Author Topic: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6  (Read 5894 times)

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Offline Phantom255x

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Not going to lie, but I'm actually feeling oddly confident about our chances in Game 6.  :o

My gut feeling says we win a close affair tomorrow night, winning by 6-8 points. And my gut feeling thought we'd win last night, and it also thought Houston would win Game 4 in a thriller despite the odds heavily stacked against them at Oracle Arena.

And even after going up 2-0 in this series, I honestly thought Cleveland would win Game 3 by double digits at home (with role players doing better), and then after Game 3, even the optimist in me felt like while the game would be closer, Cleveland would probably still win Game 4 by 8-12 points with Lebron going off (and it happened).

But here's the thing. Between Game 2 and 3, both teams had 3 whole days off between games, so the Cavaliers got some good rest and came out rejuvenated in Game 3 (as well as Game 4). However, there's only a day off between games from here on out, and that's an advantage for our youth going up against the "old" Cavaliers.

And now we hear Lebron may be fatigued. He certainly looked like it for most of the 2nd half last night. Remember when he sat out like a minute very late in the 2nd quarter? How often does he do that? Usually he sits the end of the 1st/early 2nd and again late 3rd/early 4th. But Lebron had to sit out like a minute late in the 2nd because he was tired. Whoa. Cavaliers were down like 11-13 points and it was a crucial final 2 minutes of the first half coming up, and Lebron had to sit.

Yes folks, he's fatigued. In the 2nd half, most of his stepback 3s and fadeaway 2s which we've seen Lebron make in his sleep over the years were rimming out or falling short (hitting front rim). He was aggressive to start the 3rd, bodying up on guys and driving into the paint, but I don't think we saw much of that in the final 4 minutes of the 3rd, and the entire 4th.

It's an interesting wrinkle added to this series. This may be our best shot to steal one at the Q. Now that's not to say we're guaranteed to win tomorrow night. Not at all. We still have to play smarter on the road and have to start off well (or at least not fall behind by 10+ in the first quarter).

But if we make Lebron work for everything again and essentially force him to try and play 40+ minutes, we got him! Lebron may put up his great numbers and will start off looking energetic, but by 20-25 minutes, he'll probably get fatigued again so long as we play physical with him and make him work for everything.

Then it's up to the role players for CLE to take over, and while I think they'll do a lot better again at home, it may not be enough if Lebron isn't as aggressive and looks tired by the 2nd half.

It's a "new series" again, and lets forget about Games 3 and 4. Come out strong, play better, convert the easy bunnies we've missed a ton of the last two games, and we can close this out for good tomorrow night!  ;D 8)
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2018, 10:35:24 AM »

Offline JHTruth

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I don't know why people would be surprised if LeBron was finally starting to break down. No one has played more minutes over the last decade. And has more on his shoulders. It was going to happen at some point.


Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2018, 10:38:06 AM »

Offline Phantom255x

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I don't know why people would be surprised if LeBron was finally starting to break down. No one has played more minutes over the last decade. And has more on his shoulders. It was going to happen at some point.

Yeah, like as much as I despise him, I do respect his work ethic and he's no doubt the best player in the NBA today. But it certainly looks like the heavy workload is catching up to him. It also must be demoralizing to him mentally seeing his teammates brick a bunch of open looks lol. Psychologically, this may be Lebron's toughest series in the Eastern Conference in a long time. And that's against a team missing two all-stars and a great bench player (Theis).

"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2018, 10:39:14 AM »

Offline Moranis

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem. 
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Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2018, 10:43:08 AM »

Offline ederson

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.

and 6TO and lots of misses most of them at the last 8mins

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2018, 10:44:04 AM »

Offline green_bballers13

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.

100%. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson are paid like top tier players, but they are not. They are in the Marcus Morris, not Anthony Davis, grouping. JR Smith and Ty Lue stink. Korver is what he is. George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Jordan Clarkson are meh players. The Cavs are just not that good.

Everyone wants to pin this on Lebron. He needs a better team, and I imagine that will be coming soon after the Cavs begin golf season.

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2018, 10:44:51 AM »

Offline Phantom255x

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.

When did I ever say Lebron was the problem?? I never explicitly said Lebron lost them the game last night, I just said he looks fatigued out there and we now have an opening...  ???

Now if you're referring to me saying his shots weren't falling as consistently in the 2nd half... well yeah that was true for the most part. It's BECAUSE he looked fatigued. Again, that's my point, not "Lebron lost them Game 5"
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2018, 10:45:57 AM »

Offline DefenseWinsChamps

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.

Agreed, but that is relative. The truth is, Lebron needs to score 40 and get triple doubles to help his team win. He has done this time and time again this playoffs, but couldn't this game.

That said, it is unreasonable to ask a player to shoulder that much burden. They need a player like Irving.

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2018, 10:47:36 AM »

Offline JHTruth

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I don't know why people would be surprised if LeBron was finally starting to break down. No one has played more minutes over the last decade. And has more on his shoulders. It was going to happen at some point.

Yeah, like as much as I despise him, I do respect his work ethic and he's no doubt the best player in the NBA today. But it certainly looks like the heavy workload is catching up to him. It also must be demoralizing to him mentally seeing his teammates brick a bunch of open looks lol. Psychologically, this may be Lebron's toughest series in the Eastern Conference in a long time. And that's against a team missing two all-stars and a great bench player (Theis).

That and he has to know even if they come back and beat the Cs in this series, the Finals are a lost cause. The Celtics can get creamed in the Finals and say, well we'll be back next year. LeBron probably can't..

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2018, 10:50:37 AM »

Offline gouki88

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.
Again you’re missing the point. Nobody is saying that he’s the reason they lost. Poor coaching and awful starters (Hill, JR and Thompson) were key reasons. But LeBron has never looked like this before, and wasn’t nearly the frightening presence at the end of the game that he usually is.
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Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2018, 10:59:16 AM »

Offline Phantom255x

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.
Again you’re missing the point. Nobody is saying that he’s the reason they lost. Poor coaching and awful starters (Hill, JR and Thompson) were key reasons. But LeBron has never looked like this before, and wasn’t nearly the frightening presence at the end of the game that he usually is.

TP. Exactly.  ;D
"Tough times never last, but tough people do." - Robert H. Schuller

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #11 on: May 24, 2018, 11:06:52 AM »

Offline trickybilly

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I think the CBS write up nailed it when they said he realised with about 6 minutes to go, it just wasn't gonna be their night.

LeBron will be a beast in this(e) last game(s).

I think we might collectively be an even bigger beast though...
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2018, 11:09:30 AM »

Online hpantazo

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I think the CBS write up nailed it when they said he realised with about 6 minutes to go, it just wasn't gonna be their night.

LeBron will be a beast in this(e) last game(s).

I think we might collectively be an even bigger beast though...

Our guys can smell it and taste it now, and they are hungrier, having never been to the Finals. They are going to come out full force to get this Finals trip.

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2018, 11:10:16 AM »

Offline Boston Garden Leprechaun

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26/10/5 on 50% shooting.  Lebron wasn't the problem.

100%. Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson are paid like top tier players, but they are not. They are in the Marcus Morris, not Anthony Davis, grouping. JR Smith and Ty Lue stink. Korver is what he is. George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Jordan Clarkson are meh players. The Cavs are just not that good.

Everyone wants to pin this on Lebron. He needs a better team, and I imagine that will be coming soon after the Cavs begin golf season.

needs a better team? he has played on stacked heat and cavs teams for years! no sympathy from me. he is a huge arch enemy.  better team? BWAHAHAHA. not a single care given. the pain he has caused us? FINISH HIM FRIDAY IN HIS BARN!
LET'S GO CELTICS!

Re: A "Fatigued" Lebron Adds A New Wrinkle Heading Into Game 6
« Reply #14 on: May 24, 2018, 11:11:02 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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Its the same thing with Embiid, he was the 76ers best player but still got fatigued.

Embiid wasn't the problem, the problem was they were asking too much from Embiid. They needed him to fight for post position 20+ times, anchor their defense, run out on Horford/Baynes pick and pops, and contain perimeter players on switches.

LBJ is amazing but he's 33 and at 33 you cannot go full out like you can at 28, that's all we are seeing now.