Somehow, in the span of about 3 hours I became a "witness" to something truly remarkable. I literally saw Twitter, Facebook, my text messages/BB messenger, and any other communication device go nuts last night during the annihilation that Cleveland received at the hands of Boston last night.
I literally saw thousands of people viciously assault the man that is know as LeBron Raymone James. Is that what it took for everyone to seemingly turn on the man? Because he played a bad Game 5? Last time I checked the series is not over and the man still has games to play.
This is an excerpt from our own Kenny Masenda after hearing all of the LeBron ridicule that he received immediately following last night's game:
"Dammit, I've seen enough of this hate.
How does this show the difference between Kobe and LeBron? Kobe has the best frontline in basketball, the best coach in basketball, and has played in the freaking triangle his whole career. LeBron has an aging Shaq, the worst coach of a good team in basketball, and doesn't play in any type of offense.
Y'all make it sound like the Celtics are a bunch of bums. They just won the damn championship two years ago, and now that they're healthy, they're doing exactly what they're gonna do. I swear folks wanna come out and crucify LeBron, and put Kobe on a damn pedestal, and don't wanna put all the facts out there. Sure, LeBron's stinkin' it up, but until the Cavs get a real coach and he has anything close to what Kobe has in terms of help, this will be the result."
I couldn't have said it any better.
Simply put, LeBron HAS to play better but at least give the man a chance to fail first. He isn't even finished yet! The Cleveland coaches have to step up, the other Cleveland players have to step up, the FANS have to step up (that was one of the most pathetic fan experiences I've seen at the Q last night, you should be ashamed.)
Moreover, we as fans have to do better as well. Trust me, I know I kill Kobe all the time and I give him a hard time. However, I am no fool...I'm not going to write Kobe off until he gives me a succinct reason to do so. I damn sure didn't write Kobe off after Game 4 against the Lakers, I just said that his performance was "inexcusable". So what did Kobe do? He busted OKC's ass in Game 5.
LeBron's plenty capable of doing that to Boston. Plus, we have got to tip our cap to the Boston Celtics. They have been playing phenomenal, and I think its safe to say that they actually look like the team that won the title two years ago. They are playing scary good and we have to give them much more credit.
Twitter last night reminded me of two scenes, both very similar.
Remember when they killed Caesar? Everyone got their stab in after he was dead. Same with Malcolm X, they didn't have to shoot him 12 freaking times. LeBron ain't even dead yet and you all are treating him the same way. Did you all do that to Jordan? Nope, you weren't old enough to be as unreasonable to do now. You were hopers and dreamers still, so lets just hope and dream that LeBron shocks the world in Game 6.
-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com
P.S. If you missed our live show, you can download our weekly podcast of "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" on the ETSF Radio Network, as we are live Wednesday's at 9pm Eastern at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edthesportsfan!
Comments
13 Responses to "Julius Caesar, Malcolm X, LeBron James..."Because we live in a world where people get off by seeing successful people burn up...State's evidence #1: Tiger.
I'm not a fan of LeBron. I admit he's got some great skill, but just cause he's a genetic freak doesn't mean he should have been knighted as the greatest of all time. "Witness"...come on now. He was touted as the greatest ever before he stepped into the NBA. He had nowhere to go but down. But the hate is getting to be a bit much. He is only one man and the Celtics are a great team.
I for one hope the Cavs come back and win. Though I'm rooting for the Magic and Suns, I would love a Lakers/Cavs matchup.
P.S. The season is like 5 weeks old and we still haven't gotten one article on baseball. This is Ed the Sports Fan, not Ed the Basketball Fan right????
Mr. Ross is right. Some of the LeBron hate is pure jealousy. We love to see the mighty taken down.
Put the blame where it belongs. The Cavs offensive sets are totally and completely anemic. What does Mike Brown say at practice? "Let LeBron take the ball up and prepare to go one on five if he wants. Stand around and watch him. If he needs you, he'll let you know"?
I feel like I'm watching the Bulls before Phil J got there. MJ was trying to do everything but they didn't break through until they devised a diverse offense.
I can't believe the Cavs can't learn from such an obvious example.
JAG
love the title
I have to say that the Kobe/Lebron comparisons on this level is unjustifiable. Its like comparing apples to oranges or a Ford to a Lexis. Like Kenny said Kobe has pretty much been around the best his whole career even in the post-Shaq years he still had a decent group of players to work with and Phil Jackson and Lakers money. Lebron has always been in a building state. Lebron was the Cavs at first. Now, with hard work the Cavs have taken a star and some decent bench players and turned them into a solid team that can function well at the playoff level. But, I am unsure if the Cavs are on the level of the Celtics, the Lakers (it hurts to use them here but anyway), and the Magic which are teams in the truest sense i.e. a well oiled machine where each player has a distinct role and without one part working the machine is strained. The Cavs without Lebron would breakdown immediately I am not so sure you could say that about the other teams I mentioned. Sure they may do worse without Kobe, KG/Pierce/Jesus (based on who is on fire at the moment) and Howard but I don't know if they would fall completely apart like I know the Cavs would.
Finally, someone mentioned in a recent post that Cavs could have a coaching problem something I never thought about until this series and well reading the comment.
I have a feeling that nobody reacted this way when Kobe and the Lakers got drilled by the Suns two straight years...with that sorry excuse for a team. This is one reason I can't vouch for Lebron. When is something going to be HIS responsibility?? I'm tired of the free passes. If he is so great, this should never happen.
What DNMP meant to say is LeBron is "lazy." Or he has a "large tendency to lack hustle at key moments when things do not go perfectly"
Or, you know, he just had a bad game.
/sorry, couldn't resist.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
ED, I HAVE BEEN FORCED TO USE ALL CAPS FOR THIS POST. PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GREAT BLACK MEN, DO NOT EVER COMPARE LEBRON JAMES TO MALCOLM X AGAIN.
THANKS
Now, for the real reason I wanted to comment:
I saw what Kenny said on Ed's status last night, and I HATE when people do that. No one was complaining about Mike Brown, Shaq's old and flabby ass or the rest of that team when they were winning 60+ games, now all of a sudden everyone is shit and LBJ is the only mother fucker who is worth a damn? Either complain about them all the time or not complain at all. I'm debating w/ Kenny about last night's game as we speak and compared LBJ's performance to Kobe in G7 in 2007. Kobe didn't play hard in the second half after scoring 26 in the first and the team still down by 2,085. That season, I complained about Kwame, Smush and the like the whole season, as did the whole Lakers contingent. I wish Cavs fans would stop selling the rest of the organization short when LBJ has a bad game. You either knew that everyone else wasn't shit the whole year, or they're still a championship quality team. You just can't change your mind when the Kool-Aid gets bitter. LBJ is a phenomenal athlete, but dude doesn't have that second playoff gear like the Magics, the Birds, the Jordans and the Kobes. Shit on Kobe if you want, but you know he's coming to play during the post season.
Hey Phil, your all caps rant ran off the side of the page. Just thought you should know lol...
well said...
We didn't land on King James...King James, landed on us.
LeBron James is a false sports (god). That's why so many people are happy to see him fall.
He's good but he's no Michael Jordon.
The NBA/ media has hyped Lebron so much that I think it's turned a lot of people off. Plus he's not at all humble.
Also he's not exactly role model material, he's just another baby-daddy millionaire athlete.
(And he's not even good-looking, at all)
So I think we'll see a lot more of this if he keeps losing. And if you think it's bad now just wait until he goes to N.Y. to play with the Knicks.
I dont think the criticism is "hate" for LBJ, but for the last 5 quarters of basketball he has failed to show up. In the fourth quarter of game 4 when he had a chance to drive on Paul Perice he passes to Varejo, what is that? He looked as if he refused to drive in game 5 when his shot wasnt falling. you have to legitimately question his heart or lack thereof at this point...
I never believed all the hype surrounding LeBron will end up in New York. Being a Knick fan, we are accustomed to rumors of superstar players wanting and needing to play in New York, only to watch as New York signs players who are past their prime.
But this off season I truly believe that LeBron James and some other notable star player - hopefully not Joe Johnson - will sign their names on the dotted line and breathe life into the Knick franchise.
I still believe Cleveland will defeat Boston, only to lose the series with Orlando.
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