still pulling for the Mavs, but I really enjoyed this article about Lebron:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/dont-hate-lebron-james/239648/

Quote :

"Yes, he's rich, arrogant, and made a fool of himself with his nationally televised Decision. But he's also the greatest active player in the game today. Why do you hate LeBron James? Because he didn't want to play for the New York Knicks? That would make you a Knicks fan, right, and live in the New York area? But then, you didn't weep for the Texas Rangers when Alex Rodriguez came to the Yankees, did you? Or for Minnesota fans when Johan Santana left the Twins to pitch for the New York Mets? More to the point, you didn't mind it so much when C.C. Sabathia left the Cleveland Indians for the kind of money only the Yankees could pay. Are you still mad at LBJ because he left his hometown of Cleveland? (Actually, he was born and raised 40 miles away in Akron.) But that would have to make you a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, wouldn't it, and then you'd have to make the irrational argument that a professional athlete must stick with one team, his hometown team, for his entire career. And no one really believes that, do they? LeBron James played with the Cleveland Cavaliers for seven seasons; if he's Catholic, that should be enough to get him through a couple of centuries in Purgatory in the Afterlife. Really, after paying those kind of dues, isn't he entitled to spend the rest of his career where he chooses? Do you hate him because of that stupid ESPN show—"The Decision"—last July, when apparently, following the terrible advice of his agent, LeBron announced his decision to go to the Miami Heat on live TV? All right, hate him for that. But how long are you going to hold a grudge over an ill-advised TV show? Or ... do you simply hate LeBron James because he isn't Michael Jordan? There's a very funny scene in the upcoming Cameron Diaz comedy, Bad Teacher, where Jason Segel, playing a middle school basketball coach, gets into a shouting match with one of his players: "There's no way LeBron will ever be Jordan!" Segel insists. "Call me when LeBron has six championships!" "That's your only argument?" the kid retorts. "That's the only argument I need!" Segel screams back at him. Well, we'll see about that. Tonight, the Miami Heat face the Dallas Mavericks for game one of the NBA finals. Should Miami beat Dallas, LeBron will be more than a year younger than Michael when he won his first championship ring. Why don't you admit it—you really don't hate LeBron James, do you? You only think you do because you heard so many sportswriters tell you that you were supposed to. Why should it bug you that he chose not to come to New York? Even if you root for the Knicks, how could you can blame a player for not wanting to jump into the snake pit of backbiting and ineptitude that has characterized James Dolan's ownership of the team? Do you think one player, no matter how great, is the difference between a .500 team and a championship? (Remember that Jordan's best teams in Chicago featured two other Hall of Fame players, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.) And can you really fault him for not wanting to spend his entire professional career trying to pull the Cavaliers out of mediocrity? Let's face it: King James is as cocky and arrogant as any good-looking, fabulously talented, and immensely rich 26-year-old is entitled to be. Outside of that, there's really nothing not to like. He is, without question, the best player in professional basketball. Chicago's Derrick Rose was named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award this past season, but James topped him in nearly every statistic, including points per game (26.7 to 25.0), field goals percentage (.510 to .445), rebounds (7.5 to 4.1), and steals (1.6 to 1.0). Actually, James led Rose in every statistic but one—assists (7.0 to 7.7). To top it off, James' Heat whipped Rose's Bulls four games to one in the playoffs. Why then was Rose the league's MVP? Simple: James had won it the previous two seasons and the prevailing wisdom is that it's not good for the sport for the same player to be named MVP every year. However, it certainly isn't bad for the sport for the same team to win the championship every—or almost every—season. Ratings have sagged with no flagship team like the Los Angeles Lakers (the most successful NBA team of the last half-century and winner of five of the last eleven championships) or the Michael Jordan Bulls (winner of six titles in eight years between the 1990-91 and 1997-98 seasons). But this year, the Heat were on TNT and the ratings soared. Game 1 of the playoffs between Miami and Chicago was the most watched game in cable TV history; in fact, Games 1,3 and 5 are, respectively, the first, second and fourth most watched games on cable ever. (The third most watched game is Michael Jordan's last All-Star game in 2003.) It's a fairly safe bet that this final series between the Heat and the Mavericks on ABC will draw more viewers than any previous NBA game. It's also an odds-on bet that if you're a basketball fan and you watch these games, sooner or later you're going to start liking LeBron James - or at least appreciate him: appreciate his astonishing combination of size, power, agility, and focus. (If you have any doubt about the last, consider that in the final and deciding game against the Bulls, LeBron brought his team back from a 10-point deficit with three minutes to play, scoring eight points in just over the final 120 seconds.) And that appreciation will, sooner or later, turn to like and perhaps even love. How long, after all, are you going to carry a torch for the Cleveland Cavaliers or feel sorry for New York? Maybe you should just feel sorry for every NBA team that doesn't have LeBron James."

5/31/2011 2:00:13 PM

Its more surface level than anything deep rooted. The author mentions Pippen and Rodman...they came to Jordan, not the other way around. If Wade and Bosh had come to Cleveland to help Lebron, everybody loves him.

But he put this hired gun thing on himself.

5/31/2011 2:14:04 PM

I've never really liked Lebron, even back when everyone was supposed to like him and he was on the Cavs.

5/31/2011 3:06:52 PM

Lebron the brand or Lebron the player?

5/31/2011 3:54:04 PM

Time to make your picks

I said Miami in 6 in the OP, and I'm sticking with it

But I would love for Dirk to prove me wrong

5/31/2011 5:23:03 PM

Dallas in 7

probably believing in Dirk and their bench way too much though, but that's what I'm going with

this is Lebron's chance to go full-on legend though

5/31/2011 5:26:35 PM

The Mavs are a bunch of veterans who have all been to the cusp of a title and think this is their one shot left. I think they have the mental edge here and the edge in coaching, so im going against my gut feeling of Miami in 6 and saying...

Mavs in 7

5/31/2011 5:39:53 PM

I understand why they go 2-3-2 in the Finals, but its really too big of an advantage to have game 6 and 7 at home.

Dallas either has to win 2 games in Miami or all 3 in a row at home to pull this off. I read the road teams in this format are something like 6-20.

5/31/2011 5:42:15 PM

it should be 1-1-1-1-1-1-1. Just trim the off days in the first three rounds.

Anyway.. mavs in 5

Quote :

"He is, without question, the best player in professional basketball. Chicago's Derrick Rose was named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award this past season, but James topped him in nearly every statistic, including points per game (26.7 to 25.0), field goals percentage (.510 to .445), rebounds (7.5 to 4.1), and steals (1.6 to 1.0). Actually, James led Rose in every statistic but one—assists (7.0 to 7.7)."

I hate these arguments. Best stats sometimes = MVP, sometimes it doesn't.

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 5:51 PM. Reason : .]

5/31/2011 5:49:21 PM

All I'm hearing from TV, internet and you guys is LeBron and Dirk, Dirk and Lebron. Just a bunch of gibberish. Motherfuckers act like they forgot about Wade.



Your 2011 Finals MVP. You heard it here first.

5/31/2011 7:42:24 PM

glad they are doing the Kimmel pre-game stuff like they did last year

5/31/2011 8:16:01 PM

^^
Way to go out on a limb. Give me something I can work with.

5/31/2011 8:18:57 PM

Ricardo is gonna beat Blake Griffin by AT LEAST 40 points

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 8:26 PM. Reason : that prediction was before i knew about the blindfold]

5/31/2011 8:20:41 PM

Quote :

"this is Lebron's chance to go full-on legend though"

By winning one championship with other superstars?

5/31/2011 8:52:38 PM

haha Dirk is like "fuck the introductions, I'm gonna keep shooting warmup shots"

5/31/2011 8:57:09 PM

lol @ playing "Fuck You" during the mavericks starting lineup

5/31/2011 8:57:36 PM

Quote :

"they forgot about Wade. Your 2011 Finals MVP"

not that i expect it to happen, but I could see Kidd getting a triple double or two and winning MVP if Dallas wins it all

5/31/2011 9:00:41 PM

A Lebron hater told me today he was torn, because he would rather see Lebron celebrating a title than Brendon Haywood.

5/31/2011 9:05:25 PM

I'm tired of looking at carlisle's grumpy face, if you look like jim carrey you should lighten up a bit

5/31/2011 9:09:09 PM

Carlisle reminds me of Jim Carrey.

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:10 PM. Reason : ha ha, has that comparison been beaten into the ground?]

5/31/2011 9:09:42 PM

first team to 80 wins

5/31/2011 9:14:50 PM

How did Lebron not travel there? Was he not lying on the ground and then stood up with the ball? The hell is that shit

5/31/2011 9:18:32 PM

i dunno but it was pretty funny, he looked like a massive infant

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:20 PM. Reason : is Dexter gonna be driving a Dodge Durango in season 6]

5/31/2011 9:18:56 PM

fuck Mark Jackson

I almost prefer listening to the Elmore/Patrick duo over him

5/31/2011 9:20:15 PM

Quote :

"By winning one championship with other superstars?"

no, by playing at a level we've never seen before

i.e. carrying his team offensively (especially in the 4th) and possibly shutting down Dirk (if/when he guards him)

5/31/2011 9:20:23 PM

^^^a rare unathletic moment
[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:21 PM. Reason : dammit]

5/31/2011 9:20:55 PM

Choke. This series is OVER

5/31/2011 9:21:37 PM

this is probably the first game I've actively rooted for a Jason Kidd team to win since California beat Duke in 92(?)

5/31/2011 9:22:50 PM

Bibby needs to quit chuckin up 3's

5/31/2011 9:23:19 PM

heatles in 6

5/31/2011 9:23:50 PM

Anthony is a terrible basketball player

if he was 6'0" instead of 7'0" he'd probably work at a bank or something

5/31/2011 9:24:19 PM

Point Center, in the mold of Anthony Mason

5/31/2011 9:24:55 PM

Mason was a very good player for awhile though

and apparently Anthony is only 6'9

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:27 PM. Reason : Joel not ,Mason]

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:27 PM. Reason : although Mase was about 6'9 too so whatever]

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:28 PM. Reason : saw him passed out at Friday's one time with blunt guts on the table]

5/31/2011 9:26:21 PM

haha yeah Anthony Mason actually wasn't so bad at PG/Point Forward

i'm also rooting for Kidd and the Mavs in this one...i would like Kidd a lot more if it weren't for the wife beating. i can look past a lot of stuff for athletes, but beating your wife is hard for me to let slide.

5/31/2011 9:28:29 PM

yeah only other women should hit women

however she does seem pretty batshit fwiw

5/31/2011 9:29:46 PM

That thing from the Cowboys and Aliens movie looks like a Pip Boy.

5/31/2011 9:29:51 PM

Wow Terry shook King James out of his shoes.

5/31/2011 9:33:46 PM

lol at Terry trying to bang on Bron

5/31/2011 9:34:01 PM

then shook the floor with that thud

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:35 PM. Reason : haha Lebron says "Thank You" to fans in that slow-mo replay]

5/31/2011 9:34:10 PM

Quote :

"first team to 80 wins"

70?

60?

5/31/2011 9:35:35 PM

eh a lot of them prob beat, most of these guys are prob just douchebags so when I say I like/dislike it's strictly part of the microcosm of the game, unless it's really clear a guy is a class act like david robinson or something

edit: and guys like garnett, rose, and dwade are prob borderline mentally retarded

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:40 PM. Reason : k]

5/31/2011 9:36:24 PM

I'm going to need see a Barea on Lebron .gif asap

let's do this, internet

5/31/2011 9:36:51 PM

I wonder how good the heat would be if they actually called more than half of Lebron's fouls?

Throw in the Kidd 4 point play and the offensive foul for pushing off on Peja and Lebron has four fouls in the first quarter.

5/31/2011 9:37:18 PM

^

5/31/2011 9:39:20 PM

Quote :

"Point Center, in the mold of Anthony Mason"

lol, i got his autograph at a hornets game when i was around 8.

5/31/2011 9:40:22 PM

and dont forget the no call when he knocked Chandler to the ground while laughably yelling out "and 1!"

although honestly Wade probably gets the best officiating in the entire NBA

5/31/2011 9:40:52 PM

Quote :

"eh a lot of them prob beat, most of these guys are prob just douchebags so when I say I like/dislike it's strictly part of the microcosm of the game, unless it's really clear a guy is a class act like david robinson or something"

this made my brain hurt

5/31/2011 9:41:22 PM

i read it as "eh, a lot of them probably jack off..."

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:42 PM. Reason : Barea just pwnt Wade]

5/31/2011 9:42:05 PM

i didn't realize Mike Miller was so tall (6'8")

i would have guessed 6'5" at most

5/31/2011 9:44:15 PM

billy packer pic

[Edited on May 31, 2011 at 9:48 PM. Reason : -->]

5/31/2011 9:48:22 PM