MJ Did something that countless guys in the league that were slashesr did not and ended up fading away. Both Wade and Bron are in need of this skill to reach the level of play Kobe is at right now.
It sounds so easy ... develop the mid range game and knock down the tough shots. Personally, I think this is the area that most players don't focus on. Guys that can hit in this range really come up big in the playoffs.
Wade has shown signs of it. If you recall the championship series, the mid range J is what made him almost unguardable. That and the turn around jumper....sweeet.
I think the mid-range game is the key to championship success in the NBA ... long range 3s are unreliable and the paint becomes more and more crowded as series go on. If you've got a good outside threat, a good post presence, and someone that can knock down mid-range jump shots, you've got a recipe for success. Probably why I like the Celtics in this thing ... Garnett has the post, Allen has the outside, and Pierce gives them versatility all over the place.
Lebron is going to be dominate once he developes more of a jump shot. He is a bit 1 demensional right now driving in and getting to the foul line. He can shoot but needs to be more consistent.
I always thought LeBron settles too often for an outside shot. Lately he tries to force a charge to the basket, almost as if he's responding to criticism rather than trying to do what's appropriate.
Its going to be interesting on Saturday. If the Cavs can't be the C's on Saturday its going to be a sweep.
Excellent point. MJ developed one of the best fadeaway jumpers in NBA history, and James doesn't have that yet. Guys like James need that as a counter to bigger guys guarding them. MJ's fadeaway was just about impossible to block, allowing him to shoot over 7 footers who came out to play him. And I'd agree with Desides, too: James traditionally settles for an outside shot too often. The problem is his outside shot isn't all that great. In this series, the Celtics are denying him the ball on the perimeter, and so when he does get it, he's often trying to force the action by driving blindly to the hole. Usually, he can get bailed out with a cheap foul, but the Celtics play such disciplined defense that he's not getting that. Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett are both first-rate defenders who can switch onto James when he drives and hinder his shot without getting whistled for a foul. To have a chance, Cleveland absolutely has to have someone able to make outside shots and make the Celtics pay for all the attention LeBron's getting. Szczerbiak and West would be the likely suspects, but neither is playing well. Szczerbiak's 9/25 for the series and West couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat right now. I do think Cleveland will win game 3. That will be the LeBron James Game; I said before that having the best player in a series is good for at least one win. Coming back home, backs to the wall, James will carry Cleveland to a win, but that's not a cure for the real problems they have in this series. If Szczerbiak and West can't make 3s, this thing will be over in 5.
All joking aside to give Bron the proper respect he is due, he has carried this team on his back this yr and last yr. And IMO this yrs squad is worse than last yrs.
yeah i know im talking smack but i still think he's Top 5 in the league even if he's in a slump right now. Just feels good kicking the "King" while hes down. the difference obviously is there was No "Boston Team" back then in the East. All the East teams were average.
If he doesnt gain respect for taking his squad to the finals, single handedly, then he never will gain it. Look at the teams that other superstars have had in the East and West in yrs past and compare it to his squad. This is the first yr that Kobe(minus Shaq) Has even been past the first round. Wade had Shaq last yr, haslem, Walker, Payton. He single handedly eliminated Detroit, argueably the second best team in the East. Its obvious that you dont like him, but you have to be sensible here. Mike Brown is a mediocre coach at best, its not the coaching. Its not the robot of a center he has next to him. Its def. not the shell of his former self Big ben is, Wally is a one dimensional shooter who like BB is on the incline of his career. West has potential to be solid, but has dissapeared. Gibson shows spurts, I mean really how can anyone not see this guy is incredible? Can you imagine what he could do with a Chris Paul, or a Tony Parker, or just another solid star next to him? It would be insane.
Big win by Utah. Was this game on the Lakers local television station? Hubie Brown is so far up Kobe Bryant's and the Lakers asses I couldn't tell.
I expected Jazz fans to do that. It happened before and though it somewhat lessened when some fans started realizing how classless that act was, it's still going to happen. Good thing is Fisher can take the hate and still do what's right for his team. I don't blame Fish for moving. There are two world-renowned and possibly the world's best children's hospitals in LA (UCLA's Mattel Children's hospital and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles).
Aren't most fans at least somewhat understanding of a guy moving to an area that has better care for his cancer stricken daughter? No respect whatsoever for Jazz fans, I openly root for the Lakers to beat them now. Terrible fans, no excuse for booing Fisher. None.
It was and if the Lakers arent careful this series can get away from them. Total lack of class on the Jazz's part with Fisher. He left because he had to not because he wanted to.
Was it a big win though? Sure, every win in the playoffs is big, but this was the game I expected Utah to win. They only won by 6 points when they have been blowing out everybody on the court. L.A. was able to weather the storm and keep it close at the end. I think it is a bigger win if they win game 4 tomorrow. Even still, all L.A. has to do is win on their court and they are in the WCF.
I don't know about that. Save for a few fixable turnover issues and some early foul trouble, the Lakers could've won that game. It just seems Phil always drops the first game in Utah before eventually taking the series. The one player who would possibly deserve his boos is Boozer considering what he pulled in Cleveland. Giving them a verbal commitment and then signing with the Jazz for more money immediately afterwards.
Tough game for the Lakers. I only expected 1 win there. So they need to win Sunday. Too much Boozer late in the game. The man was on FIRE. Couple things Lakers need to work on Less Turnovers/Better Defense/and Rebounding. i know they only out-rebounded the Lakers by 3 or 4 but the Jazz at one point had 3 consecutive 2nd chance points. Kobe as usually had some Very nice moves. Loved the one where he passed it to himself off the backboard.
Yikes Magic 11-17 from the line. While the Pistons only missed 1 and that was the Rip Hamilton gimmie at the end.
Done. He's LeBrn S until he snaps out of this. That's a terrible thing to do. I might expect that out of Philadelphia fans (any sport), but that's just completely bush league. Less than bush league, really. Hell, the Jazz let him out of his contract without a peep, which was a pretty damn decent thing to do. I was surprised they didn't call that, particularly with Joey Crawford's penchant for making calls as emphatically as possible to rile up the home crowd (usually against the home team; no ref in any sport is the attention hog that Crawford is). Maybe he was waiting to see if the shot went in. Sure as hell looked like a charge to me. That's one of the drawbacks about everyone in the stadium knowing what play you're going to run. I don't fault SVG, by the way; Turkoglu was the only member of the Magic who didn't play the fourth quarter with his hands around his throat. If Orlando can't win at home, with a loud and enthusiastic crowd on their side, with Detroit's best player watching in street clothes, with their threes falling (10 for 18...why not shoot more of them with Howard having a lousy game?), and with a FIFTEEN point second half lead, they don't have a prayer of winning the next three in a row.
