Micheal Jordan would not have been able to take this cavs team to finals at 22

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First of all basketball is a TEAM GAME. that is why Argentina and Greece beat the USA. Not because they are more talented. Cleveland plays good defense and play as a team and they are better than you think...but they are far from great. James deserves a lot of credit for what he is doing. And that was Before the last two games.
 

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Palovic almost single handidly cost Cle the game last night...we saw what he did with his chance, they suck Jake...Hughes may be hurt now but he sucks anyway, they won without him last yr and are doing it again. Gooden has been very solid, Ilgauskas is the Bill Wennington of this era...Gibson has been most impressive...I will give that , this team is a 25 win team without him.

Palovic had a crappy game but he has shown this year that he can score and knock down 3's at a very high rate.

Lebron is a great player that makes his teammates better, but to say he has nothing to work with is ridiculous. How many teams (minus their star) have a top 10 center and a guy who averages almost a double-double? Not many... Ilgauskas doesn't have his legs like he used to but the NBA is so weak at center, he's still very good for his position.
 

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No no.
Age is not part of your argument. You stated that Lebron is a top 5 ALL TIME player *right now*. If Lebron retired at this minute, you are stating he is a top 5 player and as good if not better than Jordan.

That in itself is one of the stupidest things I've ever read.

I never said age was not an issue.

Yes I am saying he is one of the 5 best players of alltime. 2 weeks from now that could be upgraded to #1.
 

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lebron one of the best 5 ever.....PLEASE!!!! he had ONE great game when it mattered. take kobe off the lakers this yr, how many would they have won. not bashing lebron but lets not get carried away.

jordan would have won the first two games where lebron didn't

you people rip kobe for shooting all the time but last night lebron did the same thing and now he's a hero.
 

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Ilgauskas is a top 10 NBA center.
Gooden is a top NBA rebounder who is always a double-double threat.
Hughes has shown he can score 20+ if need be.
Pavlovic is one of the best 3 point shooters when he gets a chance.
Donyell Marshall is a huge matchup problem. Great rebounder who can stick a 3.

That is more supporting talent than alot of teams in the NBA have.

ilgauskas top 10 center. this is true.

gooden is one of the most inconsistent players in the nba. its the main reason cleveland has been reluctant to sign him to a long term contract. look at how big he was in game 4 .... and now look at what a dismal effort he came with in game 5 two nights later.

hughes' contract is what is going to kill the cavs and keep them from potentially taking the next big step in free agency. he is being paid superstar money for a player that is merely a solid nba player.

pavlovic? how many offensive fouls did he commit yesterday? and have you ever seen his turnstile defense? he has a long way to go before he is considered a bona fide starter. he is improving but still very raw.

right now if im the cavs, your only three untouchables should be james, ilgauskas, and gibson (because of his peanuts contract). this team is still flawed. but they have bought into mike brown's defense and it is giving them a chance to win every game. but their offensive firepower aside from james is woeful.
 

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Supporting talent is all it is. They are all in great situations to excell due to floor being open for them because of BRON. He is not there it would be a debacle of epic proportions, as they are drastically short on talent if Bron thrown out of the equation.

Championship teams have supporting talent. It's not like teaming Kobe and Lebron is going to work. You have your one stud and get alot of guys who can chip in and help. Without Lebron, they won't be as good of a team but they'd have a ton of cap money to spend on another star. Just saying, last I checked you don't need a ton of stars on a team to win.
 

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ilgauskas top 10 center. this is true.

gooden is one of the most inconsistent players in the nba. its the main reason cleveland has been reluctant to sign him to a long term contract. look at how big he was in game 4 .... and now look at what a dismal effort he came with in game 5 two nights later.

hughes' contract is what is going to kill the cavs and keep them from potentially taking the next big step in free agency. he is being paid superstar money for a player that is merely a solid nba player.

pavlovic? how many offensive fouls did he commit yesterday? and have you ever seen his turnstile defense? he has a long way to go before he is considered a bona fide starter. he is improving but still very raw.

right now if im the cavs, your only three untouchables should be james, ilgauskas, and gibson (because of his peanuts contract). this team is still flawed. but they have bought into mike brown's defense and it is giving them a chance to win every game. but their offensive firepower aside from james is woeful.

I agree with most of what you said. Hughes is way overpaid and really isn't that great of a player. He can be a source of offense if Bron is having a tough game, but don't expect his field goal percentage to be that great.
 

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Championship teams have supporting talent. It's not like teaming Kobe and Lebron is going to work. You have your one stud and get alot of guys who can chip in and help. Without Lebron, they won't be as good of a team but they'd have a ton of cap money to spend on another star. Just saying, last I checked you don't need a ton of stars on a team to win.


Not really disagreeing with this comment. What I am disagreeing with in a big time fashion is your comment that even without Bron, the Cavs have more talent than most teams in the leaugue and that is just plain and simply not even remotely close to being correct. That is all I disagree with you on.
 

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I'm done for now. Final thoughts are that the Cavs are plenty talented around Lebron. Bron is a great player that makes them better, but they are still good. How many teams would do well without their top superstar? Not many... Can't really fault the rest of the Cavs for that because almost no team would do that well without their star. Top 30% of talent (minus their star) in the NBA.
 

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Not really disagreeing with this comment. What I am disagreeing with in a big time fashion is your comment that even without Bron, the Cavs have more talent than most teams in the leaugue and that is just plain and simply not even remotely close to being correct. That is all I disagree with you on.

I may have phrased it wrong. I meant the guys other than Lebron are about as talented as alot of other teams minus their superstar.
 

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I'm done for now. Final thoughts are that the Cavs are plenty talented around Lebron. Bron is a great player that makes them better, but they are still good. How many teams would do well without their top superstar? Not many... Can't really fault the rest of the Cavs for that because almost no team would do that well without their star. Top 30% of talent (minus their star) in the NBA.


Rest of the Cavs are NOT that talented at all. They do play good defense and as a team. "Plenty talented"? No way.
 

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Oh and the fact you keep mentioning Z as being a top center. This age of ball, you don't differentiate between four and fives in my opinion, as many teams play a power forward at the 5. And if you lump them together, which I think you have to, then Z is no longer a top big man. Just because there are very few true centers any longer and he happens to be one of them, automatically makes him one.
 

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Game has changed so much from all of these with double teams, more athletic defenders etc. Bron would have mangled teams for silly numbers too back then.

So you're saying these guys could not play in today's game? Bill Russell would dominate. Larry Bird would abuse today's players and Magic would make LeBron look silly in the post. Come on dude, you can't be this naive.
 

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I may have phrased it wrong. I meant the guys other than Lebron are about as talented as alot of other teams minus their superstar.


No way in hell. Especially one that is one game from the finals. Close to San Antonio, Dallas, Miami, Detroit? All these teams ahve been close to the finals just like Cleveland is now last year and this year. Not even CLOSE.
 

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No way in hell. Especially one that is one game from the finals. Close to San Antonio, Dallas, Miami, Detroit? All these teams ahve been close to the finals just like Cleveland is now last year and this year. Not even CLOSE.

Never said they were #1 guy. Just said they were top 30% of the NBA in terms of supporting talent.

Alot of people don't realize how much the superstar center allows his teammates to look good. You think Parker and Ginobli would get as many 1-on-1's without Duncan? Or that Wade would be able to make moves if Shaq wasn't in there? I seem to remember the Heat being not so good without Shaq this year. Suns can't win without Nash.

Certain players make the guys around them better. It's something alot of people overlook. Bron makes the Cavs better as well, not saying he doesn't, but superstars make alot of "stars" on their teams.
 

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Never said they were #1 guy. Just said they were top 30% of the NBA in terms of supporting talent.

Alot of people don't realize how much the superstar center allows his teammates to look good. You think Parker and Ginobli would get as many 1-on-1's without Duncan? Or that Wade would be able to make moves if Shaq wasn't in there? I seem to remember the Heat being not so good without Shaq this year. Suns can't win without Nash.

Certain players make the guys around them better. It's something alot of people overlook. Bron makes the Cavs better as well, not saying he doesn't, but superstars make alot of "stars" on their teams.


100% true. James makes this team just like other superstars too. Aside from James though they are not that talented and he deserves a lot of credit. Give him another all star and look out. I think they play well as a team and play good team defense. But in comparison, to be this far you would think it would be a lot better talent. I give King James a lot of credit for that.

Miami - take away Wade and they still have Shaq
Dallas - take away Dirk and they have Howard and Terry and more
Detroit - take away anyone you want and they still have some good players and all stars
San Antonio has Parker and Ginobli who are great players....and more than just them too

Cleveland is mediocre after james. And mediocre should not get you to the finals. Bow to the king!
 

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Going to the finals and representing the Eastern Conference is a joke - other than Detroit they have not even played a playoff worthy team - when they lose to SA reality will set in - the Cavs are not one of the top 5 teams in the league - PERIOD.

James is a stud though.
 

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So you're saying these guys could not play in today's game? Bill Russell would dominate. Larry Bird would abuse today's players and Magic would make LeBron look silly in the post. Come on dude, you can't be this naive.


You are the naive one if you think those guys would be as effective in todays game, especially Russell. No way he puts up those video game like numbers in todays game. It is ludicrous to think otherwise.
 

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Wow, I just reread his post - he said James was one of the top 5 players in NBA history - the guy has not won a decent playoffs series in his career - yet alone alone a title - until last night he has been a consistent no show in big situations - CHOPTALK is a top 5 clown in the history of the RX and if he keeps this up he will go to #1 real quick
 

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