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redbirdjazzz wrote:Um....the Bulls won in Jordan's first finals, beating the Lakers 4-1. I think you're right that people are out of line to insult Lebron based on this year's finals, but find a better example.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_NBA_Finals

Wow, that's the last time I trust anything I hear on ESPN. Somebody mentioned on air that Jordan got swept in his first finals appearance, so that's where I got my "fact." Of course, it's entirely possible that I misunderstood what this guy was saying, but next time I'll look it up myself.

Socnorb11 wrote:Jordan's surrounding cast wasn't so hot, either......... but he truly did make everyone around him better.

I'd say Lebron has done something similar in his time with the Cavs. While he is certainly the main force behind the team, it takes more than one person to win a championship (especially against San Antonio). But looking at the progress Cleveland has made in the past few years, I think it's crazy to dismiss him as a player because he couldn't carry the team on his back against perhaps the most successful sports franchise of the past decade. Not too long ago, the Cavaliers were a laughing stock. Just a few years after drafting Lebron, they've made an appearance in the finals. That's some serious progress. Let's not dog the guy because he's human.

As it is, he responds to those questions by pondering for several seconds, and then implying that he's almost there. He's not.

Haven't paid enough attention to notice.

ThatGuy wrote:

Socnorb11 wrote:Jordan's surrounding cast wasn't so hot, either......... but he truly did make everyone around him better.

I'd say Lebron has done something similar in his time with the Cavs. While he is certainly the main force behind the team, it takes more than one person to win a championship (especially against San Antonio). But looking at the progress Cleveland has made in the past few years, I think it's crazy to dismiss him as a player because he couldn't carry the team on his back against perhaps the most successful sports franchise of the past decade. Not too long ago, the Cavaliers were a laughing stock. Just a few years after drafting Lebron, they've made an appearance in the finals. That's some serious progress. Let's not dog the guy because he's human.

The Cavs got dismantled. The disparity between the East and West is so dramatic that you can't really take any team from the East seriously. There are probably 6 teams in the West that could have beat the Cavs in a 7-game series. I'll give the Cavs credit for being the best team in the East when all was said and done, but that's not saying much. Obviously the Cavs are better with Lebron than without him, but they were pretty awful to begin with, so improvement was almost a given, whether they had drafted Lebron, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Bosh, etc.

Getting to the finals was not a given, however.

ThatGuy wrote:Getting to the finals was not a given, however.

Getting to the finals wasn't a given, that's true.

Basically, we learned that when they're playing well, Lebron's team is one of the best 8 or 9 in the NBA.

I'm not impressed.

I don't think anybody was impressed with the Cavs. That idea is not being contested.

are the finals over?

-Brodie