@hoorta said:

CELTICS 2010 PLAYOFFS

QUARTERFINALS - CELTICS 4, HEAT -1

SEMIFINALS- CELTICS 4, CAVALIERS 2

E. CONFERENCE FINALS- CELTICS 4, MAGIC 2

NBA FINALS- LAKERS 4, CELTICS 3

Those facts are pretty much proving my point, thanks. Don't take the regular season too serious.

I also find it funny that as soon as one feels that they are losing an argument they resort to insults. I do appreciate that you at least bring up some good points but now you starting down the road of a few posters that have chimed in with a few grunts of wisdom.

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

Look, I understand the outrage over James. The guy pretty much pulled the ultimate douchebag move. I just find it funny how people can't figure out why he would leave Cleveland with minimal support to play in Miami with a couple of AllStars that happen to be his friends as well. It is a no-brainer, really.

Really, your smak's pretty weak, and you should stick to delivering pizzas. I prefer double cheese with double pepperoni.

First, let's clarify the "minimal support" issue. MeBron the assistant GM got EVERYTHING he asked for. No center to neutralize Howard? Enter Shaq. Check. Another guy who could play stretch 3 and create his own shot? Enter Jamison. Check. Let his posse ride on the team plane? Check. Get mom's DUIs thrown out of court? Check. Walk away from my bad decisions? Check.

Again, don't let FACTS get in the way. Since you seem to have a real short attention span, let me refresh your memory.

CELTICS 2010 PLAYOFFS

QUARTERFINALS - CELTICS 4, HEAT -1

SEMIFINALS- CELTICS 4, CAVALIERS 2

E. CONFERENCE FINALS- CELTICS 4, MAGIC 2

NBA FINALS- LAKERS 4, CELTICS 3

Yeah, the Boston sandbaggers- led by chief sandbagger Rasheed Wallace saved it up for the playoffs. They damn near won the whole thing- pretty much showed Wade sure as hell can't do it by himself- had to recruit some serious ammunition to get over the top.

BTW, you're bordering on trolldom, and I've got 1\2 a mind to lock this thread. Still don't get it, do you? LeQuit has ink that says LOYALTY & FAMILY loyal to himself and his posse maybe. He's now LeFraud. Turned his back on NE Ohio to play with his pals. He has that right. Conversely, NE Ohio has the right to brand him a traitor to his homeland, and call him a pussy for taking the easy way out to try and win a championship playing second fiddle to Wade in Miami.

Yup, LeFraud pissed his legacy away in one monumentally stupid move. Unless he can win more championships than Russell, and score more points than Kareem, he'll always be second fiddle to Jordan. Since he has no sense of loyalty, maybe he can dump his live in girlfriend, and take up with Lindsey Lohan- they both seem to have about an equal sense of reality. Please explain LeBron what exactly was "humbling" about the FA process, having billionaires truck into your office seeing who could stroke your out of control ego the best?

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

All star team? My ass. Bill Cartwright, Steve Kerr- yep real all-stars. Horace Grant isn't any better than Hixon or Jamison IMHO.

Good for Z ......Unless he got a 1 hour program on ESPN Lithuania announcing it

I have no problem with him seeking a ring on his own terms.

Z doesn't fit into the running offense that Coach Scott will implement anyway

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

Just like your education. Now bring me a large cheese pizza and if you make it in 30 minutes I might give you a tip.

@djdawg2010 said:

I think moving to Miami is figuring out how to beat the best. People keep bringing up Jordan, do you realize while he went and played baseball that Pippen led the Bulls to the East Coast finals? What do you think Lebron's supporting cast would have done without him?

I actually agree on your last sentence but I'm guessing that with most Cav fans it really wouldn't have mattered how he left, they still would be claiming that the guy that they held in the highest praise for seven years all of a sudden is terrible and a choke artist now that he doesn't play for the team that they root for. It's quite comical.

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

Look, I understand the outrage over James. The guy pretty much pulled the ultimate douchebag move. I just find it funny how people can't figure out why he would leave Cleveland with minimal support to play in Miami with a couple of AllStars that happen to be his friends as well. It is a no-brainer, really.

Because if he was any kind of true competitor like Jordan, he would have figured out how to beat the best. He could have been the man in Cleveland, and chose to take the easy way out. And it's more on how he did it, as opposed to him leaving.

@hoorta said:

The Cavs misfortune this year was running into a team that happened to get red hot at the right time- just ask the Magic if you don't believe me. LeBron playing sub par for whatever reason in games 5 and 6, and Mike Brown being clueless in his matchups. Took him till game 6 to figure out Jamison couldn't guard Garnett, and Mo (Matador) Williams was helpless guarding Rondo.

LeQuit's blamed for leaving because he was the local hero. Promised to bring Cleveland a Championship, but when the going got tough- LeBron went. Bird was from Indiana, Jordan from North Carolina- follow? If LeBum had been from California, there wouldn't have been 1\2 the outrage. If you want to prove you're the best, beat the best, not cut and run to play with your pals.

So you are saying that the Cavs were unlucky to run into a buzzsaw that closed out the last half of the year playing .500 ball? Hmmm.

Look, I understand the outrage over James. The guy pretty much pulled the ultimate douchebag move. I just find it funny how people can't figure out why he would leave Cleveland with minimal support to play in Miami with a couple of AllStars that happen to be his friends as well. It is a no-brainer, really.

@djdawg2010 said:

I'm guessing he may have been singing a different tune if he hadn't been playing with an all-star team in Chicago.

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

Jordan had Pippen

Bird had McHale

Kobe had/has Shaq/Gasol

Now LeBron has some help.

LeBron doesnt have help Wade now has the help he needs dont forget he is going down to wades team its not lebrons team lebron isnt the number 1 guy down there and lebron will never be the number one guy again

@hoorta said:

The Cavs misfortune this year was running into a team that happened to get red hot at the right time- just ask the Magic if you don't believe me. LeBron playing sub par for whatever reason in games 5 and 6, and Mike Brown being clueless in his matchups. Took him till game 6 to figure out Jamison couldn't guard Garnett, and Mo (Matador) Williams was helpless guarding Rondo.

LeQuit's blamed for leaving because he was the local hero. Promised to bring Cleveland a Championship, but when the going got tough- LeBron went. Bird was from Indiana, Jordan from North Carolina- follow? If LeBum had been from California, there wouldn't have been 1\2 the outrage. If you want to prove you're the best, beat the best, not cut and run to play with your pals.

I think Michael Jordan said something along those lines regarding Lebron's decision. He said he never called Bird, or Magic about playing with them, as he is a competitor and wanted to beat those guys. Lebron is a quitter! I hope he enjoys being Wade's bitch in Miami!

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

There is no doubt that he hosed the Cavs. He should have handled the situation much differently and I question the competence of his handlers. The sad thing is, I don't know if James is intelligent enough to figure out how bad his PR team is screwing him. I'm not even sure he cares as long as they are stroking his ego.

All of that being said, I am still not sure how anyone can blame him for heading to Miami.

Well, don't let facts get in the way of a good argument. Playoff seeding \ Championships looks like this data is only complete through 2004, but the #1 or #2 seed has won the championship 75% of the time. #4 or lower, forget it. Lowest ever to win? #6 (once)- and only two #4s or lower have even ever made the finals- last years Celts, and the #8 Knicks. So, if you're a #4 seed or lower, your odds of winning the title are about 2%. Sorry to inform you there sure is a real good correlation between regular season record and playoff success.

The Cavs misfortune this year was running into a team that happened to get red hot at the right time- just ask the Magic if you don't believe me. LeBron playing sub par for whatever reason in games 5 and 6, and Mike Brown being clueless in his matchups. Took him till game 6 to figure out Jamison couldn't guard Garnett, and Mo (Matador) Williams was helpless guarding Rondo.

LeQuit's blamed for leaving because he was the local hero. Promised to bring Cleveland a Championship, but when the going got tough- LeBron went. Bird was from Indiana, Jordan from North Carolina- follow? If LeBum had been from California, there wouldn't have been 1\2 the outrage. If you want to prove you're the best, beat the best, not cut and run to play with your pals.

@hoorta said:

As to record, the Cavs NBA Power rankings sans LeQuit are #21. That would translate to about 35 wins. We'll see. Taking the long term view, a lottery pick may be the best thing that could happen to the Cavs.

Can we at least agree whether intentional or unintentional, LeBron's FA antics have royally screwed the Cavs for the upcoming season?

While I agree the regular season sheds some light on how good a team can be it really doesn't mean much once the playoffs start. I honestly can't believe that you guys think that the Cavs talent compares with that of Boston or LA. It isn't even close, really.

There is no doubt that he hosed the Cavs. He should have handled the situation much differently and I question the competence of his handlers. The sad thing is, I don't know if James is intelligent enough to figure out how bad his PR team is screwing him. I'm not even sure he cares as long as they are stroking his ego.

All of that being said, I am still not sure how anyone can blame him for heading to Miami.

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

Well, I'd say having the best regular season record is a pretty good predictor of postseason success. The Cavs were the only team in NBA history to post back to back best regular season records and not win a Championship, much less not even win the Conference.

As to record, the Cavs NBA Power rankings sans LeQuit are #21. That would translate to about 35 wins. We'll see. Taking the long term view, a lottery pick may be the best thing that could happen to the Cavs.

Can we at least agree whether intentional or unintentional, LeBron's FA antics have royally screwed the Cavs for the upcoming season?

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

Hooked on phonics didn't work for you señor.

@manbearpig said:

You can't compare the regular season with the playoffs. It is a totally different animal. I guess we will see how much talent Cleveland had around Lebron this season. What would be your guess for total wins for the Cavs sans Lebron?

I also think he would have stayed here had Bosh agreed to come here.....but Bosh didn't want to play in Cleveland.

Face it...I bet there aren't all that many BB players who have viable options who want to play in Cleveland. The season starts when the weather starts to turn and ends as the weather gets better.

Quality of life plays a factor in where people want to live. Cleveland has a good quality of life outside of basketball season. During the season it has to rank pretty low on the quality scale.

@ballpeen said:

Phil Savage wasn't right about a lot of things, but I think he was right on when he said we have to get over this 'Woe is me attitude" .

Agreed we have to let it go and move on- BUT LeBron's antics since he left sure leave credence to W's article on Yahoo sports that LBJ never wanted to be here in the first place. Why all the recruiting now instead of when it would have really mattered a couple of weeks ago? "Supposedly" he talked to Bosh- did he try to get Wade to come to Cleveland? How about Boozer?

If he was odds on leaving he should have had the decency (as Bosh did in Toronto) to at least say he was seriously considering it. Yup, if the talent wasn't good enough in Cleveland, then why does LeBron all of a sudden want it in Miami? Admittedly Gilbert should have gotten the hint if the rumor is true that LeBron wasn't returning his phone calls.

Phil Savage wasn't right about a lot of things, but I think he was right on when he said we have to get over this 'Woe is me attitude" .

@pizzadeliveryguy said:

How do you have the best record in the NBA two years in a row and not have talent? Look at what we did to the Lakers on Christmas... IN LA! Lebron totally threw the playoffs. Watch the tapes. He rigged the games. He is scum.

@speedyd900rr said:

Is this code, for I have no argument? I can assure you that I'm not trolling. I wanted to see the Cavs win a championship instead of watching Kobe and his under-bite celebrate again but no one wins without help. Fact is that Cleveland couldn't surround him with quality talent. How many of Lebron's teammates even made the AS game? Now he is going to play with talent in Miami. I can't really blame a guy for that. That being said, he could have went about the situation in an entirely different fashion and made himself look a bit less like an egomaniac while destroying Cleveland basketball.