I realize this is a few days late but I already explained my situation. I cannot help but think that Cleveland is still hurting from Thursday night even though they signed Kyle Lowry today. I can understand somewhat Cavs fans of what you are going through right now. I don't believe I am on your level of grieving but I truly do get what is going on. It's an uber reality where you believe it's a sports nightmare where you might have been the only one happy for 12 hour coverage of George Steinbrenner today because you didn't have to see LeBron.
The wheels began to turn on this when your friend Eric asked the Sports Guy on Twitter, what is a bigger slap in the face: LBJ leaving Cleveland or Brett Favre leaving Green Bay for Minnesota. I thought about this for awhile because I knew Simmons probably wouldn't tweet Eric back. I had trouble coming with a decision and had to remind myself how mad I was about the Brett Favre to Minnesota thing last season.
What's funny is I told people that LeBron was much worse but then looking back on the Favre thing, I couldn't have been more mad. I really had so much hate in my stomach that week, that first game the Minnesota Viking plays, and the first game against Favre. Then when the Packers got swept, and lost the division, I felt like I needed to drink 50 beers to swallow the pain.
But what I haven't dealt with it is none of my three local teams never winning a championship for the city. Since 1948, there hasn't been a victory parade in the city of Cleveland. At least I have the Packers 97' Super Bowl to go off and I can be content knowing I saw one championship in my lifetime while some fans have never seen one. It's not just that Cleveland has a bunch of shitty teams for years upon years (right now all three are awful). The Fumble, The Drive, Jose Mesa, and the two LeBron choke jobs are all examples of the pain this city has felt without winning one championship.
The LeBron's choice to leave for Miami hurt more than Favre because this dealt blow for the Cleveland fan base to win championship or even have a competitive team. The Packers went to the playoffs when Favre went to Minnesota and we had a star in Aaron Rodgers. The Cavs have none of that, I mean who they look to... Antwan Jamison? That is about it for the Cavs and let's not forget, LeBron is from Ohio. I wrote two weeks ago that LeBron didn't care about the city for the franchises he adored in other sports. I think that point made it clear when LeBron decide to announce on national television that he would leave Cleveland for South Beach.
An Ohio kid basically told the state that it was too small for him and he needed to move on to create new memories. He didn't care about the history of Cleveland ever and for that I am sorry to the fans who believed that. I am sorry that you had a selfish basketball player even though your ownership should shoulder more blame than they actually have. Cleveland weeps again and hopefully they will find a championship in something before I turn 50.
-Charlie.
The New Logo
Showing posts with label Cleveland Cavaliers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleveland Cavaliers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Month of July Belongs to LeBron
July 1st, 2010.
A date that any professional sports fan has been waiting for all summer. I am more excited than a 12 year old girl going to a Justin Biebler concert because this will alter a professional sports if some the major players decided to take the game elsewhere. Obviously, the biggest player in this game is LeBron James and I have already told people this will be Brett Favre times 10 in terms of media coverage starting on Thursday. So I recommend staying away from ESPN if you will be sick of this by hour two of free agency. Hell, they might break in from the World Cup to tell us if LeBron has signed with a team. Anyone who has a blog is writing their own theory about where LeBron will go and what needs to happen to land the biggest fish in NBA history. I, myself cannot wait and I am ready to tell you what I think might happen.
Originally, I thought James would go to New York because in my opinion, he loved the city and wanted to be the 'king' of it. He relished his opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden and I assumed the Knicks would make all the right moves with Donnie Walsh calling the shots. Once again, the Knicks find a way to screw things up and they look more out of it than the Memphis Grizzlies. I think James doesn't want to deal with a batshit owner like James Dolan. I will only spend a couple sentences on another batshit owner Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers, there isn't a snowball chance in hell that LeBron lives in L.A. either where for a couple years he shares the stage with Kobe Bryant, his ego wouldn't allow second fiddle. The other thing about the Knicks more so than the Clippers is they are a team that could drawn strong comparisons to his Cleveland Cavaliers.
Speaking of the Cavs, they are out of it. You cannot convince me otherwise, LeBron's entourage benefits big time if he leaves the city of Cleveland so why would they spin anything positive for Cleveland? LeBron doesn't want to break the city's collective soul but he doesn't give a shit about Cleveland and their heartbreaks. Not once did he come out and say "Man, I remember where I was when Jose Mesa cost us Indian fans the World Series." or "When Art Modell took the Browns from us, I stopped caring about the NFL for awhile." If you find something like this please comment, but LeBron's fanhood (New York Yankees & Dallas Cowboys) speaks volumes of the type of person he is. James doesn't want to see losers, he wants winners therefore James is a 'fan' of two of the most successful franchises when he was growing up. James' ego will be bruised like a peach when he returns to Cleveland with more boos than Modell, but in the long run, he knows I might see Cleveland twice a year, that's it. He will move out of Akron and live wherever his new destination is.
I have already destroyed three fan bases, and now I will give the four candidates that have the best chance bringing LeBron on to their team. We will first start with the land of the Situation. The Nets are the Charlie Day wild card in all of this. I firmly think LeBron is intrigued by Mikhal Prokcohaov and the fact that he makes LeBron the biggest star in the tri-state area plus Russia. The fact his buddy Jay-Z is a part of the team helps out a lot and I know the Jigga man will use his pull to try to lure LeBron in. It would have helped them tremendously if they knew the new arena and the move to Brooklyn was legit, nothing has been finalized and LBJ could be playing in Newark for the rest of his career. I do not think they land LeBron but I am willing to bet a bigger name free agent will play the Bond Villain next fall.
Now let's move to South Beach where they are probably throwing a Free Agency Rager down there. I found it hilarious that Stephan A. Smith already broke the story about it's a done deal, stick to trying to pronounce Slava Medvedenko buddy. Now on to the Heat, I believe that Dwyane Wade will resign with the Heat and then he will make his best pitch to Bron to come play with him and probably Pat Riley. I almost hope for this because I know Riley will not take any of his occasional baby back bullshit and make all the decisions for LeBron, not the other way around. The Heat right now do not have a team with all the cap space they have cleared out therefore Wade can not only bring LeBron in, but also Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudamire. That leads to a super team for the next decade where they complete a hostile takeover of the NBA and win about four to five titles. One reason that could deter LeBron from sipping champagne in Florida is the lack of fans the Heat really have. No one in Miami cares about their professional teams and LeBron understands that no matter what he does, people still won't embrace him. If you see all the viral campaigns for LBJ, where is the Miami one? Nowhere to be found, they are just expecting DWade to deliver.
One team that could sneak in and steal LeBron is Dallas. I know it sounds crazy with their lack of cap space but they have a super weird deal with Erick Dampier (quick tangent, Fant, Eric, and I introduced ourselves as lowly NBA players at one all day drinkfest in Eau Claire, Fant went with the Mississippi State alum, high comedy) that allows for a sign and trade. Out of all the owners, I personally believe LeBron will want to play for Mark Cuban especially after resigning Dirk, he can play a year with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Dirk plus a growing star in Rodrigue Beaubois. Cuban will pimp him out more than West Coast Customs does to all those shitty rides and make no mistake about it that Cuban saying he would want to play a couple of games in Jerryland was a subtle hint to LeBron. I mean imagine the pitch when Cubes tells LBJ, "Think about you versus Kobe, Saturday night prime time on ABC in Jerryland with a near sellout and everybody cheering for you against Kobe." If that's me, I am like where is the contract to sign? Even if it's a smaller market than others, LeBron knows that Dallas had the biggest stars in the 90s and could again in 2010 and beyond.
Finally, the team that I and others believe LeBron will play for next year is Chicago. I mean why wouldn't you right now? Derrick Rose running point guard and a physical force down low in Joakim Noah. If they could bring in another guy to complement Bron such as a Bosh or Dirk, they would be in awesome shape. Everything started to move towards the Bulls way after they hire Tom Thibodeau who has an agent with Worldwide Wes' company and helped Boston win a title plus get their this year. The inexperience might scare LeBron but only a couple teams who are fighting for King James have longstanding coaches. People argue that he wouldn't want to play under Jordan's large shadow but I think the opposite, he loves Michael and wants to be like him to the T. He wore his jersey in honor of him and said it should be a retired number anyways. He knows with the young talent they have plus a Stanley Cup Hockey, LeBron could make the Windy City, the epicenter of sports.
Should be a fun one
-Charlie.
A date that any professional sports fan has been waiting for all summer. I am more excited than a 12 year old girl going to a Justin Biebler concert because this will alter a professional sports if some the major players decided to take the game elsewhere. Obviously, the biggest player in this game is LeBron James and I have already told people this will be Brett Favre times 10 in terms of media coverage starting on Thursday. So I recommend staying away from ESPN if you will be sick of this by hour two of free agency. Hell, they might break in from the World Cup to tell us if LeBron has signed with a team. Anyone who has a blog is writing their own theory about where LeBron will go and what needs to happen to land the biggest fish in NBA history. I, myself cannot wait and I am ready to tell you what I think might happen.
Originally, I thought James would go to New York because in my opinion, he loved the city and wanted to be the 'king' of it. He relished his opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden and I assumed the Knicks would make all the right moves with Donnie Walsh calling the shots. Once again, the Knicks find a way to screw things up and they look more out of it than the Memphis Grizzlies. I think James doesn't want to deal with a batshit owner like James Dolan. I will only spend a couple sentences on another batshit owner Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers, there isn't a snowball chance in hell that LeBron lives in L.A. either where for a couple years he shares the stage with Kobe Bryant, his ego wouldn't allow second fiddle. The other thing about the Knicks more so than the Clippers is they are a team that could drawn strong comparisons to his Cleveland Cavaliers.
Speaking of the Cavs, they are out of it. You cannot convince me otherwise, LeBron's entourage benefits big time if he leaves the city of Cleveland so why would they spin anything positive for Cleveland? LeBron doesn't want to break the city's collective soul but he doesn't give a shit about Cleveland and their heartbreaks. Not once did he come out and say "Man, I remember where I was when Jose Mesa cost us Indian fans the World Series." or "When Art Modell took the Browns from us, I stopped caring about the NFL for awhile." If you find something like this please comment, but LeBron's fanhood (New York Yankees & Dallas Cowboys) speaks volumes of the type of person he is. James doesn't want to see losers, he wants winners therefore James is a 'fan' of two of the most successful franchises when he was growing up. James' ego will be bruised like a peach when he returns to Cleveland with more boos than Modell, but in the long run, he knows I might see Cleveland twice a year, that's it. He will move out of Akron and live wherever his new destination is.
I have already destroyed three fan bases, and now I will give the four candidates that have the best chance bringing LeBron on to their team. We will first start with the land of the Situation. The Nets are the Charlie Day wild card in all of this. I firmly think LeBron is intrigued by Mikhal Prokcohaov and the fact that he makes LeBron the biggest star in the tri-state area plus Russia. The fact his buddy Jay-Z is a part of the team helps out a lot and I know the Jigga man will use his pull to try to lure LeBron in. It would have helped them tremendously if they knew the new arena and the move to Brooklyn was legit, nothing has been finalized and LBJ could be playing in Newark for the rest of his career. I do not think they land LeBron but I am willing to bet a bigger name free agent will play the Bond Villain next fall.
Now let's move to South Beach where they are probably throwing a Free Agency Rager down there. I found it hilarious that Stephan A. Smith already broke the story about it's a done deal, stick to trying to pronounce Slava Medvedenko buddy. Now on to the Heat, I believe that Dwyane Wade will resign with the Heat and then he will make his best pitch to Bron to come play with him and probably Pat Riley. I almost hope for this because I know Riley will not take any of his occasional baby back bullshit and make all the decisions for LeBron, not the other way around. The Heat right now do not have a team with all the cap space they have cleared out therefore Wade can not only bring LeBron in, but also Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudamire. That leads to a super team for the next decade where they complete a hostile takeover of the NBA and win about four to five titles. One reason that could deter LeBron from sipping champagne in Florida is the lack of fans the Heat really have. No one in Miami cares about their professional teams and LeBron understands that no matter what he does, people still won't embrace him. If you see all the viral campaigns for LBJ, where is the Miami one? Nowhere to be found, they are just expecting DWade to deliver.
One team that could sneak in and steal LeBron is Dallas. I know it sounds crazy with their lack of cap space but they have a super weird deal with Erick Dampier (quick tangent, Fant, Eric, and I introduced ourselves as lowly NBA players at one all day drinkfest in Eau Claire, Fant went with the Mississippi State alum, high comedy) that allows for a sign and trade. Out of all the owners, I personally believe LeBron will want to play for Mark Cuban especially after resigning Dirk, he can play a year with Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Dirk plus a growing star in Rodrigue Beaubois. Cuban will pimp him out more than West Coast Customs does to all those shitty rides and make no mistake about it that Cuban saying he would want to play a couple of games in Jerryland was a subtle hint to LeBron. I mean imagine the pitch when Cubes tells LBJ, "Think about you versus Kobe, Saturday night prime time on ABC in Jerryland with a near sellout and everybody cheering for you against Kobe." If that's me, I am like where is the contract to sign? Even if it's a smaller market than others, LeBron knows that Dallas had the biggest stars in the 90s and could again in 2010 and beyond.
Finally, the team that I and others believe LeBron will play for next year is Chicago. I mean why wouldn't you right now? Derrick Rose running point guard and a physical force down low in Joakim Noah. If they could bring in another guy to complement Bron such as a Bosh or Dirk, they would be in awesome shape. Everything started to move towards the Bulls way after they hire Tom Thibodeau who has an agent with Worldwide Wes' company and helped Boston win a title plus get their this year. The inexperience might scare LeBron but only a couple teams who are fighting for King James have longstanding coaches. People argue that he wouldn't want to play under Jordan's large shadow but I think the opposite, he loves Michael and wants to be like him to the T. He wore his jersey in honor of him and said it should be a retired number anyways. He knows with the young talent they have plus a Stanley Cup Hockey, LeBron could make the Windy City, the epicenter of sports.
Should be a fun one
-Charlie.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The NBA... One Big Chess Game
If anything the NBA has proven to me in the last couple of weeks now is that it is completely dominated by the players and most NBA coaches are really just pawns for the most part making little to none significant impact on a team. Mike Brown is the ultimate pawn in the NBA and he was shown the door yesterday evening as the Cleveland Cavaliers fired him in hopes that they could bring back LeBron James.
Do I think that is highly unfair that players dictate what happens in the coaching realm? Yeah a bit, but I think basketball is a sport where the players can cover up your mistakes better than any professional sport. The decision making that is made in professional football and baseball is much more coach-oriented than in professional basketball. I have said many times that LeBron single-handily kept Brown employed for all these years because if he didn't have him, Brown would be still looking for a job.
To me, Brown looks clueless out there most of the time and I really feel like LeBron is more of a coach out there running things his way. Brown agrees with him and let's things happen James' way. That is fine and dandy in the regular season because sadly, the NBA teams give lackluster efforts from time to time and the intensity really isn't there until playoff time. The Cavs were a great regular season team due to getting to feast on the likes of the Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, and so on. Those teams had no answer for LeBron and company, it was only when the good teams who get upwards to seven games against the Cavs where Brown became exposed.
The playoffs forced Brown to coach and that was something he frankly didn't excel at in the top spot. It seemed like he made too many quick decisions and wanted to appease the players more than he actually wanted to do things. The perfect example is J.J. Hickson. He started 43 games for the Cavs where they went 39-4, which to me shows a good chemistry when Hickson is on the floor. Then when Shaq comes back, Hickson's minutes fell faster than Snooki's dress after meeting a juicehead. It didn't make any sense to me and others, why get rid of the things Hickson did all year?
As for the Cavs, this doesn't do much for LeBron in my estimate. They will tell him "LBJ, you get 30 million more and you can pick your coach, is that something you might be interested in?" This is an awful idea because Cleveland will get another pawn that LeBron and the Cavs will be able to control with what they want to do and not someone who will put their foot down to LeBron and others. I believe there are about 5 coaches who will demand respect... Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, and Scott Skiles (I know it seems rash to put Skiles in a category with legends but the man is a hard ass).
In Brown's case, he will get a job somewhere else this year and I will be interested to see how well he does. I think the Clippers (assuming they do not partake in the LBJ sweepstakes), Nets, and Hornets are all places that Brown could land a job in because his resume looks the best compared to the other candidates out there. Some team will say they just want to get the playoffs and they could care less about the NBA Finals, therefore they bring in Brown. Even though his in-game coaching isn't great, he still can will a team to low seed in the playoffs.
Every team in the LeBron Sweepstakes is trying to find that perfect coach that will woo LeBron there and everybody is looking to make Mr. James, the happiest NBA player. I think LeBron wants a guy he respects and not some cheeseball like Terry Stotts running things but in all honesty, I think whoever the coach will have little to none impact on LBJ's decision.
-Charlie.
Do I think that is highly unfair that players dictate what happens in the coaching realm? Yeah a bit, but I think basketball is a sport where the players can cover up your mistakes better than any professional sport. The decision making that is made in professional football and baseball is much more coach-oriented than in professional basketball. I have said many times that LeBron single-handily kept Brown employed for all these years because if he didn't have him, Brown would be still looking for a job.
To me, Brown looks clueless out there most of the time and I really feel like LeBron is more of a coach out there running things his way. Brown agrees with him and let's things happen James' way. That is fine and dandy in the regular season because sadly, the NBA teams give lackluster efforts from time to time and the intensity really isn't there until playoff time. The Cavs were a great regular season team due to getting to feast on the likes of the Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, and so on. Those teams had no answer for LeBron and company, it was only when the good teams who get upwards to seven games against the Cavs where Brown became exposed.
The playoffs forced Brown to coach and that was something he frankly didn't excel at in the top spot. It seemed like he made too many quick decisions and wanted to appease the players more than he actually wanted to do things. The perfect example is J.J. Hickson. He started 43 games for the Cavs where they went 39-4, which to me shows a good chemistry when Hickson is on the floor. Then when Shaq comes back, Hickson's minutes fell faster than Snooki's dress after meeting a juicehead. It didn't make any sense to me and others, why get rid of the things Hickson did all year?
As for the Cavs, this doesn't do much for LeBron in my estimate. They will tell him "LBJ, you get 30 million more and you can pick your coach, is that something you might be interested in?" This is an awful idea because Cleveland will get another pawn that LeBron and the Cavs will be able to control with what they want to do and not someone who will put their foot down to LeBron and others. I believe there are about 5 coaches who will demand respect... Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, and Scott Skiles (I know it seems rash to put Skiles in a category with legends but the man is a hard ass).
In Brown's case, he will get a job somewhere else this year and I will be interested to see how well he does. I think the Clippers (assuming they do not partake in the LBJ sweepstakes), Nets, and Hornets are all places that Brown could land a job in because his resume looks the best compared to the other candidates out there. Some team will say they just want to get the playoffs and they could care less about the NBA Finals, therefore they bring in Brown. Even though his in-game coaching isn't great, he still can will a team to low seed in the playoffs.
Every team in the LeBron Sweepstakes is trying to find that perfect coach that will woo LeBron there and everybody is looking to make Mr. James, the happiest NBA player. I think LeBron wants a guy he respects and not some cheeseball like Terry Stotts running things but in all honesty, I think whoever the coach will have little to none impact on LBJ's decision.
-Charlie.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Stunned. Shocked. Bamboozled.
Obviously, you all know who this is about... LeBron James. We all saw one of most mesmerizing games of an NBA MVP that we have ever seen. LeBron's line last night was 15 pts (3/14) 7 rebs 6 asst and for a superstar that is bad. Comparable to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's making a movie and naming it Gigli, LeBron was Gigli bad. In addition, I made an Entourage comparison about LBJ and here's another one, this is his Medellin. Obviously, Vinnie Chase is LBJ, Mo Williams is E (someone who cannot bail Vince out of this shitty movie), and Billy Walsh is Mike Brown (Hey Suit! Go fuck yer motha! Love Walsh, I hope he is back this year). Now it took awhile for Vince to respond until the end of season five where Ari rescues Vince and gets him a Scorsese movie... Is LeBron's new movie a relocation project? Who knows really.
I am almost mad that I defended him last week because like I said in years past I was a big time hater of LeBron. But I also know of thing called bias and I am not going to throw the blinders to discredit what he did in the regular season. But the playoffs? I mean wow, he just looked like he didn't care and didn't want to play for Cleveland anymore. LeBron wanted to be at home trying to figure out Lost instead of playing at the Q. B-Squared is the biggest LBJ fan and honestly, it was the first time he couldn't make one argument that made me think. Usually, he makes one good point that I will agree with but today, he couldn't say a single word. I feel like I should just stuck to my guns so I could be laughing at all of you LeBron fans but then again, I am trying to establish myself so I apologize.
Seriously, LeBron laid the biggest egg drawing memories of Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson in the playoffs. I tweeted he looked like the first three guys not Bird, Magic, Jordan, and Kobe. Now could LeBron come in hot with a 35 points 15 rbs 12 assts in Game 6 and lead them to victory? Absolutely, but do people still say, so this was just a mirage and we should never remember this? I think no one should ever forget this performance because it was that bad from a superstar. Read Simmons column where he points out some bad Kobe Bryant starts, but what I am doing is looking at critical Game 5s.
Now there are different kinds of Game 5s and they all have a certain level of Game 5... Desperation (1-3) High alert (2-2) Close out game (3-1)... The players involved Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. In addition, I am not including any games where the team (BOS/LA/CHI/CLEV) closed out in five of if the said team was up 3-1. So I decided to look from 1980 and here's what I have for you.
1980: Magic Johnson: I cannot find the box score to give you the official numbers but his team did win in Game 5 plus in a critical game 6 up 3-2 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out with injury, Magic dropped 42 7 6 and won Finals MVP. (1-0)
1981: Larry Bird: Sadly, Basketball Reference has let me down for now but Bird won two game 5’s that year where the series was at 3-1 Philly (desperation) and 2-2 (high alert) going on to win both. One against Philadelphia and the other against Houston in the Conference Finals (2-0)
1982: Larry Bird: One game five for Bird again down 3-1, his team blows out the Philadelphia 76ers and then gets the victory in game six as well before running out of gas in game seven (3-0)
1984: Larry Bird: In a critical game 5 against Bernard King and the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the C’s blow out the Knicks 121-99 and the Hick from French Lick still has a perfect record. (4-0)
Johnson vs. Bird: In the first of their classic match ups in the NBA Finals, after a heated Game 4 where punches flew in L.A., the Celtics go on to beat the Showtime Lakers in a redhead stepchild way 121-103. Also this was a high alert game for both of them. (4-0) (1-1) Also the Celtics would end up taking the series.
1985: Larry Bird: In the Eastern Semifinals young upstart Detroit Pistons teams come through and forces a game five with the series tied at 2-2. The Celtics win 130-123, keeping Bird record perfect in this little game we are playing (5-0)
Johnson vs. Bird: For the first time, the NBA converted to a 2-3-2 in the NBA Finals and it played to Magic’s advantage as the Lakers beat Bird and the C’s in a game five 120-111 and go on to win the title. (5-1) (2-1)
1986: Magic Johnson: The Lakers ended up bowing out the Western Conference Finals but once again in a high alert situation, Magic wins again over the Dallas Mavericks 116-113 and the Lakers close them out in the next game. (3-1)
1987: Larry Bird: High alert situation at its finest for Bird as they are playing hurt with a bunch other guys that are hurt, Kevin McHale had a broken foot for Christ Sakes. Anyways, the famous Dennis Johnson steals the ball and Bird hits the game-winner, the Celtics win 108-107, that my friends is clutch. (6-1)
1988: Magic Johnson: Another pivotal game 5 with the Utah Jazz and the upstart team of Malone/Stockton. The Lakers win another game 111-109 and Magic wins again. Magic continues to show his strength in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks as he blew out the Mavs in a key game five. Detroit Pistons is killing this theory right now as they beat the Lakers by 10 being up 2-2 and another thing killing this theory is the 2-3-2, can’t tell you how mad this makes me. One thing if you look at this closer, Magic did lose a lot of 3-1 games in his career but still when the chips were down, Magic did work.
Larry Bird: The Celtics were playing an upstart Atlanta Hawk team and the Celtics were starting to hit the down slopes so Bird’s team falls in defeat in the first 2-2 Game 5 that didn’t involve Magic. Also continuing with this theme as the Detroit Pistons beat them in Game 5 at the Garden and ended up beating them again in Game 6, my argument with Bird is he started fading right around this time. (6-3)
1989: Michael Jordan: For the first time, the Royal Airness makes an appearance in our little experiment and MJ once again gets ruined by the Bad Boys of Detroit. I already hate the city of Detroit and this is continuing the theme, my argument for MJ… the team wasn’t ready yet. (0-1)
1990: Michael Jordan: Detroit… Suck it. (0-2) Also may I say why can I get a random game from the Kings-Blazers but I cannot get a box score for a critical game like this one? CMONN MANNNN!
1991: Larry Bird: One of the last years of his career where his back is comparable to Abe Vigoda but once again, Detroit spoils the party but good news we finally have stats to back up our research! Beautiful day, Bird: 16 pts (7/18) 5 asst 5 rebs. Bird finishes 6-4 and all of the losses except for the one against Magic where in the twilight of his career, it’s unfair to put Bird under a microscope deep in his career.
1992: Michael Jordan: The Jordan experience had already begun with Jordan running through Bird, the Bad Boys, and Magic in 91 and then he had a critical game five with the Knicks where he goes off for 37 pts (11/23) 5 rbs 3 assts and they win 96-88 and then in a Cleveland-Chicago series in the Conference Finals, Jordan puts up nearly the same stat line in a win. Then in an incredible performance in the Finals against the Blazers, Jordan drops 46 (14/23) 5 5 and basically gives a lesson on what clutch is. (3-2)
1993: Michael Jordan: This one is a special one, down 2-0 to the Knicks and they end up coming all the way back including a game five victory where he goes 29 (11/24) 8 14 guiding his team to a 97-94 win (4-2)
1995: Michael Jordan: Jordan makes his return and this is an unfair look at him yet he still drops 39 4 4 when nobody else does anything. Honestly, if there is one game to look at a LeBron comparison it would be this one, no one helped Jordan in that one (4-3)
1997: Michael Jordan: What’s fascinating about MJ’s career in the playoffs is he rarely let a series get to the 2-2 and when he did, he TJ Lavin-style killed it. Game 5 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz and one of the toughest crowds in the NBA, they gut out 90-88 victory with Jordan going 37 (13/27) 7 5. (5-3)
1998: Michael Jordan: I believe this our last Jordan 2-2 game five situation and MJ drops 29 (12/20) 7 4 and it was a complete rout of Indiana Pacers as they win by 17. Jordan ends up finishing 6-3 and all of the losses can be defended; two he was young and the other was a half-assed comeback attempt. Other than that, Jordan dominated these games.
2000: Kobe Bryant: I am not giving out stats on this one but I will point out that Kobe’s team did lose a game five and took it all the way to seven games, doesn’t count against his record but good fodder for the Anti-Kobe.
2002: Kobe Bryant: Interesting that we haven’t seen a game like this because the Lakers were that damn good in those years and then the Lakeshow ended up losing in Game 5 to the Sacramento Kings on the road by one point. Kobe finishes with 30 (11/29) 5 3 (0-1)
2003: Kobe Bryant: The Lakers who were actually underdogs in the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves (let’s remember they move to seven games in first round) and the Lakers blew out the T’Wolves by 30. Kobe goes 30 (12/21) 8 5. The Lakers then face a far better San Antonio Spurs team in the next round and it goes to 2-2 where they lose to the Spurs by 2 on the road. Kobe ends up with 36 (15/31) 7 6 (1-2)
2004: Kobe Bryant: Could also be known as the “Derek Fisher Shot” as they beat the Spurs in an ugly game of 74-73 victory. Kobe 22 (11/27) 4 5, ugly performance but that was a great victory on the road. (2-2)
2006: Kobe Bryant: Another one that is worth noting that Kobe and his gang of idiots blew a 3-1 lead against the Phoenix Suns so he has that Magic thing of not closing it out at 3-1 when he can.
LeBron James: He makes a thunderous debut to this theory as they beat the Washington Wizards by one and I believe he made a game winner. LBJ finishes with 45 7 6. Also LeBron wins another 2-2 series against the defending champions Detroit Pistons as he goes for 32 5 5 and wins. But also worth noting, LBJ’s teams of idiots lose two straight and blows it. (2-0)
2007: LeBron James: This is actually the game that everybody says “Holy shit this guy is really effin good.” I remember watching some of this game at BW3’s and the LBJ experience started then. He dropped a mass amount of points and a victory 48 9 7 (3-0)
2008: Kobe Bryant: The Lakers are back into this mix and they were facing the Jazz. This victory is what we would call a team effort and something great to see as they win by seven. Just look at the Mamba’s numbers. 26 (6/10) 6 7 (3-2)
LeBron James: The Cavs ended up dropping the game to the Celtics and the Big 3 yet LBJ dropped a ton of points in the defeat but he doesn’t do much other than score buckets. 35 (12/25) 3 5 (3-1)
2009: Kobe Bryant: The Black Mamba had himself a crucial game against the Houston Rockets were they thrashed the team by 40 points. 26 (10/19) 4 3. There was another game that playoff game where they were knotted at 2-2, thinking this could be a series… and the Lakers shut the door without Kobe, I remember this game well because I wrote about Lamar Odom’s worth. 22 (6/13) 5 8 (5-2)
2010: Kobe Bryant: Another game five that Bryant didn’t real play that well but Kobe did the thing that LBJ couldn’t do, lock down Russell Westbrook and take control of the series, 13 (4/9) 3 7. So Kobe finishes up 6-2 for his career in these critical game fives plus the two he probably blew it but Kobe had three games that were awful in these games.
LeBron James: And here we are. 3-2 for his career in these games where he has had great success in these vital games, I couldn’t believe the numbers I saw from LeBron in these games but here we have the game against Boston. 15 (3/14) 6 7, who knows what we are going to see in tonight’s game.
I am beyond giddy for this game, I think people will know who the real LeBron James is. I am currently listening to Brian Windhorst, Cavs beat writer talking about how LeBron looked disinterested and there is a part of him that seems to not care anymore. I thought some of the same things with LeBron not attacking the lane or go into the post, getting cross-screens from Shaq. LeBron didn't once go into the post and try to do things near the basket, which in addition makes it that much more polarizing of the game. I think you will see a great performance with LBJ dropping near 30-35 pts, 10-12 rbs, and 8-12 assts. I have no idea if they will win this game but I do believe we will see a jaw-dropping performance from LeBron... And if we don't?
It will only get worse and people will then keep raising questions about what the hell happen in this series? And why can't LeBron win in the playoffs? It might be that Mike Brown is a corpse of a coach and wouldn't have a job if he didn't have LBJ every night. LeBron is really a player-coach out there and Brown is doing nothing to help his team.
The city of Cleveland is on pins and needles right now, probably sitting on their couch knocking back a few beers because if I were a fan? There is no way I could be stone-cold sober for this one because if there is a lost, questions will be raised all over the place and a city will be left for answers, something that might be better intoxicated tonight.
-Charlie.
I am almost mad that I defended him last week because like I said in years past I was a big time hater of LeBron. But I also know of thing called bias and I am not going to throw the blinders to discredit what he did in the regular season. But the playoffs? I mean wow, he just looked like he didn't care and didn't want to play for Cleveland anymore. LeBron wanted to be at home trying to figure out Lost instead of playing at the Q. B-Squared is the biggest LBJ fan and honestly, it was the first time he couldn't make one argument that made me think. Usually, he makes one good point that I will agree with but today, he couldn't say a single word. I feel like I should just stuck to my guns so I could be laughing at all of you LeBron fans but then again, I am trying to establish myself so I apologize.
Seriously, LeBron laid the biggest egg drawing memories of Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson in the playoffs. I tweeted he looked like the first three guys not Bird, Magic, Jordan, and Kobe. Now could LeBron come in hot with a 35 points 15 rbs 12 assts in Game 6 and lead them to victory? Absolutely, but do people still say, so this was just a mirage and we should never remember this? I think no one should ever forget this performance because it was that bad from a superstar. Read Simmons column where he points out some bad Kobe Bryant starts, but what I am doing is looking at critical Game 5s.
Now there are different kinds of Game 5s and they all have a certain level of Game 5... Desperation (1-3) High alert (2-2) Close out game (3-1)... The players involved Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. In addition, I am not including any games where the team (BOS/LA/CHI/CLEV) closed out in five of if the said team was up 3-1. So I decided to look from 1980 and here's what I have for you.
1980: Magic Johnson: I cannot find the box score to give you the official numbers but his team did win in Game 5 plus in a critical game 6 up 3-2 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out with injury, Magic dropped 42 7 6 and won Finals MVP. (1-0)
1981: Larry Bird: Sadly, Basketball Reference has let me down for now but Bird won two game 5’s that year where the series was at 3-1 Philly (desperation) and 2-2 (high alert) going on to win both. One against Philadelphia and the other against Houston in the Conference Finals (2-0)
1982: Larry Bird: One game five for Bird again down 3-1, his team blows out the Philadelphia 76ers and then gets the victory in game six as well before running out of gas in game seven (3-0)
1984: Larry Bird: In a critical game 5 against Bernard King and the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the C’s blow out the Knicks 121-99 and the Hick from French Lick still has a perfect record. (4-0)
Johnson vs. Bird: In the first of their classic match ups in the NBA Finals, after a heated Game 4 where punches flew in L.A., the Celtics go on to beat the Showtime Lakers in a redhead stepchild way 121-103. Also this was a high alert game for both of them. (4-0) (1-1) Also the Celtics would end up taking the series.
1985: Larry Bird: In the Eastern Semifinals young upstart Detroit Pistons teams come through and forces a game five with the series tied at 2-2. The Celtics win 130-123, keeping Bird record perfect in this little game we are playing (5-0)
Johnson vs. Bird: For the first time, the NBA converted to a 2-3-2 in the NBA Finals and it played to Magic’s advantage as the Lakers beat Bird and the C’s in a game five 120-111 and go on to win the title. (5-1) (2-1)
1986: Magic Johnson: The Lakers ended up bowing out the Western Conference Finals but once again in a high alert situation, Magic wins again over the Dallas Mavericks 116-113 and the Lakers close them out in the next game. (3-1)
1987: Larry Bird: High alert situation at its finest for Bird as they are playing hurt with a bunch other guys that are hurt, Kevin McHale had a broken foot for Christ Sakes. Anyways, the famous Dennis Johnson steals the ball and Bird hits the game-winner, the Celtics win 108-107, that my friends is clutch. (6-1)
1988: Magic Johnson: Another pivotal game 5 with the Utah Jazz and the upstart team of Malone/Stockton. The Lakers win another game 111-109 and Magic wins again. Magic continues to show his strength in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks as he blew out the Mavs in a key game five. Detroit Pistons is killing this theory right now as they beat the Lakers by 10 being up 2-2 and another thing killing this theory is the 2-3-2, can’t tell you how mad this makes me. One thing if you look at this closer, Magic did lose a lot of 3-1 games in his career but still when the chips were down, Magic did work.
Larry Bird: The Celtics were playing an upstart Atlanta Hawk team and the Celtics were starting to hit the down slopes so Bird’s team falls in defeat in the first 2-2 Game 5 that didn’t involve Magic. Also continuing with this theme as the Detroit Pistons beat them in Game 5 at the Garden and ended up beating them again in Game 6, my argument with Bird is he started fading right around this time. (6-3)
1989: Michael Jordan: For the first time, the Royal Airness makes an appearance in our little experiment and MJ once again gets ruined by the Bad Boys of Detroit. I already hate the city of Detroit and this is continuing the theme, my argument for MJ… the team wasn’t ready yet. (0-1)
1990: Michael Jordan: Detroit… Suck it. (0-2) Also may I say why can I get a random game from the Kings-Blazers but I cannot get a box score for a critical game like this one? CMONN MANNNN!
1991: Larry Bird: One of the last years of his career where his back is comparable to Abe Vigoda but once again, Detroit spoils the party but good news we finally have stats to back up our research! Beautiful day, Bird: 16 pts (7/18) 5 asst 5 rebs. Bird finishes 6-4 and all of the losses except for the one against Magic where in the twilight of his career, it’s unfair to put Bird under a microscope deep in his career.
1992: Michael Jordan: The Jordan experience had already begun with Jordan running through Bird, the Bad Boys, and Magic in 91 and then he had a critical game five with the Knicks where he goes off for 37 pts (11/23) 5 rbs 3 assts and they win 96-88 and then in a Cleveland-Chicago series in the Conference Finals, Jordan puts up nearly the same stat line in a win. Then in an incredible performance in the Finals against the Blazers, Jordan drops 46 (14/23) 5 5 and basically gives a lesson on what clutch is. (3-2)
1993: Michael Jordan: This one is a special one, down 2-0 to the Knicks and they end up coming all the way back including a game five victory where he goes 29 (11/24) 8 14 guiding his team to a 97-94 win (4-2)
1995: Michael Jordan: Jordan makes his return and this is an unfair look at him yet he still drops 39 4 4 when nobody else does anything. Honestly, if there is one game to look at a LeBron comparison it would be this one, no one helped Jordan in that one (4-3)
1997: Michael Jordan: What’s fascinating about MJ’s career in the playoffs is he rarely let a series get to the 2-2 and when he did, he TJ Lavin-style killed it. Game 5 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz and one of the toughest crowds in the NBA, they gut out 90-88 victory with Jordan going 37 (13/27) 7 5. (5-3)
1998: Michael Jordan: I believe this our last Jordan 2-2 game five situation and MJ drops 29 (12/20) 7 4 and it was a complete rout of Indiana Pacers as they win by 17. Jordan ends up finishing 6-3 and all of the losses can be defended; two he was young and the other was a half-assed comeback attempt. Other than that, Jordan dominated these games.
2000: Kobe Bryant: I am not giving out stats on this one but I will point out that Kobe’s team did lose a game five and took it all the way to seven games, doesn’t count against his record but good fodder for the Anti-Kobe.
2002: Kobe Bryant: Interesting that we haven’t seen a game like this because the Lakers were that damn good in those years and then the Lakeshow ended up losing in Game 5 to the Sacramento Kings on the road by one point. Kobe finishes with 30 (11/29) 5 3 (0-1)
2003: Kobe Bryant: The Lakers who were actually underdogs in the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves (let’s remember they move to seven games in first round) and the Lakers blew out the T’Wolves by 30. Kobe goes 30 (12/21) 8 5. The Lakers then face a far better San Antonio Spurs team in the next round and it goes to 2-2 where they lose to the Spurs by 2 on the road. Kobe ends up with 36 (15/31) 7 6 (1-2)
2004: Kobe Bryant: Could also be known as the “Derek Fisher Shot” as they beat the Spurs in an ugly game of 74-73 victory. Kobe 22 (11/27) 4 5, ugly performance but that was a great victory on the road. (2-2)
2006: Kobe Bryant: Another one that is worth noting that Kobe and his gang of idiots blew a 3-1 lead against the Phoenix Suns so he has that Magic thing of not closing it out at 3-1 when he can.
LeBron James: He makes a thunderous debut to this theory as they beat the Washington Wizards by one and I believe he made a game winner. LBJ finishes with 45 7 6. Also LeBron wins another 2-2 series against the defending champions Detroit Pistons as he goes for 32 5 5 and wins. But also worth noting, LBJ’s teams of idiots lose two straight and blows it. (2-0)
2007: LeBron James: This is actually the game that everybody says “Holy shit this guy is really effin good.” I remember watching some of this game at BW3’s and the LBJ experience started then. He dropped a mass amount of points and a victory 48 9 7 (3-0)
2008: Kobe Bryant: The Lakers are back into this mix and they were facing the Jazz. This victory is what we would call a team effort and something great to see as they win by seven. Just look at the Mamba’s numbers. 26 (6/10) 6 7 (3-2)
LeBron James: The Cavs ended up dropping the game to the Celtics and the Big 3 yet LBJ dropped a ton of points in the defeat but he doesn’t do much other than score buckets. 35 (12/25) 3 5 (3-1)
2009: Kobe Bryant: The Black Mamba had himself a crucial game against the Houston Rockets were they thrashed the team by 40 points. 26 (10/19) 4 3. There was another game that playoff game where they were knotted at 2-2, thinking this could be a series… and the Lakers shut the door without Kobe, I remember this game well because I wrote about Lamar Odom’s worth. 22 (6/13) 5 8 (5-2)
2010: Kobe Bryant: Another game five that Bryant didn’t real play that well but Kobe did the thing that LBJ couldn’t do, lock down Russell Westbrook and take control of the series, 13 (4/9) 3 7. So Kobe finishes up 6-2 for his career in these critical game fives plus the two he probably blew it but Kobe had three games that were awful in these games.
LeBron James: And here we are. 3-2 for his career in these games where he has had great success in these vital games, I couldn’t believe the numbers I saw from LeBron in these games but here we have the game against Boston. 15 (3/14) 6 7, who knows what we are going to see in tonight’s game.
I am beyond giddy for this game, I think people will know who the real LeBron James is. I am currently listening to Brian Windhorst, Cavs beat writer talking about how LeBron looked disinterested and there is a part of him that seems to not care anymore. I thought some of the same things with LeBron not attacking the lane or go into the post, getting cross-screens from Shaq. LeBron didn't once go into the post and try to do things near the basket, which in addition makes it that much more polarizing of the game. I think you will see a great performance with LBJ dropping near 30-35 pts, 10-12 rbs, and 8-12 assts. I have no idea if they will win this game but I do believe we will see a jaw-dropping performance from LeBron... And if we don't?
It will only get worse and people will then keep raising questions about what the hell happen in this series? And why can't LeBron win in the playoffs? It might be that Mike Brown is a corpse of a coach and wouldn't have a job if he didn't have LBJ every night. LeBron is really a player-coach out there and Brown is doing nothing to help his team.
The city of Cleveland is on pins and needles right now, probably sitting on their couch knocking back a few beers because if I were a fan? There is no way I could be stone-cold sober for this one because if there is a lost, questions will be raised all over the place and a city will be left for answers, something that might be better intoxicated tonight.
-Charlie.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Hating LeBron is the New Cool Thing
I have never been a big LeBron James fan. As a kid, I use to hang different Sports Illustrated covers and pictures around my walls and actually the LeBron cover from his junior in high school had a spot. I also probably had another cover from an NBA preview. But I had a quote from some magazine on my wall that said "You call yourself King James and you're in dunking on pimple-faced dorks in high school?" I never liked the name King James because it bothers me to crown this guy as the next one without winning a damn thing.
I always held a grudge to LeBron when everybody loved the guy starting in the 2004 season. People would talk about how amazing some of the things he was doing and that this guy for sure is the next "Michael Jordan." I still respected what LeBron did, just not like a bunch of my friends who were attracted to him and were completely in his camp over any other player. Let's also remember this is the same time Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers hit the wall in the middle 2000s therefore people gravitated towards LBJ. Some might say Dwyane Wade was put on a pedestal after his 2006 NBA Finals victory but still people put James >Wade which I could agree even if DWade has a ring.
Now let's go to 2009-2010 season, LeBron is the best player in the NBA period. Kevin Durant isn't there yet, great player especially after watching him against the Lakers, Kobe is banged up and he is on the downside of his career, and Melo/Wade have flaws (no defense/three point shots). There is no more Kobe-LeBron debates that ruled my senior of high school and the doubters have been silence about the flaws of James. He improved his three-point shooting and free throws plus James has got better in the late game heroics. Hell, he put up 29.7 PPG 7.3 RPG 8.6 APG, that is a mammoth season. The point I am trying to make now three paragraphs in is people want to hate LeBron now in my age range.
When I did my Three E's of LeBron, you can tell I didn't want to hear an excuse if they lose because he is playing through injury. I stand by that, but I cannot get out of my head how many people from age 17-23 dislike LeBron. I thought I was a minority member of this fan club, and now I am a part of the majority. In that same post, some commenter listed "You forgot one, Egomaniac." Maybe people got fed up with ego and do not like his cocky demeanor to the game. I said in January about the ego of LeBron and the problems with Mr. James. I also said that it isn't his fault for feeling like Vinnie Chase of Entourage. Chase gets his ego blown up by everyone around him whether it's girls, Drama/Turtle, and somewhat Ari. E is the only one to step up to him and say "hey you're wrong." LBJ is living that Chase's dreamworld where no one is telling him no and letting him do whatever he wants.
Last night as the Cavs got thrashed by the Boston Celtics 104-86, all sorts of statuses of Facebook and Twitter popped up about ripping on LeBron because now liking LeBron is comparable to liking the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, and Kentucky Wildcat basketball. It wasn't like that two years ago because people could choose sides, now they have to accept that LeBron is the best. When someone is the best at something, it bothers the big time sports fans to no avail. They do not want to be "that guy" who is a big LBJ fan and talks him up all the time. If you don't believe, look at some recent tweets from my friends... JSStephan: Big time LeBron fan The others (Yeedoski/hehateme4/CMONMANN- LBJ Haters).
CMONMANN: I don't care who wins the NBA Championship as long as it's not the Cavs...
JSStephan: @CMONMANN don't make me stomp u when I get home.
Yeedoski: @CMONMANN I'd have to agree, anyone but the cavs, @JSStephan lebron doesn't deserve it, he doesn't even ball he just gorillas people
hehateme4 @yeedoski I couldn't have put it better myself. I gotta agree with @CMONMANN and say fuck that gorilla. @JSStephan likes fags aka Cristiano
JSStephan @hehateme4 @CMONMANN @yeedoski all you haters keep talking.
CMONMANN @JSStephan drunk dialin' me to explain the loss?
JSStephan @CMONMANN not answering cu your too busy with with @FroggysB ?thanks ass.
CMONMANN @JSStephan No sir just didn't feel my phone vibrate...better be worried about that elbow
All of these are friends of mine who are just ragging on LeBron. I cannot understand it because I remember certain guys who were dissing Bron were on his bandwagon a couple years ago. People never want to like the player they seen posted all over the SportsCLeBron, go for it but don't expect me to be agreeing with everything you say like years past.
-Charlie.
I always held a grudge to LeBron when everybody loved the guy starting in the 2004 season. People would talk about how amazing some of the things he was doing and that this guy for sure is the next "Michael Jordan." I still respected what LeBron did, just not like a bunch of my friends who were attracted to him and were completely in his camp over any other player. Let's also remember this is the same time Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers hit the wall in the middle 2000s therefore people gravitated towards LBJ. Some might say Dwyane Wade was put on a pedestal after his 2006 NBA Finals victory but still people put James >Wade which I could agree even if DWade has a ring.
Now let's go to 2009-2010 season, LeBron is the best player in the NBA period. Kevin Durant isn't there yet, great player especially after watching him against the Lakers, Kobe is banged up and he is on the downside of his career, and Melo/Wade have flaws (no defense/three point shots). There is no more Kobe-LeBron debates that ruled my senior of high school and the doubters have been silence about the flaws of James. He improved his three-point shooting and free throws plus James has got better in the late game heroics. Hell, he put up 29.7 PPG 7.3 RPG 8.6 APG, that is a mammoth season. The point I am trying to make now three paragraphs in is people want to hate LeBron now in my age range.
When I did my Three E's of LeBron, you can tell I didn't want to hear an excuse if they lose because he is playing through injury. I stand by that, but I cannot get out of my head how many people from age 17-23 dislike LeBron. I thought I was a minority member of this fan club, and now I am a part of the majority. In that same post, some commenter listed "You forgot one, Egomaniac." Maybe people got fed up with ego and do not like his cocky demeanor to the game. I said in January about the ego of LeBron and the problems with Mr. James. I also said that it isn't his fault for feeling like Vinnie Chase of Entourage. Chase gets his ego blown up by everyone around him whether it's girls, Drama/Turtle, and somewhat Ari. E is the only one to step up to him and say "hey you're wrong." LBJ is living that Chase's dreamworld where no one is telling him no and letting him do whatever he wants.
Last night as the Cavs got thrashed by the Boston Celtics 104-86, all sorts of statuses of Facebook and Twitter popped up about ripping on LeBron because now liking LeBron is comparable to liking the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, and Kentucky Wildcat basketball. It wasn't like that two years ago because people could choose sides, now they have to accept that LeBron is the best. When someone is the best at something, it bothers the big time sports fans to no avail. They do not want to be "that guy" who is a big LBJ fan and talks him up all the time. If you don't believe, look at some recent tweets from my friends... JSStephan: Big time LeBron fan The others (Yeedoski/hehateme4/CMONMANN- LBJ Haters).
CMONMANN: I don't care who wins the NBA Championship as long as it's not the Cavs...
JSStephan: @CMONMANN don't make me stomp u when I get home.
Yeedoski: @CMONMANN I'd have to agree, anyone but the cavs, @JSStephan lebron doesn't deserve it, he doesn't even ball he just gorillas people
hehateme4 @yeedoski I couldn't have put it better myself. I gotta agree with @CMONMANN and say fuck that gorilla. @JSStephan likes fags aka Cristiano
JSStephan @hehateme4 @CMONMANN @yeedoski all you haters keep talking.
CMONMANN @JSStephan drunk dialin' me to explain the loss?
JSStephan @CMONMANN not answering cu your too busy with with @FroggysB ?thanks ass.
CMONMANN @JSStephan No sir just didn't feel my phone vibrate...better be worried about that elbow
All of these are friends of mine who are just ragging on LeBron. I cannot understand it because I remember certain guys who were dissing Bron were on his bandwagon a couple years ago. People never want to like the player they seen posted all over the SportsCLeBron, go for it but don't expect me to be agreeing with everything you say like years past.
-Charlie.
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Three E's of LeBron
I have no idea where I am going with this so bear with me as we go on this new journey. Because the NBA is goofy, they have one semifinal starting on Saturday and the rest start on various times therefore you will get multiple posts about different series. We are playing the alphabet with LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavalier superstar... the letter is E.
Elbow- The biggest thing that came out of the Chicago-Cleveland was the fact LeBron may be hurt. It seemed his elbow bothered him after he shot the second free throw with his left hand. This is raising the question, how hurt is he really? I cannot say nor can any of us because only LBJ knows. If they run through the Boston Celtics then we are convinced that LeBron's elbow doesn't really bother him. But if they struggle, it's a clear problem. The biggest problem with the injury is it's his right arm, which makes it tougher for him to score. I predict more jump shots and less takes to the basket. Cavs fans are throwing rocks at me right now because this would be the worst case scenario.
Exciting- I think this could be most entertaining series if the Bucks do not win tonight or Sunday for me. I like the Celtics for a variety of reasons... a.) Very physical, brings back old memories b.) Paul Pierce has been a favorite of mine for years because for some reason I loved Pierce as a kid, I keep my loyalties. c.) Ray Allen falls under letter b. and add he was a former Milwaukee Bucks holds a soft spot. I think they can take the Cavs to six or seven games and they could even win this series. All of these will be close battles and be shocked if either team gets a blowout win. I think it will be a fun-filled series even if the game is 88-85, the defense will be great with a complete slugfest and an enjoyable game.
Excuses- Let's play oddsmakers... what are the odds people use LeBron's elbow as a cop out if they lose to Boston? 4 to 1? 3 to 1? This is a built-in excuse waiting to happen and James seems to be on the wrong end of the stick every May for whatever reason. I can just see it now, "Well LeBron was hurt, that's why they lost." Personally, I would rather have the Cavs lost a series where LBJ was healthy so there is no room for the E we are describing.
Prediction: I think the Cavs take it in 7. I cannot see them losing at home right now and would be stunned if it happened in the first two games. The most intriguing thing other than LBJ's elbow is the matchups inside. Shaq-Big Z-Sideshow Bob vs. KG-Perkins-Big Baby, that is a 6 man tag-team match I would love to see on Monday Night Raw. Even with his injury, Pierce/Allen don't have enough in the tank to keep up with LeBron in a deep physical series.
-Charlie.
Elbow- The biggest thing that came out of the Chicago-Cleveland was the fact LeBron may be hurt. It seemed his elbow bothered him after he shot the second free throw with his left hand. This is raising the question, how hurt is he really? I cannot say nor can any of us because only LBJ knows. If they run through the Boston Celtics then we are convinced that LeBron's elbow doesn't really bother him. But if they struggle, it's a clear problem. The biggest problem with the injury is it's his right arm, which makes it tougher for him to score. I predict more jump shots and less takes to the basket. Cavs fans are throwing rocks at me right now because this would be the worst case scenario.
Exciting- I think this could be most entertaining series if the Bucks do not win tonight or Sunday for me. I like the Celtics for a variety of reasons... a.) Very physical, brings back old memories b.) Paul Pierce has been a favorite of mine for years because for some reason I loved Pierce as a kid, I keep my loyalties. c.) Ray Allen falls under letter b. and add he was a former Milwaukee Bucks holds a soft spot. I think they can take the Cavs to six or seven games and they could even win this series. All of these will be close battles and be shocked if either team gets a blowout win. I think it will be a fun-filled series even if the game is 88-85, the defense will be great with a complete slugfest and an enjoyable game.
Excuses- Let's play oddsmakers... what are the odds people use LeBron's elbow as a cop out if they lose to Boston? 4 to 1? 3 to 1? This is a built-in excuse waiting to happen and James seems to be on the wrong end of the stick every May for whatever reason. I can just see it now, "Well LeBron was hurt, that's why they lost." Personally, I would rather have the Cavs lost a series where LBJ was healthy so there is no room for the E we are describing.
Prediction: I think the Cavs take it in 7. I cannot see them losing at home right now and would be stunned if it happened in the first two games. The most intriguing thing other than LBJ's elbow is the matchups inside. Shaq-Big Z-Sideshow Bob vs. KG-Perkins-Big Baby, that is a 6 man tag-team match I would love to see on Monday Night Raw. Even with his injury, Pierce/Allen don't have enough in the tank to keep up with LeBron in a deep physical series.
-Charlie.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Eastern Conference Picks
Looking over my picks for where teams would finish, my glaring mistake of the year was thinking the Washington Wizards would be in the playoffs and the Bobcats would finish close to dead last in the Eastern Conference, whooops.
1. Cleveland vs. 8. Chicago- I am watching this game right now and it realy doesn't sway my opinion either way really. I believe this will just be your classic 1-8 matchup where you have a team far superior than the other one. The Bulls do not have the bench to keep up with the Cavs right now and the fact Cleveland gets Shaq back is huge, that will be a big time difference maker. I think the Bulls get one in the Windy City but that's it. CLEV in 5
4. Boston vs. 5. Miami- I also picked the Celtics back to the NBA Finals, once again not one of my best moments. I really like this series with the matchups of Paul Pierce-Dwyane Wade, a young Michael Beasley versus an old Kevin Garnett. I have no idea what Boston team will we see, the one who looks tired and there is a sort of unwillingness? Or the KG-curse laden teams who act like the biggest bullies on the court? I think the Heat do not have enough to keep up with the Celtics for a full series plus the inexperience of Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra could run them into big time trouble. BOS in 7
3. Atlanta vs. 6. Milwaukee- It feels good to have the Bucks back and I know most of you think the Bucks will not do much in the playoffs without Andrew Bogut but I am a firm believer they can at least win one game in Milwaukee, with some distant hope they can do something in Atlanta. I think they need to cut off Joe Johnson as much as possible especially in late games and they do have a good matchup for Josh Smith in the Prince of Cameroon. Fear the Deer, but they come up short this year with high hopes next year. ATL in 6
2. Orlando vs. 7. Charlotte- A very enticing series with a Charlotte team making their first trip to the playoffs but they have some veterans who have been there before like Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw, and Tyson Chandler. Also they have the Larry Brown card and he always seem to make the right decisions in the playoffs. People also need to remember how bad Vince Carter has been in the playoffs, he is never been that guy who ends game like Bryant, Johnson, Melo, LeBron, and Wade do. I think the Magic win but this will be the equivalent of the Lakers/Thunder series, a dogfight with the better team winning game seven. ORL in 7
-Charlie
1. Cleveland vs. 8. Chicago- I am watching this game right now and it realy doesn't sway my opinion either way really. I believe this will just be your classic 1-8 matchup where you have a team far superior than the other one. The Bulls do not have the bench to keep up with the Cavs right now and the fact Cleveland gets Shaq back is huge, that will be a big time difference maker. I think the Bulls get one in the Windy City but that's it. CLEV in 5
4. Boston vs. 5. Miami- I also picked the Celtics back to the NBA Finals, once again not one of my best moments. I really like this series with the matchups of Paul Pierce-Dwyane Wade, a young Michael Beasley versus an old Kevin Garnett. I have no idea what Boston team will we see, the one who looks tired and there is a sort of unwillingness? Or the KG-curse laden teams who act like the biggest bullies on the court? I think the Heat do not have enough to keep up with the Celtics for a full series plus the inexperience of Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra could run them into big time trouble. BOS in 7
3. Atlanta vs. 6. Milwaukee- It feels good to have the Bucks back and I know most of you think the Bucks will not do much in the playoffs without Andrew Bogut but I am a firm believer they can at least win one game in Milwaukee, with some distant hope they can do something in Atlanta. I think they need to cut off Joe Johnson as much as possible especially in late games and they do have a good matchup for Josh Smith in the Prince of Cameroon. Fear the Deer, but they come up short this year with high hopes next year. ATL in 6
2. Orlando vs. 7. Charlotte- A very enticing series with a Charlotte team making their first trip to the playoffs but they have some veterans who have been there before like Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw, and Tyson Chandler. Also they have the Larry Brown card and he always seem to make the right decisions in the playoffs. People also need to remember how bad Vince Carter has been in the playoffs, he is never been that guy who ends game like Bryant, Johnson, Melo, LeBron, and Wade do. I think the Magic win but this will be the equivalent of the Lakers/Thunder series, a dogfight with the better team winning game seven. ORL in 7
-Charlie
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Ramblings From an Average NBA Fan
I decided since we are two weeks away from the NBA Playoffs that I might as well write about something other than Major League Baseball getting going. I would consider myself average because I do not watch a random game who aren't the Milwaukee Buck so these are just a bunch of random thoughts about the season.
-I was impressed with the Bucks performance in a defeat against Cleveland. Take away that they lost, they showed the heart it will take to win on the road. This team can win in the first round and push a team in the second round. John Salmons is a complete game changer for the Bucks and if Brandon Jennings can shine in the playoffs... look out.
- I would like to buy stock in the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship but there is something about them that worries me. I can't explain yet and maybe I need to watch more of them to really form an opinion. The one thing I do know is LeBron James is playing head and shoulders above almost anyone in the league.
-Almost wrote about the Lakers' struggles this week, I do not think it's a good thing heading into the playoffs. I know teams especially in the NBA can turn it on whenever they want but still there appears to be a disconnect that wasn't there last year. Maybe Ron Artest who knows?
-I wonder when the national media will realize that Vince Carter will do the magic act of disappearing. I give 2 to 1 odds that happen, a notorious choke in the playoffs. The Magic could be saved by Matt Barnes, helluva a defender and a scrappy player.
-Does it bother anyone else that Robin Lopez and Joakim Noah are both intricate parts of their teams? Two of the most hated guys when in college, now needed parts on Chicago and Phoenix. In addition, the Suns will be in trouble come playoffs if Lopez isn't there.
-I do not want the Bucks to play Atlanta. I think they are as dangerous as any team in the Eastern Conference because they have bounds athleticism and they have Joe Johnson who seemingly hits every clutch shot possible.
-Another team I wouldn't want to play if I were an Eastern Conference team is the Bobcats. Larry Brown might not have many championships but he is known for deep runs. I think he has a nucleus of players that work for his system making them very dangerous. Even though most of the nation wouldn't be intrigued, I would love to see Atlanta vs. Charlotte.
-My vote for Rookie of the Year is Tyreke Evans. I would love to give it to Brandon Jennings because he is leading a playoff team right now but inconsistent nights do not garner an award. Evans has come with it, night in and night one.
-A subset of this, I love that Jennings has said publicly that basically he doesn't give a shit about the award and wants to lead this team in the playoffs a la Derrick Rose.
-Despite having former Marquette guard Wes Matthews, I just cannot pull for Utah. Wes is the only guy I liked straight out of college, couldn't stand Deron Williams or Carlos Boozer plus I never liked the Jazz when they were good in the nineties, cannot explain why.
-Now both guys haven't came out but there will be discussions about John Wall or Evan Turner. I think most in the lottery will take Wall but I feel if New Orleans/Utah (via New York) get that pick, they select Turner.
-Last thought I love the Russian Billionaire that is ready to own the New Jersey Nets. He seems like an awesome guy and I am submitting my resume to him so I can work for him plus get loads of Eastern European women.
-Charlie.
-I was impressed with the Bucks performance in a defeat against Cleveland. Take away that they lost, they showed the heart it will take to win on the road. This team can win in the first round and push a team in the second round. John Salmons is a complete game changer for the Bucks and if Brandon Jennings can shine in the playoffs... look out.
- I would like to buy stock in the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship but there is something about them that worries me. I can't explain yet and maybe I need to watch more of them to really form an opinion. The one thing I do know is LeBron James is playing head and shoulders above almost anyone in the league.
-Almost wrote about the Lakers' struggles this week, I do not think it's a good thing heading into the playoffs. I know teams especially in the NBA can turn it on whenever they want but still there appears to be a disconnect that wasn't there last year. Maybe Ron Artest who knows?
-I wonder when the national media will realize that Vince Carter will do the magic act of disappearing. I give 2 to 1 odds that happen, a notorious choke in the playoffs. The Magic could be saved by Matt Barnes, helluva a defender and a scrappy player.
-Does it bother anyone else that Robin Lopez and Joakim Noah are both intricate parts of their teams? Two of the most hated guys when in college, now needed parts on Chicago and Phoenix. In addition, the Suns will be in trouble come playoffs if Lopez isn't there.
-I do not want the Bucks to play Atlanta. I think they are as dangerous as any team in the Eastern Conference because they have bounds athleticism and they have Joe Johnson who seemingly hits every clutch shot possible.
-Another team I wouldn't want to play if I were an Eastern Conference team is the Bobcats. Larry Brown might not have many championships but he is known for deep runs. I think he has a nucleus of players that work for his system making them very dangerous. Even though most of the nation wouldn't be intrigued, I would love to see Atlanta vs. Charlotte.
-My vote for Rookie of the Year is Tyreke Evans. I would love to give it to Brandon Jennings because he is leading a playoff team right now but inconsistent nights do not garner an award. Evans has come with it, night in and night one.
-A subset of this, I love that Jennings has said publicly that basically he doesn't give a shit about the award and wants to lead this team in the playoffs a la Derrick Rose.
-Despite having former Marquette guard Wes Matthews, I just cannot pull for Utah. Wes is the only guy I liked straight out of college, couldn't stand Deron Williams or Carlos Boozer plus I never liked the Jazz when they were good in the nineties, cannot explain why.
-Now both guys haven't came out but there will be discussions about John Wall or Evan Turner. I think most in the lottery will take Wall but I feel if New Orleans/Utah (via New York) get that pick, they select Turner.
-Last thought I love the Russian Billionaire that is ready to own the New Jersey Nets. He seems like an awesome guy and I am submitting my resume to him so I can work for him plus get loads of Eastern European women.
-Charlie.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
LeBron Gets his Robin
Finally. That is what most Cleveland Cavalier fans are saying today as they learned that they got Power Forward Antawan Jamison from the Washington Wizards. Now it appears that the Cavs are the most unstoppable team in the Eastern Conference. Lets break down the deal...
CLEVELAND GETS: PF Antawan Jamison, PG Sebastian Telfair
WASHINGTON GETS: C Zydurnas Ilgauskas, SF Al Thornton
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS GETS: PF Drew Gooden
Starting with the Washington Wizards, I am ready to put Ernie Grunfeld in the bottom five of worst General Managers. He did an awful job with the Milwaukee Bucks, and now Grunfeld is self-destructing the Wizards. They are just dumping their entire team all together and basically now has all this money to play with for the upcoming big summer 2010, yet who is left to play with? I cannot believe that the Wizards didn't even include ultra-talented J.J. Hickson in this deal. Big Z, really? He is alright, but he is not an All-Star by any means. Once again, Washington I feel bad that the Capitals are on break.
The Clippers give up on Al Thornton who I thought had a promising future and yes his numbers are down this year, I am kind of surprised that the Clips gave up on him so quickly. Also this will now be Gooden's ninth team and the second time in as many years he has been shipped right away.
Now on to the Cavs, this is a great deal for them. They get a bit of depth in their backcourt with Telfair. Yes he is sort of a headcase, but I think we have learned that LeBron is the type of guy who can keep all his teammates in line. Jamison is averaging 20 and 8 right now plus he can defend pretty well against the Rashard Lewis and Rasheed Wallaces of the Eastern Conference. In addition, if they meet the Lakers in the Finals, he can cover Lamar Odom. Basically, bringing in Jamison shores all of their problems with covering the big forwards.
Finally this means tomorrow when the deadline ends, the Celtics and Magic MUST make deals. They need to upgrade if they want to compete on the level of the Cavs. Because right now, I could see Cleveland sweeping through until the NBA Finals if everyone in the East stays the same.
-Charlie.
CLEVELAND GETS: PF Antawan Jamison, PG Sebastian Telfair
WASHINGTON GETS: C Zydurnas Ilgauskas, SF Al Thornton
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS GETS: PF Drew Gooden
Starting with the Washington Wizards, I am ready to put Ernie Grunfeld in the bottom five of worst General Managers. He did an awful job with the Milwaukee Bucks, and now Grunfeld is self-destructing the Wizards. They are just dumping their entire team all together and basically now has all this money to play with for the upcoming big summer 2010, yet who is left to play with? I cannot believe that the Wizards didn't even include ultra-talented J.J. Hickson in this deal. Big Z, really? He is alright, but he is not an All-Star by any means. Once again, Washington I feel bad that the Capitals are on break.
The Clippers give up on Al Thornton who I thought had a promising future and yes his numbers are down this year, I am kind of surprised that the Clips gave up on him so quickly. Also this will now be Gooden's ninth team and the second time in as many years he has been shipped right away.
Now on to the Cavs, this is a great deal for them. They get a bit of depth in their backcourt with Telfair. Yes he is sort of a headcase, but I think we have learned that LeBron is the type of guy who can keep all his teammates in line. Jamison is averaging 20 and 8 right now plus he can defend pretty well against the Rashard Lewis and Rasheed Wallaces of the Eastern Conference. In addition, if they meet the Lakers in the Finals, he can cover Lamar Odom. Basically, bringing in Jamison shores all of their problems with covering the big forwards.
Finally this means tomorrow when the deadline ends, the Celtics and Magic MUST make deals. They need to upgrade if they want to compete on the level of the Cavs. Because right now, I could see Cleveland sweeping through until the NBA Finals if everyone in the East stays the same.
-Charlie.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Disappointed By LeBron
My roommate Brett gave me props about my blog and then talked about how great Simmons podcast is which both shocked me then I wondered if the world might be ending. Now, I hope to get a negative reaction by this post about his boy, LeBron James but who knows maybe I will get props here.
Remember last year when LeBron said, "I am going to participate in the 2010 Dunk Contest." He said that flat-out and then when the dunk participants came out LeBron was nowhere to be found. This leads me back to what I have said in the past... LeBron may top five most insecure athletes in all of sports today. He is afraid to lose at something he is supposed to be "the best in the world."
The reason I call LeBron out like this is because time after time, he refuses to do anything that makes him look like less of an athlete. This all goes back to him not allowing the Jordan Crawford Dunk Tape out, which is like the sports version of a celebrity sex tape when the story broke. I wrote that time, I felt LBJ handled it poorly just like he did with Charles Barkley.
LeBron's ego has grown to big to allow himself for that kind of thing to happen where there is a chance he might lose in an individual competition. It started with King James as nickname out of High School, then Olympics, MVP, messing around before the game, movie/hit song made about him, and now outrageously holding his follow-through. It has grown to proportions I think none of us thought possible but you know what? It's not LeBron's fault. People like Jay-Z and media outlets pampered LeBron letting him roam like the alpha dog expanding that ego, nobody has ever leveled with James telling him how things should go. The last guy this happened to... Kobe Bryant
Remember before the sex scandal, Kobe Bryant was on top of the world. He had endorsements from the same places LeBron has and even more, I believe at that time. He had already won three rings and people were ready to crown him in the next Michael Jordan. But then his world turned black as he got accused of sexually assaulting a young white female and then blamed for Shaq leaving Los Angeles. Those same media outlets that blew up his ego made him the asshole of the NBA for a long time. Until he won another ring by himself was that title released from Kobe. I am not saying the same thing could happen to James but if he leaves Cleveland, do people change their minds on him? That's a million dollar question right now.
No matter if you think James chickened out or people in his camp told him, it was too much of a risk. You still have to address the situation at hand that LeBron's ego is getting too big for his own good, and it's something James cannot control. It is only a matter time before something happens to regulate that ego.
-Charlie.
Remember last year when LeBron said, "I am going to participate in the 2010 Dunk Contest." He said that flat-out and then when the dunk participants came out LeBron was nowhere to be found. This leads me back to what I have said in the past... LeBron may top five most insecure athletes in all of sports today. He is afraid to lose at something he is supposed to be "the best in the world."
The reason I call LeBron out like this is because time after time, he refuses to do anything that makes him look like less of an athlete. This all goes back to him not allowing the Jordan Crawford Dunk Tape out, which is like the sports version of a celebrity sex tape when the story broke. I wrote that time, I felt LBJ handled it poorly just like he did with Charles Barkley.
LeBron's ego has grown to big to allow himself for that kind of thing to happen where there is a chance he might lose in an individual competition. It started with King James as nickname out of High School, then Olympics, MVP, messing around before the game, movie/hit song made about him, and now outrageously holding his follow-through. It has grown to proportions I think none of us thought possible but you know what? It's not LeBron's fault. People like Jay-Z and media outlets pampered LeBron letting him roam like the alpha dog expanding that ego, nobody has ever leveled with James telling him how things should go. The last guy this happened to... Kobe Bryant
Remember before the sex scandal, Kobe Bryant was on top of the world. He had endorsements from the same places LeBron has and even more, I believe at that time. He had already won three rings and people were ready to crown him in the next Michael Jordan. But then his world turned black as he got accused of sexually assaulting a young white female and then blamed for Shaq leaving Los Angeles. Those same media outlets that blew up his ego made him the asshole of the NBA for a long time. Until he won another ring by himself was that title released from Kobe. I am not saying the same thing could happen to James but if he leaves Cleveland, do people change their minds on him? That's a million dollar question right now.
No matter if you think James chickened out or people in his camp told him, it was too much of a risk. You still have to address the situation at hand that LeBron's ego is getting too big for his own good, and it's something James cannot control. It is only a matter time before something happens to regulate that ego.
-Charlie.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
NBA Weekly: A Number Change and a Firing
Just to give my 10 readers out there an idea of what's going on in the next couple of days here at the Corner. We will be doing this NBA article followed by NFL Picks for Week 9 and then a College Basketball preview at the beginning of the week plus a running diary of my Iowa trip (I promise this every time but seriously I'm spending three nights, the stories should be plentiful) .
If I ever do things like "NBA Weekly" or something like that, more times than not I am too late to talk about it so I group it with something that is closely relevant. Anyways, on to one of my favorites, LeBron James.
LeBron made a comment after beating the Miami Heat on Thursday night that he will switch his jersey next year to number six from number 23 because no one should wear Michael Jordan's number. According to Bron, he was so influential to all of the players that are in the league today. While I agree with LBJ that Michael Jordan inspired a ton of people playing today... he needs to read GD book about the NBA if he is asking for a full-on retirement. Like others said on various outlets, Bill Russell and Dr. J should come before Jordan and Jackie Robinson number is retired because he paved the way for African-Americans into the MLB.
Now on to the Byron Scott firing. People have said before the year started that he was on the hotseat to start the year off. No one was shocked by the move and if you really think about New Orleans doesn't have anyone after Chris Paul and David West. Nor will they have anyone because they have a cheap ass owner not willing to spend any money on the team. Scott will coach somewhere next year because for whatever reason, he can get two to three good years out of the team then he loses them. Also Hornets fan might as well start realizing Chris Paul might not be there in a couple years, despite that extension.
-Charlie.
If I ever do things like "NBA Weekly" or something like that, more times than not I am too late to talk about it so I group it with something that is closely relevant. Anyways, on to one of my favorites, LeBron James.
LeBron made a comment after beating the Miami Heat on Thursday night that he will switch his jersey next year to number six from number 23 because no one should wear Michael Jordan's number. According to Bron, he was so influential to all of the players that are in the league today. While I agree with LBJ that Michael Jordan inspired a ton of people playing today... he needs to read GD book about the NBA if he is asking for a full-on retirement. Like others said on various outlets, Bill Russell and Dr. J should come before Jordan and Jackie Robinson number is retired because he paved the way for African-Americans into the MLB.
Now on to the Byron Scott firing. People have said before the year started that he was on the hotseat to start the year off. No one was shocked by the move and if you really think about New Orleans doesn't have anyone after Chris Paul and David West. Nor will they have anyone because they have a cheap ass owner not willing to spend any money on the team. Scott will coach somewhere next year because for whatever reason, he can get two to three good years out of the team then he loses them. Also Hornets fan might as well start realizing Chris Paul might not be there in a couple years, despite that extension.
-Charlie.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
NBA Preview: Eastern Conference: Central Division
In trying to make this blog more in-depth for the next week or so I will be doing a preview of each division in the NBA. We will look at key players, an outlook, and where they will finish in the East or West. Here we gooo.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers- KEY PLAYERS: SF LeBron James, PG Mo Williams, C Shaquille O'Neal. OUTLOOK: I didn't like how the Cavs looked last night and the Shaq deal I felt was a lateral move. They need to go out in February and bring in a key accusation because now I still feel they have a step away from being an NBA contender. PREDICTION: 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
2. Chicago Bulls- KEY PLAYERS: PG Derrick Rose, SF Luol Deng, PF Joakim Noah. OUTLOOK: I think this is a huge year for Derrick Rose who hopefully has developed more of a jumper and can make that supposed "second year jump". Losing Ben Gordon does hurt scoring, but I think he hogged the ball way too much therefore I think the Bulls will be a better team. PREDICTION: 5th in the Eastern Conference.
3. Detroit Pistons- KEY PLAYERS: SG Rip Hamilton, SF Tayshaun Prince, PF Charlie Villanueva. OUTLOOK- On paper, the Pistons look like they could have a formidable team, also Ben Gordon will help the bench immensely. Although, you have to wonder how much Hamilton has left in him. I think they are good enough to steal a bottom spot in the East. PREDICTION: 8th in the Eastern Conference
4. Indiana Pacers- KEY PLAYERS: SF Danny Granger, PG TJ Ford, PF Troy Murphy. OUTLOOK: The Pacers really should have a logo "What can white do for you?" Anyways, they could make some moves and Granger is the most underrated player in the NBA right now. PREDICTION: 11th in the Eastern Conference.
5. Milwaukee Bucks-KEY PLAYERS: SG Michael Redd C Andrew Bogut, PF Hakim Warrick. OUTLOOK: Ah, I told myself I am going to be a bigger Bucks fan but they are not looking good whatsoever with talks of Redd on the move come February. Plus Joe Alexander is out for 3-4 months, not good. PREDICTION: 13th in the Eastern Conference.
-Charlie.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers- KEY PLAYERS: SF LeBron James, PG Mo Williams, C Shaquille O'Neal. OUTLOOK: I didn't like how the Cavs looked last night and the Shaq deal I felt was a lateral move. They need to go out in February and bring in a key accusation because now I still feel they have a step away from being an NBA contender. PREDICTION: 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
2. Chicago Bulls- KEY PLAYERS: PG Derrick Rose, SF Luol Deng, PF Joakim Noah. OUTLOOK: I think this is a huge year for Derrick Rose who hopefully has developed more of a jumper and can make that supposed "second year jump". Losing Ben Gordon does hurt scoring, but I think he hogged the ball way too much therefore I think the Bulls will be a better team. PREDICTION: 5th in the Eastern Conference.
3. Detroit Pistons- KEY PLAYERS: SG Rip Hamilton, SF Tayshaun Prince, PF Charlie Villanueva. OUTLOOK- On paper, the Pistons look like they could have a formidable team, also Ben Gordon will help the bench immensely. Although, you have to wonder how much Hamilton has left in him. I think they are good enough to steal a bottom spot in the East. PREDICTION: 8th in the Eastern Conference
4. Indiana Pacers- KEY PLAYERS: SF Danny Granger, PG TJ Ford, PF Troy Murphy. OUTLOOK: The Pacers really should have a logo "What can white do for you?" Anyways, they could make some moves and Granger is the most underrated player in the NBA right now. PREDICTION: 11th in the Eastern Conference.
5. Milwaukee Bucks-KEY PLAYERS: SG Michael Redd C Andrew Bogut, PF Hakim Warrick. OUTLOOK: Ah, I told myself I am going to be a bigger Bucks fan but they are not looking good whatsoever with talks of Redd on the move come February. Plus Joe Alexander is out for 3-4 months, not good. PREDICTION: 13th in the Eastern Conference.
-Charlie.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Ron Artest to Cleveland?
I am sorry that the creative juices are not following with creative titles but the last two articles I expect to hear news on by the time I am eating lunch. I also promise something on baseball this weekend because I have ignore it more than Lindsey Lohan with food. On to everyone's favorite sideshow Ron Artest (the link is to his Twitter, its awesome.)
The way I found about Artest bolting was according to "JT the Brick" on Fox Sports Radio claimed that Ronnie tweeted "Goodbye Houston" which is nowhere to be found although I could believe that he might have been told to take that down so who knows. We will keep you updated though.
I would like to begin saying that yours truly made the claim that Artest would be the "perfect fit" in Cleveland (see Lexington I am not a complete buffoon!) with the combination of Artest-LeBron James-Shaq that would any team weary to play the Cavs next season. The two teams they worry about the East would crumble with Shaq dealing with KG/Dwight Howard, Artest dealing with Pierce/Vince Carter would be lethal. This team would be good enough to let Mike Brown coach from a leather couch in the locker room. If Cleveland doesnt get a title in 09 then I really have to wonder if the curse of the city is much worse than we ever could have imagined.
The first thing you have to be impressed with is how good their perimeter defense will be and how much better it will make LeBron on the offense end. He puts in a lot on the defensive side of the ball and with a guy like Artest, he will not need to worry as much. I hate doing this but doesnt this somewhat remind of when the Bulls brought in Dennis Rodman? The multi-colored hair freak show had alot more issues than Ron Artest but still he was surrounded by enough good guys that he only lashed out once resulting in a kick to the balls. Like I said, I feel Artest has completely changed his attitude around and is just now a strange guy (trust me read his Twitter) which is alright by me.
-Charlie.
The way I found about Artest bolting was according to "JT the Brick" on Fox Sports Radio claimed that Ronnie tweeted "Goodbye Houston" which is nowhere to be found although I could believe that he might have been told to take that down so who knows. We will keep you updated though.
I would like to begin saying that yours truly made the claim that Artest would be the "perfect fit" in Cleveland (see Lexington I am not a complete buffoon!) with the combination of Artest-LeBron James-Shaq that would any team weary to play the Cavs next season. The two teams they worry about the East would crumble with Shaq dealing with KG/Dwight Howard, Artest dealing with Pierce/Vince Carter would be lethal. This team would be good enough to let Mike Brown coach from a leather couch in the locker room. If Cleveland doesnt get a title in 09 then I really have to wonder if the curse of the city is much worse than we ever could have imagined.
The first thing you have to be impressed with is how good their perimeter defense will be and how much better it will make LeBron on the offense end. He puts in a lot on the defensive side of the ball and with a guy like Artest, he will not need to worry as much. I hate doing this but doesnt this somewhat remind of when the Bulls brought in Dennis Rodman? The multi-colored hair freak show had alot more issues than Ron Artest but still he was surrounded by enough good guys that he only lashed out once resulting in a kick to the balls. Like I said, I feel Artest has completely changed his attitude around and is just now a strange guy (trust me read his Twitter) which is alright by me.
-Charlie.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Shaq Decides to Help LeBron Win a Title
I already wrote this article about two weeks ago and it was the same deal that we had heard about originally. I am going to try to take a new angle on this and write about other things that Shaquille O'Neal brings to the table that I havent already mentioned.
I have already said that Shaq now ruins LeBron's legacy because just like Kobe Byrant, and Dwayne Wade he needs a great big man to bail him out to try to win a title. I think that Shaq is the single greatest teammate for the last twenty years due to the double teams he draws and his inside presence. The other thing which is huge is the fact that the Cavs have a player now that can keep up with guys like Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard. With Shaq that means that Cleveland doesnt have to be as concern with the bigs in the top of the Eastern Conference.
Ric Bucher had this on Twitter which I one hundred percent agree with "On Shaq deal: Hedo/Dwight P&R killed them. Shaq never has been good at P&R D. He'll relieve LeBron on O, but they still need 1 more piece." He is referring to pick/roll defense by the way. I think there needs to be another big piece but then you start to worry if the Cavs become to star-loaded. They need another role player not somebody who will demand the ball just a guy who can play defense and do the little things.
Thats why I would suggest Ron Artest. He would be great for Cleveland because of the things I originally mentioned plus there are enough good chemistry guys in this locker room to keep him in line. Now all signs are pointing him to stay with the Houston Rockets but if Danny Ferry pitched him the opportunity of playing with LBJ in addition winning a title I think Artest would want to go there. It seems like he would be the perfect fit.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers do not make the Finals this upcoming year, I can officially say that the city of Cleveland is completely cursed. This becomes their year and maybe their last shot at getting LeBron a title
I have already said that Shaq now ruins LeBron's legacy because just like Kobe Byrant, and Dwayne Wade he needs a great big man to bail him out to try to win a title. I think that Shaq is the single greatest teammate for the last twenty years due to the double teams he draws and his inside presence. The other thing which is huge is the fact that the Cavs have a player now that can keep up with guys like Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard. With Shaq that means that Cleveland doesnt have to be as concern with the bigs in the top of the Eastern Conference.
Ric Bucher had this on Twitter which I one hundred percent agree with "On Shaq deal: Hedo/Dwight P&R killed them. Shaq never has been good at P&R D. He'll relieve LeBron on O, but they still need 1 more piece." He is referring to pick/roll defense by the way. I think there needs to be another big piece but then you start to worry if the Cavs become to star-loaded. They need another role player not somebody who will demand the ball just a guy who can play defense and do the little things.
Thats why I would suggest Ron Artest. He would be great for Cleveland because of the things I originally mentioned plus there are enough good chemistry guys in this locker room to keep him in line. Now all signs are pointing him to stay with the Houston Rockets but if Danny Ferry pitched him the opportunity of playing with LBJ in addition winning a title I think Artest would want to go there. It seems like he would be the perfect fit.
If the Cleveland Cavaliers do not make the Finals this upcoming year, I can officially say that the city of Cleveland is completely cursed. This becomes their year and maybe their last shot at getting LeBron a title
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Shaqtus Headin' to the Rock n Roll Capital?
First, a shout-out to the scared person who said I bring nothing to the table. Thank you. Moving on, there are some rumblings about the NBA off season that we have to cover before the Finals are over. The deal to send Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland didnt die in February when it was first suggested and it now appears that the trade talks are heating up once again.
The proposed deal is Shaq to the Cavs for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic because there are rumors that Wallace may retire leading to complete salary dump for the Suns and the Cavs getting the most dominant center in the past fifteen years. In my opinion, this could a couple ways for the Cleveland.....
1. This could bring a championship to the city of Cleveland- I think the Boston Celtics at full health are the only team that could handle Shaq inside but they have already had many issues covering LeBron James. I think the chemistry would be great with two fun loving guys like Shaq and LeBron so that doesnt become a problem.
2. It ruins LeBron legacy- The whole debate about whose better will be pretty much nullified if Shaq does come to Cleveland because now the three best players in the league have all played wtih Shaq and Kobe Bryant/Dwayne Wade both have won titles only with Shaq there (granted that could come to end tonight with Kobe). LeBron will now have help and trust me it will make the Cavaliers such a better team with LBJ being able to play man-to-man instead of a zone that seems to not work. Also Shaq will flourish with teams likely choosing to stop LeBron in the paint instead of Shaq leading to many easy thunderous dunks.
3. Does the style change?- My last thought would be that the style of the Cavs has been an up and down team who will have to slow it down for Shaq although I could see many Shaq to LeBron outlets leading to easy baskets. I really dont think that becomes an issue for the Cavs as much as people would like to believe.
-Charlie.
The proposed deal is Shaq to the Cavs for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic because there are rumors that Wallace may retire leading to complete salary dump for the Suns and the Cavs getting the most dominant center in the past fifteen years. In my opinion, this could a couple ways for the Cleveland.....
1. This could bring a championship to the city of Cleveland- I think the Boston Celtics at full health are the only team that could handle Shaq inside but they have already had many issues covering LeBron James. I think the chemistry would be great with two fun loving guys like Shaq and LeBron so that doesnt become a problem.
2. It ruins LeBron legacy- The whole debate about whose better will be pretty much nullified if Shaq does come to Cleveland because now the three best players in the league have all played wtih Shaq and Kobe Bryant/Dwayne Wade both have won titles only with Shaq there (granted that could come to end tonight with Kobe). LeBron will now have help and trust me it will make the Cavaliers such a better team with LBJ being able to play man-to-man instead of a zone that seems to not work. Also Shaq will flourish with teams likely choosing to stop LeBron in the paint instead of Shaq leading to many easy thunderous dunks.
3. Does the style change?- My last thought would be that the style of the Cavs has been an up and down team who will have to slow it down for Shaq although I could see many Shaq to LeBron outlets leading to easy baskets. I really dont think that becomes an issue for the Cavs as much as people would like to believe.
-Charlie.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Suck It Up LeBron
Well I think we can all agree that the NBA and Nike look like complete idiots for doing the Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials all throughout the playoffs right now with only one puppet being in the playoffs. But what all the media is talking about right now is LeBron James not talking to the media or not shaking hands with the Orlando Magic after the game.
I can understand that you hate losing and in your opinion, you are a "winner." But thats not something you do in any sport. You have to shake the hands of your opponent after the series defeat because there is going to be other series where you are on the other hand of it. You cant always win no matter if your dad was Jake Reily, the coach of the Hawks. They had Dwight Howard on SportsCenter and he said how surprised he was that LeBron didnt come up to say something to the team. LeBron doesnt want his reputation to become a guy who only cares about himself and could care less about the other players. As people said today, the NHL where guys beat the shit out of each other most night shake hands after every series.
Not only does LeBron not shake his hands, he just gives the big F-U by not addressing the media after the game. Look I understand that you just lose a series no one expected you to lose and that you are starting to head down the Dan Marino-Peyton Manning-Karl Malone road; that doesnt excuse you from not talking to the media. This also leaves all of his teammates out to dry to answer questions like "Whats LeBron thinking?" "Why isnt LeBron here."
What LeBron should really be mad at is the fact Mike Brown falls apart every playoffs. There is one thing that he cannot figure out it seems every critical series. He couldnt defeat the Magic and he couldnt figure how to handle his bench. I think that LeBron will ask for Brown's firing if the Cavs struggle at the beginning of the season. I strongly believe LeBron will not win a title with Brown at the helm.
The final thing that I would like to bring up is that I know James still has many years left for him to win an NBA Championship but I feel after this year's loss that we should take a few steps back to comparing him to Michael Jordan. MJ never lost a series when he was the one seed, never. He always went on to win the Finals. LeBron didnt do that this year and they lost in rather convincing fashion. See LeBron that was a winner and he didnt need to ever dodge the media.
-Charlie.
I can understand that you hate losing and in your opinion, you are a "winner." But thats not something you do in any sport. You have to shake the hands of your opponent after the series defeat because there is going to be other series where you are on the other hand of it. You cant always win no matter if your dad was Jake Reily, the coach of the Hawks. They had Dwight Howard on SportsCenter and he said how surprised he was that LeBron didnt come up to say something to the team. LeBron doesnt want his reputation to become a guy who only cares about himself and could care less about the other players. As people said today, the NHL where guys beat the shit out of each other most night shake hands after every series.
Not only does LeBron not shake his hands, he just gives the big F-U by not addressing the media after the game. Look I understand that you just lose a series no one expected you to lose and that you are starting to head down the Dan Marino-Peyton Manning-Karl Malone road; that doesnt excuse you from not talking to the media. This also leaves all of his teammates out to dry to answer questions like "Whats LeBron thinking?" "Why isnt LeBron here."
What LeBron should really be mad at is the fact Mike Brown falls apart every playoffs. There is one thing that he cannot figure out it seems every critical series. He couldnt defeat the Magic and he couldnt figure how to handle his bench. I think that LeBron will ask for Brown's firing if the Cavs struggle at the beginning of the season. I strongly believe LeBron will not win a title with Brown at the helm.
The final thing that I would like to bring up is that I know James still has many years left for him to win an NBA Championship but I feel after this year's loss that we should take a few steps back to comparing him to Michael Jordan. MJ never lost a series when he was the one seed, never. He always went on to win the Finals. LeBron didnt do that this year and they lost in rather convincing fashion. See LeBron that was a winner and he didnt need to ever dodge the media.
-Charlie.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
So Much for Guarantees
The big story yesterday which I didnt get to was that Mo Williams, the point guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers guaranteed a series win before the pivotal game four last night. Well its going to be hard to do now as they are down 3 games to one with their backs clearly against the wall.
I always hate when professional athletes guarantee victory. It always leaves the athlete with pie in their face after they lose. Only Joe Namath has proven to be successful after a guarantee. The other thing is Williams has not done shit in this series to be running his mouth to the media. LeBron's back has to be sore from carrying this entire team on his back and it still isnt enough for the Cavs to win. We really should be talking about the Magic sweep if it hadnt been for LeBron's miracle shot in game 2.
Last night, the Cavs once again didnt make a statement and fell in defeat in overtime 116-114. LeBron did have forty-four points and 12 boards although he had eight turnovers which is never a good sign for a team. Williams seemed lost out there again for the fourth consecutive game and Orlando just let him sit out there to shoot threes.
The other large aspect that is killing the Cavs is Mike Brown. He is not a good coach and I really hope for the sake of Cleveland fans, he struggles next year at the get-go so he can be fired. Why on earth is Ben Wallace on Rashard Lewis?! I mean Lewis has been a straight-up assiasin throughout the series and you had to believe that he would be the first/second opition next to Hedo Turkologu. So why is f'in Ben Wallace brought in to guard him? Lewis is a matchup disaster for every team in the Eastern Conference. Also Brown has stuck with Delonte West on Turkologu which is a seven inch height difference and you got a guy like LBJ, cmon Mike. James would be able to contain Turkologu and could make a huge difference although he is stuck on Courtney Lee.
I think we can all see it now, the front line for Orlando is much greater than Cleveland's and that is proving to be the difference for the series so far. Do I believe its possible that the Cavs can come back from being down 3-1? No, they are done if not tomorrow night, Saturday for sure. Even if the Cavs win by 20+ which I could totally see happening, they will not be able to sustain it for another game.
-Charlie.
I always hate when professional athletes guarantee victory. It always leaves the athlete with pie in their face after they lose. Only Joe Namath has proven to be successful after a guarantee. The other thing is Williams has not done shit in this series to be running his mouth to the media. LeBron's back has to be sore from carrying this entire team on his back and it still isnt enough for the Cavs to win. We really should be talking about the Magic sweep if it hadnt been for LeBron's miracle shot in game 2.
Last night, the Cavs once again didnt make a statement and fell in defeat in overtime 116-114. LeBron did have forty-four points and 12 boards although he had eight turnovers which is never a good sign for a team. Williams seemed lost out there again for the fourth consecutive game and Orlando just let him sit out there to shoot threes.
The other large aspect that is killing the Cavs is Mike Brown. He is not a good coach and I really hope for the sake of Cleveland fans, he struggles next year at the get-go so he can be fired. Why on earth is Ben Wallace on Rashard Lewis?! I mean Lewis has been a straight-up assiasin throughout the series and you had to believe that he would be the first/second opition next to Hedo Turkologu. So why is f'in Ben Wallace brought in to guard him? Lewis is a matchup disaster for every team in the Eastern Conference. Also Brown has stuck with Delonte West on Turkologu which is a seven inch height difference and you got a guy like LBJ, cmon Mike. James would be able to contain Turkologu and could make a huge difference although he is stuck on Courtney Lee.
I think we can all see it now, the front line for Orlando is much greater than Cleveland's and that is proving to be the difference for the series so far. Do I believe its possible that the Cavs can come back from being down 3-1? No, they are done if not tomorrow night, Saturday for sure. Even if the Cavs win by 20+ which I could totally see happening, they will not be able to sustain it for another game.
-Charlie.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Game 3 Thoughts
Well both game threes have past and I have a few thoughts about both series that I feel need to be shared. So here we go and I think both game fours as always is very critical.
In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets folded once again in the fourth quarter which is starting to become a trend that should make a lot of Nuggets fans sweating. In game three, it was the exact same thing that dooms the Nuggets in game one with a bad inbound pass with under a minute leading to a turnover that decided the game. This time it was Kenyon Martin failing to get the ball to Carmelo Anthony and Derek Fisher stole the ball. As we always say here at Chuck's Corner, rut-roh George Karl. Once again, Karl mismanaged the fourth quarter leading to demise of Denver and that cannot happen if this team expects to get out of this Western Conference Final. Lets not forgot also they had an 8 point lead at home going into the fourth to begin with in game three.
In the Eastern Conference, after the media decided to over hype "The Shot" more than anything I have seen in sports since the Brett Favre Crisis last summer. LeBron James had fourty-one points but only made 11 shots with 18 free-throws although missed five in the fourth quarter. Also the bench of the Cavs only had ten points plus no one inside has done jack shit for Cleveland. First off all, LeBron getting to line twenty-four times was absolutely ridiculous and even though I am not a fan of him, I praise Stan Van Gundy for saying "Every time he moves, its a foul" going in the fourth quarter. Like I said in my intial preview, the front lines of each teams would be the X-Factor and then mentioned how someone else needed to step up for Cleveland, none of those things are happening. I think its possible this could even in five but I have changed my mind seeing Orlando in six.
Cant wait to see what happens next.
-Charlie.
In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets folded once again in the fourth quarter which is starting to become a trend that should make a lot of Nuggets fans sweating. In game three, it was the exact same thing that dooms the Nuggets in game one with a bad inbound pass with under a minute leading to a turnover that decided the game. This time it was Kenyon Martin failing to get the ball to Carmelo Anthony and Derek Fisher stole the ball. As we always say here at Chuck's Corner, rut-roh George Karl. Once again, Karl mismanaged the fourth quarter leading to demise of Denver and that cannot happen if this team expects to get out of this Western Conference Final. Lets not forgot also they had an 8 point lead at home going into the fourth to begin with in game three.
In the Eastern Conference, after the media decided to over hype "The Shot" more than anything I have seen in sports since the Brett Favre Crisis last summer. LeBron James had fourty-one points but only made 11 shots with 18 free-throws although missed five in the fourth quarter. Also the bench of the Cavs only had ten points plus no one inside has done jack shit for Cleveland. First off all, LeBron getting to line twenty-four times was absolutely ridiculous and even though I am not a fan of him, I praise Stan Van Gundy for saying "Every time he moves, its a foul" going in the fourth quarter. Like I said in my intial preview, the front lines of each teams would be the X-Factor and then mentioned how someone else needed to step up for Cleveland, none of those things are happening. I think its possible this could even in five but I have changed my mind seeing Orlando in six.
Cant wait to see what happens next.
-Charlie.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Missed a Good One Tonight.
I have to be honest with you all.... I missed the LeBron James buzzer-beater. I went to an outdoor event with some friends because when I left the house the game was in the 9-12 range and I had believed that Cleveland had the upper hand. I get a text from Mach saying "I have a man crush on Hedo Turkoglu." I figure something must have happened or its very close. I ask him the score and tells me "LeBron hit a game-winning three with a second left to win the game." My original thought is well I know what ESPN is talking about all day tomorrow and the second thought is I missed a great NBA playoff game.
Personally that hasnt happened alot to me this year as I really only missed the game 5 game between the Bulls-Celtics but other than that, I have caught every good game on the playoffs. But I mean can you blame me? It was Friday night and I had plans to go out around 930 so why waste another hour and half watching basketball? I really cannot be at fault here for missing LeBron buzzer beater which would have pissed me off but there are some things we should take away from it.
1. LeBron's team blew a twenty-three point lead. What happened to the world-beaters in rounds 1 and 2? Does it show that they havent played anyone yet and sort of a "paper tiger" team on the defense end. I think both of those things are true and maybe they havent took that next step like everyone thought they did already. If I am a Cleveland fan tonight, I personally am scared of what could happen in the next couple of games. This Cavalier team had shown the ability to blow teams out and had to the chance for this one to be over before the fourth. As I said a couple nights before, someone else needs to step up on this team for them to be successful not just pulling them out real late.
2. Orlando is the real deal. I think nobody can be surprised anymore if the Magic win the series. I hate Stan Van Gundy but he has done a great job so far in the first two games minus the big shot he allowed Bron to take tonight. In no possible way should you have let LBJ get a chance at a three, just surrender the two and go to OT, you had the momentum. I think I like Orlando's chances even more after the game.
3. Please dont over hype this sports media. Yes the game's best player hit the biggest shot of his life and the questions of being clutch were somewhat answered tonight although I still have a big problem letting a twenty-three point lead slip. This isnt even close to Larry Bird's steal or Jordan over Ehlo because both of those won the series for the team. Now if Cleveland goes on to win four straight games then I might be willing to say its in the top five and it propelled the Cavs the rest of the series. Until that happens, dont over hype wait and see what the outcome of the shot is.
-Charlie.
Personally that hasnt happened alot to me this year as I really only missed the game 5 game between the Bulls-Celtics but other than that, I have caught every good game on the playoffs. But I mean can you blame me? It was Friday night and I had plans to go out around 930 so why waste another hour and half watching basketball? I really cannot be at fault here for missing LeBron buzzer beater which would have pissed me off but there are some things we should take away from it.
1. LeBron's team blew a twenty-three point lead. What happened to the world-beaters in rounds 1 and 2? Does it show that they havent played anyone yet and sort of a "paper tiger" team on the defense end. I think both of those things are true and maybe they havent took that next step like everyone thought they did already. If I am a Cleveland fan tonight, I personally am scared of what could happen in the next couple of games. This Cavalier team had shown the ability to blow teams out and had to the chance for this one to be over before the fourth. As I said a couple nights before, someone else needs to step up on this team for them to be successful not just pulling them out real late.
2. Orlando is the real deal. I think nobody can be surprised anymore if the Magic win the series. I hate Stan Van Gundy but he has done a great job so far in the first two games minus the big shot he allowed Bron to take tonight. In no possible way should you have let LBJ get a chance at a three, just surrender the two and go to OT, you had the momentum. I think I like Orlando's chances even more after the game.
3. Please dont over hype this sports media. Yes the game's best player hit the biggest shot of his life and the questions of being clutch were somewhat answered tonight although I still have a big problem letting a twenty-three point lead slip. This isnt even close to Larry Bird's steal or Jordan over Ehlo because both of those won the series for the team. Now if Cleveland goes on to win four straight games then I might be willing to say its in the top five and it propelled the Cavs the rest of the series. Until that happens, dont over hype wait and see what the outcome of the shot is.
-Charlie.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Eastern Conference Finals
I am sorry for being late on this but it was the first nice day in Milwaukee so I spent it on the beach instead of being at my computer. But let me tell you I am not surprised that the Magic took the game 1 of this series because the Cavaliers havent played a real team in the playoffs so far and they have had a long lay off. Anyways lets give my overall preview and my opinion still hasnt changed about this series.
Cleveland Cavaliers-
This team hasnt been touched so far and even with the game one lost with a great game by LeBron James dropping 49 points although it still wasnt enough to beat the Magic. The reason because the bench only scored only five points. That is big time trouble for the Cavs and if their bench doesnt score will be the death knell for them. James can drop forty points a game but if the rest of their players dont score will be the death of this team. In addition, LeBron will get the calls that any NBA superstar gets but it was proved tonight that it wasnt enough. Yes Delonte West hits big shots time after time and Mo Williams have been known to step up. But that needs to happen night in and night out in the Eastern Conference Finals if they want to get into the finals. Anderson Varejeo needs to have a good 8-10 points a game and Big Z as well for them to take control. In addition, their front line will need to neutralize Dwight Howard. I do worry that this team hasnt seen competition in three-four weeks is hurting them and Cavs fans can only hope that someone off that bench wakes up in game 2.
Orlando Magic-
We all saw it tonight about what needs to happen in this series for them to be successful and carry Ron Jeremy (hurts me to say this) to the NBA Finals. Dwight Howard has to score in the 20-30 range and take care of the men in the middle. I feel that Howard is overrated because all he can do is dunk the basketball; he has not post moves whatsoever and just muscles his way into the lane.Rashard Lewis is the absolute x-factor because he is four that can bring Varejeo out of the middle and drains threes in his face plus take him off the dribble to the lane. Lewis can be the best player on the court minus LBJ if he can rains threes like tonight. I said this in my game 7 article, Hedo Turkolgu has envoled as a player where he can help out a team and not fold like an origami like the times in Sacramento although that was the overall mantra of the team. The thing I like about the Magic more than any other team in the NBA is they have the tools that can hold the rest of the Cavaliers to nothing when LeBron goes off for forty a game.
I didnt expect Orlando to win tonight but I still think Cleveland wins in six because they have the will power to get this series done. I truly believe that they will blow out the Magic in game 2 and game 3 will be the tell-tale sign of this series. The Cavs need a "Steve Kerr" like player right now and they havent found it. I think they will and get it done. But trust both series will be epic.
-Charlie.
Cleveland Cavaliers-
This team hasnt been touched so far and even with the game one lost with a great game by LeBron James dropping 49 points although it still wasnt enough to beat the Magic. The reason because the bench only scored only five points. That is big time trouble for the Cavs and if their bench doesnt score will be the death knell for them. James can drop forty points a game but if the rest of their players dont score will be the death of this team. In addition, LeBron will get the calls that any NBA superstar gets but it was proved tonight that it wasnt enough. Yes Delonte West hits big shots time after time and Mo Williams have been known to step up. But that needs to happen night in and night out in the Eastern Conference Finals if they want to get into the finals. Anderson Varejeo needs to have a good 8-10 points a game and Big Z as well for them to take control. In addition, their front line will need to neutralize Dwight Howard. I do worry that this team hasnt seen competition in three-four weeks is hurting them and Cavs fans can only hope that someone off that bench wakes up in game 2.
Orlando Magic-
We all saw it tonight about what needs to happen in this series for them to be successful and carry Ron Jeremy (hurts me to say this) to the NBA Finals. Dwight Howard has to score in the 20-30 range and take care of the men in the middle. I feel that Howard is overrated because all he can do is dunk the basketball; he has not post moves whatsoever and just muscles his way into the lane.Rashard Lewis is the absolute x-factor because he is four that can bring Varejeo out of the middle and drains threes in his face plus take him off the dribble to the lane. Lewis can be the best player on the court minus LBJ if he can rains threes like tonight. I said this in my game 7 article, Hedo Turkolgu has envoled as a player where he can help out a team and not fold like an origami like the times in Sacramento although that was the overall mantra of the team. The thing I like about the Magic more than any other team in the NBA is they have the tools that can hold the rest of the Cavaliers to nothing when LeBron goes off for forty a game.
I didnt expect Orlando to win tonight but I still think Cleveland wins in six because they have the will power to get this series done. I truly believe that they will blow out the Magic in game 2 and game 3 will be the tell-tale sign of this series. The Cavs need a "Steve Kerr" like player right now and they havent found it. I think they will and get it done. But trust both series will be epic.
-Charlie.
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