Cleveland Sports Forum

Last night LeBron became the oldest player to lead league in minutes. What a total physical freak this guy is.

Oh, and also this ...

.

Tom Withers
LeBron totaled at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a season for the eighth time _ an NBA record.
Only two others have had more than two such seasons: Oscar Robertson (six) and Larry Bird (three).
#Cavs

.

I know it's subjective and everyone has their opinion but I am totally fine with my recent statement. In my mind this guy is the GOAT. He may leave us this summer but I won't get ticked and take his jersey to the gun range again. I hope he stands by his previous statement that he'd like to finish his career here. But if not I appreciate the championship and the great I Witnessed.

NBA unlike MLB gives primary consideration to championships won. So although LeBron is clearly the Greatest Of All Time and has years ahead of him to wind up being tops of nearly all statistical categories he hasn't won enough Titles to win general favor as The Best. Is the greatest baseball player of all time Bobby Richardson since he played on dozen of Yankee championships?

I am with you re LeBron, Hillbilly.

He is the all-around GOAT.

Well, Peter, if you and I agree then it has to be true.

18 point loss at home to an absolute average team !

Yikes!

PD story blamed in mostly on Lue for playing Jeff Green and on Jeff Green for not playing well. Implied that everything else that went wrong was largely due to the hole he created in the offense.

It's nothing new for LeBron James to lead the Cavaliers to victory by giving them everything he can possibly give them. LeBron played 82 games this season and was the only dude in the league to exceed 3,000 regular season minutes. He finished No. 1 in total points, No. 11 in total rebounds, and No. 2 in total assists. This is normal: LeBron goes nuts, the Cavaliers (and the Heat before them, and the pre-Decision Cavaliers before them) win most of the time.



What's new is LeBron giving his team everything's he got and the team absolutely needing every little bit to survive in the first round.



Cleveland beat the Pacers 100-97 on Wednesday as LeBron finished with 46-12-5, shooting a ridiculous 17-24 from the floor. That evened the series 1-1 as it moves to Indiana for the next two. Consider that: LeBron dropped 46 points on less than 30 shooting possessions (including free throws), and the Cavs were still four points away from going down 0-2 at home in the first round.



These are not the Cavaliers we are accustomed to experiencing.



In fact, who knows if LeBron would have been able to lead Cleveland to its 22-4 start in Game 2 had Victor Oladipo been forced out after being called for two fouls in the first 62 seconds. Dipo ended up scoring 22 in 28 minutes and was a +11 on the game. He and Darren Collison led a furious comeback attempt in the second half that came just short.



If Cleveland needs LeBron to do this to beat Indiana, every a superhuman like James is going to run out of juice before the NBA Finals, which is where you know the team (and LeBron) feels like the Cavs belong. That cannot be a win that makes anyone in Cleveland feel good, even in awe of LeBron's wonder.

LeBron shooting: 17-24 2-5 on 3's 10-13 FTs 46 pts
His teammates: 20-49 9-13 5-6 54 pts

[how many of those 3's by Korver and others were due to LeBron drawing defense and opening it up for them?]

This is why, all around, he is still the best in the game.

and why he deserves a team that can help win some more rings. I hope he picks wisely on his next deal.

Yeah I'm on record here as agreeing with you. The Cavs are so contractbound that their ability to add around him at this point is very limited.

Hey - bottom line the whole thing worked to bring a title but at this point the price paid is coming due.

He did his job for Ohio and if he moves on I still think it's a win/win in the long run for both.

It's great to have him around but he has a legacy to deal with at this point. And more titles is his ticket. We live in a society that counts rings as the be all and end all. I'm not judging that but at the same time that sort of dictates he chase rings at his age.

that's the way NBA judges greatness. I don't think it's quite the same in baseball still, is it? At least on an annual basis MVP and Cy Young go to the most deserving player with limited attention to the team's performance. More true, I guess, for the pitchers than the hitters. Not sure if Ernie Banks could have won MVP on two last place teams in this decade like he did in the 50's.

civ ollilavad wrote:that's the way NBA judges greatness. I don't think it's quite the same in baseball still, is it? At least on an annual basis MVP and Cy Young go to the most deserving player with limited attention to the team's performance. More true, I guess, for the pitchers than the hitters. Not sure if Ernie Banks could have won MVP on two last place teams in this decade like he did in the 50's.

I do think it is less in baseball than in some other sports. But good luck finding a sport where everyone doesn't think it's Win It All or the season is a failure.

Back to the NBA - everyone remembers John Stockton and Karl Malone because they didn't win a title. Hall of Famers mind you!

Barkley