excuse my crazy talk but would cleveland be better off with Waiters than Irving?

[scottynguyen]

LeBron has always fit better with a PG that doesn't need the ball in his hands that much and can shoot a good % from 3 to stretch the defense. Mo Williams, Mario Chalmers. It doesn't have to be a superstar at PG when LeBron is initiating the majority of the offense.

An ideal lineup around LeBron should prioritize elite shooting and good team and individual defenders. Miami did that really well. Bosh particularly was really underappreciated in that run IMO.

 

[HOFCeluck]

LeBron is a top five player... And bottom five GM.

 

[Gabjon]

Per shaq "barbecue chicken alart"

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

JR smith apparently forgot how to play basketball completely. cant navigate a simple screen without a guy ending up wide open under the hoop

I have long maintained that no team with JR Smith getting meaningful minutes will win a championship.
LBJ is to be lauded for dragging him this far.

 

[PoppyHart]

No.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

LeBron is a top five player... And bottom five GM.

Its just not a good team. Not compared to the actual good teams. kevin love was terrible before he got hurt. unathletic, slow, no D,

 

[Cusefan0307]

Its just not a good team. Not compared to the actual good teams. kevin love was terrible before he got hurt. unathletic, slow, no D,

They're good, the Warriors are just one of the best teams ever.

 

[Millhouse]

They're good, the Warriors are just one of the best teams ever.

james gets dinged for losing so many finals appearances because the east is so bad. if he ended his career with a couple titles with fewer finals appearances coming out of the west, he would get more credit.

i wonder how many teams in the west would beat the cavs in a series.

warriors, spurs, thunder easy

most of the other western playoff teams would be close too

 

[Cusefan0307]

james gets dinged for losing so many finals appearances because the east is so bad. if he ended his career with a couple titles with fewer finals appearances coming out of the west, he would get more credit.

i wonder how many teams in the west would beat the cavs in a series.

warriors, spurs, thunder easy

most of the other western playoff teams would be close too

It's an interesting thought. Right now Portland gave the Warriors a tougher time than Cleveland has, but I don't think the Warriors played that much defense that series like they are now.

I think the Cav's lose to the Spurs for sure. OKC was a tough matchup for GSW, but Lebron has predominantly owned Durant, so maybe that is a 50/50 series.

You're probably right he would get more credit if he was say 2-1 right now, but I don't think he's the same player people think he is. He can't shoot at all anymore, and a lot of people are ignoring that.

 

[jr4750]

james gets dinged for losing so many finals appearances because the east is so bad. if he ended his career with a couple titles with fewer finals appearances coming out of the west, he would get more credit.

i wonder how many teams in the west would beat the cavs in a series.

warriors, spurs, thunder easy

most of the other western playoff teams would be close too

Lebron is one free throw away from (at the end of this season) being 1-6 in the finals. Kwahi Leonard makes both and the Spurs win that series.

 

[Millhouse]

It's an interesting thought. Right now Portland gave the Warriors a tougher time than Cleveland has, but I don't think the Warriors played that much defense that series like they are now.

I think the Cav's lose to the Spurs for sure. OKC was a tough matchup for GSW, but Lebron has predominantly owned Durant, so maybe that is a 50/50 series.

You're probably right he would get more credit if he was say 2-1 right now, but I don't think he's the same player people think he is. He can't shoot at all anymore, and a lot of people are ignoring that.

i wonder how many people would know without looking that carmelo anthony is a better 3 point shooter than james. (37% with the knicks, huge improvement from his 31% days in denver). he's better from the ft line too, which makes sense

 

[RF2044]

Lebron is one free throw away from (at the end of this season) being 1-6 in the finals. Kwahi Leonard makes both and the Spurs win that series.

Very true. One free throw and a miracle three by Ray Allen.

 

[Melancer46]

Regardless there isn't a 24yr old guard available better than Dion, so to get him away from OKC a team has to offer a number that OKC can't or won't match. Given his performance in the playoffs the number will have to be a max or close to it.

Looking at Basketball-Reference:

Victor Oladipo
Brandon Knight
Jordan Clarkson (maybe)
Evan Fournier
Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (probably not available)
Alec Burks (health issues though)
Zach LaVine (probably not available, but for the right package, maybe)
MCW (certainly available, better defender, rebounder, and passer while being equally inefficient scoring the ball)
Dennis Schroder (I'm guessing Atlanta ends up choosing him over Teague, but for now, he's available)
Allen Crabbe (literally a free agent right now)

 

[Millhouse]

good article about james's issues in the finals

The Warriors are daring LeBron James to beat them, and he can't

 

[Cusefan0307]

good article about james's issues in the finals

The Warriors are daring LeBron James to beat them, and he can't

I wish I could find the statistic, but when Lebron is matched up with Steph Curry 1-1 he has missed something like his last 15 shots.

 

[Gabjon]

Looking at Basketball-Reference:

Victor Oladipo
Brandon Knight
Jordan Clarkson (maybe)
Evan Fournier
Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (probably not available)
Alec Burks (health issues though)
Zach LaVine (probably not available, but for the right package, maybe)
MCW (certainly available, better defender, rebounder, and passer while being equally inefficient scoring the ball)
Dennis Schroder (I'm guessing Atlanta ends up choosing him over Teague, but for now, he's available)
Allen Crabbe (literally a free agent right now)

MCW is not a better defender or passer than Dion! I am routing for MCW like crazy but he is a turnover machine and if he doesn't fix that he will be out of the league. I realize that Dion's personality turns some people off and his attitude can be an issue but his skill as a basketball player is better than everyone on this accept Schroder and LaVine who are NOT available. Crabbe better than Dion is crazy talk he is an undersized 3 in the NBA. Oladipo is under contact and regressed this year, Knight may be playing Europe next year he will 27 this fall and is coming off of a bad year.

 

[Melancer46]

MCW is not a better defender or passer than Dion! I am routing for MCW like crazy but he is a turnover machine and if he doesn't fix that he will be out of the league. I realize that Dion's personality turns some people off and his attitude can be an issue but his skill as a basketball player is better than everyone on this accept Schroder and LaVine who are NOT available. Crabbe better than Dion is crazy talk he is an undersized 3 in the NBA. Oladipo is under contact and regressed this year, Knight may be playing Europe next year he will 27 this fall and is coming off of a bad year.

Eh, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree with literally all of that (besides Oladipo obviously still being under contract since that's a simple fact).

 

[OttoinGrotto]

good article about james's issues in the finals

The Warriors are daring LeBron James to beat them, and he can't

I remember reading a similar article during the season about how dramatically his shooting percentage at the rim has dropped this season.

Father Time is undefeated.

 

[Millhouse]

I remember reading a similar article during the season about how dramatically his shooting percentage at the rim has dropped this season.

Father Time is undefeated.

one thing people don't mention when discussing james is the fact that he's actually 43 years old

 

[OttoinGrotto]

one thing people don't mention when discussing james is the fact that he's actually 43 years old

And he plays with Uncle Drew.

 

[RF2044]

I remember reading a similar article during the season about how dramatically his shooting percentage at the rim has dropped this season.

Father Time is undefeated.

Its one of the reasons that I've stated the belief that Lebron will never win another title.

He's a top 3 player now, but the dropoff [when it happens, if it hasn't started already] is usually precipitous and swift. He's got a TON of mileage on his legs, with the deep postseason runs and the summers spent playing international ball, and the fact that Golden State is a young team that shows no signs of dropping off. At some point, he's going to slip a notch and not be able to carry a team by himself. I think it was Knicks411 who said this the other day [so footnote to him, if so] that it is entirely possible that a Lebron-led team is never the favorite to win a title again heading into a season.

 

[Ghost]

JR smith apparently forgot how to play basketball completely. cant navigate a simple screen without a guy ending up wide open under the hoop

JR Smith seems to forget whenever big series arrive. He's good at that.

 

[Ghost]

LeBron has always fit better with a PG that doesn't need the ball in his hands that much and can shoot a good % from 3 to stretch the defense. Mo Williams, Mario Chalmers. It doesn't have to be a superstar at PG when LeBron is initiating the majority of the offense.

An ideal lineup around LeBron should prioritize elite shooting and good team and individual defenders. Miami did that really well. Bosh particularly was really underappreciated in that run IMO.

Like Iverson with Eric Snow. A capable shooter, that can distribute and play good defense - that's the best PG for LeBron.

 

[OrangeDW]

MCW is not a better defender or passer than Dion! I am routing for MCW like crazy but he is a turnover machine and if he doesn't fix that he will be out of the league. I realize that Dion's personality turns some people off and his attitude can be an issue but his skill as a basketball player is better than everyone on this accept Schroder and LaVine who are NOT available. Crabbe better than Dion is crazy talk he is an undersized 3 in the NBA. Oladipo is under contact and regressed this year, Knight may be playing Europe next year he will 27 this fall and is coming off of a bad year.

Brandon Knight averaged 20 ppg and 5 apg in his "bad year", and he's being jettisoned to Europe? C'mon.

edit: also, he's 24 and doesn't turn 25 until December. Just looked it up.

 

[Gabjon]

Brandon Knight averaged 20 ppg and 5 apg in his "bad year", and he's being jettisoned to Europe? C'mon.

edit: also, he's 24 and doesn't turn 25 until December. Just looked it up.

Sorry I looked up Brandon Jennings not Brandon Knight. Knight in NOT available he just signed a 70million dollar contract last summer.