RunningJumper
Super Moderator
Yes, it would have been interesting what LeBron would have done if he played as he does usually, but he was there. Alive and in the flesh. He didn't play well. I mean, we all know J.R. Smith can be nearly unstoppable, but a lot of times his head's not in it. He's no LeBron James, but it happens to everyone. Maybe LeBron got nervous, had a lot of pressure, he didn't overcome it that year. Confidence and focus is just as important as dribbling and shooting skills, that year, he didn't have it enough.Yea but Dell Jr played all 6 games; Love and Irving only played one game between them in those Finals, you can't be serious comparing injuries like that.......
AFA the '11 Finals, all I really wanted to know was about any other superstars playing such below their standards as LeBron did in an NBA Finals setting. You'll probably say "whatever, doesn't matter, etc", but just a simple question, lol
And I don't see how you can compare Jordan's first LOA when he was 30, to the 2nd one when he was 36 and having played 13 seasons already, plus with Pippen just exiting his prime with beginning back problems. I don't really subscribe to Jordan's 2nd LOA anyways outside of the Knicks, I just brought that up to demonstrate a circumstance (our last Finals appearances since the days of Willis Reed). The fact remains that our only Finals apperances coincided with Jordan not playing at all (and for the record I do believe had Jordan not left in '98 the Bulls would've beaten us yet again in '99), and Houston only won titles when Jordan didn't play a full season. How one chooses to view that is entirely up to the eye of the beholder
I agree 100% that if Love and Irving were healthy they would have have given the Warriors a MUCH bigger challenge, even with Irving alone, but if you want to go back to LeBron's sub-par performance in the '11 Finals, then you can say the same about Curry, Klay, and I think Draymond Green as well. I mean seriously, if the Warriors were at their best it could have been a sweep, no disrespect to the Cavs.
Trust me, I get where you're coming from, but at least the '11 Finals, you gotta give the Mavs their due. Even before they faced they Heat, they pulled off some incredible victories.