GustavBahler wrote:

Uptown wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:LeBron 7 pts in the 4th
Durant 17

Lebron didnt get any help. He cant do it all. Wade and Bosh were bricking shots. Bosh now thinks he is a 3pt shooter

He is a three time MVP, allegedly the best baller in the world. No excuses. He scored 18 total points in last year's finals in the 4th, Durant almost beat that in the first game of his first trip. Its always someone else's fault. The great ones take the initiative.

Right, no excuses...Lebron should have scored 106 pts and carried his team to victory all by himself regardless if Wade was bricking shot after shot and the 7ft Bosh was taking 25 footers. Your right, Lebron should have put that team on his shoulders and should have stopped Westbrook from penetrating to the basket at will, at the same time he should have scrambled out to stop Durant from getting open looks and then when Durant missed, he should have ran to the box and prevented Collison from getting offensive rebounds and tip outs. Then, he should have told Spo to stop switching every pick ala our beloved NYKincks and designed a better game plan....

Is he or is he not capable of putting the team on his back when the game is on the line? LeBron is averaging 3.6 pts a game in the 4th quarter in the finals career wise. But I guess these days you only have to play well for three quarters and then you can pile on one sorry excuse after another for not producing when it matters. This isn't just one game, its his entire NBA finals career up to this date. Stop coddling the man, he has plenty of people who are paid to do that.

First, we are talking about last nights game, right? Could Lebron have scored more pts in the 4th q last night? Perhaps, but it wouldn't have mattered because it still doesn't solve the problem on the other end. You have to get stops to win and the Heat had no answers for Westbrook penetrating at will to the basket. They swicthed every pick and was caught in mismatches with DWade on Durant and he shot over him at will. Ulimately, Lebron could have scored 12 pts in the 4th Q and they still lose because of a poor game-plan and the lack of execution on the defensive and offensive end.

gunsnewing wrote:Yes Gustav but the plan was to win because of the big 3 not to come to miami and have to carry the team like in cleveland. Wade & Bosh get too much of a pass. It just hasnt worked. They clearly didnt factor in wade's decline because of the wear & tear with his style of play and they clearly misjudged Bosh s ability as a frontcourt player. Leaving them to rely on joel and turiaf. And terrible vet signings like bibby & miller

I'm not saying that Wade and Bosh should get a pass, not at all. I'm saying that LeBron shouldn't get one either. Whenever he comes up short, I always hear another player or the coach mentioned in the same sentence.

I agree that LeBron isn't the only one who should shoulder the blame, just that great players live for moments like these and Kevin Durant in his first game in the finals showed what greatness really is. LeBron has yet to do that. He might in the future, I hope for his sake he does because it will tarnish his legacy if he doesn't

As for Bibby, I'm glad it didn't work out there or we wouldn't have our first playoff win in more than a decade. Never forget Bibbsanity!

Uptown wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

Uptown wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:LeBron 7 pts in the 4th
Durant 17

Lebron didnt get any help. He cant do it all. Wade and Bosh were bricking shots. Bosh now thinks he is a 3pt shooter

He is a three time MVP, allegedly the best baller in the world. No excuses. He scored 18 total points in last year's finals in the 4th, Durant almost beat that in the first game of his first trip. Its always someone else's fault. The great ones take the initiative.

Right, no excuses...Lebron should have scored 106 pts and carried his team to victory all by himself regardless if Wade was bricking shot after shot and the 7ft Bosh was taking 25 footers. Your right, Lebron should have put that team on his shoulders and should have stopped Westbrook from penetrating to the basket at will, at the same time he should have scrambled out to stop Durant from getting open looks and then when Durant missed, he should have ran to the box and prevented Collison from getting offensive rebounds and tip outs. Then, he should have told Spo to stop switching every pick ala our beloved NYKincks and designed a better game plan....

Is he or is he not capable of putting the team on his back when the game is on the line? LeBron is averaging 3.6 pts a game in the 4th quarter in the finals career wise. But I guess these days you only have to play well for three quarters and then you can pile on one sorry excuse after another for not producing when it matters. This isn't just one game, its his entire NBA finals career up to this date. Stop coddling the man, he has plenty of people who are paid to do that.

First, we are talking about last nights game, right? Could Lebron have scored more pts in the 4th q last night? Perhaps, but it wouldn't have mattered because it still doesn't solve the problem on the other end. You have to get stops to win and the Heat had no answers for Westbrook penetrating at will to the basket. They swicthed every pick and was caught in mismatches with DWade on Durant and he shot over him at will. Ulimately, Lebron could have scored 12 pts in the 4th Q and they still lose because of a poor game-plan and the lack of execution on the defensive and offensive end.

You're right uptown, he didn't lose the game by himself, and its possible that they still could have lost with a big 4th quarter from James. My point is that we didn't find out because of his making a career out of coming up short in the 4th quarter in the finals.

You asked me before if he played well for the entire game and lost would I still blame him for the loss? I answered "of course not" but that's not what happened. he takes an outsized share of the blame by virtue of the fact that he is supposed to be the best in the league.

As for Spoelstra, if he gets out coached again in the finals I would be surprised if he kept his job. He just doesn't seem ready for prime time....yet.

Miami is not deep enough and OKC is stacked.

How do they afford to pay them all? Not sure they can.

Be prudent to start trading a piece here and there for draft picks and even incubate some eurotalent. Spurs kept a run going for 15 years this way. If they can draft well there is no reason they can't stay relevant for years to come. not every year, but top 10 team with some brilliant stretches.

Miami went epic. Can't say I blame them for trying.

if Miami can't win this one might not be on Lebron.

CP3 is better then Pippen but Pip was a world class lock down defender which ended the Lakers run. Magic Johnson was contained. Jordan had plenty of help. Horace Grant, Cartwright, Paxon, Kerr, BJ, Rodman, and the list goes on. Phil Jax had his stars but he was amazing at getting the others to play up. Glenn Rice was huge next to Kobe and Shaq.

Look that the rosters. Miami is not deep.

Uptown wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Difference is durant has westbrook whereas lebron has a declining wade and no center like ibaka

Simply put, OKC is just a deeper and better team than Miami. I'd be a little suprised if the Heat win this series.

+1 but I'd be shocked if Miami wins the series.

GustavBahler wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:Perkins might actually sweat more than Ewing.

Blasphemy, Ewing is in the sweat HOF.