LeBron James

[Chris]

They just keep talking. When will they back it up with their play? They are ass right now. Everybody is laughing at them and us. How the flying fuck does a team with three players of this caliber not take that personally. Maybe they need to turn on the Dan LeBatard show and listen in for a few minutes. Maybe that will fire them up.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Well lebron does know a thing or two about mental weakness.

 

[The Oi]

Well lebron does know a thing or two about mental weakness.

What does he know about it?

 

[CHIMOCHIS]

What does he know about it?

The King knows about winning two rings

But he looks like he's done with this team of knuckleheads

wouldn't surprise me if he's gone

Not even trying out there anymore.

This is the time when he needs to have words with the Godfather, but who is the Godfather in this Cavs franchise.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

What does he know about it?

Specifics? I'm not sure, that's like asking what Phil Jackson knows about winning rings, you can only look at what you've seen. We've seen him crack under pressure against Boston in 2010, and again infamously in the finals in 2011. Lebron is mentally weak, so he knows a lot about it. Hopefully he can impart some wisdom on his teammates on how to overcome, or at least aliviate this disability.

 

[All4One1ForAll]

This thread is depressing...

 

[Zen]

Specifics? I'm not sure, that's like asking what Phil Jackson knows about winning rings, you can only look at what you've seen. We've seen him crack under pressure against Boston in 2010, and again infamously in the finals in 2011. Lebron is mentally weak, so he knows a lot about it. Hopefully he can impart some wisdom on his teammates on how to overcome, or at least aliviate this disability.

That guy that has been to 5 finals, 4 in a row, with two wins is mentally weak. All while putting up all-time numbers that place him in the top 5 nba players of all time.

I want to be mentally weak.

 

[Benedict_Boozer]

I liked that answer from Lebron actually. He's right, this team rolls over and abandons the system when the going gets rough but HE is a part of that problem with his poor body language and sloppy mental errors. He needs to lead out of those holes when the going gets tough, not just be a passive witness and pout in frustration at other guys.

He is not playing up to his usual standard bottom line, for whatever reason and he needs to up his game first, no more talk.

 

[Zen]

I liked that answer from Lebron actually. He's right, this team rolls over and abandons the system when the going gets rough but HE is a part of that problem with his poor body language and sloppy mental errors. He needs to lead out of those holes when the going gets tough, not just be a passive witness and pout in frustration at other guys.

He is not playing up to his usual standard bottom line, for whatever reason and he needs to up his game first, no more talk.

Two way street. There was a reason Lebron was one of the most efficient players we have seen in recent history last year, that is skill and continuity.

When you know what your teammates are going to do and vice-versa it makes the game easy. If you think Lebron was going to come into a new system with 10+ new teammates and throw out the same efficiency off the bat I don't know what to tell you.

Lebron is fine, when the system is understood and fine tuned he will return to his ridiculous efficiency. That might take a year.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

I'd be fine if I was mentally weak if I was 6'8 250 and one of the most gifted athletes to ever live along with absurd natural basketball instincts.

That guy that has been to 5 finals, 4 in a row, with two wins is mentally weak. All while putting up all-time numbers that place him in the top 5 nba players of all time.

I want to be mentally weak.

 

[Andrew]

I forgot how impatient sports fans are in general. To question a 2 time champion, 4 time mvp and 2 time gold medalist is beyond stupid.

If this team was doing this in January, then its room for concern. All this is is growing pains, they are figuring out how to play with each other.

 

[Futuredome]

Of course when you get your ass kicked by Denver at home, you have the right to be a little antsy.

 

[Chris]

I forgot how impatient sports fans are in general. To question a 2 time champion, 4 time mvp and 2 time gold medalist is beyond stupid.

If this team was doing this in January, then its room for concern. All this is is growing pains, they are figuring out how to play with each other.

Um. They are literally getting pasted on an almost nightly basis. No team as talented as this one should have that happen to them.

This is definitely tine to be concerned.

 

[Triumph36]

I forgot how impatient sports fans are in general. To question a 2 time champion, 4 time mvp and 2 time gold medalist is beyond stupid.

If this team was doing this in January, then its room for concern. All this is is growing pains, they are figuring out how to play with each other.

there absolutely is room for concern right now. some struggling was to be expected for sure, but what has happened has been far worse particularly on the defensive end of the floor. yes, we knew there would be growing pains, but it shouldn't be this bad.

coming in, the two main questions were 1) how waiters would fit and2) how they'd defend well with kyrie and love being horrific defensively and no legitimate interior defender. not only are those still questions, but they are absolute disasters at the moment with little to no reason for optimism. kyrie and love are and have been terrible defensively their entire careers; you can't just "turn it around" when they are that bad. same applies up front, we can't just believe thompson is going to turn into a competent interior defender, or varejao is going to turn back the clock like 4 years.

the defense is a bigger problem than waiters, because worse comes to worst waiters can be benched when it matters if he's screwing up that badly. that's not a good solution, but it's at least a solution whereas there is no such solution to their defense.

edit: should probably add that i'm not suggesting lebron sucks or is giving up or they should trade kyrie (well, unless a particular deal or two comes up ), but there were specific concerns going into the season and those holes are more glaring than ever now that the team is actually playing together.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Guys there is nothing physically wrong with LeBron James. In the finals, he's cramping up, getting beat by an older, yet much fresher Spurs team..... That had to change James' opinion of these exhibition games.

LeBron is not going balls-to-the-wall while the whole team still has the body language of a tanking team and nobody has any chemistry at all. Why would he?

When James was first here, he established the fact that he could take it to the rack at will, and that became our go-to play (to a fault).

James doesn't want these players to become programmed to defer to him when the going gets tough.

You don't win the finals by giving it to LeBron on every possession of crunch time and telling him to take over. LeBron doesn't want to even try that because (as good as he is) he's not going to single handedly win any-finals series on his own.


With this bunch of groomed losers, LeBron isn't going to establish himself as the go-to guy (again) because in the long run that's not as effective as a Spurs like attack, where everybody shares the ball and you never know who's taking the shot.


Once the losing is out of our blood, once the defense picks up, once we trust the pass and Blatt has a set rotation, "the guy" will be back out there in full force. He isn't going to unnecessarily tire himself and condition these losers with the ultimate "bailout plan". That would be terrible planning for the future and would bite us in the ass in the long run.