Winning the title would either kill his legacy or build it to the greatness of the likes of Jordan and Magic Johnson. Jordan never faced a game 7 in the NBA finals and never had to deal with what people were calling “a career defining series”. But all that matters is he willed his team to win, he won the title and now has the chance to win a 6th ring. This whole article is retarded and a… Read more »
by the way I don’t really care who the best player in the league is as long as my team is hoisting the trophy at the end of the year. As a Laker fan the Cavs or whoever else can have the best player in the world, I’ll take my team being world champs. Kobe can be selfish, Phil just lucky, Pau soft, Odom inconsistent, Artest crazy, and Fisher too old as long as they’re world champs.
Kobe vs Lebron Comparing Kobe vs Lebron, clearly Kobe has the better resume and Lebron the brighter future. Kobe is clearly the better shooter, more “skilled player”, and imo a better defender. Lebron is the better rebounder, is more athletic and superior passer. But who’s the better player? Yikes I think it’s tough to say. This is really challenging because the thing that makes Kobe more of a winning player, his superior supporting cast, also will limit his stats — the opposite of course applies to Lebron. Kobe and Lebron have the opposite problem. As a big Laker fan I… Read more »
why is everybody talking bout they didnt have perkins. well remember in 2008 the lakers didnt have andrew btynum or trevor ariza they were hurt and boston won so stop crying boston get some more people
HERE IS THE SIMPLE FACTS LEBRON JAMES GAVE UP IN GAME 5 VERSUS THE CELTICS. DONT GIVE ME ALL THE STUFF HE DID IN GAME 6 CLOSEOUT GAME NONSENSE. THE DUDE GAVE UP IN GAME 5 WHEN THE SERIES WAS TIED 2-2 AND HE HAD A CHANCE TO GO UP 3-2 AT HOME. YOU GUYS MAKE SO MANY EXCUSES FOR LEBRON WHILE DURING THE REGULAR SEASON NO SAID ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE ON WAY TO ANOTHER HAVING THE BEST RECORD IN THE LEAGUE. THEN WHEN LEBRON CHOKES AND GIVES UP IN GAME 5, YOU SAY HE HAS NO… Read more »
aww, here we have the sweet ol´cavs fans moaning and goraning. i was wondering where you all were hiding at… is this a secret club meeting? It amazes me that you all want to compare lbj with the mamba… thats sad. Let me make it clear, the only conversation kobe is in is the big one: kobe vs mj …. sorry to burst you all bubble but mrs james is know where in the picture…. maybe still fishing down in orlando…lol… so let lakers rule and kobe be praised….
Context. Lebron’s iffy performance came after two games where he ranged from so-so to awful. Any criticism for game 6 was born out of people expecting (or hoping for) a monster redemption game. Moreover, Rondo was clearly the best player in that series. And yes, losing didn’t help.
Kobe would’ve gotten murdered if the Lakers lost, and he still did by folks like Bill Simmons and Skip Bayless. But his iffy game came off of two great games.
This really comes off as sour grapes.
Oh great. You compare a LeBron game 6 vs. Celtics to a Kobe game 7 vs. Celtics.
Perfect analysis.
One day after a chip you are being negative. This signifies something significantly wrong with your psyche than anything to do or any truth about LeBron or Kobe.
Celebrate Champions. Dont denigrate them 1 day after the fact.
Windhorst was right. The effects from game 5 of the conference semis will ultimately condemn LeBron for the remainder of his career unless he wins big, wins often, and wins handily. Sorry LeBron, but no matter what the circumstances where behind the scenes, if you can’t come out and give an explanation then you don’t deserve sympathy. Win or shut up.
There’s no defending Kobe’s last game. He took bad shots and ultimately was bailed out by his teammates. Don’t get mad at Kobe because his teammates stepped up. Be mad at Cleveland’s GM: LeBron James. (LeBron has carte blanche in Cleveland. He didn’t resurrect the franchise. Resurrect means “to bring to life again.” He is the life of the franchise. Accordingly, and despite what Dan Gilbert says, LeBron has his finger (if not his whole hand and arm) in everything the Cavs do. Dan Gilbert is richer because of LeBron James, and from a business perspective he’d be foolish not… Read more »
This debate about who the general basketball player is just silly. In order for Lebron James to even come CLOSE to Kobe’s legacy, he’ll need five rings, and he’ll need them without another legit superstar. Say he pairs up with Wade. We’ll not only hear the “Wade is better than Lebron”, but also the “He can’t win without Wade.” That is a FACT. I mean, look at what the Kobe haters say all day long. Now, Lebron James also puts up the best numbers in the regular season, averaging almost a triple double. That is insane. Kobe has never been… Read more »
Am I missing something? Wasn’t game 5 everyone’s issue with Lebron? Where he threw in the towel and quit on his team? Bad nights happen, especially against the Celtics defense, and even though those 2 stat lines aren’t pretty; they both show effort and a will to win. (It just didn’t work out for Lebron that night). The biggest difference is, the previous game 5, – Kobe didn’t quit on his team. P.S. I generally love your work, I just think this time you’re twisting the history to support your argument; where to me all those two lines show is… Read more »
Here are some shooting lines from Lebronze the last couple of years of playing Boston in the playoffs, I found 8 games out of 13 in which he shot under 40%…. 2 for 18 (that’s 11 percent folks) 6 for 24 5 for 16 7 for 20 9 for 23 7 for 18 3 for 14 (wouldn’t be so bad if he hadn’t also LeQuit on his team) 8 for 21 Oh yeah, so let’s now call Kobe out when he’s now a back to back champion? Please. Let’s also call Michael Jordan out when he struggled in game 7… Read more »
this means nothing, you can’t say anyone player is better then another based off this one game. if anything, you can look at it as though kobe got his team to a position where he was even able to play a game 7 for the nba finals. you cant all of a sudden disregard what either player has done by just looking at this one game comparison. this comparison gives you nothing. pocking out these individual games to compare tells you nothing about who is better, i mean ron artest was the best player on the court in game 7,… Read more »
Hello all, I am not a Cavs fan, I just linked to this post from ESPN, but it seems to me that this Krolik guy is so sore and biased he can’t see the forest from the trees. Am I the only one who saw Lebron humiliate himself in the Celtics series? Am I the only one who saw him get physically and mentally taken by Rajon Rondo in as close to a one on one matchup as those two teams could provide? Am I the only who remembers every single non-Cleveland based expert in the country call Lebron’s game… Read more »
Ace,
All i have to say to your rant is the cavs with their so called lack of supporting cast 2 years in a row have sat atop the eastern conference, ahead of the elite teams you listed. You don’t have the top record in the league by being a bad team. Lebron is not so good that he wills a bottom 5 team into number one overall, otherwise Wade would be doing the same.
Lebron’s choke job isn’t remembered for game 6….it’s the games before that! Just give credit where it’s due. To winners, not the stat sheets
Please don’t try and say that the Lakers, sans Kobe, would make the playoffs. Or, you’re going to tell me that Sasha or Shannon Brown at the two for an entire season is good enough for 47 to 50 wins? Kobe creates so much for everyone even if it doesn’t end in an assist. There’s nobody else on the Lakers who can create scoring opportunities for himself and others. Odom, maybe once every six or seven games. Artest? He’s oftentimes a trainwreck on offense. Farmar can create for himself, but others? Of course, you’ll all say Gasol. But this notion… Read more »
Thanks for comparing my bitterness to that of an actual sportswriter who’s supposed to have a certain cold of ethics in their writing, Rich, I’m… honored? Maybe? I’d like to offer a more objective comparison. When both the Cavs and the Lakers were down 3-2 to the Celtics and needed to push for a game 7, here’s the stats between Lebron and Kobe: LeBron, Game 6: 27 points, 8-21 shooting, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, 9 turnovers. Satan. Kobe, Game 6: 26 points, 9-19 shooting, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 turnovers. Champion. Or even another comparison when both teams lost to… Read more »
I’m pretty sure there was more bitterness in your post, Daniel, than in an entire page worth of Krolik writings.
On the LeBron holding the city hostage, it only happens because we let him. If the franchise ( Dan Gilbert) actually believed we the fans would stick around after LeBron left, there would be no hostage situation. This team would be better equipped. But it has never been about LeBron walking away. It’s been about us as fans walking away. It really makes us no different than him if/when we give up on the franchise just because he did.
In my opinion, the Cavs “supporting cast” is really not as terrible as people try to make them out. At the least, the jury is still out. I would really like to see a full season with a healthy team and a coach with a offensive plan to really evaluate them. Honestly, not sure anyone can beat the Lakers with their bigs. Cavs would have had a shot with Shaq and Z of 2008 but not sure they would have done the job this year. Probably with no Lebron the Cavs are a lottery team, but that doesn’t tell me… Read more »
Also, John, are you sure you are hoping to write about basketball? Because if stats is all that matters, why play the game at all? I really think you need to take a moment and look inward and recognize how your bitterness is affecting your judgment.
It’s OK, though. Most sportswriters take years to put their personal feelings aside. Some never do.
Great job singling out one game out of all 14 years and another out of all 7 from two players and say “LOOK WHAT I FOUND! ALL THE PROOF I NEED!” This is the objective journalism we have all been looking for.
@Ace @ John – I want to clarify that I don’t mean to imply that because I have a degree in math that I’m correct – far from it, I simply find it humorous that someone else would imply that there is a scientific answer to a sports opinion argument. Even basketball “statistics” as you are applying them aren’t just statistics, they’re your interpretation of the data, which is an opinion. Also, Ace’s ad hominem attacks “idiots” and “moronically” only emphasize his condescending tone and reveal his belief that he is somehow more logical than other people. Thanks for the… Read more »
The hurry to fire him was that they saved $2mm or whatever it was.
The problem is that these numbers don’t exist in a vacuum. What I saw last night was a far superior defensive game than I’d seen in a long, long time. And to be 100% honest, I’d rather a player go balls to the wall and do everything in his power to try and win, as opposed to the guy I saw essentially give up on his team and resort to trying to protect his stat sheet by any means possible to once again try and avoid blame for his team’s shortcomings. I saw no purpose in Lebron’s game since “you… Read more »
@MG, If the Bulls sign Lebron, all that cap space goes away. That’s what you’re missing. @Ace, So, the Cavs win 60 plus games because of Lebron, but lose in the playoffs because of his teammates? I still don’t get it. The Cavs are built around Lebron’s strengths. Last season, they employed three of the top 15 3-point shooters. So, Lebron made all those guys awesome during the regular season, but mediocre to poor during the playoffs? The Cavs had a defensive-minded powerfoward who is the best pick-and-roll defender in the league and makes four or five 50/50 plays every… Read more »
@Ace Statistics and logic. Wonderful. I have a degree in mathematics, so I’m going to assume that I probably know enough about both to understand them quite well.
And yes, you can take the Cavs record as a measure of how good a team is, including Lebron.
A 60+ win regular season team should have enough pieces to win it all.
@ Gil — regular season EWA does give some credence to Ace’s statements. The gap is shockingly large.
@ Ace — Play nice with the Silver Screen and Rollers. There’s never a good reason to stop being classy.
@Gil Meriken “It’s an unwritten NBA rule as well that you cannot complain about a player’s teammates if said team wins 60 plus games in the regular. That should be enough for a superduperstar.” WOW. What a genius argument. But did you ever think that THE REASON THE CAVS HAD THE BEST RECORD THE LAST TWO YEARS WAS BECAUSE LEBRON WAS AMAZING?!? Idiots like you who repeat this same tired argument seem to (moronically) think that you can take the Cavs record as a reflection of how good his teammates are. But you cannot infer that so long as LeBron… Read more »
Slight problem with all of this: Lebron was on the team with the best record in the NBA for two straight years.
It’s an unwritten NBA rule as well that you cannot complain about a player’s teammates if said team wins 60 plus games in the regular. That should be enough for a superduperstar.
I think what’s changed since Lebron’s game until now is that the Celtics at the time were viewed as over the hill vets who shouldn’t have won that series. Then they took down Orlando in possibly more convincing fashion and nearly took down the Lakers. Ultimately the Celtics deserved to win it all, they just didn’t because they ran out of gas slightly quicker than the Lakers. As such, the Celtic-Cav series really does need to be re-evaluated and the Celtics given more credit than the Cavs faulted. Lebron’s media blitz during the finals brought more condemnation that should be… Read more »
I agree MG, I don’t think he is winning anywhere next year unless a very unlikely (and it is unlikely despite how the media plays it up) 2nd max contract player joining him in either chicago or Cleveland. Thats it. Two max contract players on that New York roster might be good neough to get like the 3rd or 4th seed, but they aren’t winning a title. The only way I see him winning a title next year is if he signs with Chicago, and then Chicago pulls a sign and trade for Bosh w/o giving up Noah or Rose.… Read more »
@Rich I will accept that it will be tough to win a title in any of those destinations, but only if you admit that he likely isn’t winning anything next year in CLE either. I admittedly don’t know that much about the minute rules involved in the salary cap, but I looked at a chart and it looks like the Bulls have fewer guaranteed dollars owed in 2011-2012 than the Cavs. Even if they pick up all their team options, they’ll only have $35.75 mil committed. The Cavs on the other hand will have to pay $35.68 mil in guaranteed… Read more »
@ KJ The fact that they turn over the roster twice a year is more of an indictment than any sort of commendation. MacDonalds has a real knack for employee turn over too but it doesn’t mean that they make a gourmet burger. I’ll give Ferry credit for trying to dig himself out of the hole that they were in from the Larry Hughes and crew signings, but really they just went from bad players to slightly less bad players. Oh and news flash on the front line issue you raised. The Cavs don’t have any dominant bigs either. Shaq… Read more »
nice work this year john. i hope that as you rise in the sports writing world you will find the time continue to keep up this blog :) this has become my daily cavs fix
Ace, I’m with you 100% until that last part. I’m not even from Ohio but I still want to see LeBron stay, for karmic and legacy purposes. Guys like Pierce and Kobe have shown that it’s possible to win after sticking it out with the same team through bad times. There’s nothing about the Cavs organization that would preclude that chance. As opposed to, say, the Hornets (CHRIS PAUL GET OUT AS FAST AS YOU CAN). And it’s easy to exaggerate the quality of the “supporting cast” either way. Yes they’d be a bottom 5 team without LeBron. But some… Read more »
i swear, do you people follow the cavs at all? they turn over their roster with an amazing frequency. yet, so many of the comments on here act like the same team from last year will be the same team come novemeber of this year! get real! and i posted this in another thread but it bears repeating to the people who thinks the bulls are so great. first, they don’t have a dominant big. noah is NOT a dominant big. tell me what the last 20 years of nba champs have. and rose dominates the ball and LBJ wants… Read more »
Good write up, John. I think you nailed the LeBron/Kobe debate from the perspective of fans. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, nothing will change… Just rehashing the same dumb arguments.
Anyway, thanks for having me on the site this season. I enjoyed it and look forward to writing a lot more in the future.
@Joseph: While *I* agree with you that Lebron is the better player, there are a lot of people out there who feel like it’s all about the ring count and D-Wade will always be one-up on Lebron if they join togethr and Lebron doesn’t win any without D-Wade. In the end it’s all about legacy and although I’m sure Lebron would love to play with D-Wade, in his heart of hearts, he’ll always want his legacy to be just a smidge greater than Wade’s.
@ MG
There is no way Lebron would be considered the Pippen to D-Wade’s Jordan. I would love to see him in Miami and just let the Cavs start fresh. With or Without Lebron we are years away!
You missed one key point. Mentality. LeBron and the Cavs obviously gave up during their chance with the celtics. As the Kobe and the Lakers were down 13 points, they never gave up and yet they came back. LBJ should move on out of Cleveland like how to KG moved out of Minnesota to win one with another team.
I think you’re right in stating that NY and NJ are not options, especially since NJ lost out on the top pick. So I think that leaves you with Miami and Chicago as his options outside of CLE. Sure he could go and play with Dwayne Wade in Miami but even if they won 6 championships together, D-Wade would have 7 ‘ships, so I doubt Lebron ends up with Wade just out of interest to his ultimate legacy and not being labeled as the Pippen to D-Wade’s Jordan. Chicago makes a lot of sense and honestly excites me. They have… Read more »
Those guys have retired..or at least from the Cavs. Z and Shaq are no longer on the books. In one year the Cavs will be significantly under the cap if they do nothing. Like I said, LeBron isn’t winnin a title on any of those teams next year (barring a wade/bosh/lebron trio) and in the following year, the Cavs will have the money + the expiring Jamison 15 million dollar deal to do something huge, like go after a SnT for Carmello who will be a FA. Now, maybe the Cavs front office screws it up, but if we all… Read more »
@Rich: You may be right, but it’s not just about next year either. It’s about getting on a team that has a chance to win it for years to come. If you look at the Cavs roster and some of the decisions the front office has made over the years, they just are not a good fit going forward. Shaq is 38 (is he the oldest player in the league?), Z is 35 going on 90. Jamison and Parker are getting up there as well at 34. Mo Williams is the only other starter who isn’t a greybeard. Think about… Read more »
Well said, Howard Roarke. The Cavs as they are now couldn’t handle that series, which was evident when the Celtics pounded them. The Cavs biggest problems are in the Eastern Conference. He’s got to go to a defensive minded team with talent in order to beat Miami, Boston, Orlando, and dare I say Atlanta… maybe the Celts?? HA jk, No, Chicago.
And @Roarke again- I couldn’t agree more with your last statement, “Once Lebron leaves Gilbert should think about rehiring Ferry and Brown and having them blow up the team and build an NBA team correctly.”
There is no team LeBron is going to that is going to win a title next year, folks. Chicago doesn’t have the players right now. New Jersey certainly doesn’t. Lets not even talk about New York. Cavs still have the best roster out of all the teams in the LeBron running. That could obviously with a sign and trade here and there, but as of today, it’s still the cavs. Is there any justice in the world though? Lakers win. And now the USA gets jobbed in the world cup by maybe the worst officiating decision I’ve ever seen on… Read more »
What last nights game showed Lebron is that he has to leave, because the people surrounding him on the Cavs cannot play at the level the Lakers and Celtics did last night. The Cavs have only 2 money players that do well in the playoffs, and they’re both rotation players — Leon Powe and Boobie (who saw no time in the playoffs this year). The rest of the team are pretty much choke artists although Andy can have some moments if he doesn’t have to go up against a strong, physical center. I’m an NBA fan. And as such I’d… Read more »
One last thing on the Mike Brown firing – it had to be done first of all. He had shown that, whether it be his fault or Danny Ferry’s, he couldn’t get this team to the promised land for 2 straight years, when they had the best regular season record. That is the coach’s job to find a way to find the extra gear, and he couldn’t get it done. That’s without even mentioning his deficiencies in having a tangible offensive system or philosophy aside from “get it to lebron and stand on sideline with eyes squinted and mouth open”.… Read more »
Colin,
It’s the same way for me too. Reading Windhorst and Krolik became a nightly ritual after the game. Even on off days I constantly checked this blog and Windy’s Twitter feed for new comments and posts. It’s amazing how much value the written word still has in enhancing any experience.
I’m more of a Lebron fan than anything else, but I will still follow the cavs and root for them with or without Lebron, much moreso than I ever did before he came along. and to Rich: Game 5 was super mysterious to all involved. John Hollinger did a nice piece a while back which showed a strong statistical relationship between Lebron’s performance and the number of days rest between games. As much as the elbow has been overhyped and overblown, it does make sense with a chronic nagging injury to flare up when there’s not time to recover. Plus,… Read more »
Whole-heartedly agree Ace. I am honestly kind of rooting for Lebron to go to Chicago and somehow they get Bosh in a sign and trade. That team would have 3 LEGIT stars and a YOUNG, solid supporting cast. People say that Chicago doesn’t have the roster that the Cavs have now, but it’s the same roster that took the Celtics to the brink 2 years ago, and Rose/Noah made us look silly defensively for much of our series. Full disclosure for those who might flame me: I’m an Ohio guy who grew up a Buckeye football fan. Not from the… Read more »
Ace, I didn’t criticize LeBron’s effort in game 6. But if you think LeBron was actually playing hard and trying in game 5, you’re crazy. Kobe was terrible last night, but Kobe never stopped trying. LeBron did in game 5. For that, he will always be blamed.
Still, LeBron is better than Kobe but to the victor go the spoils.
I don’t usually post comments, but I wanted to thank you, John, for all the time and effort you’ve put into covering my (our) beloved Cavs this season. You do great work and thoroughly enhance my Cavs-fan experience. Between Windhorst and yourself, I’m fortunate to have two very insightful writers covering my favorite team; I’m tremendously thankful for that.
Thanks for the great writing this season, John!
Thanks for the great work, John. See you when the smoke clears.
I’m with you 100% on the Kobe vs. LeBron massive double-standard. But it was even a bit worse than you said; first Kobe only had 23 points, not 25. More detailed, LeBron, Game 6: 27 points, 8-21 FG, 9-12 FT, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block 9TO Kobe, Game 7: 23 points, 6-24 FG, 11-15 FT, 15 rebounds, 2 assists. 1 steal, 0 block 4 TO So in summary, LeBron had better FG% and FT%, more points, rebounds, assists (significantly), steals, and blocks. And yet, like you said, Kobe is now the consensus “best player in the world”… Read more »