winning edge of best teams

[nowagimp]

watching the cavs last night, before the suns game I was in awe of how LeBrons game has improved and how well the cavs moved the ball. this is amuch better team than last year, they remind me of the DA suns at their peak in ball movement(and better D of course). The best teams are unsefish and move the ball, everyone got touches and passed the ball to the open man. As PJ would say, the ball wasnt sticking at all. Lebron did not dominate the ball, he was a consummate team player. He is definitely the whole package, better than kobe easily now. Hope the suns can get enough reps to get that kind of ball movement.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

watching the cavs last night, before the suns game I was in awe of how LeBrons game has improved and how well the cavs moved the ball. this is amuch better team than last year, they remind me of the DA suns at their peak in ball movement(and better D of course). The best teams are unsefish and move the ball, everyone got touches and passed the ball to the open man. As PJ would say, the ball wasnt sticking at all. Lebron did not dominate the ball, he was a consummate team player. He is definitely the whole package, better than kobe easily now. Hope the suns can get enough reps to get that kind of ball movement.

Barring injury, I don't know if LeBron will ever be 'easily better that Kobe.

 

[Skumbag]

Lebron > Kobe

I'd give up the entire suns team minus Louis for Lebron

 

[cly2tw]

Different teams have different sets of optimal mode of play.

Suns now is trying to find the right combination of fast ball and half court. The very first issue they seem to work on which works well so far is to get the pass to the bigmen early and with determination, in half court situations. LB and Bell never did so before but are doing it now, which reduced numbers of turnovers that result from passing on the perimeter going nowhere.

On fastbreaks, they started to take into account Shaq's place at the time. Either finish it before Shaq crosses the midline, or slowing it down and regrouping until Sha settles into his posts. This way, we reduce the time that Shaq running in nobody's territory with the games playing out besides him, and the sure success of opponents' fastbreaks in those cases.

So, reining in the perimeter guys from thinking they are responsible for creating by dribbling in traffick is the key, for now. Ultimately, we need to refine our half court sets slowly and particularly work on more catch-n-shoot coming off screens by Nash/LB/Bell.

 

[nowagimp]

Barring injury, I don't know if LeBron will ever be 'easily better that Kobe.

Wow you should take another look. Lebron is hitting 3's, steals, rebounds, dishes, and he's just about unguardable, but he also makes others around him MUCH better. He's a much better passer than kobe ever was. And at 255lbs(like, but not like barkley), hes also one of the 5 fastest guys in the NBA. Now that the cavs have outside shooters to space the floor(kinda like the lakers), LeBron is the most dominant force in the NBA.

 

[nashman]

I agree nowagimp, I would take LeBron over Kobe in a heartbeat.

 

[Mulli]

Doesn't Lebron need to win something to have a winning edge?

 

[nashman]

I think Lebron will be just fine, on the same note doesn't Kobe need to win a championship that Shaq didn't win for him?

 

[FArting]

Dick Vitale said yesterday that Lebron will be the best basketball player ever passing Michael Jordan.

 

[Covert Rain]

Lebron > Kobe

I'd give up the entire suns team minus Louis for Lebron

I agree. Lebron is a better all around player. The one thing I have not seen out of Lebron consistently is that killer instinct. To me Kobe is still better at taking over games sometimes at will. IMO nobody does that better then Kobe.

If Lebron ever gets as good at Kobe in that area....to me there would be no question. Until then I could buy the argument.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Dick Vitale said yesterday that Lebron will be the best basketball player ever passing Michael Jordan.

i think he's got a real good shot at it.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I agree nowagimp, I would take LeBron over Kobe in a heartbeat.

I would take LeBron if I was starting a franchise from scratch too. If I needed to win one game, I wouldn't take LeBron.

I think some of you guys are forgetting how good Kobe is.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Dick Vitale said yesterday that Lebron will be the best basketball player ever passing Michael Jordan.

I don't know if MJ was the best BB player ever. That debate has been had over and over again though.

 

[LakeShowMan]

LeBron is the most talented basketball player in the world.

I would still like to see him hit a late game freethrow that matters, or maybe win a championship, before we annoint him 'easily' better than Kobe.

I also disagree a little bit that ball movement is the 'winning edge of the best teams'. Don't get me wrong, it certainly is a big factor to being a great team offensively. However, the biggest edge, is a team that plays defense. Teams that carry a distinct defensive energy, and play it well together consistently, gives the best teams their edge.

That is why, right now, the Celtics and Cavs are the two best teams in the league. The Lakers defense has been embarassing for the last few weeks, and it has lead to their inconsistency and two recent road losses. If the want to be elite (as they all claim to want) they need to re-focus on defense. The beauty of defense is, great teams can sometimes struggle on the road offensively but if they are good and consistent defensively, it doesn't matter where they are playing.

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't know if MJ was the best BB player ever. That debate has been had over and over again though.

IMO, there is no doubt MJ was the best ever. There have been freak of nature type players just bigger and stronger (Wilt, Shaq, even Magic at the Point) but there was nothing special about MJ just looking at the guy.

However, there was something special about his sheer will being imposed on both sides of the floor. I have never seen a player rise to a challenge more then this guy. People called him out on defense so he became defensive player of the year. Opposing players would talk smack to him...then he would smack them down. People would double team him and he would still score. He would drive down the middle of a crowded lane and still make shots around the "giants".

I hated MJ while he was playing. However, that didn't stop me from appreciating how freaking great MJ was. I admit I hated him but loved watching him play. It was a love hate thing.

 

[BC867]

Wow you should take another look. Lebron is hitting 3's, steals, rebounds, dishes, and he's just about unguardable, but he also makes others around him MUCH better. He's a much better passer than kobe ever was. And at 255lbs(like, but not like barkley), hes also one of the 5 fastest guys in the NBA. Now that the cavs have outside shooters to space the floor(kinda like the lakers), LeBron is the most dominant force in the NBA.

He was also pretty good (for a jock) when he hosted SNL a few years ago. But I digress.

 

[Bufalay]

i think he's got a real good shot at it.

That was until Dick Vitale predicted it. This guy is consistently wrong about everything.

 

[mojorizen7]

IMO, there is no doubt MJ was the best ever. There have been freak of nature type players just bigger and stronger (Wilt, Shaq, even Magic at the Point) but there was nothing special about MJ just looking at the guy.

However, there was something special about his sheer will being imposed on both sides of the floor. I have never seen a player rise to a challenge more then this guy. People called him out on defense so he became defensive player of the year. Opposing players would talk smack to him...then he would smack them down. People would double team him and he would still score. He would drive down the middle of a crowded lane and still make shots around the "giants".

I hated MJ while he was playing. However, that didn't stop me from appreciating how freaking great MJ was. I admit I hated him but loved watching him play. It was a love hate thing.

My feelings exactly except i didn't have a love/hate thing going on.
Jordan did whatever he wanted to do on the court & made his teammates better as well. Nobody hated losing as much as Jordan either which is why he rarely lossed anything, whether it be one on one battles,games,scoring titles,championships etc.
He was better than everyone else and he constantly backed it up.
Awesome.

 

[dodie53]

MJ is the best EVER.

lebron could be 2nd best