LeBron James

JMoneyYourHoney said:

My favorite was last year when he'd take the entire game off on that end only to take the best player designation in the final minutes to prove what a lockdown defender he still was

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that was quite a sensible tactic to preserve his strength/energy given his age and mileage. I don't think it was an ego thing.

This year's team is basically the same as last year's team plus Lebron. (If anything they should be a little better as some young guys have more experience). After watching this year's team for the rest of this season, I think we are going to get a renewed appreciation of the contribution Lebron made in dragging this squad to 50 regular season wins and the NBA Finals. All the people who dumped on him last year will be proven very wrong -- they were criticizing a guy who was performing a minor miracle.

Lakers have found something with Kuzma at forward playing off Lebron: combo of size, shooting and off the ball movement with chemistry has been tough to guard.

I thought the Lakers were going to suck unless they got really fucking lucky with FA's which didn't look like it was going to happen but with Hart, McGee, and Kuzma they have the ability to move both Ingram, Lonzo, and picks and have good rotation to put around 2-3 stars

If Lakers can develop Ingram to do more consistently what he now does in flashes then they really have something. I wouldn't get rid of Ingram until you give him some time to develop with Lebron. Lonzo and picks should be on the table though. [edit — this statement looks really dumb after watching Lonzo last night — when did he get so good?]

It is looking now like they may have really missed an opportunity not going hard for Kawhi Leonard in the off season though. If Kawhi does well with the Raptors he may not want to leave, he keeps performing like this he will be the unquestioned alpha and the city will love him. And he is a rung above the typical "star", when healthy he is a top five player with HOF potential.

Lakers seem to have found a legit starting 5 that is tough to defend: Hart, Ball, Kuzma, Lebron, McGee. Real surprised by this but Kuzma and Hart give Lebron enough shooting and Ball is a good enough passer to give it a different dimension.

Going to be interesting what happens with Rondo and Ingram as they look better without those two. Stephenson as the lone lunatic works well

I think Ingram and Rondo might improve them even more...they sat out key games when the rest of the team was gelling and maybe they just need more reps. Both talented guys obviously. Lebron beginning to work his magic, Denver is a good team and Lakers handled them in the fourth...

Pioneer10 said:

Lakers seem to have found a legit starting 5 that is tough to defend: Hart, Ball, Kuzma, Lebron, McGee. Real surprised by this but Kuzma and Hart give Lebron enough shooting and Ball is a good enough passer to give it a different dimension.

Going to be interesting what happens with Rondo and Ingram as they look better without those two. Stephenson as the lone lunatic works well

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After Rondo’s suspension, Lakers are running about a 120 ORTG playing LeBron ball and that’s with nobody really being able to shoot well and LeBron himself struggling from three. Doesn’t really matter the teammates—he’ll make it work.

They’ll have to find a way to reintegrate Ingram in the lineup. He was one of the NBA’s best defenders in his first two games. He contested nearly 40 shots, switched on to everyone, and players didn’t score against him. I think he has good potential as an offense initiator as he can draw fouls at a high rate.

Rondo has played well, but he needs to be on the bench and the ball in Ball’s and Ingram’s hands when it’s not in LeBron’s. Ball and Ingram can make for a very, very good defensive duo.

I just want to say thank you to Mr James for deciding to go Hollywood and leaving our team a big pile of rotten shit with his old boys on it. JR, TT. Watching the Lakers game last night made me realize they are going to win way more games then i thought. When you have Lance hitting two step back 3s in a row to keep them in a game, and Javale channeling his inner Wilt, if that happens on a nightly basis then they are going to be a lot of teams. All because Lebron wanted to live the shitty LA lifestyle and his wifey wanted to walk on red carpets. Meanwhile we are 0-4, will be lucky to win 17 games. I think right now is the worst ive ever felt as a Cavs fan.

JayDD1972 said:

I just want to say thank you to Mr James for deciding to go Hollywood and leaving our team a big pile of rotten shit with his old boys on it. JR, TT. Watching the Lakers game last night made me realize they are going to win way more games then i thought. When you have Lance hitting two step back 3s in a row to keep them in a game, and Javale channeling his inner Wilt, if that happens on a nightly basis then they are going to be a lot of teams. All because Lebron wanted to live the shitty LA lifestyle and his wifey wanted to walk on red carpets. Meanwhile we are 0-4, will be lucky to win 17 games. I think right now is the worst ive ever felt as a Cavs fan.

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Still it was all worth it, beating that 73-9 team coming back from being down 3-1 while watching Kyrie and LeBron going full god mode together to win the championship was the best thing I have ever seen in sports

I may end up following this team a bit more than I initially thought. I just can't help it, watching this guy dominate and dissect teams is just too much fun to watch. Also, honestly, it seems like the Lakers play off and with Lebron better than really ever with the Cavs. Probably a mix of Coaching and higher IQ/better players, as consistently, Kuzma especially, but also Hart, Ball, stephenson, and even freaking McGee are making cuts, finding open spots, driving hard on defenders running off threes, and even playmaking for easy buckets to return the favor back to Lebron.

Kuzma, Hart, and McGee have been extremely impressive, as has Ball to a slightly lesser extent. Watching them I think they are a much better team than I gave them credit for. They seem to have a good amount of guys that can make plays for themselves and a few that can for others as well. And I feel like they may have just enough shooting to make some noise.

go cavs275 said:

I may end up following this team a bit more than I initially thought. I just can't help it, watching this guy dominate and dissect teams is just too much fun to watch. Also, honestly, it seems like the Lakers play off and with Lebron better than really ever with the Cavs. Probably a mix of Coaching and higher IQ/better players, as consistently, Kuzma especially, but also Hart, Ball, stephenson, and even freaking McGee are making cuts, finding open spots, driving hard on defenders running off threes, and even playmaking for easy buckets to return the favor back to Lebron.

Kuzma, Hart, and McGee have been extremely impressive, as has Ball to a slightly lesser extent. Watching them I think they are a much better team than I gave them credit for. They seem to have a good amount of guys that can make plays for themselves and a few that can for others as well. And I feel like they may have just enough shooting to make some noise.

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I think they're going to be better than people think too. His supporting cast in LA is better than the one he had on the Cavs last year, imo. The "meme team" guys have been better than people expected. JaVale freaking McGee is averaging 17 and 7 with 3 blocks a game. Lance brings a ton of energy off the bench and has been a solid playmaker so far. The young guys are all impressive. Kuzma looks like he can be the second option next to LeBron. Lonzo has been good so far. If he can remain a serviceable shooter that would be huge.

The past two games have been a good combination of LeBron ball and an offensive system. LeBron has his lowest usage rate since his rookie year. I haven't seen LeBron get this many easy baskets off passes from his teammates ever. They're already gelling with each other on offense and that'll continue to improve as the season goes along. I don't know what they'll end up seed wise, but I expect them to be a tough out in the playoffs.

go cavs275 said:

I may end up following this team a bit more than I initially thought. I just can't help it, watching this guy dominate and dissect teams is just too much fun to watch. Also, honestly, it seems like the Lakers play off and with Lebron better than really ever with the Cavs. Probably a mix of Coaching and higher IQ/better players, as consistently, Kuzma especially, but also Hart, Ball, stephenson, and even freaking McGee are making cuts, finding open spots, driving hard on defenders running off threes, and even playmaking for easy buckets to return the favor back to Lebron.

Kuzma, Hart, and McGee have been extremely impressive, as has Ball to a slightly lesser extent. Watching them I think they are a much better team than I gave them credit for. They seem to have a good amount of guys that can make plays for themselves and a few that can for others as well. And I feel like they may have just enough shooting to make some noise.

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But how is that enjoyable or fun as a Cavs fan? I cant even imagine that being enjoyable. Watching them succeed for me is like Chinese torture. Even worse to see a guy like Lance contributing, wasnt he a step away from being a grocery bagger? Nobody wanted him before the Pacers gave him another shot. Meanwhile im watching the Cavs just absoluely suck. They arent going to be good for many years. I will never adapt to a line of thinking that i enjoy seeing that Lakers team find their groove and make some noise. I cant be in the minority here.

Also, I think Luke Walton is a much better coach than Ty Lue. His rotations are certainly better. Lue never would've went off on the refs in the postgame like Walton did a few days ago. Walton doesn't have LeBron playing whole quarters. He's been taking him out with about 4 minutes to go in the first quarter each game. LeBron is much better and fresh when he isn't playing whole quarters. He also had Lebron on the bench in the fourth quarter. They were down with six minutes left in the game and he had Bron on the bench resting up. Didn't bring him back until there were about 4 minutes left. Lue would've been riding LeBron at that point because he didn't know what else to do. It obviously remains to be seen how that holds up throughout the year, but it's been promising so far.

Maybe i need to just stay out of the Lebron thread. When i see Cavs fans saying its fun to watch Lebron dissect teams and watch their players contribute,,,its time to get the hell out of dodge.

cavsfever said:

I think Ingram and Rondo might improve them even more...they sat out key games when the rest of the team was gelling and maybe they just need more reps. Both talented guys obviously. Lebron beginning to work his magic, Denver is a good team and Lakers handled them in the fourth...

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I will still have to see the Mcgees and Lances do that on a nightly basis for a whole season to believe it. Those kind of guys tend to disappear in big games when they matter. Those guys will help lose as many games as they help win in my opinion.

K1rieIrving>AllOtherPG's said:

Still it was all worth it, beating that 73-9 team coming back from being down 3-1 while watching Kyrie and LeBron going full god mode together to win the championship was the best thing I have ever seen in sports

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We got the best ring in sports history, period. I'll take it