2010/11 NBA Dec |OT| of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7lMXXaUaIo PEACE
- Thread starter reilo
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ryutaro's mama
Member
Why do I have the feeling peterb0y will be the only silenced one tonight?
Dreams-Visions
Member
GO CAVS.
I don't see a shaky Heat team with all kinds of internal turmoil standing up to whats looking like the worst NBA crowd of all-time.Cloudy said:
Even if the Heat were actually good, unless they put the game away in 2nd - which they won't because they never do, Cleveland has more than a fair shot to beat them.
ryutaro's mama
Member
K.Jack said:
You're the Cavs-Age version of LovingSteam.
Pessimistic to the end.
:lol
Dreams-Visions
Member
I didn't really see the challenge in his words, but:ryutaro's mama said:
1.) The Cavs will not get blown out by 20 points or something ridiculous like that. I expect a win and my confidence has no interest in wavering.
2.) The fans will be ridiculous throughout. They bought tickets to this game specifically for the purposes of letting LeBron have it for 2.5 hours.
Clevelanders will get their fucking money's worth.
BertramCooper
Banned
I'm a Cavs fan and I'm actually pretty unconcerned about whether we win or lose. It will be nice if we win, but I'm not expecting it. We're just not that good.
The main draw of the game is seeing Cavs fans deliver LeBron a message - in person. The guy still doesn't seem to get that he can't screw us over like he did and still be the self-proclaimed King of Northeast Ohio.
The main draw of the game is seeing Cavs fans deliver LeBron a message - in person. The guy still doesn't seem to get that he can't screw us over like he did and still be the self-proclaimed King of Northeast Ohio.
ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
I would try "Sidekick!" at Westbrook and Durant to try to get one of them to start chucking up bad shots and then try to prod Kristic by mentioning the chair throwing and yell "Syracuse!" at James Harden.
For Heat fans still wondering why (a) non-Cleveland fans are pissed that LBJ went to the Heat, or (b) why this affects his legacy:
A lot of fans of other teams were sick of LeBron already before The Decision. The media had been hyping him up since high school, and so far he had nothing to show for it. Sometimes, he stepped it up in big games. He had ludicrous talent... when he chose to. But too many times, he did something much worse than simply choke in the big games... he quit. He would quit on his coach, quit on his team, make excuses for his bad games, leave the court without shaking his opponent's hand... nothing too significant by itself, but it all built up to something much bigger, an image he was beginning to project: LeBron doesn't want it enough. LeBron's a quitter. LeBron doesn't have that competitive fire. And so on.
Besides his personality and off-court snafus (his obsession with stats, for example), a perhaps smaller contingent of NBA fans were annoyed at LeBron for basketball reasons. He'd been in the league seven years without significantly improving his free throw shooting, jump shot, or post game. He got calls like nobody's business, which annoyed everyone but Cleveland fans, but superstar calls are nothing new. And yes, he was still young and would have plenty of time to work on those things when his athleticism eventually failed him. And yes, he made a ton of very impressive shots, and yes, there have always been a ton of young players whose games rested almost entirely on their physical abilities, even moreso than James. But LeBron wasn't supposed to be like other players. He was supposed to be a unique specimen, a physical freak with a peerless work ethic who chose basketball because he wanted to become the best player ever. The unchanging nature of his game hurt that, and fed into the perception that perhaps he wasn't willing to do whatever it took to improve and win a championship.
Now, after seven years all this had gotten big enough that the media started taking notice. That's nothing new for great players who don't win rings. It happens even in sports like baseball, where a single player doesn't have nearly the impact he does in basketball, and it happened to all the legends who didn't start winning right out of the gate: Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, and even Jordan all got accused of being great individual players who couldn't take the biggest step and win it all. All of them eventually won, and (except sort of in Chamberlain's case) everyone pretty much forgot about it. If LeBron had stayed in Cleveland and eventually won a few rings, which was bound to happen as the league got older, we would similarly forget about LeBron's offcourt behavior and quitness, etc.
But LeBron couldn't wait. Maybe he really didn't think he could win a ring in the next ten years with Cleveland. Maybe he couldn't handle the pressure. Maybe he just wanted to chill with his friends. Whatever the reason, when LeBron made The Decision he accomplished several things at once. He made every man, woman and child in the state of Ohio his enemy. He increased his short-term chances of winning one or more rings (probably). He made a huge ass of himself in a spectacular display of lack of self-awareness. And, most importantly for his legacy, he invited the world to think whatever they wanted to think about his reasons for leaving--and to compare him to the greats and find him lacking.
The problem for LeBron's legacy wasn't just that he left Cleveland. It wasn't that he left Cleveland by free agency and not trade. It wasn't even that he left Cleveland by free agency, without telling them, and announced it on an hour-long broadcast. It was that he went to a team where he wouldn't be the de facto number one option, a team with three superstars. He could have been the man on any number of young teams one established superstar away from contention... the Knicks, the Nets, the Bulls. Instead, he hit the easy button and quit.
LeBron is still a great player with immense physical talents. If he wins rings in Miami, people will forget about a lot of the things they said about him before. In time, they'll forget about his personality and the impact on Cleveland will be forgotten by outsiders... if he wins. But people will always remember that he had the chance to be a be a legend, and he shrunk from that comparison.
Given all that, how can anyone outside the Heat not want them to fail? It would be the ultimate justice if, after leaving Cleveland on the grounds that he thought he couldn't win there, he didn't win in Miami either. It would make his gamble--which didn't seem like a gamble at the time--backfire on him more than anyone could possibly have imagined. Instead of merely not being in the "greatest of all time" conversation, he would be in the same conversation as Vince Carter--the good players who never were able to win as a number one option. The players who really couldn't take the next step. Far better than being remembered as a great player who couldn't win by himself, he would simply fade into history, never to be remembered at all. It would be sweet justice, and perhaps it would be a cautionary tale for other franchise players who decided to jump ship to what looked like greener pastures.
tl;dr: Hakeem's 2 rings >>> LeBron with 1+ rings >> Ewing's 0 rings >>>> Lebron with 0 rings = Wince.
A lot of fans of other teams were sick of LeBron already before The Decision. The media had been hyping him up since high school, and so far he had nothing to show for it. Sometimes, he stepped it up in big games. He had ludicrous talent... when he chose to. But too many times, he did something much worse than simply choke in the big games... he quit. He would quit on his coach, quit on his team, make excuses for his bad games, leave the court without shaking his opponent's hand... nothing too significant by itself, but it all built up to something much bigger, an image he was beginning to project: LeBron doesn't want it enough. LeBron's a quitter. LeBron doesn't have that competitive fire. And so on.
Besides his personality and off-court snafus (his obsession with stats, for example), a perhaps smaller contingent of NBA fans were annoyed at LeBron for basketball reasons. He'd been in the league seven years without significantly improving his free throw shooting, jump shot, or post game. He got calls like nobody's business, which annoyed everyone but Cleveland fans, but superstar calls are nothing new. And yes, he was still young and would have plenty of time to work on those things when his athleticism eventually failed him. And yes, he made a ton of very impressive shots, and yes, there have always been a ton of young players whose games rested almost entirely on their physical abilities, even moreso than James. But LeBron wasn't supposed to be like other players. He was supposed to be a unique specimen, a physical freak with a peerless work ethic who chose basketball because he wanted to become the best player ever. The unchanging nature of his game hurt that, and fed into the perception that perhaps he wasn't willing to do whatever it took to improve and win a championship.
Now, after seven years all this had gotten big enough that the media started taking notice. That's nothing new for great players who don't win rings. It happens even in sports like baseball, where a single player doesn't have nearly the impact he does in basketball, and it happened to all the legends who didn't start winning right out of the gate: Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, and even Jordan all got accused of being great individual players who couldn't take the biggest step and win it all. All of them eventually won, and (except sort of in Chamberlain's case) everyone pretty much forgot about it. If LeBron had stayed in Cleveland and eventually won a few rings, which was bound to happen as the league got older, we would similarly forget about LeBron's offcourt behavior and quitness, etc.
But LeBron couldn't wait. Maybe he really didn't think he could win a ring in the next ten years with Cleveland. Maybe he couldn't handle the pressure. Maybe he just wanted to chill with his friends. Whatever the reason, when LeBron made The Decision he accomplished several things at once. He made every man, woman and child in the state of Ohio his enemy. He increased his short-term chances of winning one or more rings (probably). He made a huge ass of himself in a spectacular display of lack of self-awareness. And, most importantly for his legacy, he invited the world to think whatever they wanted to think about his reasons for leaving--and to compare him to the greats and find him lacking.
The problem for LeBron's legacy wasn't just that he left Cleveland. It wasn't that he left Cleveland by free agency and not trade. It wasn't even that he left Cleveland by free agency, without telling them, and announced it on an hour-long broadcast. It was that he went to a team where he wouldn't be the de facto number one option, a team with three superstars. He could have been the man on any number of young teams one established superstar away from contention... the Knicks, the Nets, the Bulls. Instead, he hit the easy button and quit.
LeBron is still a great player with immense physical talents. If he wins rings in Miami, people will forget about a lot of the things they said about him before. In time, they'll forget about his personality and the impact on Cleveland will be forgotten by outsiders... if he wins. But people will always remember that he had the chance to be a be a legend, and he shrunk from that comparison.
Given all that, how can anyone outside the Heat not want them to fail? It would be the ultimate justice if, after leaving Cleveland on the grounds that he thought he couldn't win there, he didn't win in Miami either. It would make his gamble--which didn't seem like a gamble at the time--backfire on him more than anyone could possibly have imagined. Instead of merely not being in the "greatest of all time" conversation, he would be in the same conversation as Vince Carter--the good players who never were able to win as a number one option. The players who really couldn't take the next step. Far better than being remembered as a great player who couldn't win by himself, he would simply fade into history, never to be remembered at all. It would be sweet justice, and perhaps it would be a cautionary tale for other franchise players who decided to jump ship to what looked like greener pastures.
tl;dr: Hakeem's 2 rings >>> LeBron with 1+ rings >> Ewing's 0 rings >>>> Lebron with 0 rings = Wince.
Dreams-Visions
Member
*applause*Sharp said:
ryutaro's mama
Member
SamuraiX- said:
No, Cook is Alice the Goon from Popeye.
BertramCooper
Banned
In summary...Sharp said:
Fuck LeBron
and Maverick Carter, too.
:lol dude is crazy. Cheers wont be that bad?ryutaro's mama said:
C'mon son... Cleveland has been waiting for this night since the decision. Shit will deliver.
Bam Bam Baklava
Member
I haven't had popcorn in years but I'm literally going to have it ready for this game.
Dreams-Visions
Member
fa sho.Spooks said:
Forceatowulf
G***n S**n*bi
Oh. My. God.KingGondo said:Wrong.
Littlefoot, bitches.
ryutaro's mama
Member
Gigglepoo said:
You're not very good at this.
BertramCooper
Banned
You should cruise to a victory. You have no excuse not to.peterb0y said:
Perhaps if your trio of douchebags were more concerned about winning and less concerned about getting their coach fired, they'd actually be winning consistently.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Hey now! I haven't thrown one chair even with this current Lakers 4-game losing streak.ryutaro's mama said:
BertramCooper
Banned
So LeBron didn't have Maverick Carter plant a story trashing Spoelstra?peterb0y said:
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Truth hurts.peterb0y said:
Tonight's game the most important regular season game in the history of sports
:lol :lol
I know it's essentially a blogpost (posted to the SF Chronicle), but come on.
:lol :lol
I know it's essentially a blogpost (posted to the SF Chronicle), but come on.
I just want to know two things.
1. Will Lebron do the powder throw and what sort of reaction it gets when he does it.
2. If Lebron goes off for 40+, will he be low key about it, or will be chest thumping and giving stare downs to the crowd.
Lebron has maintained that he's grateful toward Cleveland and loves the fans, but if he starts giving mean mugs or anything like that it'll show he's just a true villain.
1. Will Lebron do the powder throw and what sort of reaction it gets when he does it.
2. If Lebron goes off for 40+, will he be low key about it, or will be chest thumping and giving stare downs to the crowd.
Lebron has maintained that he's grateful toward Cleveland and loves the fans, but if he starts giving mean mugs or anything like that it'll show he's just a true villain.
teruterubozu
Member
LeBron should take the mike and do a speech before tip-off.
Dreams-Visions
Member
he's right.ToxicAdam said:
LeBron actually succeeded in equaling or surpassing former Clevelander than Art Model on the "Most Hated" list.
summabitches.
hardly. after he left, he took damn near a month to acknowledge Cleveland. He acknowledged his "real fans" and Akron. That was about it until someone suggested that maybe it'd be good to say a kind word to the masses of Cleveland fans who had bought his jersey and defended him when he was deserving of scorn.Jeff-DSA said:
too little, too late.
Herpes Reasons
Banned
teruterubozu said:
Dreams-Visions
Member
viakado said:
teruterubozu
Member
ToxicAdam said:
Wade Boggs going to the Yankees should be bigger than Johnny Damon.
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