What a game as well! After watching the end of the Knicks and Magic (shoot me in the head, please!) seeing the Cavs and Kings go out and light it up in the first quarter to the tune of 39-32 was awesome. LeBron lives up to the hype like a 19-year-old Ken Griffey Jr. roaming the Mariners outfield (Note to LeBron: Look how HE turned out) for the first time. If the Cavs can turn on the defense a bit better and reign in Ricky Davis they are going to win a lot more games than a lot of people are predicting.
“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.
"Your input has been noted. I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim
The thing about this kid, is that I really believe he is a "team first" player. How many 18 year old kids can you say that about? He gave up a wide open dunk to get a teammate involved. His halftime interview was filled with "we's" and not "I's". I really like this kid.
I agree - but let's not get too excited just yet. Let's see how he goes about 5-10 games in.
But if this is any indication, he may become the sequel to Magic Johnson or Oscar Robertson after all. All he needs is a decent jumper since most of his offense was slashing to the basket.
The problem with LeBron is that he has no consistant jump shot which will come back to haunt him in a month. Teams will take away his penetration and force him to beat them with his jump shot.
One or two games does not make a career or a season. You should wait until January before passing judgement. It is not going to be hard to score a lot of points for the Cavs when you are the only decent player on the team.
Originally posted by JayJayDean25 points, 9 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers = PRETTY DAMN GOOD!
Oops, Kings win. Sorry. :)
The Kings and a lot of other teams are going to beat the Cavs because it's apparent after two games that, aside from LeBron, the Cavs have NO IDEA how to play good team basketball, especially in the fourth-quarter and on defense. Ricky Davis needs to get sent to the new Charlotte expansion team so he can take all of the shots for a team that wins 12 games...that guy has the WORST shot selection I have ever seen.
“To get ass, you’ve got to bring ass." -- Roy Jones Jr.
"Your input has been noted. I hope you don't take it personally if I disregard it." -- Guru Zim
Originally posted by JayJayDean25 points, 9 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers = PRETTY DAMN GOOD!
Oops, Kings win. Sorry. :)
I completely agree, but the difference with this kid, is that he acknowledged this fact while Jim Gray was asking him to assess his INDIVIDUAL performance. It was basically something like "it doesn't matter, we lost."
I love this kid, and I'm not usually a sucker for the hype. It's refreshing to hear a rookie come in and say things like that.
On the other hand, I caught an interview with Carmelo in Maxim this month...He was asked if he'd rather be a sixth man on a winning team, or a superstar for a bad team...guess what he answered?
On top of his "team first" philosophy, the athletic ability of this kid is incredible. I remember watching a high school dunk competition involving him on TV. He attempted one of those "bounce the ball" dunks, but jumped up a bit too soon. As a result, he ended up doing an unbelievable double clutch in mid-air to save the dunk. Really hard for me to describle, but you had to see it to believe it.
This, of course, doesn't even count with the rest of his overall ability as a player, which everyone saw the other night.
Originally posted by evilwaldoThe problem with LeBron is that he has no consistant jump shot which will come back to haunt him in a month. Teams will take away his penetration and force him to beat them with his jump shot.
One or two games does not make a career or a season. You should wait until January before passing judgement. It is not going to be hard to score a lot of points for the Cavs when you are the only decent player on the team.
I agree but they interviewed Bird and he was beyond impressed, especially with LeBron's passing and court awareness. A 6' 8" point guard with his quickness should be a superstar. I am skeptical but as the title says "WOW". Plus he doesn't need a great jump shot just a decent one and with his apparent attitude he may be the savior the NBA is looking for. Maybe not with the Cavs though but likely in a major media market ala Jordan or Shaq. It will be interesting when he hits the more physical style in the east.
I admit it, I was impressed with Lebron, maybe he'll have a great year, maybe he'll average 25 points for the season, maybe he'll win rookie of the year. But it doesn't really matter. If he averaged 30 points and won MVP he STILL wouldn't be as good as all the hype he's gotten.
Let's also see how he holds up travelling across the country over an 82 game schedule. When you're accustomed to playing a fraction of that number, mostly (if not all) within your own state. That's a big jump, and to make it all at once as opposed to the gradual change college kids make could take it's toll. If LeBron is still going like this in February, he's flat out amazing. If he winds up hitting the wall halfway through the season, then we're all way ahead of ourselves.
Originally posted by BigVitoMarkLet's also see how he holds up travelling across the country over an 82 game schedule. When you're accustomed to playing a fraction of that number, mostly (if not all) within your own state.
... This is something I totally agree with. I also have to wonder how James' defense is going to hold up; it's porous as it is. We all know how gifted LeBron is offensively, and that he will receive plenty of chances on a team with little to no scoring depth. Will the constant losing sap his will to hustle on the defensive end? Will he prefer to save that energy for all-out offense in attempts to win games by himself? It's an intriguing situation.
I'm thinking by the end of the year he's at around 16 PPG, 6 and a half APG.
My new favorite player in the NBA -- a Laker at last.
Yeah i never really thought about it but I guess losing could have a toll on him. I mean he had a great opening night, he did everything he could and yet they lost because Sacramento scored 120 points on them and there will probably be more nights like that. Too bad he'll be runner in up in the Rookie of the Year behind Udonis Haslem (hey i can dream can't I?)
Originally posted by evilwaldoThe problem with LeBron is that he has no consistant jump shot which will come back to haunt him in a month. Teams will take away his penetration and force him to beat them with his jump shot.
One or two games does not make a career or a season. You should wait until January before passing judgement. It is not going to be hard to score a lot of points for the Cavs when you are the only decent player on the team.
Did you not read the posts prior to yours? What is most impressive about LeBron is that he's a team player. If opposing teams stop his slashing, he'll get his teammates involved. This guy can hurt opposing teams with more than his scoring ability. And those jumpers will come with time. Remember, he is only 18. Barring a Len Bias-esque breakdown, he'll be fine.
And Chuck, don't be so harsh on Melo. Of course he'd rather be the supersar on a losing team. He's young. Jordan would have answered the same way had he been posed that exact question in his rookie season. LeBron knows that he's the superstar. Everyone knows he's the superstar. The only thing that people don't know about is whether or not he can make his teammates better. The basketball fan in me wants to say yes.
"What you don't understand, you can make mean anything." -Palahniuk
Originally posted by QuezzyYeah i never really thought about it but I guess losing could have a toll on him. I mean he had a great opening night, he did everything he could and yet they lost because Sacramento scored 120 points on them and there will probably be more nights like that. Too bad he'll be runner in up in the Rookie of the Year behind Udonis Haslem (hey i can dream can't I?)
I think he lost something like 6 or 8 games in his high school career. Whats going to take a bigger toll on him his playing 82 forteight minute games instead of 30 or so 32 minute games. One thing that will help him is that he doesn't have the build of an 18-year old but has meat on his frame. Plus how will he hold up getting banged around by the more physical style of the Eastern Conference night after night. He did come down to earth a little Saturady night. All in all, once he gets adjusted to everything, if he can keep the attitude he has now, he will be good, reall really good.
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The wins'll come with a better team... but it's hard to believe LeBron really isn't good enough to be in the NBA after last night.
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