Rumor or excuse: Lebron's elbow is worse than first reported (merged)

[Dybdal]

I really wanted to make a post about both cases for Lebron being hurt and Lebron just playing outright poorly.. but there's evidence to support both cases in my opinon

But what gets to me is IF lebron is playing hurt, then why has he not said anything to that effect? if anything this is just hurting his image and i dont see him comming forward and telling everyone after this series would do him any good.

And dont forget, yesterday was lebrons 4th worst game scoring wise in his playoff history.. and the 08 Celtics gave him his second worst playoff scoring day.

So there is most def argues for both cases.. it just all comes back to lebron, he's being to vague about the issue.

[celticinorlando]

this is no surprise...i posted this rumor last week. i do believe his elbow is shredded and i dont care if it is. i want to see him and the cavs suffer even more

[Celts17Pride]

Who cares? I hope Lebron and his excuses have a nice summer.

[Brendan]

I see no reason to doubt that his elbow is hurt. As I said before he seems to be playing much better on an extra days rest, which makes sense given the type of injury it is supposed to be...

Hollinger had this to say (insider):

Witness: Games 2, 4 and 5 came with just one day of rest; in those three, he shot 0-for-13 on 3s and 17-for-47 overall. Games 1 and 3, on the other hand, had an extra day of rest beforehand, which seemed to allow his elbow to feel much better: In those two contests, he was a one-man wrecking crew, making 26 of 46 shots from the floor and scoring 73 points. Needless to say, those were the two Cleveland wins in this series.

What it all means for the Cavs is rather worrisome because Thursday's must-win Game 6 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) comes on one day's rest again. The silver lining is that Cleveland would have two days off before Game 7, which means it probably would have something closer to a 100 percent LeBron for a potential rubber match. Unfortunately, the Cavs won't get past Game 6 unless James either attacks the basket with much more conviction or finds a way to sink a few jumpers despite the balky elbow.

I absolutely agree with that. This kind of injury inflamed type thing requires rest. Probably takes a day to get it down from a game, and then a day to get it ready for a game. When Lebron has that extra day he can play at full strength. When not it cascades (so the more games he plays without two days off, the worse it gets.) Things like traveling by plane, really can effect it too. For the C's game 6 is the best shot (not the last), but the best to get by Lebron.

Lebron has made two mistake:

1. Shooting the free throw lefty - just take a bad shot and miss and keep it off the radar. A hockey player could have his left arm amputated in the playoffs and the official diagnosis would be "upper body injury - questionable". By publicizing the injury he opened the door for the C's to take advantage and for it to be a nagging question.

2. It seems like its effecting his game beyond the physical issue. He wants to be Magic or Jordan, then he needs to forget about it, figure out what works, and do that. With his passing, rebounding, and defense, he should be able to effect the game anyways.

As for a torn ligament - not sure about that - if that's actually true then Game 3 is probably the single greatest playoff game performance ever, regardless of the series outcome.

[misha]

If so, good thing that he doesn't have an extra day to rest before game 6. There will plenty of time for recovery over the summer.

[twinbree]

If Lebron is seriously injured why would the FO cover it up and continue to let their prized FA to be risk his health? It's not like this is the finals he'd have to go through 2 more series if they won this one. Doesn't make sense to me.

And why would he go along with it? The fact that he chose the decidedly more dramatic route of the left-handed free throw just doesn't scream I'll suffer in silence and quietly play through a serious injury to me.
 
I do feel for the fans though because we know well how nerve-wracking this kind of uncertainty feels.

[openairmovie]

its kind of funny that Cleveland's motto is "All together"  but in reality  its still a one man team....really gives you that togetherness feel huh?   That city is a joke

[CELTICSNUM1]

His elbow sure looked hurt when he did that backward dunk and was hanging from the rim.  

[openairmovie]

His elbow sure looked hurt when he did that backward dunk and was hanging from the rim.  

or when he was shooting pregame halfcourt shots  before game 4

[dlpin]

His elbow sure looked hurt when he did that backward dunk and was hanging from the rim.  

or when he was shooting pregame halfcourt shots  before game 4

Exactly. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if his elbow is hurt, why is his free throw shooting almost exactly like his career average? Why is his fg% almost exactly like his career playoff average?

I mean, how in the world does an elbow injury prevent someone from driving to the paint, passing, or generally giving a crap, but has no effect on his shooting?

[JHTruth]

Well to be fair, the Cavs performance thus far in this series is inexplicable to most people. This team was just ridiculous in the regular season.

Now seasoned sports observers can probably tell what is going on. LeBron is simply overmatched. Not only by the Celtics, who are killing his team, but by the pathetic performance of his teammates and implosion that seems to be happening in the Cavs clubhouse. In order to compete against a tough, veteran, focused squad you need 100% focus from the whole team. I just think LeBron is realizing that he should have killed the FA thing completely much sooner. It's a distraction and every Cav knows Brown is a dead man walking.

The Cavs are falling prey to a good old-fashioned implosion. It happens in sports. That's why chemistry is so, so important. The Celtics edge that few talk about is that the core of the team has been together for three seasons now while the Cavs keep moving pieces around LeBron. You can just tell when a team says all the right things, but on the floor they just can't handle the pressure..

[RJ87]

Furthermore, there was this little nugget courtesy of Rachel Nichols twitter yesterday before the game:

LeBron having fun shooting pregame, even went for a 360 dunk. Grabbed his right arm briefly after but told me coming off the court he’s fine

If you have a torn ligament, no way you're going in for dunks like that - IN PREGAME.

[Rondo_is_better]

I was paroozing RealCavsFan.com when I saw a thread titled, "Elbowgate - Torn Ligament?"My first thought was wow, that's pathetic. How deluded can you possible be? I opened the thread and my second thought was HA. HAHAHAHAHA. According to website called FearTheSword.com, a "medical person" "close to Lebron" said that he has a TORN LIGAMENT in his elbow that should be keeping him out for 6-8 weeks. Instead, he is playing through it like the super great warrior king he is. What a champ! good for him! yay, self-delusion!

How do they explain away Lebron's being fine in game 3, and performing incredibly well?

Apparently, he got "some sort of shot" with "some drug" that you can only get once every 10 days, and he got it for game 3, and now he can't get it anymore.   

I'm so sad about this true rumor, guys. Aren't you?

[celticinorlando]

james said this after practice today:


UPDATE -- When asked earlier today about his elbow, LeBron, for the first time, admitted that it was an issue that will need addressed after the season -

"The elbow is an issue I'll deal with in the offseason."

Again, make your own judgments....

[crownsy]

james said this after practice today:


UPDATE -- When asked earlier today about his elbow, LeBron, for the first time, admitted that it was an issue that will need addressed after the season -

"The elbow is an issue I'll deal with in the offseason."

Again, make your own judgments....

Mabey he should slow down on the pregame 360 dunks and Half court shots in warm ups then.

That's what ticks people off, if it's such a problem, you'd think he would do everything in his power to rest it till the game, not be fooling around with half court shots and such.