LeBron James is one of the best players to play in the league right now. He can score rebound and pass the ball pretty well especially considering his age at only 20 years old. Definitely a good pick up for the Cleaveland Cavaliers. Although he is a great player, do you guys think perhaps LeBron James is overrated? Maybe a little? Let's take into consideration James plays 40+ minutes on a team that he is their primary option. I have heard it well over a thousand times that he is the next Michael Jordan. Personally, I feel that he is the next Magic Johnson. Just look at them. Both tall, and can see the floor very well. The only thing is that Magic was more of a passer while James is more of a scorer. Also as soon as Jordan entered the league, he made an immediate impact. James has too but, the impact that Jordan made in the begining of his career was what made him the best. He started out as an absolute superstar and ended as one (Washington not included). James started out well, and will probably end his career very well too. Again, I feel that LeBron James is a good player and will become a good player in this league however, I feel that he is a bit overrated and I wanted to know if I am bugging.
i also feel that way. he is overrated. the hype for him is way too big. he's not that great. he hasn't done anything extraordinary to call him the next 'jordan'.
Depends, I don't think he's overatted really, but some people do make it seem like he's flawless, he's still needs a fair amount of defensive work, and still needs to fine tune some things, but at his age and experience level, he's real good. The only overatting I would see would be to propose him as the best wingman in the league at this point, he's not yet, he still needs to get the defensive part of his game up to par before being that, and then he'll just take over the wing spot. His defense is obviously improved from last season, but he's still just above average on the ball. I'll wait 2 years before starting to make any Jordan or whoever else comparison's, but he'd strike me as a Magic with less passing and more scoring.
I am with og15, he isn't really overrated, but some people consider him too good. I would say how much hype he had coming in, he has for the most part lived up to it. I for one, never thought he could do it, and I was a doubter. He has proved me wrong.
I don't think he's overrated at all. And I also agree with og15, as he becoming the next Magic Johnson at being 6'8" and has excellent vision to go along with his assists. He <font color="black">probably </font>can play every position on the court, like Magic did. He has developed a way better shot than last year, and was <font color="black"><font face="Times New Roman"><font face="Verdana">probably</font> </font></font>the best pick that the Cavaliers picked in their franchise history.
I only hate the LeBron groupies who think he's flawless and the people who only became fans of the Cavs because of him. LeBron himself is a great player, but the hype is sometimes so annoying. Dwyane Wade is a better comparison for MJ IMO.
IMO there is no way he is over rated, he has definitely lived up to, if not surpassed the expectations for him in his first two seasons. He has improved his shooting percentage over 7 points from last season to this year. But like Bobcats said he does have flaws. He is an average three point shooter at best, but then again neither was MJ(career 3PT .327). Also he sometimes holds the ball to long, which is cause for his high turnover number of 3.2 per game. He is only going to get better people, so no need to say he is over rated.
We will never have another Jordan..he revolutonized the game..LeBron won't do that. LeBron, like og15 said, is more of a Magic Johnson type player with more scoring and less passing...he is no Jordan.
the media is retarded. how many "next jordans" has there been? everyone from one hit wonders like harold minor to high flyers like vince carter. they love to put that tag on players and often it dissapoints the bottom line is, there will be no next jordan or magic, or bird. lebron is the first and last lebron on the subject...overrated? i think absolutely not. over HYPED? hell yes i think this is proof that he's not overrated. how can you not continue to rate a player highly that has this below their name: Ranks #5 in the NBA in Points Per Game(24.5) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Assists Per Game(7.1) Ranks #2 in the NBA in Steals Per Game(2.47) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Minutes Per Game(40.9) Ranks #1 in the NBA in Minutes Played(1226.0) Ranks #3 in the NBA in Field Goals Made(274.0) Ranks #4 in the NBA in Field Goal Attempts(560.0) Ranks #16 in the NBA in Free Throws(159.0) Ranks #16 in the NBA in Free Throw Attempts(210.0) Ranks #5 in the NBA in Assists(214.0) Ranks #2 in the NBA in Steals(74.0) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Points(734.0) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Field Goals Per 48 Minutes(10.73) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Steals Per 48 Minutes(2.9) Ranks #10 in the NBA in Points Per 48 Minutes(28.7) Ranks #3 in the NBA in Total Efficiency Points(825.0) Ranks #3 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking(27.5) Ranks #6 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking Per 48 Minutes(32.3) Ranks #13 in the NBA in Turnovers Per Game(3.17) thats top 10 in almost everything...he's top 10 in the league in turnovers as well...but when you handle the ball that much, and log that many minutes...you're going to turn the ball over.
What is the difference in being over hyped? Do you mean over hyped in advertising etc? If you gave 40 minutes to say...Carmelo Anthony and put him on a Cavs team in where they had much less options as Denver, would you think Anthony could put up similar numbers? I think so. James' numbers are in part due to the east being weak, and his oppurtunities.
Lebron is NOT overrated. I dont think anyone makes the claim that he's the best wingman in the league. What they do say is that he's among them, and then they point out that he's only 20 years old. He's definately improving, living up to hype and his team is winning. Sure he's the primary option mrg18, but its not like we're talking about Mighty Mouse and the expansion Raptors, or even Okafor and the Bobcats. Cleveland is a good team, with alot of talented players and a good coach. He gets his touches because he deservest them, and he's efficient with them. Compare his numbers to Kobe's and see what you get.
Well although you do have a point 02civic, Kobe is still playing in a tougher division and conference than LeBron James. Also I think people confuse the fact that he is very young with his actual abilities. He is a great plyer and bound for greatness however, I do not think he is the best player in the east, or league. I feel Wade is on his level as well however, because of him great players such as Dwayne Wade, are being overshadowed.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mrj18:</div><div class="quote_post">What is the difference in being over hyped? Do you mean over hyped in advertising etc? If you gave 40 minutes to say...Carmelo Anthony and put him on a Cavs team in where they had much less options as Denver, would you think Anthony could put up similar numbers? I think so. James' numbers are in part due to the east being weak, and his oppurtunities.</div> yes...over hyped meaning the media hyping him up (like i said). as opposed to being overRATED by nba followers, analysts...etc could carmello avg the same kind of numbers lebron is given the same situation? maybe...possibly...maybe not...nobody knows for certain. certainly seems possible though. opportunity doesnt enter into it though imo. thats like saying kobe scores the way he does because he gets lots of opportunities...same with iverson, pierce, duncan...pretty much any primary offensive player on a team is obviously going to get the ball more and going to get more plays called for them, and more opportunities.
Overated NO. Overhyped maybe just a little . For the way he is playing he deserves all the tv, sportcenter highlights etc. Cleveland has done so much better with him, he does what he has to do to get his team wins. If that makes him overrated then how many players in the league are? I feel he is carrying this team as much as he can. As far as the overhypeness, as they say...sometimes too much of a good thing is bad For the people who are slow the "overhyped" part was sarcasim For the Record.. Why is it when somebody is doing so good, somebody has to say they are overrated?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 02civic:</div><div class="quote_post">Lebron is NOT overrated. I dont think anyone makes the claim that he's the best wingman in the league. What they do say is that he's among them, and then they point out that he's only 20 years old. He's definately improving, living up to hype and his team is winning. Sure he's the primary option mrg18, but its not like we're talking about Mighty Mouse and the expansion Raptors, or even Okafor and the Bobcats. Cleveland is a good team, with alot of talented players and a good coach. He gets his touches because he deservest them, and he's efficient with them. Compare his numbers to Kobe's and see what you get.</div> What did you get?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dj_premium_plus:</div><div class="quote_post">yes...over hyped meaning the media hyping him up (like i said). as opposed to being overRATED by nba followers, analysts...etc could carmello avg the same kind of numbers lebron is given the same situation? maybe...possibly...maybe not...nobody knows for certain. certainly seems possible though. opportunity doesnt enter into it though imo. thats like saying kobe scores the way he does because he gets lots of opportunities...same with iverson, pierce, duncan...pretty much any primary offensive player on a team is obviously going to get the ball more and going to get more plays called for them, and more opportunities.</div> From opportunities I mean he really only has Gooden, McInnis and Ilguaskas are really the only options (offensively). They all average double digits but, from then on it goes almost 10 points lower to the next scorer. If you put LeBron say on a team with more options on say...LA, I am sure some of his numbers will go down. Don't get me wrong. LeBron is a great player and I wish he looked like this:
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What is the difference in being over hyped? Do you mean over hyped in advertising etc? If you gave 40 minutes to say...Carmelo Anthony and put him on a Cavs team in where they had much less options as Denver, would you think Anthony could put up similar numbers? I think so. James' numbers are in part due to the east being weak, and his oppurtunities.</div> Carmelo in Lebron's position would be scoring about the same amount of points, but on more shots, and shooting about the same percentage he is now in Denver, which isn't a good thing. Carmelo on the Cavs would have what, 23-24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3+ turnovers, not much difference except an increase in PPG because he'd play more minutes. Even right now, Carmelo is already taking more shots than Lebron [a small margin], counting or not counting free throws, and he plays about 4 minutes less, so he's getting the oppurtunity to shoot, just not making them with a high percentage. The East being weak doesn't have anything to do with perimeter players numbers, most of the time the East has had better perimeter players, and the East has also had better defensive teams.The East being weak can be related to a teams record or playoff berth, but has nothing to do with a players numbers in the season. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">From opportunities I mean he really only has Gooden, McInnis and Ilguaskas are really the only options (offensively). They all average double digits but, from then on it goes almost 10 points lower to the next scorer. If you put LeBron say on a team with more options on say...LA, I am sure some of his numbers will go down. Don't get me wrong. LeBron is a great player and I wish he looked like this:</div> The Cavs play their starters a lot, that's why, no one on the bench get's many minutes. Dajaun Wagner and Varejao would also score in double digits if they played 25-28 minutes off the bench like Boykins or Nene. Harris and Traylor would also be close having something like 9 PPG. The Cavs play their starters heavy minutes, McInnis and Lebron are playing 38+, Gooden and Ilguaskas about 32-33, and only Newble is playing little at 22.9 minutes. His time out is shared by Snow and Lucious, but their highest minute off the bench is Snow with 20.6.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The East being weak doesn't have anything to do with perimeter players numbers, most of the time the East has had better perimeter players, and the East has also had better defensive teams.The East being weak can be related to a teams record or playoff berth, but has nothing to do with a players numbers in the season.</div> Well the east is without a doubt the worst conference out of the 2 in the league. But, 67% of Cleaveland's games (20-30) were from the east. Now from that 20, 6 of them were teams currently in the playoff mix not even including the struggling ones like Detroit, and New York. Those teams defense is nothing to write home about with their oponents averaging 97.6 ppg. So, some of LeBron's scoring average has been increased with dropping 40 on Atlanta, and high 20's on other mediocre teams. I really don't see the east with any great defensive teams except Detroit, New Jersey(it will change now that Mourning and everyone else are gone), and Chicago has been keeping their opponents in low scoring affairs. Although James has been doing his thing this year, I think for some to compare him to Kobe will give you somewhat inaccurate stats. If you put Kobe on the Cavaliers instead of James, I am almost sure he would be dropping over 30ppg.
I don't get your reasoning, you made no point as to why the East has worse defensive teams, their's 2 types of bad teams, their's the bad teams who have scrub players who play hard every game, and their's the bad teams who just suck. If a team is bad it doesn't mean they're bad defensively. A team like the Denver Nuggets a few seasons ago won like 17 games, but were one of the better defensive teams in the league even with all scrubs. Lebron is averaging 23.2 PPG vs the West including the Houston game where he scored 3 points with the Mutombo elbow, without that he's averaging 25.2 PPG vs the West which is more than his season average. Yup, the West defense definately kills players, vs the East his numbers are: 25.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 48.5% FG vs West [without Houston] 25.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 51.0% FG, yup, that Western defense is killing the guy. Their're a lot of Western teams that play more to outscore you that to actually stop you defensively, the West in total isn't really better defensively, both conferences are about the same really.
