Great Woj Article on LBJ

[RAcker]

[Bankshot]

For the record, that was Gene Woj from espn.com on the show, this is a different one.

Please... I saw Woj... on Around the Horn the other day.  He picked Cleveland to win because he said they were the better team.  He only wrote this stuff about Lebron because Cleveland didn't come through and his prediction was wrong.

I also wanted to add that I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment of James. Did anyone see all the standing around he was doing in the second half last night? Pathetic. He was pulling a childish, Kobe-like act. Except he doesn't have the rings to have earned it. Just because things weren't going his way he wanted to quit entirely. I think that's Lebron in a nutshell: He's a frontrunner. Once he misses a few shots or fails to get a few calls his effort deteriorates.

Could anyone honestly say that he couldn't have facilitated their offense last night? I mean, if wasn't going to take the shots he could've at least gotten into the lane and dished it. There were consecutive series where he didn't even touch the ball. There was no effort, no fire.

He should learn a thing or two from the Captain. Pierce's shot has been off all series, but he still plays tough D, he rebounds, he sets screens, he defers, he cheers on his teammates.
Hey LeBron! That is a leader.

My bad.  I take that back then.  And I love the article now.

[Prof. Clutch]

Woj held no punches with this piece that's for sure.

[nesnfsn]

... The only thing I would add to the article is an honorable mention to the league in its role of pushing the marketability and "godlike status" of Lebron.  It's not all on Lebron, he is partly a product of David Stern and his chronies.

How many of you would bet that the NBA's Marketing Dept. hasn't already made it clear to David Stern that PP and Ray Allen need to be whistled at tip-off for breathing in the Garden while his highness was present.

I expect that Stern will assign Bennett Salvatore, Joey Crawford and Kenny Mauer (sp?) to officiate tomorrow night. Stern will stop at nothing in order to get his match between Kobe and Lebron in the national spotlight for a 7 game series. Think of the merchandising possibilities with those 2 going at each other.

[MMacOH]

... The only thing I would add to the article is an honorable mention to the league in its role of pushing the marketability and "godlike status" of Lebron.  It's not all on Lebron, he is partly a product of David Stern and his chronies.

How many of you would bet that the NBA's Marketing Dept. hasn't already made it clear to David Stern that PP and Ray Allen need to be whistled at tip-off for breathing in the Garden while his highness was present.

I expect that Stern will assign Bennett Salvatore, Joey Crawford and Kenny Mauer (sp?) to officiate tomorrow night. Stern will stop at nothing in order to get his match between Kobe and Lebron in the national spotlight for a 7 game series. Think of the merchandising possibilities with those 2 going at each other.

Did you watch last night's game?  Tell me how having Crawford officate would help the Cavs

Regardless, this was a great read

[get_banners]

I think dogging James' attitude and arrogance is completely called for. That being said, yeah, he had a bad game. It happens. Should he have manned-up and taken the blame? Like all the other greats, yes. But his being pampered (Wojo has written about this before) is really about his team and the league/Stern more than him. I sense he's a pretty good kid, and if people decided to get tough on him (like forcing him to move without the ball, or not telling the refs to go extra easy on him), he'd adjust just fine.

[Lucky17]

I don't think it's that he had a bad game. It was the way he played, and his unapologetic manner afterwards, that people take issue with.

Try your best, or accept that you're hurting the team and take yourself out of the game. Don't coast/sleepwalk though 48 minutes while your team is getting destroyed in a playoff game in front of your own crowd.