Nitro

A guy who's averaged 23PPG on like 55% shooting is NEVER offensively inept.

Da gawd. One of his best rants ever, too.

College is freedom. With freedom comes responsibility. In high school, you are still basically told everything to do. When to take notes, when to go to class, when to eat lunch, etc... In college, everything you are in control of, and if you don't take responsibility you can destroy your semester without the professor even saying a word to you the entire time. They grade you and that's it, although most professors will take the time to help you if you reach out for it. In high school, it is a lot more structured and they will get at you from the get-go if you are cutting class, have poor grades, etc... Personally, the college lifestyle is better, but the actual classes are a real bitch.

I don't understand how they can strip him of 7 titles and give him a lifetime ban when he has never failed a test for doping. One of the most retarded things I've ever heard, especially considering this guy gave cycling such crazy exposure for so many years. He's done too much for the sport to be treated like this without any proof of wrong-doing.

How could the Magic be tanking when they started off the season with that losing streak? The season before they almost upset the #1 seed Pistons and some thought Juwan Howard was a great addition. They didn't go into that season expecting to have the worst record in the league. Love just started getting major minutes like 2 seasons ago. That is a very small sample size with a poor cast of role players and no true 2nd option to grade him on. As I said before, I don't believe he is a franchise player, but I don't think you can use his team success against him all that much considering he's been in the league so little and is playing for one of the most poorly run franchises in the NBA, with the worst GM running the show. Put a team like the '10 Bobcats around him, and I think he makes the playoffs in the deep Western Conference. There were no stars on that team, but they had good veterans, and role players who played their role quite well. You can be a playoff team with Love as your go-to guy, I have no doubt about that. I do doubt you can build a contender around him as the centerpiece, though, and to me that's all that matters when it comes to franchise players.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6dg5eHqZCk

Paul Pierce and Tracy McGrady were both on teams that had nearly 20 game losing streaks. Prime Garnett couldn't get the T-Wolves to the playoffs for like 4 straight seasons. Team success =/= individual ability. In this case, your overall arguement is correct. Love is not a franchise player, solely for the fact that he can't anchor an elite team on either side of the ball. Certainly not a defensive anchor, and doesn't have the one-on-one ability to control a game offensively at a playoff level. Great 2nd or 3rd option, though.

In terms of individual ability, it is close. Where they differ, and what gives Jordan the edge was his mentality. If LeBron had the mentality from last year his entire career, and racked up multiple championships, it wouldn't be a bad comparison at all. I'd still probably give Jordan the edge, but the gap wouldn't be big. You can go back to 08-09, LeBron last year shot better than Kobe on jumpers, with less of them assisted. I'm pretty sure LeBron shot better on jumpers last season than Kobe ever has, though you could look that one up yourself. Once again....I am not saying Bron is a better jumpshooter than Kobe, and don't even care if he's better than a young MJ with it. He shoots jumper 70% of the time, does it pretty efficiently, and scores 27PPG on 53% from the field, 36% from 3 with a TS% of over .600. HE DOES NOT NEED TO BE AN ELITE JUMPSHOOTER TO SCORE!!! That is so incredibly false. Do I really need to bring Youtube into this arguement to PROVE to you LeBron can dominate and win games on contested jumpshots? Because there are plenty of them out there. If you watched and remember the '11 ECF, then you are straight up talkng nonsense and you know it. Think Deng was scared shitless of him with the best defense, and best defensive frontcourt (depth wise, specifically) backing him up? And any player won't play his best if everything is a jumper. Kobe struggled, by his standard, against Boston in the Finals twice because they forced him into so many contested jumpers. If he could have gotten a few more easy looks at the rim like he did against basically every other team, he would have probably been at his usual averages. MJ struggled against teams who forced him into jumpers only as well. And how can you not be scared of a 6'8'', 270lbs guy with some of the most freakish athleticism the NBA has ever seen? Much like with Shaq, you cannot throw a standard defense against LeBron. To defend him like you would defend Kobe would be stupid, and same vice versa. LeBron defends 4 positions effectively. For example, he took David West a good chunk of the Indiana series and did a fine job. I've also seen him do a good job on guys like KG and Dwight in short spurts. He is stronger than many PF's, gives up maybe an inch, is more athletic and has a tremendous wingspan...he's had the physical ability for a couple years now. He didn't move over to defend Rondo because of the threat Paul Pierce would be, who was KILLING Battier. LeBron shut Pierce down when he was his assignment. And you forget LeBron completely shutting down the MVP Derrick Rose in the '11 ECF. In that series he was able to do that because Deng was a minimal threat, as was Bogans. Against Boston, it's a completely different animal. Also, their goal was to make Rondo a scorer and basically shut everyone else down, which is why when Rondo went apeshit in Game 2 Boston STILL lost. Kobe is top 10 all-time, but at no point in his career was he a better, more complete basketball player than LeBron is now. Once LeBron put it all together...improving the poor defense he played earlier in his career, getting a respectable jumper, developing a post game, learning to play some off-ball, and gaining a mentality to tough it out and take over down the stretch of big games...once he got all that together, he became the guy everyone always envisioned him to be. His last season was historic, from the regular season to him hoisting up the trophy. Because of his physical tools, he simply had a higher ceiling than Kobe, and now finally has the set of tools and mentality to reach that potential. That is not a knock on Kobe...that is how good I feel LeBron was last season. Best I've seen since prime Shaq, and that includes 35PPG Kobe, '09 Wade and '03 Duncan.

MJ did almost everything LeBron does, and did it better. Pretty much every statistical category, basic or advanced, MJ still trumped LeBron. He scored more and slightly more efficiently than LeBron during his peak, had seasons up near 8APG, seasons up near 8RPG, was a much better man-to-man defender who had seasons with more steals AND blocks, and in his prime had a better midrange game. However, it isn't too far off, honestly. That is how good LeBron has become. There is a reason you got guys like Scottie Pippen and Boheim saying LeBron could be the greatest player they have ever seen. He can play 5 positions, score 30PPG on ridiculous efficiency, is an incredible passer, rebounder, and defender. He has proven he can lead a team to a championship. Once he got that post games and got over the his self-mind[expletive]ing in pressure situations, it was a wrap. And yes, now we have zone defenses, but perimeter handchecking and no defensive 3 second rule in a league with Hakeem, young Shaq, Zo, Deke, Ewing and Robinson isn't nothing to sneeze at, either. Once again, last season he DID shoot jumpers more efficiently than Kobe...about 5% EFG better over the course of the season. He shot better from 3 by 3% as well. That trend has been going on for a few years, now. And he HAS won games with his jumper, and HAS had big series' by living mostly on the perimeter. So, to make it seem like it's such a big disadvantage is ridiculous. Not saying he is better than Kobe with the jumper, but the point is LeBron is more than capable with it. It is not a weakness anymore. It's not one of his strongest attributes, but he can burn you more often than not from the perimeter. You keep making the point that he is the more complete SCORER, not PLAYER. Outside of scoring, where is Kobe more complete? LeBron is hands-down the more complete player basically everywhere else. There is a thread on RealGM in the stat section titled, "Kobe is the most overrated defensive player imaginable." If you want in-depth stats that go beyond those two ratings (which are baselined based on overall team performance), go there. I don't need stats to tell me what my eyes have seen the last 8-9 seasons anyway. Kobe doesn't bring it every night defensively, and most nights he's average. Even at his best, he never made the impact LeBron does on a nightly basis defensively. LeBron guards up to 5 positions, is much smarter with his man defense off-ball, and is a better help defender. He does this consistently, most importantly. Kobe was a better man defender against primarily iso players at his peak. That's all peak Kobe has on LeBron defensively. Once again, it is largely based on the team you play for, so it's hard to compare team to team, because you'll have bench warmers on defensive giants that have strong Drtg's. However, with Shaq that one year, he also led the entire league in DWS, which is ALWAYS a sign that you are making a big impact on the defensive end. That opinion is based off what I saw from video of Shaq during that season and other Laker fans, who told me that was the one season he brought it defensively.

I do penalize Shaq for it...and I'd still take him over Kobe. A 30PPG scorer shooting nearly 60% from the field, commanding more attention than any player in NBA history, incredible post passer you could run a championship offense through, snatching 14RPG and at his peak averaging 3 blocks...absolutely dominant. No one, probably not even MJ, impacted the game as much as prime Shaq. And in '99-'00 he was a pretty motivated defender who led the league in DWS and had by far the lowest Drtg of his career. LeBron is a SF in a PF's body with attributes of a PG/SG, to go along with unreal athleticism. Dude doesn't need to be a lights-out shooter, and his career has proved that. So, in order to limit LeBron, you need to stick an excellent individual defender on him and have a DPOY backing him up, anchoring the defense...you don't say? Dallas' defense didn't force LeBron into anything he hadn't seen before. LeBron completely mind[expletive]ed himself out of that series. Not saying he could have dropped 30PPG on ridiculous efficiency, but everything he did was incredibly awkward and an abberation from the rest of his career, where he's faced better defenses than Dallas had. I do not look at that series as a measure of what he can and cannot do. Since '10, he has lost much of his explosive first step, so despite popular belief he doesn't blow by defenders at will anymore. That is why a post game was necessary. He could shoot as many jumpers as, say, Kobe, and do it at moderate efficiency, but instead he developed that post game and has been more efficient than ever before. He shot over 48% 4x that series, and dipped under 42% only 1x. That's not shooting poorly, and that's certainly not shooting poorly most of the series. Also, don't forget how crazy he was with his jumpshot in game 6. One of the greatest playoff shooting barrages in NBA history. I can't find the numbers as far as his jumpshooting percentage goes, but I do know Philly and Chicago kept his paint attempts to a minimum, and he still scored very well against both teams. Against Philly he also completely shut Iguodala down as well. I said he shoots better than young, first 7-8 years Jordan. Much greater range than Jordan had when he was dropping 37PPG. And when Jordan was statistically scoring at his best, I wouldn't say he had a better midrange game than LeBron has now, either. That didn't really develop until about his 2nd championship, and by the 3rd championship he was elite there and the best all-around scorer he ever was. He's not a better jumpshooter than Kobe, but because of shot selection he HAS shot it at better efficiency the last few seasons than Kobe has (according to 82games.com). And don't make me pullup all the 40-50pt games LeBron has had while doing it nearly all on the perimeter. LeBron is the model of being a complete player. He's one of the most efficienct high-volume scorers in NBA history, probably the best passing SF of all-time, arguably best rebounding SF of all-time, one of the best defenders in the league, and he can play and defend up to 5 positions. It's not like he's Rajon Rondo with the jumper...he's become a very, very solid jumpshooter, and does pretty much everything else on the basketball court at an exceptional level. And most importantly, he does it ALL at the same time. Kobe and Shaq, much of their primes, put very little effort on the defensive side of the ball. Duncan rarely was a big volume scorer, and even at his best wasn't as overall efficient as LeBron. LeBron CONSISTENTLY does EVERYTHING, and does it amazingly well. Hakeem and MJ, the other 2 I listed from the '90's-on, were the only other two who were in LeBron's boat when it came to being consistently dominant all-around players. To say he's not the complete player and then prop up Kobe is ridiculous.

He was never a true #1 option on offense. He wasn't aggressive enough in terms of demanding the ball, trying to take over games and staying more in the post than floating out on the perimeter. Only ONCE did he have a TS% over .539 in the playoffs with the T-Wolves, and only ONCE did he crack 24PPG despite the normally awful supporting cast. Talent wise KG is probably top 5, but when it comes to a final product, I feel Duncan was the slightly better player. The biggest hole in his game was between his ears. And my issue with taking him over the guys I mentioned is because he's never been a dominant defender while being a #1 option. Had the occasional ability to lock someone down, but he didn't use that ability consistently, and even at his best I don't think he was a better defender than any of the guys I mentioned (maybe Shaq, though I focused on peak play, and for 1-2 seasons Shaq was a dominant defender). If we were talking pure skill, yeah Kobe would be top 5. But there is more to basketball than just skill. 1) Why does he need that ability? He's one of the only 27-30PPG scorers in NBA history with a TS% of over .600, and he's done that multiple times. He's consistent as hell scoring the ball against pretty much all defenses. Jordan didn't need the ability to hit jumpers all game long through his first 7-8 years in the league, and he was playing at a GOAT level. As a shooter, I'd say LeBron is on the same level as Jordan at that point in his career, and he's better from 3 than Jordan was as well. 2) The Dallas series was an abberation. Check the series before where LeBron couldn't sniff the paint against Chicago and was hitting jumper after jumper against Luol Deng, who many here thought could have been DPOY that season. Same thing against Iguodala in the first round that year. Or maybe how he torched Pierce and the Celtics this year with an array of jumpers.

It's not that he wasn't respected...it's just that in Denver, with Melo, he wasn't the right fit to support a contender. With Melo and him both being so iso oriented, and neither playing much defense, they underachieved for what their potential was based on talent. Once he left Denver, he just didn't have a lot of help and his athleticism started decline a lot. And actually, I believe his last full season with Denver, he had one of his best all-around seasons. Lower turnovers, respectable efficiency, high assists and like 26PPG. It went largely unnoticed, though.

Sell heroin. I could flip $5,000 into $100,000 in a year easy if I stayed committed and didn't have the fear of jail stopping me (that risk would be there, but for my mom it wouldn't deter me).

At their peaks, since 1990... Jordan Shaq Hakeem Duncan LeBron All strong 2-way players at their best who could dominate the game on both sides of the ball. Only player below 28ish PPG was Duncan, but he anchored some of the greatest defenses in NBA history, cleaned the glass at an elite level, was a terrific passer, great post player and always led by example and dignity.

My wisdom culture lives in ultra madness Devoted Coach bag bitch Broke the average [expletive]a hopes to get mad rich But what's the purpose? Only the God's can watch the Earth twist I'm physically trapped down on the surface With all the crack merchants Snakes and serpants Foul jakes that search us Clowns with four pounds This ain't a circus GOAT

Yes, the Heat are very athletic. If you are going to use injuries for Ron, Wade had the same thing last season, and needed to have surgery in the offseason. I expect him to be back to '10-'11 form, where even though he wasn't the same as he was when he was younger, he's still extremely athletic. Either way, he'll be a problem for Kobe with his off-ball cuts and PnR play. If Spo starts his usual lineup against LA, they will be way more athletic at 4 of the 5 positions, and the 5th would almost be a wash with Howard and Bosh. That is huge. That athletic ability is what makes them such an amazing defense....they cover so much ground, all of them, which allows them to confuse offenses, block off areas of the floor that you'd figure they can't, and force many turnovers. It also allows them to switch off consistently and not get burned, as well as effectively take away/limit PnR's (see- Jeremy Lin). The one area that consistently burns them is open 3's, but the guys that will take the floor much of the game for LA won't be killing Miami efficiently from the 3pt line IMO. They will have a few guys off the bench who can hit 3's, but will hurt LA in other areas. A guy like Meeks could be a difference maker in this series if he catches fire, but that's about it. I really, really don't see Jamison hurting Miami...KG absolutely locked him up in the 2010 EC semi's, and LeBron, Haslem, Bosh, and Battier won't be much easier. I never said they had to run to beat the Heat, but that's where you get easy baskets. I don't have the numbers, but that was a big reason LA couldn't hang with OKC. LA had the better halfcourt execution, but that's negated by getting crushed on such high efficiency opportunities. Howard is extremely TO prone, Nash will probably be above 3 TO's per game, Kobe will be in that area, etc, so Miami will be able to get opportunities to get out on the break. Nash will have no one to run with him in the starting lineup. Chandler didn't keep LeBron out of the paint...LeBron kept LeBron out of the paint. And LeBron could get any shot he wanted against Marion in the post, but he just wasn't comfortable in that area in 2011. To kick off last season LeBron burned Marion in the post with ease. Also, as for LeBron not shooting well in the Finals...EVERYTHING he got the previous series against Chicago was outside the paint and he still performed exceptionally well (against IMO a better team defense than this Laker team will have, and a better individual defender in Luol Deng). LeBron is the best player in the league and in the last post-season he didn't have A SINGLE "bad" game. Average ones, yes, but no bad games. And he had some of the greatest playoff games the NBA has ever seen. No one is containing this man, he's at his peak and is just too damn versatile and good. A 26/6/6 on 48% shooting would be a huge victory for LA, and that is very scary.

I hate it had to be him...

They said the same thing about Hibbert, and he destroyed the Heat when they had stiffs on him at center. Instead, what worked was a smaller lineup that was able to bother passes into the post, be pests and force him to work on defense. Not saying Dwight is on Hibbert's level or his cast is on the level the Pacers were, but you don't beat guys like Howard or the Lakers just by throwing big bodies at him. I think Darko would be a nice addition, but the offense will take a huge hit with him getting big minutes over more versatile, well-rounded players at center. Defending the Lakers offense is gonna be a bitch, but they still have holes. Kobe and Artest still aren't great spot-up shooters, and Gasol doesn't have legitimate 3pt range, so once again they will only have one guy to hit those open 3's with a collapsed defense. They are still unathletic at the wings, and against Miami that will be a big issue. If Iguodala, Pierce, and Deng couldn't defend LeBron efficiently, I doubt an old Ron Artest will. Kobe will have dificulty defending Wade on PnR's and on off-ball cuts, and Ray Allen will be a difficult matchup as well. In transition, Lakers have NO WAY of defending Miami, and Nash won't have many options on the fastbreak to make that an effective strategy against most teams. And I'd MUCHHHHH rather see Gasol on the low block against LeBron than on the perimeter. He won't be able to put the ball on the floor against LeBron without his back to he basket, and in the post he'd be able to get any shot off without too much interferance. However, if LeBron-Gasol is a matchup that occurs, the Lakers are SCREWED...Gasol cannot guard LeBron in any situation, and if they switch Gasol onto one of their shooters because of that fact (Battier, for instance), that will also be a big issue. As I said before, the key to beating the Lakers is the same as it was last season...athleticism. Not just in the open court, but everywhere. Miami will have a pretty big athletic advantage at at least 4 of the 5 positions, and will be more versatile as a unit on defense. Now that they have such a strong small-ball lineup that isn't so small because of LeBron, and one that's made even stronger with Ray Allen, they will NOT be easy to defend. I still think LA looks better on paper, but Miami will have a very strong chance of beating them in a series.

What makes you think Joel will see any significant playing time against Dwight? He was reduced to LeBron's towel bitch the last few series of their championship run.

You contain him with mismatches and a team defensive philosophy. For the smaller guys on defense, you have to front him, have the perimeter players pressure the ball to make it a difficult pass, and have defenders on the wing be there to help deflect passes if LA tries it. Also, have Wade and James constantly attacking the rim, trying to get him in foul trouble. On the other side of the ball, put Howard in PnR's with weak PnR defenders (Nash, for instance), and force him to guard guys like Bosh who will take him away from the rim, or make him think twice at least about contesting penetration. All easier said than done, especially with the players he has around him. IMO, on paper, LA is the better team. Their top pieces fit better and in some ways have greater versatility, and they have a solid supporting cast. However, Miami figured out in the playoffs that a small-ball lineup with James at the 4 can work because of how good and versatile he is defensively and offensively. Now with Ray Allen, they will be even better with that small ball lineup because they will have another dead-eye shooter who is somewhat versatile and can make smart basketball decisions (unlike, say, Cole, Jones, Battier, and injured Miller). Basically, the formula for beating this LA team is the much the same as it was last year because they still have a major hole defensively at PG, are relatively unathletic at 4 of the 5 positions in the starting lineup, and their core players aside from Howard are still getting up there in age. Kobe isn't a great spot-up shooter, Artest is still awful offensively, Pau will probably still wander the perimeter, and Howard has some limitations that could be magnified by his back issues. If you want to beat LA, you have to space them out and force Howard to make decisions on the defensive end once penetration is made, and on the other end of the floor you have to blitz them with aggressive defense and allow the athleticism on rotations to make up for missed opportunities.

To answer your previous question, they can, but being obese doesn't always equate to having diabetes. However, it is a condition that puts a person at high risk to get it. They may be obese with a low sugar intake, but their obesity could put them at risk for a chronic, high blood sugar count regardless. If they do end up getting diabetes, their diet may keep them on the low end of diabetes, but if they have days where they eat a good amount of sugar it could send their condition into overdrive, whereas with other people it won't. I'm sure Real Deal is a lot more schooled on the subject and can give better answers.

It doesn't. What I'm saying is obesity and overall bad health does, and people with obesity generally have a diet that's high in sugar.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup don't give you diabetes...what gives you diabetes is genetics and things like obesity, which is often aided by a poor, high sugar diet so people put 2 and 2 together.

http://twitter.com/cocaine80s/status/235460462832144384 http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8rfszZnnS1qmv5too1_500.jpg