Hoops - NBA/Basketball Talk

[kskate2]

Instead of fining him, they should make him sit (unpaid) a few games too.

I'm watching Heat/Knicks on TNT. Guess what? Even after his 50,000 fine, they are sitting J.R. :clap

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Seems like KNicks will pull it off, 5 minutes to go. It would be a big win for them.

 

[kskate2]

That's because it's raining 3's in the Garden. Quick, someone tell Cali even w/o their best player, they get a win over the defending champs. :lolz:

 

[brokenshoelace]

The Knicks are just way too reliant on their perimeter game to cause serious long term damage. With that said, I didn't expect them to struggle that much this season.

 

[DarthFed]

Didn't see the game but the Heat's weakness is rebounding and inside D and broke back/broke knees Amare put up a double double in 27 minutes.

As bad as New York has been they will likely still make the playoffs out East. The key for them is if Tyson Chandler can stay healthy, he is the only semblance of defense on that team.

 

[DarthFed]

[split] Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

At the end of the year before he tore his Achilles his level was outstanding. His games against New Orleans, Golden State, and Portland were brilliant.

47 at Portland on the second night of a back-to-back, when everyone says it's much tougher for your body to respond once you're in your mid-30s?

That is awesome. Give Kobe (aka "Vino") some props.

 

[DarthFed]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

At the end of the year before he tore his Achilles his level was outstanding. His games against New Orleans, Golden State, and Portland were brilliant.

47 at Portland on the second night of a back-to-back, when everyone says it's much tougher for your body to respond once you're in your mid-30s?

That is awesome. Give Kobe (aka "Vino") some props.

Kobe did play great last year, but Lebron has been far and away the best player in the NBA for 5 years now. Kobe hasn't even been the 2nd best player for many of those years.

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

At the end of the year before he tore his Achilles his level was outstanding. His games against New Orleans, Golden State, and Portland were brilliant.

47 at Portland on the second night of a back-to-back, when everyone says it's much tougher for your body to respond once you're in your mid-30s?

That is awesome. Give Kobe (aka "Vino") some props.

Kobe did play great last year, but Lebron has been far and away the best player in the NBA for 5 years now. Kobe hasn't even been the 2nd best player for many of those years.

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for large portions of the season - how can you deny this? Overall LeBron was the best player, if you're just going by the numbers. But if you actually just watched the games and didn't go strictly by the numbers, you could see that Kobe was actually better than Durant for much of last season. I am not going to give LeBron automatic props for how the modern NBA game makes it a piece of cake for him to walk out and get 25, 8, and 8 by just showing up for work. The pace of the NBA game is slow and structured, and it favors LeBron's largely mild style of play where he can just work the ball around, get a few fast breaks, hit 2 or 3 jumpers, and then drive when he wants and get an automatic foul call. If you think this is somehow better than what Kobe did at the end of last season, please go ahead and explain yourself.

But make no mistake - if Kobe hadn't hurt the Achilles, he probably would have taken the Lakers to the Finals with the West being wide open as it was, and there he would have given LeBron all he could handle. He is much more of a Jordan-esque competitor than LeBron is. LeBron's performance against San Antonio was largely laughable, and he is lucky that Leonard missed that free throw.

I like LeBron's game and I feel bad for him that he is on such an awful, talent-depleted team that depends on him and knee-impaired Dwayne Wade almost entirely, but let's not act like he has been far and away the best player just because the structure of the NBA game and his teammates' futility pad his stats.

 

[DarthFed]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

At the end of the year before he tore his Achilles his level was outstanding. His games against New Orleans, Golden State, and Portland were brilliant.

47 at Portland on the second night of a back-to-back, when everyone says it's much tougher for your body to respond once you're in your mid-30s?

That is awesome. Give Kobe (aka "Vino") some props.

Kobe did play great last year, but Lebron has been far and away the best player in the NBA for 5 years now. Kobe hasn't even been the 2nd best player for many of those years.

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for large portions of the season - how can you deny this? Overall LeBron was the best player, if you're just going by the numbers. But if you actually just watched the games and didn't go strictly by the numbers, you could see that Kobe was actually better than Durant for much of last season. I am not going to give LeBron automatic props for how the modern NBA game makes it a piece of cake for him to walk out and get 25, 8, and 8 by just showing up for work. The pace of the NBA game is slow and structured, and it favors LeBron's largely mild style of play where he can just work the ball around, get a few fast breaks, hit 2 or 3 jumpers, and then drive when he wants and get an automatic foul call. If you think this is somehow better than what Kobe did at the end of last season, please go ahead and explain yourself.

But make no mistake - if Kobe hadn't hurt the Achilles, he probably would have taken the Lakers to the Finals with the West being wide open as it was, and there he would have given LeBron all he could handle. He is much more of a Jordan-esque competitor than LeBron is. LeBron's performance against San Antonio was largely laughable, and he is lucky that Leonard missed that free throw.

I like LeBron's game and I feel bad for him that he is on such an awful, talent-depleted team that depends on him and knee-impaired Dwayne Wade almost entirely, but let's not act like he has been far and away the best player just because the structure of the NBA game and his teammates' futility pad his stats.

Well going down this path will largely turn this into an NBA discussion when it is meant to be tennis related and relevant to all sports in general. But needless to say I think everything you said is way out there. If it was easy to "walk out there" and get 27, 7, 7 then you'd see a lot more players do it. Kobe would not have taken the Lakers to the finals, the way San Antonio caught fire they were going to lose that series anyways.

It isn't just stats that says Lebron is the best player, how about 4 MVP's in 5 years and the last 2 rings. I know you are ever the contrarian but Lebron is easily the best baller since Jordan. Kobe, Duncan, Shaq are all all timers but they are/will be beneath him when all is said and done. Being a Bucks fan I don't really have a horse in the race so I just enjoy the best players and the great battles we often see in the playoffs. You can hate the man all you want for The Decision but we will be lucky to see another Lebron in the next 20+ years.

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

LeBron is an excellent basketball player. I have almost always defended him against his critics. And like I said, I feel bad for him that he has never been part of an actual team at the NBA level. That said, it is kind of difficult to absolve him for his performance against the Spurs last year, when he severely underperformed until the lame duck Game 7 that was a fait accompli.

That said, that was not the issue. What I said was that for significant portions of last season (such as the end of the season), Kobe was the best player in the NBA. I stand by that. LeBron deserved the MVP but there were times when Kobe was better. That's all I was saying.

As for JR Smith, he is the most talented player in the NBA if allowed to play at a free-flowing pace. His coaches in NY have brainwashed him into thinking that it is better to catch and hold the ball, instead of just catching and shooting. This has resulted in him being too hesitant and therefore very uncomfortable, hence the ugly field goal percentage this season.

 

[DarthFed]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

LeBron is an excellent basketball player. I have almost always defended him against his critics. And like I said, I feel bad for him that he has never been part of an actual team at the NBA level. That said, it is kind of difficult to absolve him for his performance against the Spurs last year, when he severely underperformed until the lame duck Game 7 that was a fait accompli.

That said, that was not the issue. What I said was that for significant portions of last season (such as the end of the season), Kobe was the best player in the NBA. I stand by that. LeBron deserved the MVP but there were times when Kobe was better. That's all I was saying.

As for JR Smith, he is the most talented player in the NBA if allowed to play at a free-flowing pace. His coaches in NY have brainwashed him into thinking that it is better to catch and hold the ball, instead of just catching and shooting. This has resulted in him being too hesitant and therefore very uncomfortable, hence the ugly field goal percentage this season.

Lebron averaged 25, 11 and 6 in the Finals last year. Hardly a disaster especially with pretty much no help. And so your point is that Kobe deserves credit because he played like the best player in the world multiple games last year. That's all well and good, does that mean we give a % of best player out. If Kobe was the best player for 10 games do we give him 10/82 of the best player title? I bet you'd praise Gil Arenas back in the day when he would often drop 40 on 30+ shots and then follow it up with a 30% shooting night.

J.R. Smith is nothing bro, the last thing I'd call him is hesitant. Do you not notice him jacking up tons of shots at a low %? He has shot a low % his entire career. If Melo wasn't there to hog up even more shots it'd be ridiculous.

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

LeBron is an excellent basketball player. I have almost always defended him against his critics. And like I said, I feel bad for him that he has never been part of an actual team at the NBA level. That said, it is kind of difficult to absolve him for his performance against the Spurs last year, when he severely underperformed until the lame duck Game 7 that was a fait accompli.

That said, that was not the issue. What I said was that for significant portions of last season (such as the end of the season), Kobe was the best player in the NBA. I stand by that. LeBron deserved the MVP but there were times when Kobe was better. That's all I was saying.

As for JR Smith, he is the most talented player in the NBA if allowed to play at a free-flowing pace. His coaches in NY have brainwashed him into thinking that it is better to catch and hold the ball, instead of just catching and shooting. This has resulted in him being too hesitant and therefore very uncomfortable, hence the ugly field goal percentage this season.

It's an 82 match season + post season. So yeah, Lebron won't look like the best player in the world in each and every match.

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

Lebron averaged 25, 11 and 6 in the Finals last year. Hardly a disaster especially with pretty much no help.

If you look at it in a statistical vacuum, yes. But looking at it that simplistically is absurd - and even then I can make the case quite easily that his numbers weren't all that impressive.

First of all - he is playing 40+ minutes per game, the ball is constantly in his hands, and he is an extremely gifted athlete and basketball talent. Furthermore, compared to the unimpressive Spurs roster, his athleticism is on another planet. Yes, he has no supporting cast in Miami, but the flip side of that is that on the big stage, the stage is his completely. He can shoot with no restrictions and do whatever he wants unrestricted. When you take all of that into consideration - combined with how officials favor superstars - is averaging 25 per game against the little D-III superstars of the Spurs all that big a deal?

Please.

LeBron's performance against the Spurs last year was, for the most part, cowardly. In game 1, he was average. In game 2, he was okay. In game 3, his attitude was pitiful, as the Spurs lit them up. Game 4 was the D-Wade show. Game 5 - again, LeBron was lackluster. Game 6 - he did much less than he could have until the 4th quarter, and even then he got a little lucky late in the game. Game 7 was really his only virtuoso performance, and if we are honest about it, that game never should have even happened.

And so your point is that Kobe deserves credit because he played like the best player in the world multiple games last year. That's all well and good, does that mean we give a % of best player out.

No, but in the context of your point about Jordan thriving at 35, this is entirely relevant. So Kobe wasn't an outright #1 best in the game at 34. Does that mean it is irrelevant to bring up that he was 2nd or 3rd best, and at times the best?

Not at all.

J.R. Smith is nothing bro, the last thing I'd call him is hesitant.

Then you're thinking of the Denver JR. The 2013-2014 JR has been extremely repressed and reluctant to play freely. You must not be watching many Knicks games. JR is not doing the catch and shoot that made him sublime to watch in Denver. He has, all too often, been catching and holding and hesitating. I saw this up close when I attended the Knicks @ Wizards game on November 23rd, and I have seen it in numerous televised games.

Do you not notice him jacking up tons of shots at a low %?

He is not shooting even 20% of the number of shots that he would be shooting if he was allowed and encouraged to play at his natural pace. His low percentage is more so the result of listening to his stupid coaches, who tell him to "let the game come to him" and be (excessively) patient. He does this, and doesn't shoot, and then the coaches get mad at him for not producing, and then he forces up some low-percentage trash at times. If he just played to catch and shoot, and catch and go, and make quick-hitting plays, his percentage would go up and he would be utterly untouchable.

He has shot a low % his entire career.

Not nearly as low as this year. And shooting about 45% from the field ain't that bad. If Chris Paul does it, we focus on the shots he makes. If JR does it, we focus on the ones he doesn't.

Double standards galore.

If Melo wasn't there to hog up even more shots it'd be ridiculous.

Oh really? What a ridiculous statement on so many levels.

After Melo was traded from Denver, everyone thought that they weren't going to be very good, but as I and a good friend of mine predicted, they were even better. They went 9-2 and then 15-4 right after the trade, and everyone was puzzled. In reality, there was nothing puzzling about it. Denver in that season had the most talented NBA roster, top to bottom, of the last 20 years and George Karl screwed it up in the playoffs. They were great individual players and they knew how to play team ball. It was awesome to watch.

As this relates to JR, the team as a whole was praised at that time for not having "sticky fingers" - which was a reference to the era of Melo iso ball. JR's passing has always been totally underappreciated. In both Denver and NY, he has repeatedly made excellent swing passes to shooters such as Afflalo and Novak. He also has executed the pick and roll to perfection with Nene, Birdman, Amare, and Chandler. In fact, it is no stretch at all to say that JR passes on the pick roll as well as anyone ever has, except maybe John Stockton. I have so many plays recorded on tape and in my memory to this effect that I am 100% certain of it.

Of course, it never gets noticed that JR passes so well, because people are so fixated on the tattoos and the demeanor of JR Smith. They can't get past that to see any real substance.

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

A big part of what sticks out when I think of MJ is the fact that he was still the best basketball player in the world at age 35. For any very physical sport (yes I'm excluding golf here) it is pretty incredible for the best player in the world to be 35 years old. NFL QB's are also a grey area as they don't necessarily have to be even decently athletic to be a great QB (case in point Peyton Manning). I don't think we will see that in basketball again, even from Lebron or any future mutants of the game. Again tough to compare it to tennis but you aren't going to see 35 year old men rule the sport any time soon. That's the skill together with the will of MJ...

Kobe was the best player in the NBA last year for significant portions of the season, at age 34.

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

They don't "conspire", but they structure the game in such a way that it favors players who are slower and more bossy with the ball. This is why Paul Pierce has been and remains a designated star in the NBA.

Everyone knows he is slow, but at age 35 Brooklyn is still paying him over $15 million this season, one of the highest contracts in the league. By contrast, the far more athletic JR Smith is getting a paltry $6 million, and many dimwits think that this is severely overpaying JR. That tells you all you need to know.

For goodness sake, the NBA has made Kevin Love a designated superstar, and Deron Williams - who couldn't even beat a Derrick Rose-less Bulls team in a 7-game series - is getting almost $20 million per year. Are you kidding me?

The NBA is a league that favors the slow. There is often more athletic talent on display in D-League games than NBA games.

 

[calitennis127]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

This is more outrageous than anything you ever said about tennis. Congrats, you've outdone yourself.

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

LeBron is an excellent basketball player. I have almost always defended him against his critics. And like I said, I feel bad for him that he has never been part of an actual team at the NBA level. That said, it is kind of difficult to absolve him for his performance against the Spurs last year, when he severely underperformed until the lame duck Game 7 that was a fait accompli.

That said, that was not the issue. What I said was that for significant portions of last season (such as the end of the season), Kobe was the best player in the NBA. I stand by that. LeBron deserved the MVP but there were times when Kobe was better. That's all I was saying.

As for JR Smith, he is the most talented player in the NBA if allowed to play at a free-flowing pace. His coaches in NY have brainwashed him into thinking that it is better to catch and hold the ball, instead of just catching and shooting. This has resulted in him being too hesitant and therefore very uncomfortable, hence the ugly field goal percentage this season.

It's an 82 match season + post season. So yeah, Lebron won't look like the best player in the world in each and every match.

Brother Broken, I am only telling you this because I know you can take it, and I also know you'd be the first to poke fun at someone if they made a mistake like this and you saw it.

Basketball contests are referred to as "games", not "matches". What you just said sounds as awkward as saying "It's a 10-month season with about 100 games for the Top 4. So yeah, Federer (or Nadal, or Djokovic) won't look like the best player in each and every game". In that case, you'd obviously be referring to matches.

But it's no biggie. Sometimes you just have to inform a Canadian, eh?

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: Obsessed Winners, Are They Accepted in Tennis Culture?

Well, you know nothing about basketball in that case. Nothing needs said.

Yup, I know nothing about Basketball if I think Lebron James has been the best player in the world, by a country mile, for a few years now.

PS: This is coming from a guy who thinks JR Smith is the most talented player in the world and the NBA coaches conspire to make Chris Paul look good. Okay Cali. Okay.

LeBron is an excellent basketball player. I have almost always defended him against his critics. And like I said, I feel bad for him that he has never been part of an actual team at the NBA level. That said, it is kind of difficult to absolve him for his performance against the Spurs last year, when he severely underperformed until the lame duck Game 7 that was a fait accompli.

That said, that was not the issue. What I said was that for significant portions of last season (such as the end of the season), Kobe was the best player in the NBA. I stand by that. LeBron deserved the MVP but there were times when Kobe was better. That's all I was saying.

As for JR Smith, he is the most talented player in the NBA if allowed to play at a free-flowing pace. His coaches in NY have brainwashed him into thinking that it is better to catch and hold the ball, instead of just catching and shooting. This has resulted in him being too hesitant and therefore very uncomfortable, hence the ugly field goal percentage this season.

It's an 82 match season + post season. So yeah, Lebron won't look like the best player in the world in each and every match.

Brother Broken, I am only telling you this because I know you can take it, and I also know you'd be the first to poke fun at someone if they made a mistake like this and you saw it.

Basketball contests are referred to as "games", not "matches". What you just said sounds as awkward as saying "It's a 10-month season with about 100 games for the Top 4. So yeah, Federer (or Nadal, or Djokovic) won't look like the best player in each and every game". In that case, you'd obviously be referring to matches.

But it's no biggie. Sometimes you just have to inform a Canadian, eh?

Yeah, it's a Soccer/Tennis thing, which happen to be my favorite sport (both use the term "matches"). I always make this mistake, despite watching Basketball religiously since I was a kid.