2007-2008 NBA Playoffs - THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE

[blister1]

Great game. I called Pierce needing 40 for them to win while I was talking to Xavier, so I was right, and he called LeBron needing 50, and he was right. Such an awesome display by two superstars though.

It's funny how ESPN says "If it comes down to superstars, the Celtics have really good players, but LeBron is the best Superstar on the court." Well he may be the best, but he's not the one advancing. Great season Cavs.

Not wanting drag out the argument again, but he IS the best player in the game. The fact he managed to get this ragtag group of guys into the playoffs and into game 7 against the best team in the league is nuts.

Fucking PJ Brown, fuck.

[Akiyama]

Great game. I called Pierce needing 40 for them to win while I was talking to Xavier, so I was right, and he called LeBron needing 50, and he was right. Such an awesome display by two superstars though.

It's funny how ESPN says "If it comes down to superstars, the Celtics have really good players, but LeBron is the best Superstar on the court." Well he may be the best, but he's not the one advancing. Great season Cavs.

Not wanting drag out the argument again, but he IS the best player in the game. The fact he managed to get this ragtag group of guys into the playoffs and into game 7 against the best team in the league is nuts.

Fucking PJ Brown, fuck.

Hi. Learn to read?

[Seditedi]

lol
Definitely needs to learn2read.

[blister1]

Great game. I called Pierce needing 40 for them to win while I was talking to Xavier, so I was right, and he called LeBron needing 50, and he was right. Such an awesome display by two superstars though.

It's funny how ESPN says "If it comes down to superstars, the Celtics have really good players, but LeBron is the best Superstar on the court." Well he may be the best, but he's not the one advancing. Great season Cavs.

Not wanting drag out the argument again, but he IS the best player in the game. The fact he managed to get this ragtag group of guys into the playoffs and into game 7 against the best team in the league is nuts.

Fucking PJ Brown, fuck.

Hi. Learn to read?

I wasn't responding to your post, I just quoted it to agree. I haven't read a majority of this thread, but the LeBron vs Kobe battle is pretty much rampart in other boards I post in, and Kobe gets the edge more often than not.

[Akiyama]

Yeah. I'm sure you just randomly quoted my post? D: If you misread, that's fine. I'm not going to burn you at the stake or anything.

Either way, Kobe deserves the edge he gets right now over LeBron, because Kobe can close out a game while LeBron still can't do it effectively.

[Tyche]

Yeah. I'm sure you just randomly quoted my post? D: If you misread, that's fine. I'm not going to burn you at the stake or anything.

Either way, Kobe deserves the edge he gets right now over LeBron, because Kobe can close out a game while LeBron still can't do it effectively.

Oh, he could do it effectively, he just can't do it consistently. Anywho, if I get my pick for which player I want for 1 season, I take Kobe without a 2nd thought. Over the next 5 years, I'd be torn between James and Paul. Lebron is undoubtedly more skilled, but doesn't do a whole lot with the others around him. He's just good enough to take a team really far by himself. Paul, on the other hand, is someone I can build around through the draft around, and be really good for a really long time.

[Deejay]

Either way, Kobe deserves the edge he gets right now over LeBron, because Kobe can close out a game while LeBron still can't do it effectively.

Just an edge? At this point in their careers, only an idiot would take Lebron over Kobe for 1 season.

If I'm starting a franchise then I'm 100% without a doubt taking Chris Paul. Kobe 2nd, and Lebron a distant 3rd.

[Akiyama]

Agreed. Honestly, if I had to rank them right now as to who I'd want for one season, I'd go CP3, Kobe, and LeBron in that order just because it's easier to build around such a talented PG. I don't like Kobe Bryant a lot, but he's just so good and is still in his prime. That and he's getting a bit smarter with sharing the ball. CP3 is gonna get better and better as the years go on, and the same with LeBron. LeBron usually improves one part of his game every year, just the same way with Kobe, so no telling how great King James will be before it's all said and done. Right now in their careers, it's Kobe over LeBron.

What I meant by "effectively" is sometimes he makes the wrong decisions. He can close a game out, but just makes poor choices. He could easily take the ball to the hoop with his speed and size, but opts for jumpers as if he's trying to prove something. I don't understand it really, but it's all moot right now. I just can't wait for the Hornets/Spurs match-up tomorrow night. It's a shame it's on when House comes on. =[

And Deejay, should I be more specific? "deserves the edge" can mean more than "by a little bit", so yeah. I don't think LeBron is as overrated as some people say, but I don't think he's near Kobe's level right now.

You can actually argue that Chris Paul has a better supporting cast than King James. His cast is just so god awful. At least CP3 has a breakout player in David West, Peja (sometimes), and a young Tyson Chandler. Who does LeBron have? Joe Smith? Big Z? I'm not saying he's better than CP3 because they both have different roles to play.

[tyven]

i love chris paul, kobe, and lebron but i build my franchise around dwight howard fo sho.

[Tyche]

i love chris paul, kobe, and lebron but i build my franchise around dwight howard fo sho.

There's no way in hell I'm building a franchise around a big guy. I'm too sleepy to argue why though, so hopefully I'll wake up to a great rebuttal, and possibly a disagreement!

[blister1]

Yeah. I'm sure you just randomly quoted my post? D: If you misread, that's fine. I'm not going to burn you at the stake or anything.

Either way, Kobe deserves the edge he gets right now over LeBron, because Kobe can close out a game while LeBron still can't do it effectively.

Silly argument, whatever.

You can't really go wrong picking either CP3 or Kobe, but their supporting crew is night day compared to the shit surrounding James. Not to say their success is dependent on their teammates, but give LeBron a decent playmaker and his team would be in Detroit.

I still can't get over how worthless Ray Allen was in this series, jesus christ.

[Viq]

Pistons in 6

[Lockecole7]

Pistons in 6

Well if it was Celtics in anything, it would have to be 7 apparently. *zing*!

[tyven]

i love chris paul, kobe, and lebron but i build my franchise around dwight howard fo sho.

There's no way in hell I'm building a franchise around a big guy. I'm too sleepy to argue why though, so hopefully I'll wake up to a great rebuttal, and possibly a disagreement!

It's not sexy, but dynasties are built around big men. you have to go back 20 years to find a team that won multiple rings without dominant big men or a guy named Jordan. That being said, the pistons have proved for years now that successful clubs dont have to be built around one player, im willing to bet that within the next couple years the hawks will do the same.

[CMMeast]

Yeah. I'm sure you just randomly quoted my post? D: If you misread, that's fine. I'm not going to burn you at the stake or anything.

Either way, Kobe deserves the edge he gets right now over LeBron, because Kobe can close out a game while LeBron still can't do it effectively.

Silly argument, whatever.

You can't really go wrong picking either CP3 or Kobe, but their supporting crew is night day compared to the shit surrounding James. Not to say their success is dependent on their teammates, but give LeBron a decent playmaker and his team would be in Detroit.

I still can't get over how worthless Ray Allen was in this series, jesus christ.

Lebron is the primary playmaker in the Cav's offense since the beginning of time. No one has really ever seen how he would do if his usage% wasn't leading the team.

As of yet, he hasn't shown any ability to play well off the ball or make good decisions when it's not in his hands. He is still largely dependent on his physical abilities, not on his ability to read the game. I wonder how the next few years will play out if his style of game says relatively the same. He'll eventually find a shot but I'm not holding my breath, especially since if he doesn't have the ball, he's basically a decoy. And then we get back to the whole physical ability but not mental acuteness.

[Demosthenes11]

wasn't aware decoys become the scoring champion

[Deejay]

i love chris paul, kobe, and lebron but i build my franchise around dwight howard fo sho.

There's no way in hell I'm building a franchise around a big guy. I'm too sleepy to argue why though, so hopefully I'll wake up to a great rebuttal, and possibly a disagreement!

It's not sexy, but dynasties are built around big men. you have to go back 20 years to find a team that won multiple rings without dominant big men or a guy named Jordan. That being said, the pistons have proved for years now that successful clubs dont have to be built around one player, im willing to bet that within the next couple years the hawks will do the same.

I agree, but Dwight Howard hasn't proven that you could run your offense through him. There really isn't any C/PF in the league that you could take over 1 in a million talent like CP/Kobe.

And Deejay, should I be more specific? "deserves the edge" can mean more than "by a little bit", so yeah. I don't think LeBron is as overrated as some people say, but I don't think he's near Kobe's level right now.

I'm not taking anything away from Lebron, I just think you should give Kobe a little more credit. He is just plain better than Lebron in every facet of the game.

But you can't really blame Lebron for trying to establish a threat with his jump shot. He can't allow defenders to give him space at the perimeter if he doesn't want to get silly offensive fouls. He's the Shaquille O'neal of shooting guards, if he just drove to the basket every play he'd draw too many charges.

The only player who could win playing 1 dimensional like that is Wade, although he does have a decent mid range jumper.

[Tyche]

i love chris paul, kobe, and lebron but i build my franchise around dwight howard fo sho.

There's no way in hell I'm building a franchise around a big guy. I'm too sleepy to argue why though, so hopefully I'll wake up to a great rebuttal, and possibly a disagreement!

It's not sexy, but dynasties are built around big men. you have to go back 20 years to find a team that won multiple rings without dominant big men or a guy named Jordan. That being said, the pistons have proved for years now that successful clubs dont have to be built around one player, im willing to bet that within the next couple years the hawks will do the same.

The face of the NBA is changing however. Rule adjustments in the NBA has overly catered to the guard position, and not so much on the position of the big man. Whereas 5-6 years ago, you couldn't double up on a big man until he touched the ball, now you can. Then there's the whole "hand-check" rule that rewards the slashing guards who drive. I'm not saying you can't win by building around a big man, but he doesn't have to be Shaq/Wilt/Kareem/Russell. The ball doesn't necessarily have to go through the big man anymore, a great PG will completely control the tempo.

[Deejay]

That said, when you NEED 2 points down the stretch, a dominant big man wins. They also negate the slasher PG/SG/SF's on the opposing team with their help defense.

2 monumental things a dominant PG just don't/can't do in a playoff series.

[Tyche]

That said, when you NEED 2 points down the stretch, a dominant big man wins. They also negate the slasher PG/SG/SF's on the opposing team with their help defense.

2 monumental things a dominant PG just don't/can't do in a playoff series.

How'd that work out for the Suns? How many point did Parker average in that series? What about Hamilton/Billups vs howard? Didn't they average 25 or 30? Guards are going to get their points. I'm completely arguing against a big man getting 2 points when you need it as well. Shooting less than 60% (as most big men do, shaq/howard included). There's no way I can put it in their hands with seconds left down 2. I'm not saying the big man isn't relevant or important, I'm just saying their role in today's game as opposed to 5 or 10 years ago is completely different. The guard plays a much larger role and I'd rather build a team around a great guard than a great big man.