*NBA THREAD* Abe will be missed (2 Viewers)

[Green94]

Bulls finished with a winning record on the circus road trip for the first time since the dynasty. Yet, in the next 6 games they host Orlando, OKC, LAL and travel to Boston. Boozer is practicing and clear to play this week with his first game back unknown currently. The are in 3rd place in the East at 9-6 having played the toughest schedule so far according to opponent's winning percentage. Also, the Bulls have played 9 of their 15 games on the road.

GREAT road trip, one of the best since the days of the Jordan era. DRose playing out of his mind and even CJ Watson filling in against the Nuggets. How Thibs didn't double Melo at the end of that game still boggles my mind.

 

[culdeus]

Went to the Dallas/Heat game last night. Was completely underwhelmed with the Heat. Wade looks slow and LeBron mainly looks pissed off most of the game. Bosh looked fantastic and they got contributions on offense from many role players. The mismatches on the other end are just too much for them to contend with. Conditioning seems also to be a major concern.

 

[boubucarow]

Bulls finished with a winning record on the circus road trip for the first time since the dynasty. Yet, in the next 6 games they host Orlando, OKC, LAL and travel to Boston. Boozer is practicing and clear to play this week with his first game back unknown currently. The are in 3rd place in the East at 9-6 having played the toughest schedule so far according to opponent's winning percentage. Also, the Bulls have played 9 of their 15 games on the road.

GREAT road trip, one of the best since the days of the Jordan era. DRose playing out of his mind and even CJ Watson filling in against the Nuggets. How Thibs didn't double Melo at the end of that game still boggles my mind.

I couldn't believe Deng was so far off of him. Soon we get to see how Boozer fits in and if he buys in to Thib as much as his teammates.

 

[JMon348]

Just Lebron being Lebron

I would like the entire story on this too.

 

[JMon348]

Just Lebron being Lebron

I would like the entire story on this too.

 

[Britney Spears]

short-sided

Come on.

 

[timschochet]

I love how everytime the Lakers lose, the OP changes the subtitle.

 

[Kev4029]

I love how everytime the Lakers lose, the OP changes the subtitle.

I think its worth a chuckle usually. The 5 Lakers fans take offense to it and all the rest of us get a little laugh, I hope he keeps changing the subtitle.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

Sources: Erik Spoelstra frustrating Heat

Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious."

"He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."

Its a little earlier than expected but its no surprise that LeBron, I mean "sources" are fueling the fire Spoelstra flames. Somebody has to be the scapegoat for his failures. Link

 

[Gr00vus]

Who's expecting Cleveland to win on Thursday? I'm not quite there yet, but it's not as crazy as it sounded a month ago.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Who's expecting Cleveland to win on Thursday? I'm not quite there yet, but it's not as crazy as it sounded a month ago.

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals. I think they'll win.

 

[Gr00vus]

Who's expecting Cleveland to win on Thursday? I'm not quite there yet, but it's not as crazy as it sounded a month ago.

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals. I think they'll win.

Only if LeBron treats it like game 6 of the eastern conference semis.

 

[the moops]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

 

[Gr00vus]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Give me a break.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Sources: Erik Spoelstra frustrating Heat

Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious."

"He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."

Its a little earlier than expected but its no surprise that LeBron, I mean "sources" are fueling the fire Spoelstra flames. Somebody has to be the scapegoat for his failures. Link

LeBron has shown little respect for any of the NBA coaches he's had. Would this change with Riley? I have no idea.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Who's expecting Cleveland to win on Thursday? I'm not quite there yet, but it's not as crazy as it sounded a month ago.

I have no idea how they are winning games to begin with. I've only watched them once this year and that was without Varejao and Mo but holy hell did they look awful. Should be a fun game though.

 

[the moops]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Give me a break.

:(

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Give me a break.

It is pretty pathetic. Cleveland should just mimic the Boston faithful when they fell out of contention.

 

[Bobcat10]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Hope you're fishing, bud.

 

[Gadfly]

I forgot about the Lakers game until I saw this thread title. Then I recorded the replay and have to say I didn't see Kobe go into chucker mode at all. He played well to get the Lakers back in the game, including some nice passes. Unfortunately, he missed a pretty good look at a 3 to tie the game. Pau getting abused by Hibbert was the real problem.

 

[Kev4029]

I forgot about the Lakers game until I saw this thread title. Then I recorded the replay and have to say I didn't see Kobe go into chucker mode at all. He played well to get the Lakers back in the game, including some nice passes. Unfortunately, he missed a pretty good look at a 3 to tie the game. Pau getting abused by Hibbert was the real problem.

Clutch.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Hollinger has a nice post up about the Heat's struggles.

Summary: their struggles are on the Big Three- everyone else is performing to expectations (expectations that projected to 60+ wins using Hollinger's numbers). The Big Three are shooting poorly, turning the ball over way too much, and falling off in the hustle stats.

Link

 

[Masked Vigilante]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

What does Lebron's semen taste like?

 

[Moe.]

Hollinger has a nice post up about the Heat's struggles.

Summary: their struggles are on the Big Three- everyone else is performing to expectations (expectations that projected to 60+ wins using Hollinger's numbers). The Big Three are shooting poorly, turning the ball over way too much, and falling off in the hustle stats.

Link

I don't think anyone would ever confuse LeBatard with a basketball expert but I did enjoy his article on Wade. Link.

 

[Moe.]

Nice win for the Thunder tonight against the Hornets. Westbrook is out of his mind right now, best player on the team so far this season.

 

[JMon348]

Just Lebron being Lebron

Bump, maybe the ##### will answer.

 

[Britney Spears]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Not a guy like that though.

 

[Britney Spears]

Hollinger has a nice post up about the Heat's struggles.

Summary: their struggles are on the Big Three- everyone else is performing to expectations (expectations that projected to 60+ wins using Hollinger's numbers). The Big Three are shooting poorly, turning the ball over way too much, and falling off in the hustle stats.

Link

LeBron is averaging over 4 turnovers per game. He had 7 tonight. The team does not mesh at all at this point.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Hollinger has a nice post up about the Heat's struggles.

Summary: their struggles are on the Big Three- everyone else is performing to expectations (expectations that projected to 60+ wins using Hollinger's numbers). The Big Three are shooting poorly, turning the ball over way too much, and falling off in the hustle stats.

Link

I don't think anyone would ever confuse LeBatard with a basketball expert but I did enjoy his article on Wade. Link.

LeBatard talked to Bill Simmons on his "B.S. Report" ESPN podcast today. One hour entirely about the Heat. Good fun for those of us who like this sort of thing.

 

[the moops]

It is pretty pathetic. Cleveland should just mimic the Boston faithful when they fell out of contention.

I'm trying to figure this out, but man, I am struggling.How does Lebron leaving Cleveland and the fans reactions have anything to do with Kobe playing in Boston and getting MVP chants?

Did you just feel the need to shove your Kobe/Laker love in the middle of this Lebron/Cleveland talk for some reason?

 

[Juxtatarot]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Give me a break.

You seem like a smart guy and obviously follow the NBA. I'm sure you understand the differences between how LeBron and the Heat handled things this offseason and the typical free agent signing.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

It is pretty pathetic. Cleveland should just mimic the Boston faithful when they fell out of contention.

What's the appropriate reaction for Cavalier fans? Disappear for twenty years and put on Kobe Bryant jerseys? Making fun of the fairweather Celtics fan base is completely unrelated to Kobe and the Laker's greatness, but thanks for bringing the Champions up again.

 

[Juxtatarot]

It is pretty pathetic. Cleveland should just mimic the Boston faithful when they fell out of contention.

You realize that the Celtics fan base weren't the ones chanting, right? Stuff like this happens all the time for popular visiting teams once the outcome's been decided.

 

[the moops]

The Cavs players and fans will treat this game like it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

That is pathetic sounding.Man, the guy left to play for another team. It happens every year. Get over it Cleveland.

Give me a break.

You seem like a smart guy and obviously follow the NBA. I'm sure you understand the differences between how LeBron and the Heat handled things this offseason and the typical free agent signing.

It is different because it was Lebron.Cleveland still needs to get over it though.

 

[JMon348]

Wow, everyone needs to read Wojo's new article on yahoo. He just destroyed what was left of Lebron being a media darling. Wojo is one of the most well respect writers in the NBA so all his claims I believe 1000%. When this article gets around this thing will blow up. Will link and copy when I get to a desktop.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Wow, everyone needs to read Wojo's new article on yahoo. He just destroyed what was left of Lebron being a media darling. Wojo is one of the most well respect writers in the NBA so all his claims I believe 1000%. When this article gets around this thing will blow up. Will link and copy when I get to a desktop.

Oh, please. I have no doubt LeBron is a complete tool, but a column by this guy certainly shouldn't have value to any reasonable person. The guy's an obsessed LeBron hater, and his column is a total b.s. piece with no actual quotes or reporting.Look at his column history. It's so jam-packed with anti-LeBron rants (probably intended to generate web hits) that it's kind of pathetic. Let me know when he revisits that "LeBron is dragging Chris Paul down" column now that Paul is having a great season and maybe I'll give him a little more credit.In other news- I watched the Wiz-Heat last night. I had no idea that the NBA schedules exhibition games in the middle of the regular season! Or at least I assume it was a meaningless exhibition, since about a third of the seats were empty and the fans that did make it were sitting on their hands.

 

[JMon348]

Link

Erik Spoelstra reached out to Mike Brown over the summer and searched for insight into both basketball’s blessing and curse: Coaching the two-time MVP LeBron James.

Over and over, Brown uprooted his offensive system to appease James only to have it never work. Brown praised James’ character publicly when he would’ve preferred to have been truthful about James’ narcissism. James defied Brown in public and private, disregarded his play calls to freelance his offense, and belittled him without consequence within the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Meticulous in his preparation, Spoelstra spoke with several past coaches, and league sources said a clear and unequivocal picture appeared on how to proceed: End the cycle of enabling with James and hold him accountable.

And surprise, surprise: LeBron James has responded with a test of his own organizational strength, pushing to see how far the Heat will bend to his will. This season, James is hearing a word seldom uttered to him in Cleveland: “No.” And it keeps coming out of the coach’s mouth, keeps getting between the King and what he wants.

Can I stay overnight to party in New Orleans after a preseason game?

Can I play the clown in practice?

Can I get out of playing point guard?

No. No. No.

Wait, what?

No, LeBron.

No.

Even within a month of the season’s sideways 9-8 start, the NBA witnessed a predictable play out of the James-Maverick Carter playbook on Monday morning. They planted a story and exposed themselves again as jokers of the highest order. They care so little about anyone but themselves. Still, no one’s surprised that they’d stoop so low, so fast into this supposed historic 73-victory season and NBA Finals sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. They want Spoelstra – and Pat Riley – to bend to them, to bow to the King the way everyone has before them.

Nevertheless, here’s what was surprising – even troubling – when the Heat talked on Monday before a victory over the Washington Wizards: In the blink of an eye, Dwyane Wade(notes) signed up with Team LeBron to scapegoat and sell out Spoelstra.

“I’m not going to say he’s ‘my guy,’ but he’s my coach,” Wade said.

Wade’s always been loyal, and that’s why it was so surprising to witness him bail this fast on Spoelstra, whom Wade knows too well. Spoelstra is a good NBA coach. Everyone knows that Wade isn’t a star who plays hard all the time, knows that he takes plays off on defense. They know that Spoelstra did a terrific job coaching 90 victories out of that flawed Miami roster the previous two seasons.

As much as ever, the Heat need Wade to influence James. Only now, it’s clear James is influencing Wade. With Udonis Haslem(notes) out for the regular season, the locker room misses one of its vital voices. Now, Wade is struggling on the floor and James is the devil on his shoulder, whispering that he doesn’t need to be accountable, that there’s an easy fall guy for everyone: Spoelstra.

Those who know Wade well, who care about him, were disappointed Monday. When Spoelstra needed Wade to stand up for him, Wade never shrunk so small. Spoelstra was Wade’s guy, but Wade’s finding it much easier to align himself with James’ coward act than do the right thing. This was something that you’d expect out of Chris Bosh(notes), who’s never been a leader, never a winner, but Wade?

“He knows better than this,” one of Wade’s former assistant coaches said. “I’m not saying he hasn’t changed some, but he knows right from wrong. And this is wrong.”

The fundamental problem for Spoelstra isn’t that James doesn’t respect coaches – he doesn’t respect people. Give LeBron this, though: He’s learned to live one way with the television light on, and another with it off. He treats everyone like a servant, because that’s what the system taught him as a teenage prodigy. To James, the coach isn’t there to mold him into the team dynamic. He’s there to serve him.

Wade was one of the Team USA players who’d watch incredulously as James would throw a bowl of fries back at a renowned chef and bark, “They’re cold!” Or throw his sweaty practice jersey across the court and command a team administrator to go pick it up. Everyone wants James to grow out of it, but he’s never showed much of an inclination for self-examination and improvement. And he’s never surrounded himself with people who’d push him to do so.

What’s more, the timing of this leak was no accident, because James and his business manager had to like the idea of someone else going on trial this week. When the public wanted to talk about James’ return to Cleveland, about the callous way with which he left, about the disjointed start in Miami, they thrust everything onto Spoelstra.

Part of them believed they could deflect Hell Week at home in Ohio, and part of them probably believed they could indeed align the public with them against Spoelstra.

After all, the coach had it coming to him. Of this, LeBron James was sure. Spoelstra had the audacity to do something that Mike Brown never had ownership’s backing to do in Cleveland: To push James, call him out, coach him.

The funniest part had to be how they leaked the idea that Erik Spoelstra was panicking now, behaving like he feared for his job. Truth be told, he’s been behaving in the opposite way. Spoelstra isn’t running from LeBron, but running at him.

Someone’s scared here, but it isn’t the coach.

 

[the moops]

Oh, please. I have no doubt LeBron is a complete tool, but a column by this guy certainly shouldn't have value to any reasonable person. The guy's an obsessed LeBron hater, and his column is a total b.s. piece with no actual quotes or reporting.Look at his column history. It's so jam-packed with anti-LeBron rants (probably intended to generate web hits) that it's kind of pathetic.

I'm not sure how anyone can read his columns about Lebron these days as anything but a pathetic attempt to get noticed. And it's too bad, because he is one of the best NBA writers out there.

 

[Kev4029]

Link

Erik Spoelstra reached out to Mike Brown over the summer and searched for insight into both basketball’s blessing and curse: Coaching the two-time MVP LeBron James.

Over and over, Brown uprooted his offensive system to appease James only to have it never work. Brown praised James’ character publicly when he would’ve preferred to have been truthful about James’ narcissism. James defied Brown in public and private, disregarded his play calls to freelance his offense, and belittled him without consequence within the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Meticulous in his preparation, Spoelstra spoke with several past coaches, and league sources said a clear and unequivocal picture appeared on how to proceed: End the cycle of enabling with James and hold him accountable.

And surprise, surprise: LeBron James has responded with a test of his own organizational strength, pushing to see how far the Heat will bend to his will. This season, James is hearing a word seldom uttered to him in Cleveland: “No.” And it keeps coming out of the coach’s mouth, keeps getting between the King and what he wants.

Can I stay overnight to party in New Orleans after a preseason game?

Can I play the clown in practice?

Can I get out of playing point guard?

No. No. No.

Wait, what?

No, LeBron.

No.

Even within a month of the season’s sideways 9-8 start, the NBA witnessed a predictable play out of the James-Maverick Carter playbook on Monday morning. They planted a story and exposed themselves again as jokers of the highest order. They care so little about anyone but themselves. Still, no one’s surprised that they’d stoop so low, so fast into this supposed historic 73-victory season and NBA Finals sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. They want Spoelstra – and Pat Riley – to bend to them, to bow to the King the way everyone has before them.

Nevertheless, here’s what was surprising – even troubling – when the Heat talked on Monday before a victory over the Washington Wizards: In the blink of an eye, Dwyane Wade(notes) signed up with Team LeBron to scapegoat and sell out Spoelstra.

“I’m not going to say he’s ‘my guy,’ but he’s my coach,” Wade said.

Wade’s always been loyal, and that’s why it was so surprising to witness him bail this fast on Spoelstra, whom Wade knows too well. Spoelstra is a good NBA coach. Everyone knows that Wade isn’t a star who plays hard all the time, knows that he takes plays off on defense. They know that Spoelstra did a terrific job coaching 90 victories out of that flawed Miami roster the previous two seasons.

As much as ever, the Heat need Wade to influence James. Only now, it’s clear James is influencing Wade. With Udonis Haslem(notes) out for the regular season, the locker room misses one of its vital voices. Now, Wade is struggling on the floor and James is the devil on his shoulder, whispering that he doesn’t need to be accountable, that there’s an easy fall guy for everyone: Spoelstra.

Those who know Wade well, who care about him, were disappointed Monday. When Spoelstra needed Wade to stand up for him, Wade never shrunk so small. Spoelstra was Wade’s guy, but Wade’s finding it much easier to align himself with James’ coward act than do the right thing. This was something that you’d expect out of Chris Bosh(notes), who’s never been a leader, never a winner, but Wade?

“He knows better than this,” one of Wade’s former assistant coaches said. “I’m not saying he hasn’t changed some, but he knows right from wrong. And this is wrong.”

The fundamental problem for Spoelstra isn’t that James doesn’t respect coaches – he doesn’t respect people. Give LeBron this, though: He’s learned to live one way with the television light on, and another with it off. He treats everyone like a servant, because that’s what the system taught him as a teenage prodigy. To James, the coach isn’t there to mold him into the team dynamic. He’s there to serve him.

Wade was one of the Team USA players who’d watch incredulously as James would throw a bowl of fries back at a renowned chef and bark, “They’re cold!” Or throw his sweaty practice jersey across the court and command a team administrator to go pick it up. Everyone wants James to grow out of it, but he’s never showed much of an inclination for self-examination and improvement. And he’s never surrounded himself with people who’d push him to do so.

What’s more, the timing of this leak was no accident, because James and his business manager had to like the idea of someone else going on trial this week. When the public wanted to talk about James’ return to Cleveland, about the callous way with which he left, about the disjointed start in Miami, they thrust everything onto Spoelstra.

Part of them believed they could deflect Hell Week at home in Ohio, and part of them probably believed they could indeed align the public with them against Spoelstra.

After all, the coach had it coming to him. Of this, LeBron James was sure. Spoelstra had the audacity to do something that Mike Brown never had ownership’s backing to do in Cleveland: To push James, call him out, coach him.

The funniest part had to be how they leaked the idea that Erik Spoelstra was panicking now, behaving like he feared for his job. Truth be told, he’s been behaving in the opposite way. Spoelstra isn’t running from LeBron, but running at him.

Someone’s scared here, but it isn’t the coach.

This is a garbage piece of reporting. I'm sure some of this stuff is true, but most of it is just opinion or assumptions that he is stating as truth. I'm not about to side with Lebron anymore because he is clearly a pampered doosh, but I also think Wojnarowski is a terrible reporter/columnist. I can't believe people like him or Chris Sheridan can get into the national media, they constantly spout options as facts and it encourages more of these #### "journalists" to bring down sports journalism.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

What specific part of the piece are you guys disputing? LeBron being coddled in Cleveland was more or less a direct quote from Dan Gilbert. His beef with Spoelstra was reported by the same writer who broke the LeBron to the Heat story. I don't think Woj even has any new original LeBron material in this story. If you threw out the writing of every national writer that has a written a negative piece on LeBron since "The Decision" you would hardly have anybody to read anymore. Give it a few more weeks and even the "stat guys", his base will go negative when they have to explain why their PER dream team has failed to match their various groundbreaking regular season projection modules.

 

[TobiasFunke]

What specific part of the piece are you guys disputing? LeBron being coddled in Cleveland was more or less a direct quote from Dan Gilbert. His beef with Spoelstra was reported by the same writer who broke the LeBron to the Heat story. I don't think Woj even has any new original LeBron material in this story. If you threw out the writing of every national writer that has a written a negative piece on LeBron since "The Decision" you would hardly have anybody to read anymore. Give it a few more weeks and even the "stat guys", his base will go negative when they have to explain why their PER dream team has failed to match their various groundbreaking regular season projection modules.

We're disputing the characterization of it by JMon.It's a terribly written piece, clearly intended to be a hack job. To give you an example that doesn't even have anything to do with LeBron- he unfairly characterizes Wade's quote about Spoelstra not being "his guy" as throwing Spoelstra under the bus. The quote does nothing of the sort, even without context (maybe Wade was joking that he and Spoelstra don't exactly hit the clubs together, or maybe he was saying that he didn't hand-pick him). To give you another- he refers to the Heat's supposed 73 win season capped with a sweep of the Lakers; I never saw a single prediction anywhere close to that. His agenda is obvious. And it's not going to change any minds about LeBron. Most people, myself included already think is a selfish tool who doesn't "get it."

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

What specific part of the piece are you guys disputing? LeBron being coddled in Cleveland was more or less a direct quote from Dan Gilbert. His beef with Spoelstra was reported by the same writer who broke the LeBron to the Heat story. I don't think Woj even has any new original LeBron material in this story. If you threw out the writing of every national writer that has a written a negative piece on LeBron since "The Decision" you would hardly have anybody to read anymore. Give it a few more weeks and even the "stat guys", his base will go negative when they have to explain why their PER dream team has failed to match their various groundbreaking regular season projection modules.

We're disputing the characterization of it by JMon.It's a terribly written piece, clearly intended to be a hack job. To give you an example that doesn't even have anything to do with LeBron- he unfairly characterizes Wade's quote about Spoelstra not being "his guy" as throwing Spoelstra under the bus. The quote does nothing of the sort, even without context (maybe Wade was joking that he and Spoelstra don't exactly hit the clubs together, or maybe he was saying that he didn't hand-pick him). To give you another- he refers to the Heat's supposed 73 win season capped with a sweep of the Lakers; I never saw a single prediction anywhere close to that. His agenda is obvious. And it's not going to change any minds about LeBron. Most people, myself included already think is a selfish tool who doesn't "get it."

I don't know about the specifics about Wade which is why I did not include him in my post. He may have been unfair to him, but can't really say either way without the context. I believe 73 wins and a sweep of the Lakers is consistent with this. It's not a hack job if its true.

 

[TobiasFunke]

What specific part of the piece are you guys disputing? LeBron being coddled in Cleveland was more or less a direct quote from Dan Gilbert. His beef with Spoelstra was reported by the same writer who broke the LeBron to the Heat story. I don't think Woj even has any new original LeBron material in this story. If you threw out the writing of every national writer that has a written a negative piece on LeBron since "The Decision" you would hardly have anybody to read anymore. Give it a few more weeks and even the "stat guys", his base will go negative when they have to explain why their PER dream team has failed to match their various groundbreaking regular season projection modules.

We're disputing the characterization of it by JMon.It's a terribly written piece, clearly intended to be a hack job. To give you an example that doesn't even have anything to do with LeBron- he unfairly characterizes Wade's quote about Spoelstra not being "his guy" as throwing Spoelstra under the bus. The quote does nothing of the sort, even without context (maybe Wade was joking that he and Spoelstra don't exactly hit the clubs together, or maybe he was saying that he didn't hand-pick him). To give you another- he refers to the Heat's supposed 73 win season capped with a sweep of the Lakers; I never saw a single prediction anywhere close to that. His agenda is obvious. And it's not going to change any minds about LeBron. Most people, myself included already think is a selfish tool who doesn't "get it."

I don't know about the specifics about Wade which is why I did not include him in my post. He may have been unfair to him, but can't really say either way without the context. I believe 73 wins and a sweep of the Lakers is consistent with this. It's not a hack job if its true.

You're not really getting it. The point is that it's a poorly written hack job, yet JMon thought it was a revolutionary piece that would change perceptions of LeBron and would "blow up." He's totally wrong. That's what we're saying. The context-free, unfairly interpreted Wade quote was just one of many examples of why it's a poorly written hack job.

And not one word of your reply to me replies to anything I said, except for the thing about nobody predicting a 73 win season and a Finals sweep, which you replied to by posting something that does not include a prediction of anything close to a 73 win season and a Finals sweep. Other than that, great post.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

What specific part of the piece are you guys disputing? LeBron being coddled in Cleveland was more or less a direct quote from Dan Gilbert. His beef with Spoelstra was reported by the same writer who broke the LeBron to the Heat story. I don't think Woj even has any new original LeBron material in this story. If you threw out the writing of every national writer that has a written a negative piece on LeBron since "The Decision" you would hardly have anybody to read anymore. Give it a few more weeks and even the "stat guys", his base will go negative when they have to explain why their PER dream team has failed to match their various groundbreaking regular season projection modules.

We're disputing the characterization of it by JMon.It's a terribly written piece, clearly intended to be a hack job. To give you an example that doesn't even have anything to do with LeBron- he unfairly characterizes Wade's quote about Spoelstra not being "his guy" as throwing Spoelstra under the bus. The quote does nothing of the sort, even without context (maybe Wade was joking that he and Spoelstra don't exactly hit the clubs together, or maybe he was saying that he didn't hand-pick him). To give you another- he refers to the Heat's supposed 73 win season capped with a sweep of the Lakers; I never saw a single prediction anywhere close to that. His agenda is obvious. And it's not going to change any minds about LeBron. Most people, myself included already think is a selfish tool who doesn't "get it."

I don't know about the specifics about Wade which is why I did not include him in my post. He may have been unfair to him, but can't really say either way without the context. I believe 73 wins and a sweep of the Lakers is consistent with this. It's not a hack job if its true.

You're not really getting it. The point is that it's a poorly written hack job, yet JMon thought it was a revolutionary piece that would change perceptions of LeBron and would "blow up." He's totally wrong. That's what we're saying. The context-free, unfairly interpreted Wade quote was just one of many examples of why it's a poorly written hack job.

And not one word of your reply to me replies to anything I said, except for the thing about nobody predicting a 73 win season and a Finals sweep, which you replied to by posting something that does not include a prediction of anything close to a 73 win season and a Finals sweep. Other than that, great post.

Its a hack job on LeBron because its unfair to Wade. Gotcha. Go ahead and list the many examples. What are you waiting for? Lebron said himself it was going to be easy and that they would win more than 7 titles.

Jeff Van Gundy said "They will break the single-season win record [of 72] And I think they have a legit shot at the Lakers’ 33-game [winning] streak [in 1971-72], as well. And only the Lakers have even a remote shot at beating them in a playoff series. They will never lose two games in a row this year.

How is that not close to a 73 win prediction?

 

[TobiasFunke]

What specific part of the piece are you guys disputing? LeBron being coddled in Cleveland was more or less a direct quote from Dan Gilbert. His beef with Spoelstra was reported by the same writer who broke the LeBron to the Heat story. I don't think Woj even has any new original LeBron material in this story. If you threw out the writing of every national writer that has a written a negative piece on LeBron since "The Decision" you would hardly have anybody to read anymore. Give it a few more weeks and even the "stat guys", his base will go negative when they have to explain why their PER dream team has failed to match their various groundbreaking regular season projection modules.

We're disputing the characterization of it by JMon.It's a terribly written piece, clearly intended to be a hack job. To give you an example that doesn't even have anything to do with LeBron- he unfairly characterizes Wade's quote about Spoelstra not being "his guy" as throwing Spoelstra under the bus. The quote does nothing of the sort, even without context (maybe Wade was joking that he and Spoelstra don't exactly hit the clubs together, or maybe he was saying that he didn't hand-pick him). To give you another- he refers to the Heat's supposed 73 win season capped with a sweep of the Lakers; I never saw a single prediction anywhere close to that. His agenda is obvious. And it's not going to change any minds about LeBron. Most people, myself included already think is a selfish tool who doesn't "get it."

I don't know about the specifics about Wade which is why I did not include him in my post. He may have been unfair to him, but can't really say either way without the context. I believe 73 wins and a sweep of the Lakers is consistent with this. It's not a hack job if its true.

You're not really getting it. The point is that it's a poorly written hack job, yet JMon thought it was a revolutionary piece that would change perceptions of LeBron and would "blow up." He's totally wrong. That's what we're saying. The context-free, unfairly interpreted Wade quote was just one of many examples of why it's a poorly written hack job.

And not one word of your reply to me replies to anything I said, except for the thing about nobody predicting a 73 win season and a Finals sweep, which you replied to by posting something that does not include a prediction of anything close to a 73 win season and a Finals sweep. Other than that, great post.

Its a hack job on LeBron because its unfair to Wade. Gotcha. Go ahead and list the many examples. What are you waiting for? Lebron said himself it was going to be easy and that they would win more than 7 titles.

Jeff Van Gundy said "They will break the single-season win record [of 72],” Jeff Van Gundy said. “And I think they have a legit shot at the Lakers’ 33-game [winning] streak [in 1971-72], as well. And only the Lakers have even a remote shot at beating them in a playoff series. They will never lose two games in a row this year.

How is that not close to a 73 win prediction?

You clearly don't understand what a "hack job" is. The piece is mostly opinions disguised as fact, intended to cast LeBron and Wade in a negative light. There's very little reporting of anything- if you read it, you'll see that the "reporting" on LeBron in the thread is confined to a single paragraph- the one about him sending back french fries. In other words- there's nothing to dispute. There's no substance. I used the Wade example in the (apparently failed) attempt to pull some semblance of rationality from the Kobe fanboys/Lebron haters by showing that this piece was poorly written, regardless of the subject of the writing. I see now that I failed, so I won't try again to engage you in a rational conversation. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if this piece "blows up" in a couple days or so like JMon predicted to see who is right.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

Why is it so hard to dictate how its unfair to LeBron without dabbing into some Kobe inferiority complex? You are the guys that keep bringing Kobe in the conversation. Like Woj you can't actually dispute any of the points he is making and have to attack the author instead. Anybody care to provide an alternative explanation as to how and why Chris Broussard got the quotes for the following...

Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious.""He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."

Does anyone really doubt that Lebron's camp is the source?

 

[the moops]

Why is it so hard to dictate how its unfair to LeBron without dabbing into some Kobe inferiority complex? You are the guys that keep bringing Kobe in the conversation.

You felt some reason to bring up Kobe in a nonsensical way earlier in the thread. You seem to be the one who keeps bringing him up.

It is pretty pathetic. Cleveland should just mimic the Boston faithful when they fell out of contention.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

Looking for context for the Wade quotes I came across another hack job from the famous Sports Illustrated Wade agitator Chris Mannix...

Why isn't Wade standing up for his once-beloved coach, Spoelstra?

"I'm not going to say he's my guy, but he's my coach, you know."

-- Dwyane Wade, 11/29/10

***

Erik Spoelstra is under siege, facing a barrage of attacks from LeBron James and anonymous sources who think King James and Co. shouldn't have to work so hard for their millions. As Spoelstra stands in front of this sniper assault, he does so without Dwyane Wade, his longtime ally who has coldly chosen this moment to cast loyalty to the wind.

Wade, if you remember, was once Spoelstra's fiercest advocate. For years, the two learned the league together; Wade, a kamikaze guard out of Marquette with raw and unharnessed talent, and Spoelstra, a baby-faced workaholic who clawed his way out of Miami's video room and onto Pat Riley's bench.

They bonded over a shared, unbending commitment to win: Wade, the star, willing to sacrifice his body for success, and Spoelstra, the student, who often went days without seeing glimpses of sunlight as he worked tirelessly to give his team an edge to win. When Wade lost confidence in his shooting stroke in 2004, it was Spoelstra who showed up early and stayed late to help Wade hone his balance and smooth out his release. When Spoelstra was elevated to head coach in 2008, Wade was there to offer his ringing endorsement.

Zach Lowe: Is Spoelstra really to blame for Heat's struggles?

Now, in Spoelstra's time of need, Wade has gone silent. One month into a six-year experiment of teaming with LeBron and Chris Bosh, Wade has joined the masses, choosing to shove blame for Miami's lackluster start on the coach's lap rather than accept it as his own.

The offense is too simple, too predictable? Please. Miami's offense is sputtering, sure, but it's not because of the system. It's because Wade, a basketball alpha male, can't find a way to play effectively off the ball. Neither can Bosh. And the next time a play breaks down, take a closer look at who was the one who called it.

"A lot of times LeBron will call his own play," an advance scout said. "And when it doesn't work, he will look at the bench like it's the coach's fault."

Spoelstra cracks the whip? Coaches of underachieving teams do that. Granted, Spoelstra doesn't have the jewelry of Riley or Phil Jackson, but his credentials are solid. Last season, the Heat won 47 games with a lame-duck roster and one player (Wade) carrying the load. A .500 record with that group would have been cause for celebration. What Spoelstra did was squeeze water out of a rock.

His peers know it. Hell, Riley knows it. For years, rival executives have been trying to pry Spoelstra away only to be told by Riley that he was off limits. Spoelstra has been groomed for this situation. He's ready for this. Riley isn't going to wake up one day and decide Spoelstra can't coach. Not after handing him an incomplete roster that doesn't rebound or stop point guards from probing the paint. Not on the word of players who have griped publicly about playing 40-plus minutes and who would prefer to play a game less than prepared if it means working up only a light sweat in practice. Riley doesn't want this mess. If he does, it won't be long before he sees Spoelstra on someone else's sideline.

What Riley should do is support Spoelstra publicly. And Wade should follow suit. Grueling practices and tough love are nothing new to Wade. He has seen the benefits of such tactics, and if he forgets, there is a diamond-encrusted reminder on his ring finger. If the options are backing Spoelstra or supporting cohorts with flimsy playoff résumés who have known nothing but coaches who have bent to their every whim, then that decision shouldn't be a tough one.

Miami is Wade's team, Wade's town. He has asked everyone to believe it, to believe he can lead this team to great heights. This is his chance to prove it.

Find this article at:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writ...stra/index.html

 

[TobiasFunke]

Why is it so hard to dictate how its unfair to LeBron without dabbing into some Kobe inferiority complex? You are the guys that keep bringing Kobe in the conversation. Like Woj you can't actually dispute any of the points he is making and have to attack the author instead.

Anybody care to provide an alternative explanation as to how and why Chris Broussard got the quotes for the following...

Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious."

"He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."

Does anyone really doubt that Lebron's camp is the source?

I'm not gonna bother with the rest of this, because it responds to nothing I said ... but in response to the bolded, the reason is because pretty much the only people who consistently and reliably make ridiculous anti-LeBron arguments around here are the Kobe fanboys. look at this article as an example- everyone else who's seen it in this thread dismisses it as poorly written opinionated garbage, yet one Kobe fan thinks it is revolutionary and will change everything, and another Kobe fan rushes to the article's defense in a poorly reasoned argument whose point I can't discern. Should we dismiss that as coincidence? I can't. It's either Kobe fanhood or a total lack of understanding of journalism in Southern California.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

Why is it so hard to dictate how its unfair to LeBron without dabbing into some Kobe inferiority complex? You are the guys that keep bringing Kobe in the conversation.

You felt some reason to bring up Kobe in a nonsensical way earlier in the thread. You seem to be the one who keeps bringing him up.

It is pretty pathetic. Cleveland should just mimic the Boston faithful when they fell out of contention.

Wasn't about Kobe. It was about Boston fans supporting another team's star player. If I knew of it happening with another player I would have posted it, but I didn't regularly watch home games of 24-58 2007 Boston Celtics so nothing else came to mind.