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The Cavs had one more win than the Lakers in the regular season, and the west was much tougher than the east from top to bottom. After the first 3 teams in the east (Cleveland, Orlando, Boston), was a huge drop off this season; in the west, Phoenix won 46 games and missed the playoffs, while Detroit made the playoffs in the east w/a losing record of 39-43! Atlanta who was the 4-seed in the east, would've missed the playoffs if they were in the west w/their 47-35 record!
I didn't expect them to win it all, I expected them to be in the NBA Finals and knew if they played the Lakers they'd have their work cut out for them, don't forget, the Lakers beat the Cavs both times in the regular season.
I've never said I agree w/everything Lebron does, I realize he is just an amazingly talented athlete. I'm not looking for him to give me tips about other areas of life. But he has kept the 'clean cut image' to this point while Kobe has had his problems, that's the bottom line
In fairness, Kobe has underachieved IMO for a long time trying to prove his "greatness". Look at his stats (FG% in particular), the past 2 years he has gotten a lot less selfless and more interested than winning a ring than the scoring title.
Lebron, is still a LOT younger than Kobe...and yes....Kobe does have more talent around him.
This is not a knock on either player...they ARE the best players in the league.
Hats off to both of them, anyone that thinks they have heard the last of either of these guys is crazy.
P.S. Watch Howard and crew knock off the Lakers and I will laugh my ass off.
Sick of people like Nash, Nowitzki and Iverson winning MVP's...time to remind all the 12yo's out there that defense wins championships.
Kobe started being more selfless when his teammates started stepping up and making plays. He no longer had to carry the scoring load and didn't always have to take tough shots (which hurt his FG%). Granted, he has matured a great deal, but it's not like he just now started caring about winning. Now that he has players around him that can score, he is only seen as being as good as the talent around him. Those who don't like him will find any reason to make light of his abilities. If they win it this year, it will be because the team was simply more talented, not because Kobe helped make them better. If they lose, it will be Kobe's fault. The guy simply won't be given the benefit of the doubt like LeBron.
On the flip side, LeBron was on a team that played great all year, up until the series with Orlando. It didn't seem that there was any lack of talent on the Cavs when Mo Williams was acting as a solid number 2 and all the role players were doing their part. Yet, when their weaknesses were exposed and LeBron's point totals started going up, the talk was about how even his herculean efforts couldn't get them to the promise land. It's obviously a lack of talent around him. He isn't knit picked to death for this failure. If it were Kobe, he'd be criticized heavily for shooting too much and not putting his teammates in a better position to win.
I think the idea that Kobe has only recently been interested in winning another ring is a bit off base. He may have been scoring more a few years ago, but I think only those who don't care for him much think he was doing it in order to "prove his greatness". Others believe he did it because he had to... in order to compete for championships. Now that he has better scorers, it's not always on his shoulders. He can get his teammates involved more. But I think most peoples' opinion of Kobe influences their view of his game, maybe more than any other player. He's a polarizing personality, and that is part of the reason he's more criticized than people like LeBron.
P.S. Watch Howard and crew knock off the Lakers and I will laugh my ass off.... time to remind all the 12yo's out there that defense wins championships.
Ask Denver if the Lakers defense is not good enough to win a championship. Everyone was all in love with Denver's potent offense and solid team defense until they played LA. It seems nobody wants to give credit to the Lakers defense though.
I just saw some highlights of the 2 meetings against the Magic/Lakers during the season, and i've got to say...The Magic without Jameer Nelson cannot beat the Lakers.
Both of those games were decided by 2 or 5 points, Nelson was the leading scorer in both games, scoring more than 20 points.
Magic will have a tough time dealing with the Lakers.
The Cavs had one more win than the Lakers in the regular season, and the west was much tougher than the east from top to bottom. After the first 3 teams in the east (Cleveland, Orlando, Boston), was a huge drop off this season; in the west, Phoenix won 46 games and missed the playoffs, while Detroit made the playoffs in the east w/a losing record of 39-43! Atlanta who was the 4-seed in the east, would've missed the playoffs if they were in the west w/their 47-35 record!
I didn't expect them to win it all, I expected them to be in the NBA Finals and knew if they played the Lakers they'd have their work cut out for them, don't forget, the Lakers beat the Cavs both times in the regular season.
I've never said I agree w/everything Lebron does, I realize he is just an amazingly talented athlete. I'm not looking for him to give me tips about other areas of life. But he has kept the 'clean cut image' to this point while Kobe has had his problems, that's the bottom line
What does any of this have to do with LeBron not showing respect to the Orlando Magic? Forget the Lakers for a minute. This is about LeBron. Kobe's best days are behind him, anyway. In many ways the combination of age and mistakes have set Kobe free. He no longer has to worry about living up to the "golden boy-type" standards. He just has to play ball and try to win as much as he can while he still has some juice left.
LeBron on the other hand is the one expected to win multiple titles over his career. He is the one who wants to be the first billionaire athlete. He is supposed to be the savior for the city of Cleveland. He is the new face of the NBA. The standards for him are really high. That is why people are making an issue of him not showing respect to the other team. Him and Howard were Olympic team mates. Carmelo had no problem embracing Kobe after the Nuggets lost. It shows a mutual respect between the two. But LeBron couldn't at least shake hands with Howard? It may be a small gesture, but it reveals a lot about his character.
I don't think this makes LeBron a "bad" guy. It shows he needs to understand that just because they call you "king" doesn't mean you are the king. There are 28 other teams trying to win the title. They are not going to just roll over because the media thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread.
Ask Denver if the Lakers defense is not good enough to win a championship. Everyone was all in love with Denver's potent offense and solid team defense until they played LA. It seems nobody wants to give credit to the Lakers defense though.
My bad. That wasn't a meant as a dig at the lakers but rather at all the people that didn't understand how tough Orlando (howard) could be.
Basically, people underestimated Orlando.
Lastly, Kobe is a perennial all-defense team member and when I say he hasn't lived up to his potential some years...I mean that in the sense that he hasn't been the best player in the league some years when i thought he could have been. Sorry, go look at his FG%'s...he was trying too hard there for a while.
Lebron is still young. He has time to win several championships. As far as the Finals. The Magic just will fall a bit short. They don't have any real perimeter defenders like Battier, Artest, JR Smith, Jones. Pietrus is decent, but he will have a much more difficult time. Like i said before, Lakers in 7.
In a next day interview Lebron said, He's a winner, he cant understand congratulating the opposition after they beat you. He says that's not about being a poor sport. I wonder, what his definition of a poor sport is?
So by not shaking his opponets hands after he loses, why does he shake their hands when he wins?? A good sport shakes hands win or lose.
Because he easier to shank hands when you win-lol
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