ROCKETS @ BLAZERS - GAME THREAD - 11/05/13, 7:00 PM, TUESDAY

He's only as good as he is because of the refs. If he played by the same rules as all the no-names in the league he'd still be damn good, but his PPG would probably drop by ~6ish (random #). I just don't understand why the best players - the ones who don't need any help - are consistently given a different set of rules to play by that makes the game even easier for them. It's like if you're racing cars and you give a Porsche 911 a one lap head start against a Toyota Corolla.

 

I don't think the refs make Lebron any better than he is. LeBrons last few years have been more impressive than anything I saw out of Jordan.

 

Oof. I don't know about all that ... it's not like Jordan wasn't getting the benefit of calls back in his day or the other superstars of years past. Put Lebron in any era and he's one of the all-time great players.

 

The refs absolutely make him better than he is. Not just him, but many stars in the NBA are better than they actually are. How are you supposed to defend Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, LeBron, etc if you can't even touch them?

 

LeBron only shot 7 FTA a game last year, the lowest since his rookie year. Five players including league leading James Harden shot more free throws than LeBron last season.

 

I agree. I think you're reading more into what I wrote, than what I actually wrote. All I'm saying is that the very best players are allowed to break the rules and be even better than they already are. If this wasn't allowed, they'd still be the very best players, but instead of being head & shoulders & knees better than the rest, they'd just be head & shoulders better.

 

Fair enough. I agree with that.

 

It's not just that they're allowed to break the rules, but also that the league makes them virtually impossible to defend.

Michael Jordan played during handchecking, LeBron did not. MJ played during the "Bad Boys" era and the Riley Knicks. Who could even be remotely compared to those two teams in the league right now?

It's not just free throw attempts. It's the way that teams are allowed to defend.

 

LeBron James averaged 7.0 FTA a game last season. Brandon Roy averaged 6.8 FTA in his final all-star season here.

 

Hey at least the NBA addressed that cheap-assed "rip move" that KD was notorious for.

 

But it works both ways. LeBron has the same limitations when he's trying to defend Derrick Rose. But he's able to shut him down.

If the game were more physical do you really think a 250lb LeBron would have a disadvantage?

 

Sort of - I still see him getting away with it. KD is averaging 14 FTA per game thus far.

 

In general the NBA has far and away the worst refs of all sports. Part of that is the nature of the game, basketball is a difficult sport to ref. Its more than that though I agree inconsistent calls are a problem. Like the new delay of games, they call it as a warning right away in the first quarter but then never call a tech for it. What the hell is the point? If a team is delaying intentionally it should be called every single time regardless of them having a warning or not.

So yes inconsistent calls or star treatment is annoying to watch when its happening and makes the games appear tainted. I just believe LeBron is the worst example of that as he gets very few star calls.

 

D....E....R.....A.......P........L......E.......D?

 

Was I right?

 

No he doesn't... that's also part of the superstar treatment. When was the last time LeBron fouled out of a game? Has he ever fouled out of a game?

 

How often do SF foul out? Batum has only fouled out 3 times in his career all back in 2010. LaMarcus has only fouled out once each of the last two seasons as a PF.

 

Brandon Roy fouled out twice in 2007 and once in 2009. So 3 times in his career.

LeBron has fouled out once in 2004, once in 2006 and once in 2008.