LeBron James

[DJ]

NBA -- Is LeBron James really slowing down? - ESPN

He is approaching 30 and has played a lot of games and minutes.....Hmmmm.....

I said a lot of the same things before the season in my Cleveland Cavs preview....

 

[trojanfan12]

Before last season I was saying that 4 straight finals is no joke and it takes a toll on a team and players. That's why it's so rare.

Lebron obviously played a huge role in the first 2 trips and then practically carried the Heat to the next 2. It may be starting to catch up to him.

 

[DJ]

Irving left the game vs the Thunder.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Ankle injury. Hopefully not serious

 

[DJ]

I heard he had a sore knee, Shane.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...aliers-vs-oklahoma-city-thunder-knee-soreness

 

[bksballer89]

Which is why the Cavs playing him heavy minutes is beyond dumb

 

[Shanemansj13]

He is back. Probably should rest now, down 12.

 

[wildturkey]

I just think his weight cut and diet change took more out of him than he wants to admit. It's just taking a little while for him to build his energy up and get use to things

 

[Black Adam]

Which is why the Cavs playing him heavy minutes is beyond dumb

i'm with you...

also TF12 don't forget about the international ball as well. everyone wants to THINK this cat's superhuman, but that ain't the case...

 

[purguy12]

The decline is here. He isn't the best player anymore and I think we will see a slow decline for the next 3-4 years. Still going to be an Allstar but he lost top player status now. I don't know even know if he is top 3 anymore.

 

[trojanfan12]

i'm with you...

also TF12 don't forget about the international ball as well. everyone wants to THINK this cat's superhuman, but that ain't the case...

Good point. Forgot about the international ball. Going to 4 straight finals takes enough of toll. Add international ball and it's even more wear and tear.

It's pretty amazing that in all of that, he's never had any kind of serious injury. Love him or hate him, Dude's an athletic freak.

 

[DJ]

The decline is here. He isn't the best player anymore and I think we will see a slow decline for the next 3-4 years. Still going to be an Allstar but he lost top player status now. I don't know even know if he is top 3 anymore.

He's still the best player imo, barely.

 

[trojanfan12]

He's still the best player imo, barely.

He's not playing like the best player every game, but he's still the best player in the league when he wants to be. He showed it during that win streak the Cavs had.

 

[trojanfight]

ive always said once he lost the ability to get to the rim play after play his value would diminish. hes not a player that can make a barrage of outside shots consistently.

 

[bksballer89]

Yeah to say he's not the best player or not top 3 is ludicrous

 

[bksballer89]

ive always said once he lost the ability to get to the rim play after play his value would diminish. hes not a player that can make a barrage of outside shots consistently.

I hate when clowns make me defend LeBron. If you can honestly say LeBron is not a player who can make a barrage of outside shots after what he's done over the last 3 years, I have no idea what the hell you were watching.

 

[ducky]

20 games with a team that is completely new together.

There is nothing wrong with James and there is nothing wrong with the Cavs. People really should have expected them to "struggle" like this out of the gates like this. All just knee jerk reactions.

By the time the playoffs roll around there will be no doubt who the best player in the league still is and who the best team in the East is IMO.

 

[bksballer89]

He's struggling by his standards. People got so used to him shooting in the mid to high 50s that they look at 47 percent shooting as bad

 

[trojanfan12]

20 games with a team that is completely new together.

There is nothing wrong with James and there is nothing wrong with the Cavs. People really should have expected them to "struggle" like this out of the gates like this. All just knee jerk reactions.

By the time the playoffs roll around there will be no doubt who the best player in the league still is and who the best team in the East is IMO.

To be fair, the Cavs do have issues beyond just being completely new together. For one, they're not very good defensively. If their offense is off, they can't rely on their defense to get them through it like the Spurs or the Heat of the past 4 years. They need to address that if they want to win a title.

 

[Leking2246]

To be fair, the Cavs do have issues beyond just being completely new together. For one, they're not very good defensively. If their offense is off, they can't rely on their defense to get them through it like the Spurs or the Heat of the past 4 years. They need to address that if they want to win a title.

Their defensive rating currently is 106 miami's highest was 105.8 their offensive rating is off the chart