Lebron's dream. The moral of the story: He's not that good.

[Celtic]

TP, pretty funny.

Of course Lebron is a good player, but who cares it's funny.

[ducksawce]

That was just hilarious!  I love the creativity...the Ewing thing just cracked me up because Olajuwon was my favorite player back in the day (circa 94'-95').

Lebron is unbelievably gifted, but of course that misses the point entirely.  He's the Wilt Chamberlain of the 2000's, and though he has a keen sense of playmaking, there is something fundamentally flawed with the manner in which either he himself, or his ORGANIZATION has run things.  

I think THAT is the crux of the problem.  As someone else in the forums mentioned, look at the Thunder right now.  Though Durant will prove to be a similar talent to Lebron (in theory), look at how his team has grown organically.  The entire Thunder organization has grown together.  I haven't seen the same out of the Cavaliers during the past 7 years.  

In addition, just look at the Eastern conference competition that has dissallowed Lebron from truly growing up as a great player during the past 7 years.  The conference has been a joke. That's why the Cavs fell in 4 to the Spurs in 2007.  

Now look at how the Thunder have grown amidst the bloodbath that has been the Western Conference the past 4 years....the team's demeanor, and Durant's, has been molded into something approaching that of a true competitor.  I don't see the same look in Lebron, and I certainly don't think it's really HIS fault mainly.  It is an unfortunate side-effect of having a team rely on ONE player early one, ACHIEVE some level of success early on with that player as a central focus, AND not grow from that.  Oh well...their loss, the Celtics' gain.

Just hilarious though

[Fan from VT]

Fun Post! Thanks for that.


However...

We better hope he IS that good. Because otherwise we just watched the Celtics beat a poorly coached team relying on Mo Williams and a 33 year old Jamison and ridiculously old Shaq. And if that's the case, get ready to get demolished by Orlando.

On the other hand, maybe his teammates and coach are just pretty bad, and he IS that good, BUT the Celtics are just playing THAT WELL right now, and ready to smack down Orlando.




Really, why try to tear down a team WE JUST BEAT? Why say "we just beat a really overrated team! Yeah!"  Why not say "Holy Cow! That was the second best team in the league..because WE'RE NUMBER ONE AND WE BEAT THEM!"

[Brendan]

What's your chain of best player in the game?

Going backwards I'd say:

Lebron 2010 - 2008
Duncan 2008 - 2003 (argument for KG some years)
Shaq 2003 - 1998
MJ 1989 - 1998 (w/ Hakeem taking two)
Magic/Bird - 1980 - 1989

Maybe 8 or 9 guys over the last 30 years that can claim to have been the best for any sustained period. But Lebron loses to a team that probably starts four players better than his number 2 and he's now doomed forever? If things ended today, Lebron would at least be in the mailman room.

Funny read though.

[hwangjini_1]

geez guys. for perhaps the first time i am disappointed in cb posters.

the celtics just beat cleveland and will face orlando, a team that matches up well with the celtics and beat them last year.

the celtics are one step closer to #18.

but in the "latest forum topics" this morning, fully 5 threads were about lebron james. i am surprised more focus here is not on the celtics.

were are all the celtic orlando threads?

[Eja117]

Dream TWO

Rondo: Ooohhhhh I'm baaaackkkkk.

Lebron: What do you want?

Rondo: Oh. Hello "King". I just wanted to follow up with you. First off your original dream has been edited and revised to make it a little better due to rampant misspellings originally. But also I'm here to tell you not to feel too bad. "Superman has been knocked down into the Ewing room, which is fitting seeing as how he's his coach.
Also I am here to tell you that you will soon receieve a visit from the ghost of basketball past.

Lebron: Who is that? Bill Russell?

Rondo: You'll see. You'll see. Oooooohhhhhhh

[Eja117]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

[Roy Hobbs]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Gotta agree with this one.  Guys who want to be considered the GOAT at their position (or overall) can't be seen as riding coattails.  When everything is said and done, Larry Bird will rightfully retain his place in the conventional wisdom as the best small forward of all-time.  Kobe has solidified his spot as the best player of this generation.

[Fafnir]

What's your chain of best player in the game?

Going backwards I'd say:

Lebron 2010 - 2008
Duncan 2008 - 2003 (argument for KG some years)
Shaq 2003 - 1998
MJ 1989 - 1998 (w/ Hakeem taking two)
Magic/Bird - 1980 - 1989

Maybe 8 or 9 guys over the last 30 years that can claim to have been the best for any sustained period. But Lebron loses to a team that probably starts four players better than his number 2 and he's now doomed forever? If things ended today, Lebron would at least be in the mailman room.

Funny read though.

I'd say KG definitely had a better 2008 than TD, Tim's injuries really hurt him that season.

TP for the rest of the post, you're right on.

[Fafnir]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Gotta agree with this one.  Guys who want to be considered the GOAT at their position (or overall) can't be seen as riding coattails.  When everything is said and done, Larry Bird will rightfully retain his place in the conventional wisdom as the best small forward of all-time.  Kobe has solidified his spot as the best player of this generation.

I disagree with this line of thought, great players don't do it alone. Plus you're projecting very far into the future.

Besides isn't Kobe more of Tim Duncan's, KG's, Pierce's, and Ray Allen's generation?

LeBron's generation would be Melo, Wade, Rondo, CP3, Deron, etc right?

[Mike-Dub]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Gotta agree with this one.  Guys who want to be considered the GOAT at their position (or overall) can't be seen as riding coattails.  When everything is said and done, Larry Bird will rightfully retain his place in the conventional wisdom as the best small forward of all-time.  Kobe has solidified his spot as the best player of this generation.

I disagree with this line of thought, great players don't do it alone. Plus you're projecting very far into the future.

Besides isn't Kobe more of Tim Duncan's, KG's, Pierce's, and Ray Allen's generation?

LeBron's generation would be Melo, Wade, Rondo, CP3, Deron, etc right?

Yes, most great players don't do it alone, but the lead the teams they were drafted on to championships and LeBron had to switch teams.  Had LeBron gone to the Bulls he would still have a chance to be in the first group, albeit a very low chance because he would have to win 7 rings, but his chance is virtually none now that he went to the Heat.

 Dwayne Wade has that chance, because it's his team, not LeBron.

[Fafnir]

So Kareem and Wilt aren't all time greats because they switched teams?

I don't think switching teams such a big deal, I think the manner which he handled the FA and his 1-hour "special are the only things that LeBron did wrong.

[Roy Hobbs]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Gotta agree with this one.  Guys who want to be considered the GOAT at their position (or overall) can't be seen as riding coattails.  When everything is said and done, Larry Bird will rightfully retain his place in the conventional wisdom as the best small forward of all-time.  Kobe has solidified his spot as the best player of this generation.

I disagree with this line of thought, great players don't do it alone. Plus you're projecting very far into the future.

Besides isn't Kobe more of Tim Duncan's, KG's, Pierce's, and Ray Allen's generation?

LeBron's generation would be Melo, Wade, Rondo, CP3, Deron, etc right?

Great players need to be seen as unquestionably the leader of their team.  That was the knock on Kobe, until his most recent two championships.  Russell led his teams, Larry and Magic did, Michael and Hakeem and Duncan did.  Lebron has been seen as the leader of a bunch of teams that fell short, and now he's decided to play next to an alpha-dog who has won a championship as the unquestionable leader of his team.

Lebron has decided to be Pippen, rather than MJ.  A respect the decision to go for rings, but as argued elsewhere, I think this hurts his legacy.  He'll still be seen as one of the all-time greats if he wins championships, but he'll never be seen as a top-five player, in my opinion.

As for Lebron's generation, for the first seven years of his career he overlapped Kobe, and an aging Kobe beat Lebron in his prime.  This era of the 2000s will largely be seen as the post-Jordan era, and when it's remembered, Kobe will be the one people think of as the greatest.  Lebron, I predict, will be seen as the guy who couldn't win until he joined a super-team.

[Fafnir]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Gotta agree with this one.  Guys who want to be considered the GOAT at their position (or overall) can't be seen as riding coattails.  When everything is said and done, Larry Bird will rightfully retain his place in the conventional wisdom as the best small forward of all-time.  Kobe has solidified his spot as the best player of this generation.

I disagree with this line of thought, great players don't do it alone. Plus you're projecting very far into the future.

Besides isn't Kobe more of Tim Duncan's, KG's, Pierce's, and Ray Allen's generation?

LeBron's generation would be Melo, Wade, Rondo, CP3, Deron, etc right?

Great players need to be seen as unquestionably the leader of their team.  That was the knock on Kobe, until his most recent two championships.  Russell led his teams, Larry and Magic did, Michael and Hakeem and Duncan did.  Lebron has been seen as the leader of a bunch of teams that fell short, and now he's decided to play next to an alpha-dog who has won a championship as the unquestionable leader of his team.

Lebron has decided to be Pippen, rather than MJ.  A respect the decision to go for rings, but as argued elsewhere, I think this hurts his legacy.  He'll still be seen as one of the all-time greats if he wins championships, but he'll never be seen as a top-five player, in my opinion.

As for Lebron's generation, for the first seven years of his career he overlapped Kobe, and an aging Kobe beat Lebron in his prime.  This era of the 2000s will largely be seen as the post-Jordan era, and when it's remembered, Kobe will be the one people think of as the greatest.  Lebron, I predict, will be seen as the guy who couldn't win until he joined a super-team.

I think they're too far apart to directly compete all that much historically, especially when they never played in a playoff series.

Kobe's competition is more from Tim Duncan and Shaq.

[Mike-Dub]

Dream three:

Bill Russell:  Wake up you lazy piece of garbage! Wake up!

Lebron: huh?

Bill Russell: You want to get into the room of legit GOAT players don't you?

Lebron: Yeah. Of course.

Bill Russell fading away: That's not how you get in Lebron. That's not how you get innnnnnn......


Lebron: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Gotta agree with this one.  Guys who want to be considered the GOAT at their position (or overall) can't be seen as riding coattails.  When everything is said and done, Larry Bird will rightfully retain his place in the conventional wisdom as the best small forward of all-time.  Kobe has solidified his spot as the best player of this generation.

I disagree with this line of thought, great players don't do it alone. Plus you're projecting very far into the future.

Besides isn't Kobe more of Tim Duncan's, KG's, Pierce's, and Ray Allen's generation?

LeBron's generation would be Melo, Wade, Rondo, CP3, Deron, etc right?

Lebron has decided to be Pippen, rather than MJ.

I know people use Pippen as the metaphor for a teams number 2 player on his team, but Pippen was the ultimate number 2 and not only the number 2 player on his team during that time, but in the league, it is a  disgrace to Pippen and a knock on him to put LeBron in the same sentence as him.