No free pass for Lebron

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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#41 » by sfernald » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:17 pm

KembaWalker wrote:I’ll give him a pass for not winning, because Jokic and the Nuggets are simply much better at basketball than him and the Lakers

I won’t give him a pass for his absolutely abhorrent leadership skills though. Dude sits there looking like he’s the SpongeBob ima head out meme the second Denver goes on an 8-0 run. If you’re gonna be this pouty miserable toddler the second any adversity hits just retire bro


That’s part of getting old though. That’s Father Time talking through his body. He might be able to start strong but the fourth quarter is his Achilles at this point. And btw the reason old people get cranky is cause they hurt more. By the fourth quarter, he is hurting and it wears down his mental strength. He sees it as he lived up to his bargain but his teammates let him down once again. No one on his team would even be in the league at his age. Joker will be long gone at his age too.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#42 » by EmpireFalls » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:17 pm

Nothing gets the board’s collective Gen X dick hard like some good old fashioned LeBron bashing. The great American pastime of the 35+ year old male.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#43 » by Marrrcuss » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:26 pm

Yea, I'll never be on board with team accomplishments equaling individual accomplishments or better yet, acting as though it exists in a vacuum. We conveniently use the argument.

MJ only played 6 total years using that debate. Every Celtic in the 60s was better than Wilt.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#44 » by IG2 » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:35 pm

KembaWalker wrote:LeBron fans always have the impossible expectations of a team that is somehow both capable of playing title worthy basketball without him because hes old and in his "gravy" era as they say, but then also be ready to fit in his geezer ass for 35% usage 35 minutes per game. how is that supposed to work? he needs to learn from Duncan. cut your minutes, cut your usage and play both sides of the floor. nobody cares if you can have a great statline if you're gassed at half time and the team has to drag your corpse around for 20 minutes in the 2nd half 4v5


lol what. Such an ignorant post when literally every impact stat easily has LeBron as LA's most impactful player. His on/off of +9.8 dwarfs every other Laker on the team.

And why would he not play a lot when every impact stat still clearly has him as a Top 10 player. LeBron's not some washed up egomaniac "getting his" on a bad team. Quite the contrary.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#45 » by Michael Jackson » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:40 pm

Iwasawitness wrote:
Memories wrote:It is definitely telling that Lebron can hardly make the playoffs in the West for all these years. Which shows his entire time in the East was what everyone said: an easy road to the Finals.

His consecutive years to the Finals from the East is looking more and more weak. The West has always been the harder road for over 2 decades.


It’s not telling at all… in the first year with AD, the lakers had the one seed. They’ve never recovered from losing Caruso, and the terrible trade for Westbrook and they probably never will.



AC and KCP and getting Russ was a big mistake of course. Should have just signed DDR. Neither here nor there and I am no LeBron fan but c'mon this is a tired argument.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#46 » by IG2 » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:41 pm

sfernald wrote:
That’s part of getting old though. That’s Father Time talking through his body. He might be able to start strong but the fourth quarter is his Achilles at this point.


He led the league in 4th qtr pts this season. Lakers also had the best crunch time win % in the league.

Which isn't to say 4th qtr can't be a massive issue for LeBron. He plays more minutes in the playoffs and against better opponents. So he's expending much more energy prior to the 4th qtr now than he did in the regular season. Making him more susceptible to fatigue. The guy is 39. It's OK. He shouldn't be expected to beat the best team in the league.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#47 » by Wigginstime » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:46 pm

ChiTownHero1992 wrote:No free pass whatsoever...LeBron in the last 20 years is becoming more synoymous with LOSING than Winning...he's lost 6 finals appearances, lost and swept (twice potentially) in back to back years...lost and missed playoffs twice w/ Lakers who each year pre-season was suggested as a TItle Contender...

When I think of players...Jordan = Automatic Championships....


Lebron is the same age as Jordan on the wizards right now…
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#48 » by KembaWalker » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:47 pm

IG2 wrote:
KembaWalker wrote:LeBron fans always have the impossible expectations of a team that is somehow both capable of playing title worthy basketball without him because hes old and in his "gravy" era as they say, but then also be ready to fit in his geezer ass for 35% usage 35 minutes per game. how is that supposed to work? he needs to learn from Duncan. cut your minutes, cut your usage and play both sides of the floor. nobody cares if you can have a great statline if you're gassed at half time and the team has to drag your corpse around for 20 minutes in the 2nd half 4v5


lol what. Such an ignorant post when literally every impact stat easily has LeBron as LA's most impactful player. His on/off of +9.8 dwarfs every other Laker on the team.

And why would he not play a lot when every impact stat still clearly has him as a Top 10 player. LeBron's not some washed up egomaniac "getting his" on a bad team. Quite the contrary.


could not possibly give less of a **** about advanced regular season stats, or box score metrics, try watching the games. the guy is a burden after halftime. its garbage basketball
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#49 » by Tottery » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:53 pm

Hair Jordan wrote:
One_and_Done wrote:Lebron is 39 lol.


Of course :crazy: You can’t have it both ways. You can’t stroke Lebron when he has a nice game or breaks some cumulative stats record and then let him off of the hook when he stinks it up in the playoffs by reminding people he’s 39. Typical response from a Lebron homer.


Nah. You can have it both ways. He is 39 years old. 40 point games or even 30 point games are far and in between for him. It's impressive when he has those types of games at all due to his age. However, you can't expect that from him on a nightly basis because he is older. Doesn't have the stamina to bulldoze his way to the basket over and over like in his 20's and early 30's.

Besides, if they do get swept again, I highly doubt it will be his or AD's fault. The supporting cast has to contribute and they were a no show in game 1.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#50 » by IG2 » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:53 pm

KembaWalker wrote:
could not possibly give less of a **** about advanced regular season stats, or box score metrics, try watching the games. the guy is a burden after halftime. its garbage basketball


Well, I'm glad you've based your conclusions on the massive sample size of 1 half of basketball as opposed to the 82 games that preceded it. I'm sure you'll be getting a call from sports outlets for some quality analysis soon.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#51 » by xchange55 » Sun Apr 21, 2024 3:59 pm

IG2 wrote:LeBron. He plays more minutes in the playoffs and against better opponents. So he's expending much more energy prior to the 4th qtr now than he did in the regular season. Making him more susceptible to fatigue. The guy is 39. It's OK. He shouldn't be expected to beat the best team in the league.


Well guess what? All the other players and teams face the better teams and more minutes against their top lineups too! The excuses for Lebron are so empty. You think LeBron is the GOAT? Well let me make some excuses for Joker because he had to face the GOAT 2 years in a row in the playoffs. Oh wait nevermind, he don't need the excuses.

Don't get me wrong - Lebron's had an amazing career. But in terms of hunger, desire, competitive fire, he's no Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kobe, Steph or even DWade. Even Shaq has said on multiple occasions, nobody in the league fears playing against Lebron like they feared MJ.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#52 » by lessthanjake » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:06 pm

I don’t think these years for LeBron really matter in any negative way on their own. They’re really just icing on the cake, where they can be a positive if he has success but can’t really be a negative if he doesn’t (because if he doesn’t have success then it’s still the case that other great players were either retired or not as good at this point anyways).

That said, I do think that one can look at things that happen now as more evidence of negatives that existed in his prime years too. For instance, LeBron seeming to sort of quit on games and pout in the middle of games has been a thing his entire career. It happening now is just further indication of a broader problem. In a vacuum, LeBron doing that now isn’t really a negative to me, because I think one would still take a 39-year-old LeBron that pouts when things go badly over another 39-year-old player in NBA history. It doesn’t make him compare negatively to other players at his age. But we aren’t in a vacuum, and him exhibiting this behavior now is suggestive of an issue that existed throughout his career and that *should* be seen as a negative overall.
OhayoKD wrote:Lebron contributes more to all the phases of play than Messi does. And he is of course a defensive anchor unlike messi.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#53 » by KembaWalker » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:10 pm

IG2 wrote:
KembaWalker wrote:
could not possibly give less of a **** about advanced regular season stats, or box score metrics, try watching the games. the guy is a burden after halftime. its garbage basketball


Well, I'm glad you've based your conclusions on the massive sample size of 1 half of basketball as opposed to the 82 games that preceded it. I'm sure you'll be getting a call from sports outlets for some quality analysis soon.


im not sure what youre even arguing? are you saying he isn't gassing himself the last few years and dragging his team down in 2nd halves? youre saying I'm wrong by talking about regular season advanced metrics like thats somehow at all even tangentially relevant as a counterpoint to what i'm saying, what everyone watching the games can see with their own eyes lol
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#54 » by RHODEY » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:12 pm

Hair Jordan wrote:If the Lakers get swept by Denver this year, it’ll mean that a Lebron led team with prime AD by his side lost EIGHT CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF GAMES while also missing the playoffs for two seasons during his tenure in LA. Lebron might get a free pass from ESPN, Nick Wright, Shannon Sharpe and kids who started watching the NBA in 2015 but not from me. Lebron managed to win a single game in the 2017 and 2018 Finals COMBINED and is on track to do even worse in the 2023 and 2024 playoffs against Denver (combined). This is your GOAT? A guy who normalizes losing more than winning? A guy who had 7 turnovers last night and attempted his first shot in the 4th quarter with a minute remaining? :crazy:


Nowhere near goat. Dropped whaqt 9? straight to Denver....imo he's barely top 1o if that.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#55 » by RHODEY » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:13 pm

Hair Jordan wrote:
One_and_Done wrote:Lebron is 39 lol.


Of course :crazy: You can’t have it both ways. You can’t stroke Lebron when he has a nice game or breaks some cumulative stats record and then let him off of the hook when he stinks it up in the playoffs by reminding people he’s 39. Typical response from a Lebron homer.

:nod: :nod: :nod: :nod:
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#56 » by RHODEY » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:17 pm

ChiTownHero1992 wrote:No free pass whatsoever...LeBron in the last 20 years is becoming more synoymous with LOSING than Winning...he's lost 6 finals appearances, lost and swept (twice potentially) in back to back years...lost and missed playoffs twice w/ Lakers who each year pre-season was suggested as a TItle Contender...

When I think of players...Jordan = Automatic Championships....
Magic = Always competing and playing for a TItle and will get you a title more often than not
KAJ = Always competing and playing for a Title and will get you a title more often than not
LeBron = Finals Appearance yearly but not getting the job done when it counts
Curry = On paper looks amazing, but without the "help" goes no where



Add

Duncan = Always competing and playing for a Title and will get you a title more often than not
Bird = Always competing and playing for a Title and will get you a title more often than not
Kareem = Always competing and playing for a Title and will get you a title more often than not
Hakeem = Always competing and playing for a Title and will get you a title more often than not
Kobe = Always competing and playing for a Title and will get you a title more often than not
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#57 » by IG2 » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:17 pm

KembaWalker wrote:are you saying he isn't gassing himself the last few years and dragging his team down in 2nd halves?


LeBron led the league in 4th qtr points this season and Lakers had the best crunch time win % in the league. Yep, LA would definitely be better off without him in 2nd halves because of 1 half :lol: :lol:
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#58 » by jerok » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:19 pm

Hair Jordan wrote:If the Lakers get swept by Denver this year, it’ll mean that a Lebron led team with prime AD by his side lost EIGHT CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF GAMES while also missing the playoffs for two seasons during his tenure in LA. Lebron might get a free pass from ESPN, Nick Wright, Shannon Sharpe and kids who started watching the NBA in 2015 but not from me. Lebron managed to win a single game in the 2017 and 2018 Finals COMBINED and is on track to do even worse in the 2023 and 2024 playoffs against Denver (combined). This is your GOAT? A guy who normalizes losing more than winning? A guy who had 7 turnovers last night and attempted his first shot in the 4th quarter with a minute remaining? :crazy:


If MJ gets a pass for every single failure.
And he's considered GOAT by most.

then it is ok for LeBron or anyone to get a pass for losing.
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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#59 » by RHODEY » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:21 pm

shi-woo wrote:I just find it crazy how the face of the league gives up on his team so easily. For those of us who've followed his entire career this is just a reoccuring theme, and it's nauseating.

Last night the discord I was in was crushing the announcers because the 1st half was a glaze fest for LeBron. "OMG that pass! OMG that 3pnt shot! OMG did you know hes 40! OMG he's screaming in DLo's face, what a leader! OMG that was the best bunny ears i've seen from a guy tying hi shoes!"

It gets annoying, and then it's crickets when the dude just shuts down. Passive aggressive and LeBron have been married since his early CLE days, and it's weird how he allows that to effect his team. It's like having a spouse that's mad at you but won't tell you why or want to talk about it. It just drains you, and is the exact opposite of leadership.

I just don't understand how he can consistently get away with it, nor do I understand why every other star like KD, Steph, Embiid, and Jokic all have to go to extraordinary lengths just to prove they belong at the head of the league.

I've seen this man quit on 4 teams now, and I 'm really curious to what his fans say about this, because it's undeniable at this point. When the going gets tough, LEBron gets weak.

He grabbed 2 gimme title in shortened seasons, and formed another superteam with 2 other All-NBA players to get his other best ring. I'm still left unimpressed by LeBron and how he's carried himself. Every year I hear how guys like KD are snakes, or how Jokic and Curry just aren't HIM, but every year with LeBron and his fans it's Bugs Bunny "WE NEED MORE HELP!"

Like for real, you have people in this thread saying stuff like "They’ve never recovered from losing Carusol" Like come on man. He left his home town team again with 2 ALL-NBA guys to team up with AD, who also quit on his team to play with LeBron in LA. He handpicked every player he plays with, but Alex freaking Caruso is the deal breaker for you guys? Trading for Westbrook the icing on the cake?

Jokic be out here creating a potential dynasty as the only All-star on his team, and a bunch of cast offs that no one else wanted. Imagine what he would be doing if he had 2 other Top 15 players on his team like LeBron has since 2011 :lol: It's just getting absurd, and I can't wait for this dude to retire so the Propaganda machine can leave with him (but we all know it's just going to ramp up and get worse, and these moments will get erased from history just like a certain nike hoops camp dunk)

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Re: No free pass for Lebron 

Post#60 » by The4thHorseman » Sun Apr 21, 2024 4:27 pm

OdomFan wrote:
LeBronSpaghetti wrote:They lost one game on the road in perhaps the hardest arena to play at in the entire league and we’re seeing threads like this. Classic.

And yes, saying “he’s 39” is a totally appropriate response and not an excuse at all. Everything positive he does at this stage of his career is gravy. He is still an incredible player, but in an ideal world he wouldn’t have to do this much at this stage of his career.

If LA loses this series badly it’s not on LeBron. We don’t criticize Jordan for doing jack **** with the Wizards at the same age LeBron is now. But for LeBron we’ll light him up for losing to the defending champs and the best player in the world in his prime? Lol.

Jordan was doing very well until he got injured. thats what people either ignore or don't know/understand.

People also ignore that it took Jordan (by choice) 19yrs to play 15 seasons. There's no comparison whatsoever between the two 39yr olds.

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