the lebron factor

[GC003332]

It has been called the dark ages but MJ wasn't sitting out games his last year with the Bulls with more age and playoff games under his belt

Well, MJ also took almost two seasons off to refresh his body.  That probably factored into his body holding up so well.  Plus, MJ had a lot less weight on his body. 

I wonder, would we have gotten another year out of Larry Bird if he wasn't playing nearly 40 minutes per game in the regular season for basically his entire career?  It was mentioned earlier, but teams back then didn't take care of their players to the same degree.  Some guys can take it, because they're genetic freaks.  Other guys could use a rest once in awhile.

Jordan at the time he entered the playoffs in his last year had played 35,887 minutes in the regular season.  James right now has 35,711.

James has 158 playoff games.  Jordan had 158 playoff games before he entered the playoffs his final year in Chicago (he had 21 that year to finish with 179). 

So in other words, it just isn't true, at least in minutes.

I did see that and edited playoff games to regular season games ha ha
I guess it could be a moot point anyway , he may sit 2 or 3 games and they win them without him.

[celticsclay]

Cavs should focus on winning all their games as much as possible. It's unclear who will come out West and Cavs still have a shot at having a better record than some of them. Home court in finals better than a little rest.

Did you see how much better Lebron played after taking some time off? Love is legitimately injured and has missed games that they were trying their hardest to win. I don't see how you can say with a straight face that the benefits of resting these guys (especially if the player himself is saying he could use it) are offset by a chance that one finals game could be at their home court if everything breaks right in the West, the right team wins etc. If they burn out, get a small injury in these last games they might not even make it to the finals at all!

[Csfan1984]

Cavs should focus on winning all their games as much as possible. It's unclear who will come out West and Cavs still have a shot at having a better record than some of them. Home court in finals better than a little rest.

Did you see how much better Lebron played after taking some time off? Love is legitimately injured and has missed games that they were trying their hardest to win. I don't see how you can say with a straight face that the benefits of resting these guys (especially if the player himself is saying he could use it) are offset by a chance that one finals game could be at their home court if everything breaks right in the West, the right team wins etc. If they burn out, get a small injury in these last games they might not even make it to the finals at all!

2 games(little rest) isn't the same as when LeBron took entire week + off.

[Moranis]

Cavs should focus on winning all their games as much as possible. It's unclear who will come out West and Cavs still have a shot at having a better record than some of them. Home court in finals better than a little rest.

Did you see how much better Lebron played after taking some time off? Love is legitimately injured and has missed games that they were trying their hardest to win. I don't see how you can say with a straight face that the benefits of resting these guys (especially if the player himself is saying he could use it) are offset by a chance that one finals game could be at their home court if everything breaks right in the West, the right team wins etc. If they burn out, get a small injury in these last games they might not even make it to the finals at all!

2 games(little rest) isn't the same as when LeBron took entire week + off.

sure but sitting both Celtics games would give him 5 days off between games.  If they sat the one after that they would get a full week off and if they sat the last one they would have almost 2 weeks off before the playoffs. 

[mef730]

i will say, though, that as a paying fan who was one click away from plunking down a sizable chunk of change for some very nice seats for one of the Cleveland/Boston games, the reality that LeBron might spend the whole game on the bench definitely influenced my decision to watch the game from home.

I'm a STH and taking my 6-year old son to the game.  If LeBron plays, I get to see LeBron, but we lose and some tears might be shed (He is a very intense little boy.).  If Cleveland leaves the A-Team in Ohio, it'll be a boring game, but he won't know the difference.  Tough call, but tie goes to the kid.

Mike

[kraidstar]

I do not see the choke when matters which has always been his true factor.  Best player on the planet when things are going his way.

I think that Lebron put the "chokes in the clutch" thing behind him a few years back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7kkbpcgXI8

That was one of the best elimination game performances I can remember seeing.  It still sucks thinking about it.  It's probably the second most disappointing loss of the KG-era, simply because we never had a chance; Lebron was utterly unstoppable.

leborn has definitely had plenty of clutch moments.

but it helped that the celtics didn't show up at all in that game. i've felt the media and fans have always gone too easy on them for that game, that was a dog of an effort. at no point did they play with any energy or sense of urgency. got to play hard and put pressure on your opponents, and sometimes the momentum will shift, especially at home.

but IMO that game was a microcosm of the awful habits the c's developed their last few years in the KG era. way too often they would just coast along. finally it caught  up with them.

[D.o.s.]

i will say, though, that as a paying fan who was one click away from plunking down a sizable chunk of change for some very nice seats for one of the Cleveland/Boston games, the reality that LeBron might spend the whole game on the bench definitely influenced my decision to watch the game from home.

I'm a STH and taking my 6-year old son to the game.  If LeBron plays, I get to see LeBron, but we lose and some tears might be shed (He is a very intense little boy.).  If Cleveland leaves the A-Team in Ohio, it'll be a boring game, but he won't know the difference.  Tough call, but tie goes to the kid.

Mike

Yeah if I was in your shoes I'd definitely go -- but I'm not spending most of my rent on StubHub to not see LeBron play, you know?