American Sports Thread

[new devil]

The Cavs fucked it up nicely the other night with all those turnovers! Looked like they might pull it back at one stage in the fourth quarter after a couple of nice baskets by LeBron, but then they go and give up 10 points in a row without reply and its game over.

Huge hype here in NY that he will come, especially if they can get Bosh or Wade. Love to see it myself as a Knicks fan, but the sense of entitlement and arrogance here among the sports media would sicken your hole, especially considering the wretched state of the Knicks over the past decade.

Him and Wade would not work, there is only one ball and ego would taint the team chemistry, there can only be one bull in the barn and James is fond of talking baout his team this and his team that, the fact is he quit on his team in a game they had to have, he is outta Cleveland and it looks like the bulls have a crack at him, he is a tremendous talent but does not at this stage have that killer instinct that Bryant has, or Jordan or Bird had, mentally he is not in the same class as these guys.

Thats BS...he has carried the cavs for the last 3 years and him only in his early 20's so i would say that shows there isn't much wrong with him mentally...MVP 2 years in a row had 2 off days in the playoffs and now ppl are questioning him 

[stew]

 Thats BS...he has carried the cavs for the last 3 years and him only in his early 20's so i would say that shows there isn't much wrong with him mentally...MVP 2 years in a row had 2 off days in the playoffs and now ppl are questioning him 
[/quote
They question him because he quit, they question him because he sat on his arse on the bench when he should have been out there fighting tooth and nail for every ball, they question him because he showed a lack of character when they needed him  most, thats why they question him, well that and the fact that he loves to be courted and he has got exactly what he wanted all along which is teams scrambling for his signiture.

I think him a marvellous player, he has physical gifts not even Jordan had but here is the thing, Jordan was as sick as a dog in several playoff games the bulls had to have, he manned up and played some of the most intense, focused basketball of him life and he willed them over the finish line, LeBron was healthy as a horse and didnt have it in him to be on the floor the second after he decided they were finished, that is the difference, between the ears he is light years away from the men I mentioned, he has time though but he is closer to thirty than twenty and if he is ever to develop that killer instinct he better develop it now when he joins his new team, dont be surprised if he ends up in Boston, I would love that.

[new devil]

Fair enough points but still don't think he quit theres talk of something else going on behind the scenes which will probaly come out if he goes else were...I would hate it if he goes to the Celtics can not stand the celtics or there "big 3" Is there any chance neither them or the Lakers could win it   
As a Cavs fan I obviously would rather he stayed but if he does leave then hopefully its New York

[mc_grens]

First, he is in his early twenties, but we are beginning to see a trend in that players who came straight from High School to the NBA are breaking down at a slightly younger age than otherwise. It appears to be miles on the NBA clock and not age that matters more.

Secondly, if Le Bron really does care about winning over image, etc. the only option is to go to Chicago.

The Bulls have 2 stars who have already proven heir desire to win above all else. As far as playing personnel, and potential playing personnel for next season goes, Chicago is by far the top choice, regardless of the Knicks ability to bring in a second star.

I am beginning to doubt his mental make up though. I think he has a wee bit too much David Robinson/ Doctor J nice guy in him and not enough Larry Bird/ Michael Jordan Serial Killer.

[new devil]

Mcgrens hes 25...who else came straight out off highschool? Kobe dosen't look like hes breaking down!

[stew]

First, he is in his early twenties, but we are beginning to see a trend in that players who came straight from High School to the NBA are breaking down at a slightly younger age than otherwise. It appears to be miles on the NBA clock and not age that matters more.

He is twenty five, he is 26 On December 30th of this year, he needs to win big starting next season if he is ever to match what Jordan did. He has zero titles at the age of 25, he better pray the Celts take him other wise he will be win ning feck all next year either.

Nah, Chi town would be a great fit for him, instant title winning team if he goes if you ask me.

[mc_grens]

Kobe at 31 has been slowed by injuries all year. the kind of chronic knocks and aches that other players such as Jordan didnt start to encounter until much later.

Kevin Garnett the very same.

Both came straight in from high school.

Le Bron may only be 25, but he's been in the league 7 years. 7 years in Jordan was beating the Lakers for the title.

[Tyrones own]

There'll never be another Jordan IMO... Kobe was the closest we're ever likely to see I'd say.
I don't think Le Bron has the required temperament to get there

[new devil]

Mcgrens do you watch the NBA? kobe biggest injury this year was to his pinky finger and certainly hasn't looked like he has slow down watching the playoffs would of shown that
Garnett at 34 is still flying this year after missing most of last year with a knee injury
The reason Jordon and Kobe won so many titles is that they had great players along side them...LeBron dosen't have that..it showed in so many games all year when he was resting that there was nobody else

[Minder]

Who were the great players Jordan had, other than Pippen? He already had 3 or 4 titles before Rodman came (who was strictly a rebounder, not a scorer). Jordan made role players play way above themselves.

[RMDrive]

The reason for the criticism is that recently James has been more Stefan Marbury than Michael Jordan. When the pressure was on players like Isiah Thomas, Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Hakeen, all took the responsibility to take their teams forward. Some suceeded, some failed. James didn't even try. He'll learn from it but the mental strength required from the franchise leader consists of more than just called it "my team".

Kobe is an arse but Garnett is a bigger one. Come on Lakers.




LeBron trades one drama for another

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
May 14, 3:24 am EDT

BOSTON – The clock struck midnight, the locker-room door swung open and LeBron James(notes) marched out a liberated man. Out of the playoffs, off the Garden floor, and barely out the tunnel before he ripped off that No. 23 Cleveland Cavaliers jersey on Thursday. As James marched his way toward the interview room, his stable of agents, middlemen and childhood chums had to walk fast to keep up with him. They never do like letting King James out of their sights.

Together, they have big ideas, bigger plans and the biggest agenda this sport's ever seen. The playoffs move on without LBJ, but deep down it reassures him that the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic will never be as big of a story as the suspense he and his hangers-on will spin together.

"Me and my team, we have a game plan that we're going to execute," James said.

Yes, his team. That's where James' loyalties lie, where together they'll chase the one title he's forever chased: the biggest free agent of his generation.

Together, they're going to hold the NBA hostage. They're going to flush out a thousand scenarios, manipulate front-office decisions in Cleveland, New York, Chicago and beyond. Kentucky's John Calipari is along for the ride, working with agent Leon Rose and middleman William Wesley, and all hell promises to break out now.

The plan they're talking about includes Calipari coming to Cleveland as James' hand-picked coach. "He's got to listen if they come calling," a source close to Calipari told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday night. He was talking about the Cavaliers and Bulls, and Calipari's camp is determined to open bidding to multiple teams.

Together, these narcissists will manufacture a drama that will undermine the conference and NBA Finals, the NBA draft and Fourth of July parades in small towns and big cities across America. James and the Cavs lost Game 6 of the conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics, 94-85, but he hardly seemed devastated in the losing locker room. James had a triple-double that was devalued with nine turnovers. He shot 44 percent for the series, turned the ball over 27 times and behaved like a lousy leader.

Truth be told, James did something no champion would've ever dared: He quit on his teammates in Game 5 and that made it easy for the rest of them – and James – to quit in the final minutes of Game 6. This has been an indictment of the coaching staff and organization, but James, too. Mostly, James. The Cavs have turned out to be a great regular season team unfit for the playoffs, but James was the most responsible for this collapse in the conference semifinals. There was no culprit even a close second.

Still, James will get over it fast because he engages in so little self-examination. In his mind, and that of his cast of sycophants, blame belongs on his coach, Mike Brown, for his lousy adjustments and game plans. It belongs to general manager Danny Ferry for the unworthy teammates. James was no MVP in this series, but no one stays in his employ with impure thoughts of accountability.

The next time you hear James, as the franchise star, say, "This was on me," will be the first. All around James, his yes men never require him to deal in the currency of truth. Aaron Goodwin, his old agent, tried to be honest with him and his high school buddies, and it got him fired five years ago.

James is on the market, a free agent for the ages, and maybe now the kid out of small-town Akron gets to live out his big-city, bright-light dreams. Where next? Oh, James isn't worried about that now. He wants the guessing to continue through July 1 and beyond. He backed over Brown one more time on Thursday night, and Brown's as good as gone as the Cavs' coach. Ferry has been fiercely loyal to Brown, but his mismanagement of matchups and in-game adjustments compounded an earlier playoff exit with a larger payroll and deeper roster.

Brown goes now, and Calipari moves into the forefront of the discussion. James is forever seeking leverage, and hand-picking his own coach with the Cavs could be the most appealing part of staying with them. What James' crew will do is force an NBA market for Calipari that exists in only two scenarios: The promise of keeping James or the promise of luring James away.

For Rose and Wesley to attach the prime years of James' career to Calipari would speak more to an economic power play and monopoly than a functional, workable and winning NBA environment. For some college coaches, talk of them going to the NBA hurts their recruiting. It's just the opposite for Calipari: It isn't those stiff owners and GMs who want Calipari, but King James himself. Calipari tells the kids it's all rumor, except for the part about James, the MVP, wanting him. The Bulls deliver the bonus of Derrick Rose(notes) as the star point guard, and Rose does love his old college coach at Memphis.


Yet, the desperation of Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert makes Calipari's hiring at $5 million-$6 million a genuine possibility, should James simply say the word. Nevertheless, one Eastern Conference executive close to Ferry told Yahoo! Sports this week: "I think Danny would resign before he'd hire Cal."

Ferry understands that it would be a hollow, joyless existence, and he doesn't need the job that badly. He has too much money and too much sense to sign on for more years of being held hostage. Nevertheless, his contract is up, too, and maybe he just walks once James makes his decision. There's a reason Calipari sat courtside with Rose at Tuesday's Game 5 in Cleveland, and it had everything to do with thrusting himself into the Class of 2010 conversation. As narcissists go, Calipari and James probably belong together. It would be a partnership constructed for all the wrong reasons and doomed to spectacular failure.

When it comes to free agency criteria, James insisted late Thursday, "I want to win. ... That's my only thing ... my only concern."

Winning is nice and all, and James will eventually get himself a title or two. He's too talented. At the end of his seventh NBA season, James lost one more chance at it Thursday, and it hardly felt like the end of the world for him. He'll get over it fast because that enormous ego will be nourished with the courtship of his lifetime, his free agency, and perhaps the hardest part will come sometime in July when James has to make a choice, pick a team and play there. Only then, the wooing of LeBron James will be complete and you have to wonder: How will King James ever live without that?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebroncalipari051410

[mc_grens]

Mcgrens do you watch the NBA? kobe biggest injury this year was to his pinky finger and certainly hasn't looked like he has slow down watching the playoffs would of shown that
Garnett at 34 is still flying this year after missing most of last year with a knee injury
The reason Jordon and Kobe won so many titles is that they had great players along side them...LeBron dosen't have that..it showed in so many games all year when he was resting that there was nobody else

do I watch the NBA? Religiously.

Kobe has been carrying ankle and knee problems in addition to the broken pinky. He had his knee drained only two weeks ago, late in the Utah series. If you watch him early in the playoffs he was getting to the rim and was unable to finish in the usual way, even his jumper didn't have the same lift from his legs and was a little flat as a result. At one stage he was shooting sub 40%! Since he got the knee drained he's been much better. Since you've been watching the playoffs so closely you'll know that of course. 

Garnett is playing well compared with how he has since his knee reconstruction two years ago, but he will never again be the KG of old.

Other players who came straight from high school to the NBA: T-Mac, Amare Stoudamire, Andrew Bynum, and Jermaine O'Neal. It's practically an NBA All- injury team!

As for being surrounded by great players- who hasn't been? Name me one player who won an NBA title in the modern era without a great teammate? The point I was making is that saying LBJ is only 25 and has plenty of time is just wrong. He has seven hard years on the clock, at that point MJ had a title. If he makes the wrong decision now and goes to the Knicks, or stays in Cleveland, those two teams could be two years away from a title (NY maybe more!). That would put him 9 years in the league without a win.

Chicago is the only destination if he wants to win things.

As for the mental aspect- 2 regular season MVP's and carrying your team to 60 odd wins mean nothing if you don't do it in the playoffs. The fact remains that he was very poor in the Boston series, game 3 excepted. I'm sure Karl Malone would swap his Regular season MVP award in 1997 for the Finals MVP award that Jordan won against his Jazz that year?

[mc_grens]

Name me one player who won an NBA title in the modern era without a great teammate?

Actually, on this point I'll give you Olajuwon in '94, although the Rockets were up against an equally one trick pony dominated Knick team.

[stew]

Name me one player who won an NBA title in the modern era without a great teammate?

Actually, on this point I'll give you Olajuwon in '94, although the Rockets were up against an equally one trick pony dominated Knick team.

People are saying Pippen was great, I think he was excellent but not by any means a great player, Jordan helped him play at a level he was not capable without Jordan, case in point when Jordan retired to play baseball.

[Minder]

Name me one player who won an NBA title in the modern era without a great teammate?

Actually, on this point I'll give you Olajuwon in '94, although the Rockets were up against an equally one trick pony dominated Knick team.

Clyde Drexler? Or was he after they won in '94? Maybe not "great", but he was very good.