Posted by Pharzeone:

Lebron being well Lebron:
"It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them," he said. "I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand."

Zeke would be proud. I like the self proclaim winner line too. The only thing missing is speaking in the 3rd person. Seb, you have to explain this one away too.

Lebron is taking Isiah's pills.

I like the magic right now but lest we forget how prior to the Orlando series a lot of folks had already given the cavs either a place in he finals or the title (I was not in that camp, btw).

Some interesting matchups, which as djsu has correctly said before is much of what contributes to series wins. I don't see Howard being able to do as well because of having to spend a lot of energy on d with the laker bigs. Alston will also cause the lakers trouble and is someone to watch for.

I can see the magic pulling it out in 6 but I'll take la in 7.

LaBron is still 24-yers old baby.
My son in 24 and he sometimes act like this so no surprise.
He will grow up in 2-3 years to became a men.
Plus he is from provincial place; not from NY, LA, or even Boston.
So he is even more immature.
He needs some bigger place to grow as a man and a player.
This is Kobe Era, and LaBron Era is yet to come... but it's coming.
The only question is which team fans will selebrate and which will suffer into it?
Send Closk is ticking...

[Edited by - arkrud on 06-01-2009 5:26 PM]

LA's got a much deeper bench than ORL does w/Odom, Farmar, Browne, Vujacic & Walton... ORL can't match their depth, which is why i think LA takes this... plus they have Kobe & he's been there & done that.

[Edited by - TMS on 06-01-2009 3:54 PM]

Posted by loweyecue:

What Lebron did was stupid and selfish, but his teammates didnt put any effort into this series that I could discern. It was Lebron vs Magic all the way. But even then what he did is unforgivable.

i agree that Lebron was left hanging out there to dry, but it wasn't like his teammates weren't trying out there... they're just not all that good of a supporting cast to begin with... IMO it's bad form to show up your opponents & even worse to show up your own teammates... walking out like that sorta accomplished both, even tho Lebron probably didn't purposely try to do so.

whatever, he's gonna learn that failure builds character... Jordan didn't win his 1st title until he was 28... Lebron's still got a ways to go before he realizes his awesome potential... i just wish people would allow him to realize it before they crown him the best ever w/all this silly hype that he hasn't earned yet.

Jameer Nelson might play in the finals

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—Jameer Nelson(notes) can shoot again. His injured right shoulder can take contact, and he’s been cleared by doctors to practice.

Though that doesn’t add up to Orlando’s All-Star point guard being healthy enough to play in the NBA finals, it does create a dilemma for the Magic’s front office.

Nelson said Monday that he has been playing full-court games, participating in contact drills and will practice with the Magic for the first time since tearing the labrum in his right shoulder Feb. 2 against the Dallas Mavericks.

“I’m a competitor,” Nelson said. “No matter what the situation is, I always think I can go out there and get contact.”

He had what was then called season-ending surgery Feb. 19. Nelson’s rehabilitation was supposed to take at least another two months. Game 1 of the finals is Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Magic general manager Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy expressed doubt Monday whether Nelson could seriously return for the finals. Smith, who had repeatedly said Nelson will not play this season, said Monday a quicker recovery and the chance of winning a championship has forced him to at least take a look at Nelson.

“It’s still no in my mind,” Smith said, adding that the team will explore the idea even if Nelson doesn’t return for Game 1. “There’s a very smidgen of a chance he can play.”

Orlando was 2-0 against the Lakers this season. Nelson was Orlando’s leading scorer in both those games, averaging 27.5 points. He has been lobbying the Magic for a chance at playing since the playoffs began, with each round the team advances the idea—and the talk—of him returning growing.

But Nelson would likely just be a shell of his All-Star form. He hasn’t played in four months, and even he admits it will be difficult to convince the training staff and coaches that he isn’t risking future damage.

“A miracle has to happen,” Nelson said.

The Magic had the best record in the NBA in January behind Nelson, who was having a career season. He averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 42 games this season.

But their title hopes took a major hit after he was injured. A trade-deadline deal that brought Rafer Alston(notes) from Houston largely saved the Magic’s season, allowing the rotation to remain the same and Anthony Johnson(notes) to continue to provide solid play as Alston’s backup.

The formula was enough to win only the franchise’s second Eastern Conference championship, knocking off the defending champion Boston Celtics and eliminating MVP LeBron James(notes) and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Van Gundy said disrupting that chemistry would be a concern.

“You always worry about that,” Van Gundy said. “But that’s just the decision that I’ll have to make after a couple of days and he’s practicing. … But to me, four months is a long time to be out to have two practices and play in the NBA finals.”

Nelson has been lauded by players and coaches during the playoffs for his leadership. He has been sitting between the coaching staff and players on the Magic bench, offering pointers during timeouts and acting like “a fifth or sixth assistant coach,” Smith said.

But Smith worried from the beginning that Nelson would feel excluded. The two met before the playoffs to make sure Nelson wasn’t tempted to rush back early.

“I just told him, ‘Don’t fall prey to the trap,”’ Smith said. “The trap is, you want your team to do well, but you don’t want them to do too well because you feel like you’re not needed or missed.”

Teammates say they would welcome his return.

Dwight Howard(notes), one of Nelson’s closest friends, said Nelson is a “fearless” player who always wants to do what’s best for the team. But even Howard said Nelson’s comeback might be taking too much of a chance.

“I just want him healthy,” Howard said. “He doesn’t have to play if he doesn’t feel up to it. I’d rather see him healthy more than anything because his career in the long run is more important. This is just one series.”

After thinking about how Cleveland got exposed by a lack of size on the defensive perimeter it explains to me why Jared Jefferies has value. A Jefferies type play would have been able to defend either Lewis or Turkalou. Who knows Bron Bron could still be playing if he had one.

Posted by MaTT4281:

I remember a quick interview with Jameer during the conference finals where he was asked when he might return. He said he was targeting preseason, and even that was on the optimistic side. I don't expect to see him at all this series.

really? then why are they saying all of this stuff, to stick a twig in the lakers' spokes leading up to the finals? you think it's a war tactic?

even if nelson plays, is he really 100%?

not saying he can't contribute, but sometimes there is also an issue where a team is in a groove and the dynamics change which makes it complicated.

i don't envy stan van gundy in this situation at all.

[Edited by - PresIke on 06-03-2009 11:27 PM]