I will copy and paste this in this spot here... I already put this but I think it fits better here...
You are kind of nitpicking now because Lebron shoots a higher percentage from the field which is 10% more important. I was in no way bashing Lebron last night I was saying lets not jump on the bandwagon now. I went back to last year and saw all the Dwyane Wade is the next Mike threads that were started. Lebron was a perennial choker before last night and he stepped up huge. But lets no forget this stars in the NBA are UNSTOPPABLE when they are in a zone. Maybe Wade in game three last year? Or T-Mac scoring what 13 points in like 30 seconds? Or Kobe hitting those shots against the Suns? When these guys get hot they are unstoppable.
What separates the all time greats from those guys and those performances is consistency. Lets no forget Mike won 6 rings and he was clutch every year. Every game of every year, not just in the playoffs even, remember he won 72 games and was the second best defender in the NBA next to Pippen. Consistency is what makes you a great great great player. Lebron still has zero rings and after this year will still have zero rings. And you can't talk about age, I am so sick of that comparison, because Lebron has been in the league for four years and he doesn't have a title and probably won't get one this year. So he will be going into year 5 and unless they make any huge changes he won't get one then either. We are all forgetting how great Michael was. He averaged 29, 43, 35 and 36 PPG in his first 4 playoff appearances. Also Mike didn't get out of the first round until his third year, and either did Lebron. But Lebron missed the playoffs his first two seasons, something Michael never did with the Bulls. Great players need someone else and until Lebron gets that other player he isn't going to win a title.
Despite the league being watered down now it still isn't possible. His performance was memorable but I want to see consistency over an extended period of time. Lets not forget he scored below twenty points in the first two games of the series something Jordan never did. When you draw comparisons you need to look at the past. Lebron got a head start on Jordan because coming out of High School was more recognized and accepted in Lebron's era of basketball, and in all honesty it has made the NBA worse. As Charles and Kenny said, how can you not get the ball out of his hand? They got the ball out of Mike's hands twice at least with the game on the line.
Lebron is one of the three best players in the NBA and Kobe and Wade are right there with him. The difference is they are both walking around with rings. And bring up the Shaq argument but I will say what great player hasn't won without another great player next to them? None. Would Lebron have won with Shaq IDK? Shaq wasn't Shaq in the series and Lebron was kind of immature last year. I will never forget Wade's triple double in the Elite 8 in the tournament against the best team, College Basketball said it had seen in 10 years, the Kentucky Wildcats. I sincerely believe that college makes you a better and more prepared player quickly and Lebron is learning on the scene. He will have a few more bumps in the road and mistakes because he is just a little young and inexperienced. He is an absolutely amazing player with amazing abilities. But Jordan didn't become the greatest because he had the greatest abilities, he became the greatest because he wanted it more then anyone else every single night, day in and day out. Hunger is something Mike always had and that is what drove him to be the player he was. Lebron needs to stay hungry after his first and second rings, and at this point in their respected careers Wade has a notch up on Lebron because he has that ring and he played just as well in the playoffs as Lebron has. Lebron had the one great game, but IMO, I will take the one amazing series in the NBA Finals over the great game.
Lebron may go down as one of the all time greats and he is certainly headed there, but right now he has his own legacy to build and the first block was set down today. Does he continue to drive after his first and second title? Will he be able to continue to work as hard as a guy like Wade. Wade will always have the drive of people doubting that he is the greatest, which was what Michael fed off of when he was a young player. That drive tends to push you to new limits and above and beyond. Lebron showed a killer instinct in one game and one time, but the greats do it night in and night out. Lets see the consistency before we crown him The King.
