Ironic, the Heat can't take the heat

[Knicks411]

‘‘I’ve been in the NBA for 30 years,’’ (Barkley) said. ‘‘We’ve never had a player that leads the team in scoring, assists, rebounds, and then has to guard the best player on the floor. As great as Michael Jordan was, as great as Kobe [Bryant] was, I’m not comparing [James] to Michael, but you’ve never had one guy have to do so much. A few years ago, he had to guard Derrick Rose in the fourth quarter of the [2011 Eastern Conference Finals]. Then he guards Kevin Durant [in the 2012 Finals]. Are you kidding me?’’
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/2785...e-for-michael-jordans-bulls.html#.U5HUVBbobL8

So basically exactly what I said. Yup, sounds pretty close to being true.

I mean, the guy is basically Karl Malone's size, and he's shut down Derrick Rose and Tony Parker.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Jordan had Scottie Pippen, Rodman, two all-time greats. Kobe had Shaq, Bird had McHale and the Chief, Magic had Worthy and a host of others. They weren't exactly flying solo.

You could see the fire in LeBron last night, he's a winner and a warrior, Miami was in it, and I thought very well might win it, till he went out. Then you saw how well the team performed without him.

LBJ is a workout freak, often wears a weighted vest when working out, is an unreal physical specimen. It was killing him to sit at the end. You could see it. He wanted to go back in, Spoelstra told him to not even think about it.

Rodman played for the Pistons not Chicago.

Lebron hand picked joining Wade and Bosh. The year before Lebron went to Miami, Wade averaged 27 points a game for the Heat, Bosh averaged 23 for the Raptors and both were All-star players the year before Lebron joined them. Lebron certainly hasn't been flying solo either and it could be argued he had more weapons than others before him and definitely more than he had in Cleveland. Remember Magic played guard was a player who even played center during his career. I don't understand the defensiveness. He's obviously a great player and I certainly don't think his accomplishments have been overlooked. Choosing to play with the Heat with Wade and Bosh, expectations have risen for what's considered a successful season - fair or not - but he chose to leave Cleveland to have those championship expectations.

 

[Knicks411]

Rodman won 3 titles with the Bulls.

I don't think the Barkley quote is really being defensive, like I said. He's stating a fact, and it really says more about how great and well rounded Lebron's game is than anything else.

 

[skurey]

And it's more than just playing with great players. There needs to be a good fit in the system if you want to beat other great players. The Heat aren't that great of a fit for Lebron. Yes he chose to go there. All that means is he's as good as putting a team together as Jordan.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Rodman played for the Pistons not Chicago.

Lebron hand picked joining Wade and Bosh. The year before Lebron went to Miami, Wade averaged 27 points a game for the Heat, Bosh averaged 23 for the Raptors and both were All-star players the year before Lebron joined them. Lebron certainly hasn't been flying solo either and it could be argued he had more weapons than others before him and definitely more than he had in Cleveland. Remember Magic played guard was a player who even played center during his career. I don't understand the defensiveness. He's obviously a great player and I certainly don't think his accomplishments have been overlooked. Choosing to play with the Heat with Wade and Bosh, expectations have risen for what's considered a successful season - fair or not - but he chose to leave Cleveland to have those championship expectations.

It has nothing to do with flying solo. It has everything to do with his natural basketball ability. He does so many things on the court, because he can. Whether he's playing with all-stars or scrubs, it doesn't take away from all of the statistical categories he contributes to. Again, he does "everything" not because he technically has to (he has good players around him), but because it's the nature of A) his talent, and B) his game.

And huh? Rodman absolutely played for the Bulls...

 

[SWC75]

Best line of the day: LeBron needed Lance Stephenson to blow on him.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/6/6/5785486/lebron-james-cramps-nba-finals

 

[MikeSU02]

I am not a Lebron hater but Barkley's comment is as much an exaggeration as are the haters stance. Jordan, Kobe, Bird, Magic's teams etc weren't as dependent on a single player? Lebron hand picked his franchise and his main teammates at Miami. If he has to do so much for his team, then wasn't that have been his choice? He personally helped set up the Miami Heat to win championships. He obviously didn't have the same confidence in his situation in Cleveland where he carried most of the load on the team. Heck Wade destroyed Cleveland with Lebron on the team the year before James jumped to the Heat. Miami was already a perennial playoff team before Lebron, they became a championship caliber team with him on it.

Cramping is a temporary, treatable condition avoided by conditioning and proper preparation, it's not like he had an ACL tear and critics are ripping on him. He'll bounce back and show how no one has to feel they need to defend him as some victim, and the accolades will again become deafening if and when he does.

A few points.

1) The two questions I have is if he got an IV at halftime and why he wouldn't get an IV/get treated when he went out to try to get back in the game.

2) With that said, cramping may be temporary, but for a guy of his size and athleticism, it's not like me getting a cramp on a golf course. The guys plays through more bangs and bruises than most people realize. His cramps may have been ongoing for 10-20 minutes. Ray and Tim may have been able to keep going, but they aren't having the constant explosive demands on their muscles that LeBron has.

3) None of the guys you listed did nearly as much as LeBron, outside of Jordan, possibly. Magic was a terrible defender. Bird was an ok team defender but not much else. Kobe was never a play maker and rebounder and his defense, while elite at times, has never been as consistent as James has been.

LeBron has played way too many minutes this year because they had to treat Wade with kid gloves and sit him for a third of the season. The guy allows Chris Bosh to be a jump shooter even at 6'11".

It's a joke that he didn't win MVP.

Anyway, just my 0.02.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

A few points.

1) The two questions I have is if he got an IV at halftime and why he wouldn't get an IV/get treated when he went out to try to get back in the game.

2) With that said, cramping may be temporary, but for a guy of his size and athleticism, it's not like me getting a cramp on a golf course. The guys plays through more bangs and bruises than most people realize. His cramps may have been ongoing for 10-20 minutes. Ray and Tim may have been able to keep going, but they aren't having the constant explosive demands on their muscles that LeBron has.

3) None of the guys you listed did nearly as much as LeBron, outside of Jordan, possibly. Magic was a terrible defender. Bird was an ok team defender but not much else. Kobe was never a play maker and rebounder and his defense, while elite at times, has never been as consistent as James has been.

LeBron has played way too many minutes this year because they had to treat Wade with kid gloves and sit him for a third of the season. The guy allows Chris Bosh to be a jump shooter even at 6'11".

It's a joke that he didn't win MVP.

Anyway, just my 0.02.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/isiah-...-have-played-with-those-cramps-071514640.html

 

[Cheriehoop]

It has nothing to do with flying solo. It has everything to do with his natural basketball ability. He does so many things on the court, because he can. Whether he's playing with all-stars or scrubs, it doesn't take away from all of the statistical categories he contributes to. Again, he does "everything" not because he technically has to (he has good players around him), but because it's the nature of A) his talent, and B) his game.

And huh? Rodman absolutely played for the Bulls...

I was wrong about Rodman, I forgot he played for the Bulls (duh on me).

 

[Trueblue25]

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Were people really saying that? Ridiculous.

Lebron basically never gets hurt, but he's now had cramping issues in the 2012 and 2014 finals, and thee may have been others. Not sure what to make of that.

It's the PEDs he uses that causes that exaggerated dehydration.

I of course completely made this up, but I'm surprised that I haven't seen anyone else say this.

 

[Cusefan0307]

The Lebron apologists are almost as bad as the haters saying he should of played. I agree he couldn't of played last night, but it's fair to look at other aspects of this. I place blame on the Heat Training and medical staff for this . This isn't the first time he has dealt with it, so in my opinion he should of adjusted his training/diet regimen a long time ago to counteract this so he doesn't get cramps. All of a sudden i'm hearing everyone from Colin Cowherd to joe schmo say he exudes more energy than anyone who plays basketball, and i have a hard time believing it. If he felt that crappy in the first half, why didn't heat trainers give him an IV at halftime. Everyone had to deal with the heat last night, and everyone was tired i'm sure, but the spurs still shot 14-16 in the quarter. If you get cramps all the time, there is something you are doing wrong with your diet, hydration, and training regimen.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

All I know is that he looked terrible there on the bench for a bit. I thought for sure he was going to pass out at one point.

I agree that it's odd that they haven't figured out how to prevent something like this when they know the possibility exists.

 

[skurey]

It's happened twice in the hundred of games he has played. They seem to be doing a great job.

 

[Knicks411]

It's happened twice in the hundred of games he has played. They seem to be doing a great job.

Yeah it's not like I would say this is a chronic issue for him. This is just a guy who never has any injuries of any kind, and he's had pretty serious cramping issues in 2 of the last 3 finals.

All of a sudden i'm hearing everyone from Colin Cowherd to joe schmo say he exudes more energy than anyone who plays basketball, and i have a hard time believing it.

There's no way to measure this, I guess, but I would bet if you could figure out a way to measure who has "spent" more injury over the last 4 or 5 years, Lebron would be #1. Finals in 2011, Olympics and finals in 2012, finals the last 2 years. Since coming to Miami, he's missed 18 games in 4 years and played 377 games and 14,640 minutes. I checked Kevin Durant, he's played 4 more games and about 40 more minutes, so Lebron will pass him with one more game. Then throw in the fact that he's asked to do more int he minutes he does play than anyone else, and I'd have no trouble believing he's spent more energy than anyone else. Doesn't mean it's why he's cramped up.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Aside from his obvious athletic talent, I like how LeBron has matured before our eyes, from a high school junior on the cover of SI to now, as under the constant microscope as it gets. He's great with the media, affable, bright, a Miami mensch.