Is LeBron a quitter????

[D.o.s.]

Really?



All this proves is once again, Lebron can not beat the Spurs by himself. 

He couldn't in Cleveland when the talent was low around him.



And now he can't in Miami when Wade and Bosh played like bench players pushed into service because of injuries.  Could those two have come up any smaller? 



28.2, 7.8. 4.0 while shooting .571 form the field and .529 from the long distance.



But he is the problem.  He is the one that quit.

Jordan AVERAGED 33.4, 6.4, 5.7 while shooting 48% for his career in the playoffs.

LeBron wasn't at all the reason Miami lost but did he perform like the best player in the game?  Did he play like the best of all time?  Absolutely not.

And I'm going to keep repeating this until everybody gets it.

THIS is the team LeBron chose.  THESE are the teammates he wanted.  THIS is the situation he wanted.  He left Cleveland because they weren't good enough for him and THIS is where he went because he thought it would be easy to win.  That he was wrong about that does not get to be an excuse for him falling short.

Mike

Yeah, I bet 4 consecutive trips to the Finals was really a rough go after the Eden that was his time in Cleveland. 

[LilRip]

Everyone's talking about how Miami let Lebron down, but let's not overlook that the Spurs' offense shot the highest FG% in league history. Lebron is still one of the best - if not the best - in the league, but a single guy can't beat a team. This kinda reminds me of the Pistons-Lakers series a decade ago, with a non-allstar winning the Finals MVP to boot.

[quidinqui33]

No sure if Lebron quit or not, but it was odd that he came out and stayed out.  If I were pulling for the heat (and I most certainly was not) I would have liked to have seen him take a breather and come back in for one last push.

The person who posted earlier about Lebron in 2010 read my mind.  The last time I have seen Lebron so lethargic and not seem to care was when the Celts eliminated the Cavs before Lebron took his talents to South Beach.

I think the guy knows when his team is outmatched or he is getting nothing from his teammates, and he does not have the ability to mentally (or physically) stay in the game once he sees that.   Lebron is a great player, but that does point to something missing that the likes of Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan, etc. had in spades.  That compete at all costs attitude.   No matter how tired or bleak the situation may seem.

[GreenWarrior]

Everyone's talking about how Miami let Lebron down, but let's not overlook that the Spurs' offense shot the highest FG% in league history. Lebron is still one of the best - if not the best - in the league, but a single guy can't beat a team. This kinda reminds me of the Pistons-Lakers series a decade ago, with a non-allstar winning the Finals MVP to boot.

ohh don't get me wrong. even if Lebron had the perception that he had the passion to earn something I don't think they would have won this game or the series.

[Finkelskyhook]

The messiah is no quitter.  He's an absolute gamer.

The series exposed the messiah and the heat, though....  (1) They need a point guard.  (2) When the games are called by the rulebook the messiah's and particularly wade's advantages are substantially lessened.

That and they lost to a far superior team in every facet of the game.

[MBunge]

Really?



All this proves is once again, Lebron can not beat the Spurs by himself. 

He couldn't in Cleveland when the talent was low around him.



And now he can't in Miami when Wade and Bosh played like bench players pushed into service because of injuries.  Could those two have come up any smaller? 



28.2, 7.8. 4.0 while shooting .571 form the field and .529 from the long distance.



But he is the problem.  He is the one that quit.

Jordan AVERAGED 33.4, 6.4, 5.7 while shooting 48% for his career in the playoffs.

LeBron wasn't at all the reason Miami lost but did he perform like the best player in the game?  Did he play like the best of all time?  Absolutely not.

And I'm going to keep repeating this until everybody gets it.

THIS is the team LeBron chose.  THESE are the teammates he wanted.  THIS is the situation he wanted.  He left Cleveland because they weren't good enough for him and THIS is where he went because he thought it would be easy to win.  That he was wrong about that does not get to be an excuse for him falling short.

Mike

Yeah, I bet 4 consecutive trips to the Finals was really a rough go after the Eden that was his time in Cleveland. 

Are you seriously suggesting making the Finals out of the East has been some kind of great accomplishment?  In the last 4 years, has there ever been more than one or maybe two other teams that were even vague threats to beat Miami?

Mike

[Celtics4ever]

The series exposed the messiah and the heat, though....  (1) They need a point guard.  (2) When the games are called by the rulebook the messiah's and particularly wade's advantages are substantially lessened.

I thought their lack of rim protectors hurt them badly too.

[Celtics4ever]

They were, but they were done.  Miami was up 22-6, 7 minutes into the game.  It was 98-65 the rest of the game. 

Sorry but this isn't correct, I was not right either it was 8 minutes out in the 4th and they were down 16 . But  here is the play by play.

08:27 [MIA 67-83]

http://www.nba.com/games/20140615/MIASAS/gameinfo.html

I would think you'd still have some fight at that point but they folded.   Neither team scored from  7:10 to 5:38.  Then back to the bucket trading. No stops and were just scoring each team but that only works when a game is close. 

They failed the gut check missed some shots and James left the game at 6:30.  The Spurs scored 14 points after James left. It was 98-72 then at 6:30.  The Heat scored 15 points after James left.

[hpantazo]

They were, but they were done.  Miami was up 22-6, 7 minutes into the game.  It was 98-65 the rest of the game. 

Sorry but this isn't correct, I was not right either it was 8 minutes out in the 4th and they were down 16 . But  here is the play by play.

08:27 [MIA 67-83]

http://www.nba.com/games/20140615/MIASAS/gameinfo.html

I would think you'd still have some fight at that point but they folded.   Neither team scored from  7:10 to 5:38.  Then back to the bucket trading. No stops and were just scoring each team but that only works when a game is close. 

They failed the gut check missed some shots and James left the game at 6:30.  The Spurs scored 14 points after James left. It was 98-72 then at 6:30.  The Heat scored 15 points after James left.

Yes. The Heat very much had a chance to make it a game at that point in the 4th. Beasley gave them a boost and they were cutting into the lead pretty rapidly but Lebron was not into it mentally, only Beasley, Chalmers, and Wade were. I felt that if Lebron had their mentality they could have tied the game. He's just not wired that way however. Next thing you know, a minute later he's literally on the bench crying. He needs a mentally tough sidekick to lead his teams through the tough moments but Wade has physically pooped out.

[Moranis]

No sure if Lebron quit or not, but it was odd that he came out and stayed out.  If I were pulling for the heat (and I most certainly was not) I would have liked to have seen him take a breather and come back in for one last push.

The person who posted earlier about Lebron in 2010 read my mind.  The last time I have seen Lebron so lethargic and not seem to care was when the Celts eliminated the Cavs before Lebron took his talents to South Beach.

I think the guy knows when his team is outmatched or he is getting nothing from his teammates, and he does not have the ability to mentally (or physically) stay in the game once he sees that.   Lebron is a great player, but that does point to something missing that the likes of Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan, etc. had in spades.  That compete at all costs attitude.   No matter how tired or bleak the situation may seem.

As I said on the last page, I think he only intended to get a quick rest and was going to come back in, but then Wade missed two free throws and Bosh missed a lay up and the Heat had fallen down by 2 more points and there was an extra minute off the clock.  Had the Heat cut into the 18 point lead while Lebron rested, he would have come back in at around 5 minutes to go, more energized for the stretch run (I mean even without playing the last 6 min. 30 sec. he still played 42 minutes or so).

[ram]

Since there is always the Bird-Lebron debate, let's compare to similar circumstances for LB:

I couldn't find play-by-play for these games but there still is compelling evidence that Bird fought to the end when faced with elimination and the game wasn't that close.

1982, Game 7 vs Sixers, Bird played 44 minutes in a 14 point loss.
1985, Game 6 vs Lakers, Bird played 47 minutes in an 11 point loss.
1987, Game 6 vs the Lakers, Bird played 41 minutes in a 13 point loss (DJ played 46)
In his last game, Bird, fresh from the hospital, played 33 minutes in an 18 point loss to the Cavs (down 24 going into the 4th) 

[Donoghus]

No one was beating San Antonio this series.  They were just an absolute machine.

I think once San Antonio put up that insane 1st half in Game 3, doubt & quit lingered into the entire Heat team and they never seemed quite right going forward the rest of the series.  San Antonio got into their heads bad.  Once that happened, it was series over. 

[wdleehi]

The messiah is no quitter.  He's an absolute gamer.

The series exposed the messiah and the heat, though....  (1) They need a point guard.  (2) When the games are called by the rulebook the messiah's and particularly wade's advantages are substantially lessened.

That and they lost to a far superior team in every facet of the game.

Yeah, Lebron's production on the floor really took a hit.  I mean shooting over 50% from the floor and down town.  Awful. 

[D.o.s.]

Really?



All this proves is once again, Lebron can not beat the Spurs by himself. 

He couldn't in Cleveland when the talent was low around him.



And now he can't in Miami when Wade and Bosh played like bench players pushed into service because of injuries.  Could those two have come up any smaller? 



28.2, 7.8. 4.0 while shooting .571 form the field and .529 from the long distance.



But he is the problem.  He is the one that quit.

Jordan AVERAGED 33.4, 6.4, 5.7 while shooting 48% for his career in the playoffs.

LeBron wasn't at all the reason Miami lost but did he perform like the best player in the game?  Did he play like the best of all time?  Absolutely not.

And I'm going to keep repeating this until everybody gets it.

THIS is the team LeBron chose.  THESE are the teammates he wanted.  THIS is the situation he wanted.  He left Cleveland because they weren't good enough for him and THIS is where he went because he thought it would be easy to win.  That he was wrong about that does not get to be an excuse for him falling short.

Mike

Yeah, I bet 4 consecutive trips to the Finals was really a rough go after the Eden that was his time in Cleveland. 

Are you seriously suggesting making the Finals out of the East has been some kind of great accomplishment?  In the last 4 years, has there ever been more than one or maybe two other teams that were even vague threats to beat Miami?

Mike

I'm curious -- what does your logic say about the Big 3 era of the Celtics? Definitively worse than Miami, right?

Since there is always the Bird-Lebron debate, let's compare to similar circumstances for LB:

I couldn't find play-by-play for these games but there still is compelling evidence that Bird fought to the end when faced with elimination and the game wasn't that close.

1982, Game 7 vs Sixers, Bird played 44 minutes in a 14 point loss.
1985, Game 6 vs Lakers, Bird played 47 minutes in an 11 point loss.
1987, Game 6 vs the Lakers, Bird played 41 minutes in a 13 point loss (DJ played 46)
In his last game, Bird, fresh from the hospital, played 33 minutes in an 18 point loss to the Cavs (down 24 going into the 4th)

Perhaps part of the reason why Bird was unable to stay healthy was because no one was willing to manage his minutes.

[Moranis]

They were, but they were done.  Miami was up 22-6, 7 minutes into the game.  It was 98-65 the rest of the game. 

Sorry but this isn't correct, I was not right either it was 8 minutes out in the 4th and they were down 16 . But  here is the play by play.

08:27 [MIA 67-83]

http://www.nba.com/games/20140615/MIASAS/gameinfo.html

I would think you'd still have some fight at that point but they folded.   Neither team scored from  7:10 to 5:38.  Then back to the bucket trading. No stops and were just scoring each team but that only works when a game is close. 

They failed the gut check missed some shots and James left the game at 6:30.  The Spurs scored 14 points after James left. It was 98-72 then at 6:30.  The Heat scored 15 points after James left.

It was 90-72 when James left the game.  As I said, I fully expected him to come back in after a minute or so of rest but Wade missed two free throws at 6:13 and Bosh missed a layup at 5:45.  Parker then hits a layup at 5:37 and the Spurs went up 20.  At that point, there was no point in bringing James back in as the Heat were done.