I came here not to long ago and was shocked to see someone say the Finals would be boring and the Spurs would sweep the Cavs with no problem. Is it really fair for anybody to expect so much from Lebron's Cavs? I mean think about it. This isn't just his first time in the Finals its the entire franchises first time so I don't think it's fair to put that much pressure on that team. The San Anotonio Spurs may very well go on to win the whole thing in 4. Then again they may not. Yes the Spurs are a very seasoned team and its a known fact that they know what it takes to get the job done in the big game with 3 titles under there belt but it is not impossible for Lebron and this team to win at all. This is a team that overcame the odds of being down 0-2 against the best defensive team in the league the Detriot Pistons to get where they are now. Have people forgotten that? It's a shame how some fans think. One minute there going theres no way the Cavs are going to beat the Pistons and they do and they say good for them and now there doing the samething with the Spurs. It's unbelieveable when you think about it.
Fair or not, LeBron will always get that type of treatment. The same way he's praised when things are going well for Cleveland. When the expectations are high as they are with him, and the way the casual fan is today, that's how it will always be.
For a kid to be dubbed the King coming out of high school, etc., then yes I think it is very fair for people to expect this much from him. Anything he does, the media jumps on his dick and praises him non-stop, so the same should happen when he fails to do something.Sure, it's his first time and all that in the Finals, but if he is as great of a player as the media portrays him to be, then there should be no excuses made for him. People say he has a horrible supporting cast, but I beg to differ. Sure it isn't as great as what Duncan has to work with, but it is a lot better than people make it out to be. They act as if he's playing with 11 scrubs, but he isn't. He has a lot of talented guys on that roster, and I'm tired of hearing otherwise from every member of the media, etc.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Sure, it's his first time and all that in the Finals, but if he is as great of a player as the media portrays him to be, then there should be no excuses made for him. People say he has a horrible supporting cast, but I beg to differ. Sure it isn't as great as what Duncan has to work with, but it is a lot better than people make it out to be. They act as if he's playing with 11 scrubs, but he isn't. He has a lot of talented guys on that roster, and I'm tired of hearing otherwise from every member of the media, etc.</div>Name ten finals teams post 1970 with worse supporting cast than him. One would be hard pressed to come up with 5 finals teams with as bad a supporting cast as him.
The Cavaliers executed well in the playoffs but like I said before the detroit series. If the Bulls and cavs played and we had gotten the 2 seed that ONE game at the end of the season, I see us making the finals. Cleveland is just not that good of a team, I even think Miami could have beaten them. Lebron had an easy walk this year to the finals. that's the main reason hes there, and the fact he played amazingly agaist detroit but the first 2 rounds were both teams that are dead end teams who make it in the east on lower seeds because they are weak teams.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PrimeTime @ Jun 11 2007, 06:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The Cavaliers executed well in the playoffs but like I said before the detroit series. If the Bulls and cavs played and we had gotten the 2 seed that ONE game at the end of the season, I see us making the finals. Cleveland is just not that good of a team, I even think Miami could have beaten them. Lebron had an easy walk this year to the finals. that's the main reason hes there, and the fact he played amazingly agaist detroit but the first 2 rounds were both teams that are dead end teams who make it in the east on lower seeds because they are weak teams.</div>I agree, for the average supporting cast he has he had probably the best possible route to the Finals.With that said, he certainly deserves praise for getting his team there. It is not fair all of the expectations he has, but at the same time he has been so extremely hyped since HS and has so far exceeded in most expectations since arriving in the NBA.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>0-2 against the best defensive team in the league the Detriot Pistons to get where they are now. Have people forgotten that? It's a shame how some fans think. One minute there going theres no way the Cavs are going to beat the Pistons and they do and they say good for them and now there doing the samething with the Spurs. It's unbelieveable when you think about it.</div>First off, the Detroit Pistons are no longer the best defensive team in the league. That all went out the window when Flip Saunders took over, and it really died down once Ben Wallace was traded.I think people know there is a big difference in the two games they lost to Detroit to begin with, and the two games they have lost to San Antonio to begin with here. In those first two Detroit losses, the games were very close and only decided by 3 points each time. They could have went either way at any point in those games, and at some points it looked like Cleveland was going to win the games in those first two. With these first two games against San Antonio, they have not been close. The Spurs have looked like the unquestioned better team for both games, and kept the leads extended for both games. These two games are completely different.As for are we expecting to much from Lebron James, I really don't think so. I agree alot with BigMo in the fact that he has been praised for every little thing he does up until now. So naturally if he starts struggling in the finals, of course people are going to knock him to. That's just how it is as superstar in the league, and it would be the same for any other superstar in the league. Heck, it happened last year with Shaq where everyone started saying how bad he was doing because of those first two games, and how Shaq had to step up. So Lebron James isn't the only one that gets that kind of attention.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kobebryant_24OWNEDME @ Jun 11 2007, 06:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Name ten finals teams post 1970 with worse supporting cast than him. One would be hard pressed to come up with 5 finals teams with as bad a supporting cast as him.</div>That's not what I'm saying at all... I'm saying that the media makes it seem like it's LeBron James playing with 11 Nikoloz Tskitishvili's out there, when that isn't the case. He has a solid supporting cast around him is all I'm saying. They may not be the greatest in history, but they are capable of getting the job done, in my opinion.
Lebrons got Drew Gooden who has stepped up pretty well in this years playoffs. Maybe not putting up monsterous numbers but he is contributing well. They have Eric snow who's been there before. They've got Big Z who is imo one of the top 10 Centers in the league. Larry Hughes would be doing alot better if he was 100% but he's still out there working hard and then theres Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones and Aleksandar Pavlovic who can step up and hit the 3 and lets not forget about Gibson. If he can have one career night game in a playoff game he can do it again. I see good things from him thru out his career. Point is that team aint perfect but they have people they can count on.
It's not LeBron's fault that the media treats him the way they do now. The media only has put so much pressure on him then expect him to live up to the expectations all the team. It doesn't matter how long he's been in the league, he's 22 and didn't play College Basketball so when it comes to these kind of situations he just doesn't have the experience to get it done. That's called growth. The entire Cavaliers organization has to grow still. And there isn't growth without struggle and that's what the Cavs are doing now.The Spurs are the best team in the league, especially once the playoffs come. Regardless how good LeBron's supporting cast is, it's not good enough to get past the Spurs. Speaking of that supporting cast, it's not that it's not good. They're not consistent or Mike Brown simply does not utilize their talent right. It took him 1 1/2 seasons to realize Hughes isn't a jump shooter and operates better with the ball opposed to spot up jump shots. Took him 1/3 of the season to realize Wesley just doesn't have it anymore, and let's not get on him not playing Gibson at the right times in these Finals.Give James another few seasons and these kind of situations in the playoffs when they're over matched won't effect him as much. It's just a learning process right now and once he does learn he'll take over those kind of games with ease.
Was it "not fair" when he signed with Nike for $90 million?Yeah it's fair..with the good comes the bad. You think Lebron wasn't loving it when he was pretty much a god in high school? Or when everybody started comparing him to Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan?The guy has it made for life whether he wins or not. It's up to him whether or not he wants to live up to the hype. He has to perform. And I think he will, you have to be patient though. Face it, he isn't Magic, he isn't Michael, he's Lebron. Give him time he's not gonna get 35 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists every single game.It's fair and unfair at the same time. If you're gonna accept the $90 million contract and all of the "King" hype then yes you have to face the criticism when you play poorly.
All it would take him is 3 months to become the most unstoppable player in the league, just 3 months.
