What a Loser. Could have played in NY. And they look good.

[Fafnir]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

Because playing poorly = "threw the playoff series".

Personally I credit the Celtics for that series win.

As is your right - but almost everyone besides Lebronists and Celtics fans see it differently, since trhe Celtics didn't defend him differently in games 4-6 than they did in 1-3...

The difference was in leBron's OBVIOUS change in effort.

Keep pushing the conspiracy theory.

LeBron has always struggled to be efficient against the C's defense. We wall him off from the basket, send him to the line, and force him to play 1 on 3 by overloading the strong side.

After game 1 the C's did a great job of doing all of this, in game 3 he hit a lot of jumpers and the rest of the Cavs feed off of it to a blow out. After that his jumper didn't fall

[nba is the worst]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

Because playing poorly = "threw the playoff series".

Personally I credit the Celtics for that series win.

As is your right - but almost everyone besides Lebronists and Celtics fans see it differently, since trhe Celtics didn't defend him differently in games 4-6 than they did in 1-3...

The difference was in leBron's OBVIOUS change in effort.

Keep pushing the conspiracy theory.

LeBron has always struggled to be efficient against the C's defense. We wall him off from the basket, send him to the line, and force him to play 1 on 3 by overloading the strong side.

After game 1 the C's did a great job of doing all of this, in game 3 he hit a lot of jumpers and the rest of the Cavs feed off of it to a blow out. After that his jumper didn't fall

Hmmm - how is Lebron tanking in any way a "conspiracy"?

LeBron averaged 38 ppg vs the celtics, with multiple 20+-pt quarters.

His jumper didn't fall - but his attempts did - for some reason...

Game 4 was the most revealing, with a 2-pt deficit to start the 4th, and the guy just takes 6 shots the entire quarter, in a game where all the cavs starters had double figures and Varejao had 8 - with perk/Sheed scoring just 3 pts to Shaq/Varejao's 25.

And then, the classic 3-14 in game 5, with the standing around between halfcourt and the 3-pt line multiple times on offense while the rest of the cavs went 4 on 5...

Tell me, how does the C's defense cause that pathetic display?

[Fafnir]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

Because playing poorly = "threw the playoff series".

Personally I credit the Celtics for that series win.

As is your right - but almost everyone besides Lebronists and Celtics fans see it differently, since trhe Celtics didn't defend him differently in games 4-6 than they did in 1-3...

The difference was in leBron's OBVIOUS change in effort.

Keep pushing the conspiracy theory.

LeBron has always struggled to be efficient against the C's defense. We wall him off from the basket, send him to the line, and force him to play 1 on 3 by overloading the strong side.

After game 1 the C's did a great job of doing all of this, in game 3 he hit a lot of jumpers and the rest of the Cavs feed off of it to a blow out. After that his jumper didn't fall

Hmmm - how is Lebron tanking in any way a "conspiracy"?

LeBron averaged 38 ppg vs the celtics, with multiple 20+-pt quarters.

His jumper didn't fall - but his attempts did - for some reason...

Game 4 was the most revealing, with a 2-pt deficit to start the 4th, and the guy just takes 6 shots the entire quarter, in a game where all the cavs starters had double figures and Varejao had 8 - with perk/Sheed scoring just 3 pts to Shaq/Varejao's 25.

And then, the classic 3-14 in game 5, with the standing around between halfcourt and the 3-pt line multiple times on offense while the rest of the cavs went 4 on 5...

Tell me, how does the C's defense cause that pathetic display?

Its a conspiracy theory for you to suggest that after 3 games he "decided" to lose to the Celtics. Rather than the Celtics just beat him.

LeBron's possessions used in the series:

31
27
27
30
22
35

He definitely got passive in game 5 when his shot wasn't falling and he was frustrated. Of course that game was also blowout by teh end of the third quarter. In the regular season his possessoions used versus Boston were.

44
33
32
30

So your entire point about "his shot attempts fell off" is inaccurate.

[Witch-King]

I'm thinking that if LeBron did the decision over again, he may have very well chosen to play for the Chicago Bulls. I mean, it's a little disappointing that neither Wade nor he (nor Bosh) could be lured to that squad this past summer to help Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and the rest of their guys, however the Miami Heat performed relatively well as the 5th seed during last seasons playoffs when compared to the 8th and 9th seeded Bulls and Raptors, respectively.

If you'll remember, the Bulls barely snuck into final seed in the East during the last few weeks of last year's regular season following a freak injury to Chris Bosh and were man-handled by LeBron's Cavaliers in the first round.

As far as the Knicks are concerned, yeah they have the largest potential fan base in the country in The Big Apple, however the Miami Heat are the team that has most recently won it all in the East, barring the Boston Celtics and the Knicks haven't won it all since the '70s.

I'm not saying that a guy like LeBron couldn't immediately change that, however the Heat's recent struggles should indicate the fact that media-hype cannot by itself generate wins. Time will tell if the Heat have to pieces necessary to make it out of the East in their first season with Bosh and James.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nickelodeon

[soap07]

What a loser. LeBron is only on a team with one of the league's best point differentials and is in the midst of a five-game winning streak.

[nba is the worst]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

Because playing poorly = "threw the playoff series".

Personally I credit the Celtics for that series win.

As is your right - but almost everyone besides Lebronists and Celtics fans see it differently, since trhe Celtics didn't defend him differently in games 4-6 than they did in 1-3...

The difference was in leBron's OBVIOUS change in effort.

Keep pushing the conspiracy theory.

LeBron has always struggled to be efficient against the C's defense. We wall him off from the basket, send him to the line, and force him to play 1 on 3 by overloading the strong side.

After game 1 the C's did a great job of doing all of this, in game 3 he hit a lot of jumpers and the rest of the Cavs feed off of it to a blow out. After that his jumper didn't fall

Hmmm - how is Lebron tanking in any way a "conspiracy"?

LeBron averaged 38 ppg vs the celtics, with multiple 20+-pt quarters.

His jumper didn't fall - but his attempts did - for some reason...

Game 4 was the most revealing, with a 2-pt deficit to start the 4th, and the guy just takes 6 shots the entire quarter, in a game where all the cavs starters had double figures and Varejao had 8 - with perk/Sheed scoring just 3 pts to Shaq/Varejao's 25.

And then, the classic 3-14 in game 5, with the standing around between halfcourt and the 3-pt line multiple times on offense while the rest of the cavs went 4 on 5...

Tell me, how does the C's defense cause that pathetic display?

Its a conspiracy theory for you to suggest that after 3 games he "decided" to lose to the Celtics. Rather than the Celtics just beat him.

LeBron's possessions used in the series:

31
27
27
30
22
35

He definitely got passive in game 5 when his shot wasn't falling and he was frustrated. Of course that game was also blowout by teh end of the third quarter. In the regular season his possessoions used versus Boston were.

44
33
32
30

So your entire point about "his shot attempts fell off" is inaccurate.

The definition of conspiracy is "An agreement by two or more persons to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act".

So that doesn't apply to Lebron's throwing the series.

In games 1-3 he had 61 shot attempts. In 4-6, just 53. That is absolute proof that "his shot attempts fell off" !

You didn't respond to the part about him standing around near halfcourt in game 5 - which was commented on by the game announcers - and a theory of how the C's defense was somehow responsible...

How about the FG shooting percentages for Lebron and Delonte comparing games 1-3 and 4-6:

Lebron games 1-3, 33-61, .541, 5-13, .385 3-pt for 32.3 pts in 41:12 min pg
LeTank games 4-6, 18-53, .340, 2-13, .154 3-pt for 21.3 pts in 43:55 min pg

Delonte gm 1-3, 10-17, .588 in 29:23 min pg
Delonte gm 4-6, 1-12, .083 in 14:08 min pg
 
Perhaps there was a conspiracy after all...

[BballTim]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

  Anyone who thought the Cavs were overwhelming favorites to beat the Celts didn't have a good enough understanding of the situation to comment on why the Cavs lost.

[nba is the worst]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

  Anyone who thought the Cavs were overwhelming favorites to beat the Celts didn't have a good enough understanding of the situation to comment on why the Cavs lost.

-=-=-
I was referring to the media - where as I recall only Skip took the Celtics over the Cavs out of 15-16 "experts" - even Legler picked the Cavs in that series!

[BballTim]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

  Anyone who thought the Cavs were overwhelming favorites to beat the Celts didn't have a good enough understanding of the situation to comment on why the Cavs lost.

-=-=-
I was referring to the media - where as I recall only Skip took the Celtics over the Cavs out of 15-16 "experts" - even Legler picked the Cavs in that series!

  Who cares about the media? LeBron "threw" a series against a more talented team that was playing better than the Cavs were at the time. Does that sound better?

[action781]

 Yea Bringing up Lecon again. But how bout that. Amare, Lebron, Felton, Gallanari, this Year. Then who knows Paul, Melo, Tony Parker.
 
 They could have been a top three seed this year easy. And then add pieces as you see fit next year then again the next.

...

 If he had the "Decision" back does anybody think he would have chosen the Big Crapple.

A BIG wrench in this theory is salaries.  In order to sign Lebron (and Amare), the Knicks would have had to let David Lee walk (not trade him for Turiaf, Azubuike, and Randolph) and then they would have been up to the cap and not have been able to sign Felton - only minimum contract players.  So it would not have been Amare, Lebron, Gallinari, and Felton.  It would have been Amare and Lebron starting.  Probably Chandler starting.  Then Gallinari likely off the bench since he plays the same position as Lebron.  No Felton (who is widely credited for Amare's great play so far).  That's no more promising of a team than what he has in Miami.  I think Lebron saw and considered this when choosing Miami. 

The only wrong move, like others have said, was bringing Bosh to Miami instead of Amare.  But like others have said, Bosh is his friend.  I'd bring my friend along to my super team too over a player who was equally talented while a little more complementary.

[nba is the worst]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

  Anyone who thought the Cavs were overwhelming favorites to beat the Celts didn't have a good enough understanding of the situation to comment on why the Cavs lost.

-=-=-
I was referring to the media - where as I recall only Skip took the Celtics over the Cavs out of 15-16 "experts" - even Legler picked the Cavs in that series!

  Who cares about the media? LeBron "threw" a series against a more talented team that was playing better than the Cavs were at the time. Does that sound better?

What else but the media experts' consensus makes a team an overwhelming favorite?

And what about a 2-1 series deficit with the Cavs handing the Celtics their worst home playoff loss in team history (right before he tanked) indicates that the Celtics were a "team that was playing better than the Cavs were at the time"?

[guava_wrench]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

Because playing poorly = "threw the playoff series".

Personally I credit the Celtics for that series win.

I call it a mix - LeBron gave up at points in the last couple of games, but it was because we'd played so well that we broke that team's spirit.  By the end of the series the Cavs didn't believe they could beat us, and that was because of how we played. And I firmly believe that even if he played his heart out we still win, just with more difficulty.  That team knew they were better than Cleveland and wouldn't be denied.

It's an odd kind of loser that has a record well over .500 and has won multiple playoff series and a conference title.  It's fun to hate on LeBron but if he's a loser, so are 90% of the players in the league.

I think people are conflating players throwing games, players giving up, and players not being able to figure out how to attack a defense.

[BballTim]

And what about a 2-1 series deficit with the Cavs handing the Celtics their worst home playoff loss in team history (right before he tanked) indicates that the Celtics were a "team that was playing better than the Cavs were at the time"?

  I dunno, maybe taking a broader look at what was going on than game 3? Seeing that the Celts losing big at home in a game they were out of in the 1st quarter doesn't mean that Lebron's suddenly elevated to a plateau where he's unstoppable and the only possible reason the Cavs lost is that he quit trying?

  Your theory makes no sense. Lebron goes all out getting the Cavs the best record in the league, plays well in the first round, has the Celts on the ropes and then, for no reason at all, he quits trying? He just decided that, sure, the Cavs could easily win a title that year, but he didn't feel like it? And then he spends the offseason figuring out which team he's going to switch to so he'd have the best chance of winning, er, titles? Hmmm.

[Fafnir]

Lebron's a cancer now?

Since when?

Since he threw the playoff series after leading his team to a 2-1 lead - while a B2B MVP on the #1 seeded overwhelming favorites.

Because playing poorly = "threw the playoff series".

Personally I credit the Celtics for that series win.

As is your right - but almost everyone besides Lebronists and Celtics fans see it differently, since trhe Celtics didn't defend him differently in games 4-6 than they did in 1-3...

The difference was in leBron's OBVIOUS change in effort.

Keep pushing the conspiracy theory.

LeBron has always struggled to be efficient against the C's defense. We wall him off from the basket, send him to the line, and force him to play 1 on 3 by overloading the strong side.

After game 1 the C's did a great job of doing all of this, in game 3 he hit a lot of jumpers and the rest of the Cavs feed off of it to a blow out. After that his jumper didn't fall

Hmmm - how is Lebron tanking in any way a "conspiracy"?

LeBron averaged 38 ppg vs the celtics, with multiple 20+-pt quarters.

His jumper didn't fall - but his attempts did - for some reason...

Game 4 was the most revealing, with a 2-pt deficit to start the 4th, and the guy just takes 6 shots the entire quarter, in a game where all the cavs starters had double figures and Varejao had 8 - with perk/Sheed scoring just 3 pts to Shaq/Varejao's 25.

And then, the classic 3-14 in game 5, with the standing around between halfcourt and the 3-pt line multiple times on offense while the rest of the cavs went 4 on 5...

Tell me, how does the C's defense cause that pathetic display?

Its a conspiracy theory for you to suggest that after 3 games he "decided" to lose to the Celtics. Rather than the Celtics just beat him.

LeBron's possessions used in the series:

31
27
27
30
22
35

He definitely got passive in game 5 when his shot wasn't falling and he was frustrated. Of course that game was also blowout by teh end of the third quarter. In the regular season his possessoions used versus Boston were.

44
33
32
30

So your entire point about "his shot attempts fell off" is inaccurate.

The definition of conspiracy is "An agreement by two or more persons to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act".

So that doesn't apply to Lebron's throwing the series.

In games 1-3 he had 61 shot attempts. In 4-6, just 53. That is absolute proof that "his shot attempts fell off" !

You didn't respond to the part about him standing around near halfcourt in game 5 - which was commented on by the game announcers - and a theory of how the C's defense was somehow responsible...

How about the FG shooting percentages for Lebron and Delonte comparing games 1-3 and 4-6:

Lebron games 1-3, 33-61, .541, 5-13, .385 3-pt for 32.3 pts in 41:12 min pg
LeTank games 4-6, 18-53, .340, 2-13, .154 3-pt for 21.3 pts in 43:55 min pg

Delonte gm 1-3, 10-17, .588 in 29:23 min pg
Delonte gm 4-6, 1-12, .083 in 14:08 min pg
 
Perhaps there was a conspiracy after all...

Shot attempts don't matter nearly as much as total possessions used. When he goes to the free throw line, he was trying to take a shot after all. (except with technicals and and-1s). Likewise most of LeBron's assists and turnovers come off of driving and creating.

Honestly given your logic, did KG try to tank to the Lakers? KG clearly gave up and didn't rebound, so he must have just quit after game 5 when the C's were in prime posiiton to move on. After all he only got 9 rebounds in the last two games, when he got 10 alone in game 5....

[nickagneta]

So much coulda, woulda, shoulda in this thread.

First, if Lebron signs, NY has vastly different personnel as the salary structure wouldn't have allowed Felton, Mosgov, and the David Lee trade...at least not all of those things. NY would have been scrambling to fill the rest of the team with flotsam and jetsam much like Miami did to fill in the blanks after they had Bosh, LeBron, and Wade in tow. Still Lebron, Amare, Chandler, Landry, and Gallinari is a [dang] nice start to building a future.

Second, LeBron did not throw the series versus the C's. The Celtics defense reverted back to their 2008 post season form and was stifling and also LeBron had right elbow issues. That's why he was so reluctant to shoot the long ball for a lot of that series. Then when he had to start shooting it, he couldn't hit it at a good enough clip because of the elbow. His elbow issues were well documented during the series.