2011-12 NBA Season

[Island_Style]

I wonder what this year's finals would be if Portland picked Durant first.

[NEW.ERA]

I wonder what this year's finals would be if Portland picked Durant first.

Throw LaMarcus Aldridge and a healthy Brandon Roy in.

Might see the Blazers here instead.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

"Humble" or "egotistical" are both stupid constructs. These are among the very best players in their sports. Why on earth should we expect any of them to act like they're not as awesome as they are? Or put another way, what is it about pro athletes (and I mostly see this critique of the NBA) that makes people want to see humility from people who have nothing to be humble about?

And why doesn't that requirement translate to other professions? Why can Steve Jobs, Joe Namath, or the Black Eyed Peas have bravado, but not LeBron James?

[rams80]

I wonder what this year's finals would be if Portland picked Durant first.

Throw LaMarcus Aldridge and a healthy Brandon Roy in.

Might see the Blazers here instead.

Nah. The Knee-eating court at the Rose Garden would have nailed Durant too.

[NJTank]

I wonder what this year's finals would be if Portland picked Durant first.

Throw LaMarcus Aldridge and a healthy Brandon Roy in.

Might see the Blazers here instead.

Nah. The Knee-eating court at the Rose Garden would have nailed Durant too.

What makes the Rose Garden court eat knees? One court does not seem any differet than the other except for Boston but the rose Garden court should not eat knees more than any other court.

[rams80]

I wonder what this year's finals would be if Portland picked Durant first.

Throw LaMarcus Aldridge and a healthy Brandon Roy in.

Might see the Blazers here instead.

Nah. The Knee-eating court at the Rose Garden would have nailed Durant too.

What makes the Rose Garden court eat knees? One court does not seem any differet than the other except for Boston but the rose Garden court should not eat knees more than any other court.

I don't know if the arena is built on a Native American burial ground or something, but it seems like every good Blazer of the last 6-7 years has blown out at least one knee. It's bizarre.

[IceCap]

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

"Humble" or "egotistical" are both stupid constructs. These are among the very best players in their sports. Why on earth should we expect any of them to act like they're not as awesome as they are? Or put another way, what is it about pro athletes (and I mostly see this critique of the NBA) that makes people want to see humility from people who have nothing to be humble about?

And why doesn't that requirement translate to other professions? Why can Steve Jobs, Joe Namath, or the Black Eyed Peas have bravado, but not LeBron James?

I agree with most of this, but for the record, I think plenty of people got on Jobs' case for his perceived smugness.

[WSU151]

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

"Humble" or "egotistical" are both stupid constructs.

Not really. Peyton Manning is far more enduring to fans because he's humble and he always says the right thing. If he was super cocky, he'd be laughed at.

I understand they are the best in the world. I understand that they have to have egos to get that far. But a little bit of humility goes a long, long way in terms of public perception.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I agree with most of this, but for the record, I think plenty of people got on Jobs' case for his perceived smugness.

Very true -- but the general perception of Jobs is way more favorable than is LeBron. And Jobs said way more bombastic stuff.

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

"Humble" or "egotistical" are both stupid constructs.

Not really. Peyton Manning is far more enduring to fans because he's humble and he always says the right thing. If he was super cocky, he'd be laughed at.

I understand they are the best in the world. I understand that they have to have egos to get that far. But a little bit of humility goes a long, long way in terms of public perception.

If you're in as many commercials as he is, you're most definitely putting yourself out there as the best. He's just got better PR.

[rams80]

I agree with most of this, but for the record, I think plenty of people got on Jobs' case for his perceived smugness.

Very true -- but the general perception of Jobs is way more favorable than is LeBron. And Jobs said way more bombastic stuff.

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

"Humble" or "egotistical" are both stupid constructs.

Not really. Peyton Manning is far more enduring to fans because he's humble and he always says the right thing. If he was super cocky, he'd be laughed at.

I understand they are the best in the world. I understand that they have to have egos to get that far. But a little bit of humility goes a long, long way in terms of public perception.

If you're in as many commercials as he is, you're most definitely putting yourself out there as the best. He's just got better PR.

Plus he's white.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

There's always that, but plenty of black athletes get to say and do whatever they want without being called egotistical or not humble. Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, and so on.

It's weird that LeBron is such a special case. But then, I guess LeBron is a special case.

The point is, stop asking athletes to smile and be your pal. They're smiling for money and they're not your friends.

[WSU151]

The point is, stop asking athletes to smile and be your pal. They're smiling for money and they're not your friends.

No one's saying they're pals or friends.

[rainmaker17]

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

Durant was around Austin for over a year as a player, and returns regularly as an alum. He's been nothing but class. Keep digging jackass.

[infrared41]

Because people like athletes who are humble. People were tiring of the egomaniacal no-title LeBron.

I think Durant's "humble hometown kid" act is beyond fake, and I prefer LeBron's ego. At least LeBron's not putting on a tiresome facade for the media.

If Durant acknowledges that he's not quite what he's made out be in the media, is he still fake? I ask because I read something a year or so ago where he basically said that he's not the "humble hometown kid" he's made out to be.

Anyway...are we really arguing over personalities? NBA players are just people and people have different personalities. Lebron has his, Durant has his. That doesn't mean one is better than the other. Or that one is "real' and the other "fake." They're simply different.

[IceCap]

There's always that, but plenty of black athletes get to say and do whatever they want without being called egotistical or not humble. Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin, and so on.

It's weird that LeBron is such a special case. But then, I guess LeBron is a special case.

The point is, stop asking athletes to smile and be your pal. They're smiling for money and they're not your friends.

I don't think it's race in so much as it is a feeling of over-saturation without the results.

People complain about ESPN giving way to much time to the Yankees, Red Sox, or Patriots, but at the end of the day these teams all have recent titles and are traditionally contenders. The vile towards ESPN's coverage of the Red Sox seems to have reached critical mass this season, because the excuse of "well at least they're covering a contender" isn't valid. The Red Sox stink.

It's kind of like Brett Favre too. ESPN (well the sports world in general if you want to be honest about it) always fawned over the guy, but no one minded for a while because Super Bowl XXXI was still fresh in our minds, the Packers will still contenders, and the man was still putting up impressive numbers. People only really started getting tired of the man when the quality of his game decreased yet the level of coverage remained the same. Last football season was the worst the vile got, and it was because the media was fawning over a man who was constantly injured, threw picks left and right, and who played on a terrible team.

Now back to LeBron James. He's not only bombastic, but he's also one hell of a basketball player. He was hyped as the next Michael Jordon before he was even drafted. He got a lot of coverage. Sports fans everywhere were saturated with James.

And what does he have to show for it? People can make the argument about basketball being a team game, and that it's not James' fault he doesn't have a ring yet. That argument's completely valid....just not as far as public perception goes. As far as the public goes the media's force-feeding them a guy who they say is great, he himself says he's great, yet he doesn't have a ring to back it up. As a rule of thumb people don't like to be forced fed anything. They don't like others telling them what they should like. With James that feeling's intensified because the man they feel they're being told to accept as great doesn't have the resume to back that claim up.

That's my perception of it anyway.

[Lights Out]

I'm pretty sure 3 MVP awards, 8 All-Star selections, 6 All-NBA First Team selections, 4 All-Defensive First Team selections, et al. at only 27 years old is more than enough to prove that LeBron is one of the all-time greatest individual players in the NBA. If he retired today, he'd be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as soon as possible. He has proven himself worthy of the hype. People who invoke the ring count argument as the be-all end-all to determine one's talent are ignorant to the fact that championships are a team accomplishment and just as dependent on situations, opponents, and plain old luck of the draw as on any one player's contribution.

Not to mention, the media's coverage of LeBron has been at least 90% negative since he left for Miami. If anything, people should be sick of the constant attempts by the media and basketball fandom to downplay and ridicule an amazing talent like LeBron instead of appreciating him.

[IceCap]

I'm pretty sure 3 MVP awards, 8 All-Star selections, 6 All-NBA First Team selections, 4 All-Defensive First Team selections, et al. at only 27 years old is more than enough to prove that LeBron is one of the all-time greatest individual players in the NBA. If he retired today, he'd be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as soon as possible. He has proven himself worthy of the hype. People who invoke the ring count argument as the be-all end-all to determine one's talent are ignorant to the fact that championships are a team accomplishment and just as dependent on situations, opponents, and plain old luck of the draw as on any one player's contribution.

Not to mention, the media's coverage of LeBron has been at least 90% negative since he left for Miami. If anything, people should be sick of the constant attempts by the media and basketball fandom to downplay and ridicule an amazing talent like LeBron instead of appreciating him.

You missed my point entirely. You're arguing what's actually happened. I'm trying to explain how average fans see things.

Let me put it to you another way. There's the truth, and then there's public perception. It's the latter that matters. To your average sports fan LeBron James hasn't established himself as an all-time great. He won't in their minds (and like it or not they're the majority) until he wins a NBA Championship.

As for the media coverage, positive or negative press ultimately doesn't matter, because again it's not about what's actually happening, it's about what the public perceives is happening. Most fans just know that they're constantly hearing the media talk about LeBron James whenever the NBA comes up, and they're stick of that. That feeling's intensified when we circle back to the fact that most average fans, whether rightly or wrongly, judge "greatness" by the answer to the question "has he won a championship?"

You're seeing things through what's actually happened, and you're entirely right. It's just not what most people see.

[Saintsfan]

I'm pretty sure 3 MVP awards, 8 All-Star selections, 6 All-NBA First Team selections, 4 All-Defensive First Team selections, et al. at only 27 years old is more than enough to prove that LeBron is one of the all-time greatest individual players in the NBA. If he retired today, he'd be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as soon as possible. He has proven himself worthy of the hype. People who invoke the ring count argument as the be-all end-all to determine one's talent are ignorant to the fact that championships are a team accomplishment and just as dependent on situations, opponents, and plain old luck of the draw as on any one player's contribution.

Not to mention, the media's coverage of LeBron has been at least 90% negative since he left for Miami. If anything, people should be sick of the constant attempts by the media and basketball fandom to downplay and ridicule an amazing talent like LeBron instead of appreciating him.

Problem is that James isn't just a first ballot hall of fame calibre player. He's a fulcrum of multi title winning franchise calibre player, and until he achieves that level, he is a flawed player. I know in some ways that's harsh on Lebron, but he deserves comparison to Magic, Bird, Russell, Kobe, Jordan that level of player, not the Charles Barkleys of the world. And right now he comes off worse, because he has no ring. I know it might be a hard thing to grasp, for a Clippers fan, but greatness is at least partly defined by winning titles.

[Kramerica Industries]

Heat have flat out dominated the first half of both games now. Haven't trailed at all in either game.

OKC is a second half team. Not sure the Heat will allow them to do what they did on Tuesday. Should be interesting.

[Lights Out]

LeBron's having a waaaaay better Finals this year than he did last year. He looks a lot more confident and collected out there.