Letters to the Editor
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Jonathan - Did you never see the man play?
Magic is in the discussion for a top 5-player ever slot along with Michael, Oscar, Wilt, Russell and a handful of others.
Magic also played center for an injured Kareem in a Game 7 of his rookie year and managed a paltry 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists.
Moreover, Kareem was past the prime of his career in all but one of the Laker championships. Further, Kareem won exactly zero championships without either Oscar Robertson or Magic by his side. I don't think this diminishes Kareem's greatness at all. Why does that denigrate Magic's accomplishments.
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At the age of 22, what had Jordan done in the NBA?
I ask because of this statement:
"At the same age, Jordan wasn't quite a guy they build statues of yet either, though he was getting close, just as James is."
I thought I'd read that Jordan lost his first four playoff series, and didn't make it to the Conference finals until his seventh time in the playoffs. If that's true, then it seems to me it's not fair to criticize LeBron for not doing what Jordan had done by the same age, given that LeBron has won three of his first four playoff series and made it to the Conference finals on his second time in the playoffs.
Give LeBron Scottie Pippin, or Kareem, and he too will "play like a champion," just like Jordan or Magic. Give him the current Cleveland line-up, and he'll be triple-teamed by Detroit every time he thinks about driving to the basket. As anyone who watches the Cavs knows, in that situation either LeBron passes and hopes his fair-to-middling teammate sinks the open shot, or he searches in vain for an opening to the hoop, before settling for a desperation heave at the buzzer.
Barkley's one valid point is the Cav's desperate need for a good point guard, so LeBron doesn't have to play point forward: the best player shouldn't be passing off to a less-good player, as the Chuckster noted. My hope is that Danny Ferry can pry loose Mike Bibby from a re-building Sacramento. It probably won't happen, but it's a nice dream. Until then, LeBron, Charles, King, and I have exactly the same number of rings, so I think it's just as likely that I'm right on this question as Chuck or you.
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Too soon to tell?
Do you know who Ernie Banks is? I do, and I hate baseball. He is a great Chicago Cubs player who never won a championship. I know this because Jordan would be compared to him all the time. That is until Jordan won 6 NBA Finals.
Do you know who said "I've won at every level, except college and pro"? I know it was Shaq because this quote would be the jumping-off point for sports writers who would wonder if he could ever lift his team to a championship. That is until he won four.
I just think this is a little premature, seeing as how I recall that Jordan and Shaq won their first rings when they were around 28-29. And I address this last comment not to Magic Johnson my favorite all-time player but to Magic the crappy NBA coach. I always wondered if he sat on the sidelines during Lakers games and thought, "OK, here's the part where that player should impose his will on the other team and break their spirits. Why isn't he imposing his will? The other team is definitely not feeling the imposition of his will."
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Bullshit. Kaufmann knows jackshit about basketball
cause if he did know the game - he'd understand that LeBron controlled that game throughout. No - he didn't score much; no, he didn't look flashy; Yes - he involved the entire Cleveland team, and if Marshall makes the open 3 - the Cavs steal the first game and only have to hold serve to win the series, ya idiot.
LeBron put the Cavs in position to win that game. Ok - maybe he should have taken the layup - but keep in mind the officials had been letting the Pistons hack away at him - the basket was not certain by any means - and the pass to Marshall gave the Cavs a chance to WIN - as oppose to put them in OT.
I recall a playoff game when Bill Russell only scored 2 points - but those 40 rebounds looked pretty good.
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Being a Celtics fan growing up in the 80s...
...and in L.A. Yeah, I saw Magic play ALOT. Don't get me wrong: He's easily in the top 10 if not the top 5 of the sport (so far).
But as a commentariat: he's an idiot. And a barely understandable one at that. There's a reason he's only trundled out (nationally) come playoff time. "Impose your will"? Yeah, add that to my "110%". Idiot.
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A little Dirk-like, with 0 supporting cast
I agree with King about LBJ, with two reservations: 1) I think generally LBJ is in a no-win situation, he's criticized no matter what he does, and 2) his supporting cast SUCKS EGGS. I mean come on, these guys are awful. Dirk at least has several other real players around him. Z is a pretty good player when he's healthy but that's it. I keep hearing that the number 2 on this team is...Larry Freakin' Hughes...Who has never impressed me, ever, in the NBA. He's not very good. The Cavs wouldn't even sniff the playoffs, even in the weak East, without LBJ. They'd be up there with the Celtics in the lottery.
Jordan didn't give up the ball much early in his career. He got a legitimate big-time sidekick...THEN it was time to hit the role players. And even there, I think a Paxton or Kerr was a better role player than...Damon Jones? Varejao? Marshall? (what's Marshall done since leaving UConn? Nothing).
The shame for the Cavs, and the league, is that the scum bucket Carlos Boozer welched on a deal with the Cavs to go to Utah. Imagine if he and LBJ were on the same team...
Which brings me to..Shaq. Nobody can deny that D. Wade was a closer who took over the finals last year. However, even an old Shaq changes the game, his presence under the basket went a long way to allowing Wade to have his superstar moment. No way in hell the Heat win without him.