The Lebron Safari 2014

[Chris]

You take shots at people all the time, directly and indirectly. That's just the kind of poster you are. The interesting thing is somehow you think nobody notices it.

You posted my comments that were in reply to someone whose post I was relatively offended by.

To prove that I take shots at people.

Yes, if you take shots at me, I will return fire. Sorry...

The majority of those comments are not even insulting anyways. Like, being laughed out of the room by anyone not a Cleveland fan? Pretty true, I've seen it firsthand.

[Randolphkeys]

Last I checked, I didn't call anybody anything.

Even though I was told several times how I would react in a certain situation, then implied that I have half a brain because I did not think LeBron James "quit," and then was told it was sad that I continued to come in here and .... talk about this topic, when everybody and their mother is doing the same.

Simply because I am of a different viewpoint. Of course, that viewpoint isn't popular on here, so I'm in the shit right off the bat. Brilliant.

I haven't posted at all in this thread. You made a big assumption that we don't hold the same opinion. I do think you have spent the past four hours taking pot shots at members and attempting to psycho analyze them. Please stop.

[KilgoreTrout]

Brian Windhorst said after that series that he didn't think LeBron gave up, and he's a god on these forums. How is that outlandish?

The guy plays less aggressive and less effectively vs a great team. Only answer? HE MUST HAVE QUIT!

edit: In before "Windhorst was just saying that so he could ride James' coattails to South Beach ... "

Windhorst quit, too - he quit telling the truth, because it cost him access.

[wuck]

I'll repeat once again (but not again after that) -- no need for personal attacks. That's basically the definition of "my (attacking) comments that were in reply to someone whose post I was relatively offended by."

Be aware and chill out. I don't care what your position is on LeBron 2014. I do care when posters take it out on each other.

[jlegg21]

The RCF Mod squad is the best in the biz...

One thing I continue to notice people saying... "I pay no attention, I dont care about #6, I could care less what he does down there" etc. No, no freaking way. Comical message board facade at its finest. You cannot be an NBA fan and not pay attention to what he's doing in Miami. His performance this season has been especially impossible to ignore.

Just be honest and admit it. Either you never got over it, hate his guts, and always will, or you've softened after the hurt he caused you as a fan and would be willing to forgive. To come on here and feign indifference to the best player on the planet while pretending to be a basketball fan is... delusional.

[Randolphkeys]

Posts that have nothing to do with the subject of the thread will be deleted until the discussion returns to LeBron's possible free agency in 2014. For the time being, please keep to the topic. Thanks.

[SkaakS]

I don't understand the sentiment that basketball is just a business and that we as fans shouldn't be emotionally invested in our teams and potentially devastated if our team doesn't win a championship game or a player decides to go to another team. Business in and of itself is cold, boring, and nothing that deserves emotion. The purpose of a business is to make money, that's it. Businesses like basketball, however, rely on emotion in order to make that money. Without it, no one would watch it. Same goes for tv, music, and movies. A movie that doesn't have a compelling story or believable characters or even big explosions doesn't appeal to our emotions and therefore doesn't make money, which doesn't make a good business. We long for those connections to the people on the screen, stage, or court--to be involved and engrossed by their triumphs, pain, and conflicts. If we don't have those connections, we wouldn't care about it at all. We become part of their world and they become part of ours. To say that we shouldn't want a connection with the players on our team defies the purpose of why fans even exist. In order for the business of basketball to exist, it relies on fans to be emotional about the games, teams, and players. It relies on that hope that the lotto balls will fall our way, or that a player will break a longtime record, or that a kid from our hometown will lead our team to the championship. Without emotion, basketball is nothing. Why then should every other part of basketball be tied to emotion, but a player leaving his hometown team voluntarily be labeled as 'just business'? It may just be business for the player because they don't feel that connection with the fans, but that doesn't mean it's exactly the same for the fans.

Some might argue that the connection should be with the team, not the players on the team, but that's just not possible. The team is just a concept, nothing tangible that exists without the players that make it up. You can say that you don't care who the players are so long as the team wins, but again, without the players those victories are impossible. It's disingenuous to say that you can emotionally wish the team would win without feeling the same about the players.

I say all that to say I think it's okay for people to still feel hurt or betrayed by what Lebron did. It's also okay to say that it was a long time ago and that they've moved past it and just want to win. In either case, however, it still involves emotion, not just business. Some people may be able to look past whatever emotions they feel about Lebron coming back in 2014, but those that can't are perfectly justified in my mind.

[Jack Brickman]

The RCF Mod squad is the best in the biz...

One thing I continue to notice people saying... "I pay no attention, I dont care about #6, I could care less what he does down there" etc. No, no freaking way. Comical message board facade at its finest. You cannot be an NBA fan and not pay attention to what he's doing in Miami. His performance this season has been especially impossible to ignore.

Just be honest and admit it. Either you never got over it, hate his guts, and always will, or you've softened after the hurt he caused you as a fan and would be willing to forgive. To come on here and feign indifference to the best player on the planet while pretending to be a basketball fan is... delusional.

I'll be honest: every time he jumps, I kind of sort of hope he pulls a Livingston on his knee.

I'd still accept him back, though.

[Mdog1]

I'll be honest: every time he jumps, I kind of sort of hope he pulls a Livingston on his knee.

I'd still accept him back, though.

This was my LeBron policy for most of the 10/11 season. Now i'd be ecstatic if he came back, but be careful what you wish for you just might get it. It'd be fitting irony if the fans (us) that wished good injury upon the guy finally get him back on our team, and then he has multipl injuries, after being bionic in his first decade.

[Jack Brickman]

This was my LeBron policy for most of the 10/11 season. Now i'd be ecstatic if he came back, but be careful what you wish for you just might get it. It'd be fitting irony if the fans (us) that wished good injury upon the guy finally get him back on our team, and then he has multipl injuries, after being bionic in his first decade.

I fully expect that to happen. It would be very Cleveland.

[Mdog1]

I fully expect that to happen. It would be very Cleveland.

Yes it would. It'd only be truly Cleveland if it happened in the final quarter of a game 7 of the NBA finals, that we ended up losing on a shot by Carlos Boozer, assisted by Art Modell.

[jay_em]

Fine, give me another comparison. He's still not a great shooter, and his post game not up to snuff.

Yes, because he's always been a consistent mid-range shooter, and has always willingly taken players into the post.

"...Believe it or not, James has evolved into one of the top spot-up shooters in the league; his eye-popping 56.8% shooting on spot-ups ranks him first among 155 players with at least 90 attempts according to SynergySports."

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...michael-jordan

Im thinking LeBron will be fine when he loses his athleticism. Just like Kobe, just like Mike etc....

[Jon]

I don't understand the sentiment that basketball is just a business and that we as fans shouldn't be emotionally invested in our teams and potentially devastated if our team doesn't win a championship game or a player decides to go to another team.

I know there are all types, but why would you willing go our of your way to be emotionally devastated? Being a Cleveland sports fan pretty much guarantees a new form of disappointment times 3 every year.

There's nothing wrong with getting emotionally invested in sports, the problem would be not being able to separate sports from reality.

[Jon]

"...Believe it or not, James has evolved into one of the top spot-up shooters in the league; his eye-popping 56.8% shooting on spot-ups ranks him first among 155 players with at least 90 attempts according to SynergySports."

It really doesn't surprise me. I always liked his chances on spot up opportunities when he took his time and kept his form, he just didn't get many shots like that since he was either on the ball or sleeping when off it.

[col63onel]

"...Believe it or not, James has evolved into one of the top spot-up shooters in the league; his eye-popping 56.8% shooting on spot-ups ranks him first among 155 players with at least 90 attempts according to SynergySports."

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...michael-jordan



Im thinking LeBron will be fine when he loses his athleticism. Just like Kobe, just like Mike etc....

What is his career average? Is this an outlier for 1 year?

I've always thought FT shooting was the best shooting metric. Just you shooting. He's always been about the league average and it's stayed constant.