The Glade 4.0

made me start jonesing for the Bird era. Any time Basketball Jesus was on TV, I was watching.

Video of one of the best duel's in NBA history. I remember watching this game and how I was pulling my hair out. Back and forth. It was like they were playing one on one, the teammates were just there to pass the ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxqKLEMTBo4


You will never convince me otherwise that Bird and Magic were not the two greatest players in NBA history. The way they played and how they changed the game may not ever be duplicated.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

Jordan was better than either, and King James is better than MJ ever was. I say this as a die-hard C's fan, whos favorite player ever is Larry Bird.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Is LeBron James *that* good?

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Holy shitsnacks!

Disagree. Overall, Bird and Magic were better, made their teams better. MJ was the best scorer and dare I say the most competitive. But if I have to start a team and I have Bird, Magic and MJ in their primes and I know I'm going to only get one of them, and I'm picking first I'd go with Bird, then Magic if I'm picking second then MJ.

James is freak of nature but he doesn't have the something special that the other guys have. It's really the game today. The hand checking rules, you can't play physical anymore, way too many teams diluting the league.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

As a Clevelander, James is more talented than MJ in his hey-day and with a bigger ego/sense of entitlement than Kobe Bryant in his prime. I am hoping he leaves my city shortly.

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And on cue, the Sports Guy hands in a great article. James = Dr. J.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

I have a hard time believing MJ would of quit like James did last night. And I say this as some one who is a fan of James.

Yeah, with James it's his desire to be "billion dollar superstar" or something, not win every time we get on the court. He should have spent a year in college.

Talking of basketball, I've not been a huge fan the past years because of the way the game is played now and the players attitudes...I've been really turned off. Kevin Durant though has brought back my interest. I don't like the way the Thunder got their team, but I like what they are doing with it. Durant is now my favorite player in the league. He's brought my out of the funk.

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

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"It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others' productivity, when they modify the commandment: 'Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.' The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor."

This is reflective of a societal values shift.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

That's fair, but not all players give up like that, even now.

Like I said, I *am* a James fan. I'm more of a Steve Nash fan, but I definitely like watching James play & hope he does well. But to see the way he quit in the 4th was just so disappointing. I for one, will no longer think of him as anywhere in the same league as MJ.

He's just not that kind of man.

I don't know about that. Jordan didn't win his first title until 1991, when he was 27. Until that time he was living in the shadow of Larry, Magic, and Isiah Thomas. He was shut down in the play-offs against those Championship Pistons teams by Dennis Rodman, and until he got that monkey off his back he was really only a Slam Dunk Championship side show, who penetrated well, but he didn't have much of a jump shot, and was awful from behind the 3-point line. It wasn't until much later that he developed that sweet stroke, and decided to play defense.

During the championship runs Jordan also had the luxury of playing with a man who was considered to be the second best player in the league, second to only Jordan himself. LeBron James has to do everything himself, he doesn't have a Scottie Pippen to share the load, or carry the team when he has an off-night.

The fact of the matter is, at a much younger age (Lebron is only 24) he can do what Jordan was capable of only at a much later age. In addition, he is much stronger and bigger, and that lends a ton of versatility to his game. He can glide when he wants to glide, and bang when he wants to bang.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

I'm not talking about his physical attributes. The man is a god playing with men when it comes to his athletic talent and those on the floor with him.

I'm disappointed by what seems to be his mental make up. Some one hoping to become the greatest ever, shouldn't of quit like he did.

At this point he reminds me more of Scottie Pippen sitting on the bench refusing to go back into the game, more then he does MJ.

All this aside, where do you think he'll end up? Personally I'd love to see a way for James, Stoudemire & Wade to get onto a team together. But I think all 3 would be a stretch unless they took some pay cuts to make it happen. IMO put those 3 together and you got the next dynasty for the next half decade at least.

The buzz around town is that the Celtics are going to make a run at him, and are going to try and reload instead of rebuild. Rondo/James would be scary. I have to believe he'll end up in NY though.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

Is he good? Yes. Put him in the NBA between 84 to 96 and he has trouble making the all star team.

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Raell Kromwell

You are out of your damn mind.

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Ezekiel 23:19-20 

LeBron James was first pick by a longshot as a high school player in one of the most talented draft classes in NBA history and put up some of the best Rookie numbers in NBA history.

He is easily the most physically gifted player in the league right now, all that is missing from him are some key accomplishments.

Of course, great players can always go overshadowed because of where they play and at what time. Clyde Drexler is one of the greatest players ever alongside Oscar Robertson, MJ, Jerry West, AI and Reggie Miller, but he has only a portion of the recognition and popularity as those players.

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

As a Celtics fan, I don't want LeBron. He's physically talented, though I disagree he's better than MJ. I think Jordan is the greatest player in NBA history, followed closely by many other legends. But he's arrogant and lacks the killer instinct that MJ did. He even lacks the killer instinct Kobe does. I find it funny because right now I'd still rank Kobe higher than King James. I think LeBron's great, but he has to consistently put up the great numbers and do it on a championship team before I'll rank him higher than any other legend. One thing about the NBA is one player really can drive you to the championship, unlike most other sports. I don't see LeBron providing that value yet and this Cavaliers team was one of the best in recent years.

You people have been listening to swill that Skip Bayless is pushing for far too long. Michael Jordan was hands down the best player of all time. He only won Offensive Player of the Year once. He won Defensive Player of the year and made All Defensive Team of Year more than he ever won Offensive Player of the year. And his killer career stat isn't even points scored (which neither Lebron James nor Kobe Bryant will ever touch), it's assists.

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That is because MJ believed he was part of a team. LJ and KB are both selfish-cocky-douches who think they alone determine the course of a game.

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Skip Bayless has a hard-on for Kobe (and to a lesser extent, Lebron James). He's constantly talking smack about how lackluster and unimpressive Jordan's career was, while playing those two up. Except, Kobe and James are both ball hogs that try to tugboat around the court.

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Win.

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That doesn't sound like the Skip Bayless I'm familiar with. I've always gotten the impression he hates that James is considered the next MJ.

[youtube]ehy4MDV7PKM[/youtube]

Calls him a spoiled brat & a front runner.

I typically catch First Take and I really can't recall Bayless ever really being on James' bandwagon.

Another video talking about this most recent series.

[youtube]FUtUFl8LS-0[/youtube]

Uinan:

Eh, I stopped watching First Take because Bayless was bashing Jordan and playing up modern superstars. And I've never seen those two clips before.

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He might of been high on James early on but he's definitely been tearing him to shreds the last couple years.

Typically calling him Le'Brick & the ringless King. I'm starting to agree with him that James simply is no where near MJ's status when it comes to the mental aspect & the desire to win.