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Woosah
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James Harden.
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Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.
LeBron James
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Snarly
Count Duckula.
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Haha as soon as i read that his name came up in my head. Wait though for some reason even thought the Heat have a losing record the Media is really pimping them and Whitside so you never know. Okay sarcastic remarks aside I think Whiteside will be a good player in this game but they are trying to turn him into the next Timmy D or Bron and Heat savior. Ugh anyways no want Curry does not get it this year he has to.
The Red Viper
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Whiteside is very good but MvP? C'mon.
A very good contender for MIP but no way close to MvP.
As of now, the five main contenders for MvP are Steph Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Klay Thompson and LaMarcus Aldridge.
A very good contender for MIP but no way close to MvP.
As of now, the five main contenders for MvP are Steph Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Klay Thompson and LaMarcus Aldridge.
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I would say Jimmy Butler is the frontrunner for MIP.
Steph or Harden for MVP.
That being said, if James plays the rest of the games like he has since coming back, it would be him or Harden.
Kypus
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Another probable factor in LBJ having a tough start to the season- (strangely it never enters the conversation...)
From Oct. 27 (during training camp and leading up to the Season Opener)
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/10/lebron-james-baby-girl-zhuri-nova
Babies... such a pain in the ass
Well...hopefully Savannah's got stuff down on the homefront now, and we can get back to basketball
EDIT- Heck, now that I think about it, even if his Ray Allen recruitment trip didn't work out like he hoped, he still got to get out of baby distraction for a few days and clear his head...
From Oct. 27 (during training camp and leading up to the Season Opener)
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/10/lebron-james-baby-girl-zhuri-nova
Babies... such a pain in the ass
Well...hopefully Savannah's got stuff down on the homefront now, and we can get back to basketball
EDIT- Heck, now that I think about it, even if his Ray Allen recruitment trip didn't work out like he hoped, he still got to get out of baby distraction for a few days and clear his head...
Last edited:
LeShaq
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http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/01/27/cavaliers-lebron-james-earns-48th-player-week-award/
Cavaliers: LeBron James earns 48th player of week award
CLEVELAND — LeBron James upped his record total to 48 Monday with another selection as Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
James has earned the honor three times this season and 29 times overall while with the Cavs
Cavaliers: LeBron James earns 48th player of week award
CLEVELAND — LeBron James upped his record total to 48 Monday with another selection as Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
James has earned the honor three times this season and 29 times overall while with the Cavs
raisen
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Take a break, LeBron
James must manage his minutes even if that means sitting out occasionally
By Brian Windhorst
Updated: January 27, 2015, 10:59 AM ET
CLEVELAND -- The difference between a banged up LeBron James and a fresh and rested James has been profound for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
That's not in question. What is in question, however, is this: Are James and the Cavs prepared to take the actions necessary to keep him that way?
What lessons will James and his team take away from the value of rest and monitoring wear and tear? What lessons will they take from seeing how Kobe Bryant's body has broken down and seeing how Tim Duncan's career and championship window have been extended into his late 30s?
The time to manage James' short- and long-term health by putting a new focus on rest is now.
At age 30, it's never been more clear that his body is showing wear. By James' own admission, this has been difficult to come to terms with. He and the team need to be proactive in thinking every day about not just the next playoff run but stretching his career as long as possible.
Tuesday night the Cavs play the first of five games in seven days, the hardest stretch any team will face in any season. What would Gregg Popovich do with Duncan facing such a week? What should the Lakers have done with Bryant starting four or five years ago?
The Cavs and James -- and it is important to mention both because it will always be a co-decision -- better start thinking critically about these moments. They are opportunities.
Between the ages of 30 and 34, Popovich dropped Duncan's minutes to fewer than 31 a game and started the process of looking for days to give him off, yanking him from some back-to-backs and certain arduous road trips. To be fair, Duncan tore his meniscus in 2000 and by the time he was 30 in 2006, Popovich already had been very careful with overextending him during the regular seasons. That doesn't mean it wasn't fabulous foresight.
James doesn't have such a preexisting condition. But he does have a back that has been bothering him for several years now and for the first time in his career has been dealing with knee issues. That left knee that forced James to take two weeks off this season is probably going to need to be monitored for the rest of his career. There's a chance at some point he's going to need surgery or, at the least, a trip to Germany.
There is zero need for James to play five games in seven days in January or February ever again. It's not worth it. And it's not just about one game or one rough week. These things add up to hundreds of minutes, thousands of miles on the legs and days of stress on the mind.
Last April, ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh illustrated how James and Kevin Durant had both played thousands of more minutes than anyone else in the NBA over the past four years. It should not be a surprise both are struggling with more health issues than ever before in their careers. To ignore this would be shortsighted, narrow-minded and even foolish.
Between the ages of 30 and 34 the Lakers played Bryant 37 minutes a game. On a mission to prove he didn't need Shaq, Bryant played through a host of injuries. He won some titles, too. At age 34 in the 2012-13 season, Bryant played 76 of the Lakers' first 78 games and was averaging nearly 39 minutes a game. He averaged 45 minutes per game over the last seven games he played before he snapped his Achilles tendon after playing 45 minutes in that fateful game.
Bryant's career was derailed by that injury but not at that moment, because he's was barreling toward it for years. There's no need to ask then coach Mike D'Antoni or the Lakers organization if they have any regrets. Byron Scott certainly has regrets about playing Bryant 35 minutes a game this season with a lingering sore shoulder.
Had the Lakers been more judicious over the past five to six years with Bryant, would he be in this position today, having a third straight season ended by injury? No one knows.
But there's a wager to be made on it and the Spurs, who have a highly-performing Duncan as he's about to turn 39, know which way they bet. The Miami Heat certainly have been watching, their management of Dwyane Wade's knee injuries in their "maintenance" program is modeled directly on what the Spurs have done with Duncan. No, they don't like putting Wade on the inactive list so often and see it cost them games. But they absolutely believe it is the right decision to delay his number being raised to the rafters as long as possible.
No one wants to see less of James. Virtually every time he plays he leaves the spectators with some sort of valued memory. When schedules come out, thousands of people plan and spend heavily counting on him to play. Networks spend millions to arrange things so he can been seen by as many people as possible as many times as possible. Making him a healthy scratch at times will not be popular.
But everyone can agree seeing Bryant break down at the end of his career has been a loss for every market and every network involved in the NBA. And no, starting to give James nights off here and there now will not guarantee the same won't happen to him.
Yet there is zero debate on how much better for the Cavs and the league as a whole a rested and healthy James has been this season. Forgetting the Bryant and Duncan comparisons, seeing James explode through January after relatively limping through December is an open and shut case.
The Cavs are winning and they are developing chemistry with new players. James has found a fantastic rhythm, averaging 30.3 points in the seven games since returning from his rest, and he's not going to want to give it up. The Cavs are 1-8 when he doesn't play this season and 24-12 when he does. It doesn't seem like the best time to have him sit a game. James will absolutely not want to do it.
But try to honestly build a case why James should even get on a plane at midnight Friday to play a fourth game in five nights in Minnesota on Saturday when he could take the weekend off at home instead. Other than feeling like he let down some Timberwolves fans, there isn't one.
The Cavs have a stretch at the end of February and into March where they play seven games in 10 days. There's no reason for James to play in all of those, either, no matter where the team is in the playoff-seeding race.
Simply, at this point in his career there is never a bad time to take a rest. It is always a good decision. James has adapted this over the past four years when it comes to the playoffs, routinely taking games off at the end of the season to make sure he was fresh for the postseason. That's worked out pretty well considering he's been to four consecutive Finals.
As a businessman with a constant eye on his brand, James is always working on multiyear entertainment projects, monitoring designs on his shoes years in advance and long-term investing in companies.
The time has come for him to treat his basketball career the same way.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12234955/nba-lebron-needs-occasional-break
James must manage his minutes even if that means sitting out occasionally
By Brian Windhorst
Updated: January 27, 2015, 10:59 AM ET
CLEVELAND -- The difference between a banged up LeBron James and a fresh and rested James has been profound for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.
That's not in question. What is in question, however, is this: Are James and the Cavs prepared to take the actions necessary to keep him that way?
What lessons will James and his team take away from the value of rest and monitoring wear and tear? What lessons will they take from seeing how Kobe Bryant's body has broken down and seeing how Tim Duncan's career and championship window have been extended into his late 30s?
The time to manage James' short- and long-term health by putting a new focus on rest is now.
At age 30, it's never been more clear that his body is showing wear. By James' own admission, this has been difficult to come to terms with. He and the team need to be proactive in thinking every day about not just the next playoff run but stretching his career as long as possible.
Tuesday night the Cavs play the first of five games in seven days, the hardest stretch any team will face in any season. What would Gregg Popovich do with Duncan facing such a week? What should the Lakers have done with Bryant starting four or five years ago?
The Cavs and James -- and it is important to mention both because it will always be a co-decision -- better start thinking critically about these moments. They are opportunities.
Between the ages of 30 and 34, Popovich dropped Duncan's minutes to fewer than 31 a game and started the process of looking for days to give him off, yanking him from some back-to-backs and certain arduous road trips. To be fair, Duncan tore his meniscus in 2000 and by the time he was 30 in 2006, Popovich already had been very careful with overextending him during the regular seasons. That doesn't mean it wasn't fabulous foresight.
James doesn't have such a preexisting condition. But he does have a back that has been bothering him for several years now and for the first time in his career has been dealing with knee issues. That left knee that forced James to take two weeks off this season is probably going to need to be monitored for the rest of his career. There's a chance at some point he's going to need surgery or, at the least, a trip to Germany.
There is zero need for James to play five games in seven days in January or February ever again. It's not worth it. And it's not just about one game or one rough week. These things add up to hundreds of minutes, thousands of miles on the legs and days of stress on the mind.
Last April, ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh illustrated how James and Kevin Durant had both played thousands of more minutes than anyone else in the NBA over the past four years. It should not be a surprise both are struggling with more health issues than ever before in their careers. To ignore this would be shortsighted, narrow-minded and even foolish.
Between the ages of 30 and 34 the Lakers played Bryant 37 minutes a game. On a mission to prove he didn't need Shaq, Bryant played through a host of injuries. He won some titles, too. At age 34 in the 2012-13 season, Bryant played 76 of the Lakers' first 78 games and was averaging nearly 39 minutes a game. He averaged 45 minutes per game over the last seven games he played before he snapped his Achilles tendon after playing 45 minutes in that fateful game.
Bryant's career was derailed by that injury but not at that moment, because he's was barreling toward it for years. There's no need to ask then coach Mike D'Antoni or the Lakers organization if they have any regrets. Byron Scott certainly has regrets about playing Bryant 35 minutes a game this season with a lingering sore shoulder.
Had the Lakers been more judicious over the past five to six years with Bryant, would he be in this position today, having a third straight season ended by injury? No one knows.
But there's a wager to be made on it and the Spurs, who have a highly-performing Duncan as he's about to turn 39, know which way they bet. The Miami Heat certainly have been watching, their management of Dwyane Wade's knee injuries in their "maintenance" program is modeled directly on what the Spurs have done with Duncan. No, they don't like putting Wade on the inactive list so often and see it cost them games. But they absolutely believe it is the right decision to delay his number being raised to the rafters as long as possible.
No one wants to see less of James. Virtually every time he plays he leaves the spectators with some sort of valued memory. When schedules come out, thousands of people plan and spend heavily counting on him to play. Networks spend millions to arrange things so he can been seen by as many people as possible as many times as possible. Making him a healthy scratch at times will not be popular.
But everyone can agree seeing Bryant break down at the end of his career has been a loss for every market and every network involved in the NBA. And no, starting to give James nights off here and there now will not guarantee the same won't happen to him.
Yet there is zero debate on how much better for the Cavs and the league as a whole a rested and healthy James has been this season. Forgetting the Bryant and Duncan comparisons, seeing James explode through January after relatively limping through December is an open and shut case.
The Cavs are winning and they are developing chemistry with new players. James has found a fantastic rhythm, averaging 30.3 points in the seven games since returning from his rest, and he's not going to want to give it up. The Cavs are 1-8 when he doesn't play this season and 24-12 when he does. It doesn't seem like the best time to have him sit a game. James will absolutely not want to do it.
But try to honestly build a case why James should even get on a plane at midnight Friday to play a fourth game in five nights in Minnesota on Saturday when he could take the weekend off at home instead. Other than feeling like he let down some Timberwolves fans, there isn't one.
The Cavs have a stretch at the end of February and into March where they play seven games in 10 days. There's no reason for James to play in all of those, either, no matter where the team is in the playoff-seeding race.
Simply, at this point in his career there is never a bad time to take a rest. It is always a good decision. James has adapted this over the past four years when it comes to the playoffs, routinely taking games off at the end of the season to make sure he was fresh for the postseason. That's worked out pretty well considering he's been to four consecutive Finals.
As a businessman with a constant eye on his brand, James is always working on multiyear entertainment projects, monitoring designs on his shoes years in advance and long-term investing in companies.
The time has come for him to treat his basketball career the same way.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12234955/nba-lebron-needs-occasional-break
Last edited:
castor777
Sixth Man
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Serious question. Even though it'd be frowned upon - couldn't LeBron skip out on All Star week? If he actually needs rest, that'd give him a week without missing any games. I'm not sure if his contract gives him incentives to make or play in the ASG where money would be a factor. With LeBron only playing in the ASG, it always seems a bit meaningless and nothing more than fan service. If his back and knee was actually acting up, I'd rather he go that route.
Or, we can just blow out teams and let him sit out the 4th quarter every night
Or, we can just blow out teams and let him sit out the 4th quarter every night
Binkster
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This article is fear mongering at its finest. LeBron is averaging the lowest minutes per game of his career (37.3).
Everyone's body responds differently.
LeBron is two things: a physical freak and a prima donna. If you think I buy for one minute that the most physically fit athlete in the league's body is deteriorating at age 30... then you're just as naive as the media.
Should his minutes lower? Absolutely, it's a smart thing to do. Am I going to panic over it? Not a chance.
- Jordan played 37 minutes a game as a 40 year old (FORTY
). - Karl Malone averaged 38 MPG as a 40 year old.
Everyone's body responds differently.
LeBron is two things: a physical freak and a prima donna. If you think I buy for one minute that the most physically fit athlete in the league's body is deteriorating at age 30... then you're just as naive as the media.
Should his minutes lower? Absolutely, it's a smart thing to do. Am I going to panic over it? Not a chance.
This article is fear mongering at its finest. LeBron is averaging the lowest minutes per game of his career (37.3).
And these were in the hard-hitting, wrestle for a rebound days.
- Jordan played 37 minutes a game as a 40 year old (FORTY
- Karl Malone averaged 38 MPG as a 40 year old.
Everyone's body responds differently.
LeBron is two things: a physical freak and a prima donna. If you think I buy for one minute that the most physically fit athlete in the league's body is deteriorating at age 30... then you're just as naive as the media.
Should his minutes lower? Absolutely, it's a smart thing to do. Am I going to panic over it? Not a chance.
"Fear-mongering" and "panic" aren't what I took from this. Seems like an article without much new to say about keeping a mind toward longevity. I have no problem with limiting his min and dropping some games if it mean video game James in the post season.
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Jimmy probably still gets it, but he's put a fat turd for the last month or so. Not many others coming on to challenge him though.
And please don't tell me I saw someone saying Whiteside is an MVP candidate.
Pioneer10
Come home Sideshow Bob
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This article is fear mongering at its finest. LeBron is averaging the lowest minutes per game of his career (37.3).
And these were in the hard-hitting, wrestle for a rebound days.
- Jordan played 37 minutes a game as a 40 year old (FORTY
- Karl Malone averaged 38 MPG as a 40 year old.
Everyone's body responds differently.
LeBron is two things: a physical freak and a prima donna. If you think I buy for one minute that the most physically fit athlete in the league's body is deteriorating at age 30... then you're just as naive as the media.
Should his minutes lower? Absolutely, it's a smart thing to do. Am I going to panic over it? Not a chance.
Jordan played 3 years of college and took 2 whole seasons off. Lebron has played significantly more minutes then Jordan at their respective ages because of this.
Malone barely jumped anymore on the tail end of his career. He used his body more like Oakley and Mason to create space. I don't think that comparison fits well
Binkster
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3 years of college basketball is still playing basketball (albeit less games), I'm sure he was still playing in summer leagues, for Team USA, etc. He also pursued a full-time baseball career. 40 years old is 40 years old.
We are talking minutes, not style of play.
The fact of the matter is that these guys played more minutes and at a high level a decade after their 30th birthday. LeBron can't complain just yet.
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I am not sure a torn achilles has anything to do with minutes over a career. The article is nonsense. Still not sure, however, why James lost the weight and why he now appears to have gained back the muscle mass he has lost after making a trip to the PED capital of the US. Sounds a little fishy.