Comments on: On “clutch,” “choking,” and ships passing quietly in the night

By: icelovinbrotha215

icelovinbrotha215 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:01:46 +0000

Say what????

By: dexterismyhero

dexterismyhero — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:05:06 +0000

Lebron didn’t bang any chicks in Colorado did he?

By: david8726

david8726 — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:19:46 +0000

Metalhead,

I don’t see how you could possibly deny that his supporting cast wasn’t good enough when he made it to the finals in 2007. That was a very weak year for the East and San Antonio was a dominant team. That was very similar to when Allen Iverson led the 76ers to the finals. It was a case of one great player being able to carry his team almost all the way because the East was so bad.

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:57:48 +0000

Yeah kobe struggled his first 3 years and jordan too, lebrick still been in the league 8 years and still using the same lame excuses,, the guy just dont have it, thats why he left his team to hide behind wade..he just cant take full responsibilty for his horrible play down stretches.

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:39:05 +0000

@ meathead..
Good point, agreed..

By: dirtybird2020

dirtybird2020 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:38:52 +0000

You guys are idiots if you think lebron is clutch, that guy since highschool hasnt been clutch! Kobe is fading but that man had it, second to jordan, and maybe miller and bird! Lebron is a bum, and still needs jordan to get a ring!!! Lebron is a bum reguardless of being clutch or being who he really is” lechoke”, the guy joined wade, enough said!
In the nba where ” lechoke ” happens!

By: metalhead65

metalhead65 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:21:48 +0000

wasn’t this his second finals he came up short in? I seem to recall him being there with cleveland one year and failing also. oh wait that wasn’t his fault because he did not have a supporting cast right? some things never change.

By: mrblazino

mrblazino — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:35:34 +0000

I seem to remember kobe failing time and time before winning the first championship. Airballing potential game winners, hogging when he should be passing. Hell, even JORDAN had years of failure before winning his first of six. So you lebron haters, just stay tuned. I know you will.

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:11:15 +0000

The reason kobe got swept in the second round is because the nba tryed to let lebron win his first title with the heat since they are trying to pawn him off as the face league,, nba told the lakers to cut the league a break and take a summer off this one time for lebron,, and what does lebron do,,,,,,CHOKE!!!!!!!

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:07:50 +0000

One got 5 rings and the other is 0 for 2 choking down both times, how about that

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:53:21 +0000

@secondominance
Anything other than a championship is meaningless to kobe ask him if lakers last season was a success, he will flip out, but ask sorryass lebron and he will most likely say it was a great season.. Thats the difference between the two mental makeups you understand.

By: david8726

david8726 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:14:19 +0000

LeBron definitely has it in him to make it back to the finals and be clutch in that setting.

In the Eastern Conference playoffs, he was as clutch as it gets in beating Boston and Chicago. Those were pressure packed, meaningful games. And he came through.

But then he couldn’t do it in these finals.

But that doesn’t mean he CAN’T do it in the future.

Dirk Nowitzki famously failed in the 2006 finals, and laid a huge egg in the 2007 playoffs whne he got bounced as a #1 seed. And what did the guy do? He licked his wounds and came back 4 years later, being clutch as hell in the 2011 finals.

If Dirk could do it, LeBron can do it too.

By: Off The Backboard

Off The Backboard — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:22:05 +0000

@secdominance

Kobe is 33, Lebron is in his prime – its unreasonable to expect an old Kobe to carry the Lakers through an entire series at this point in his career. Its not 2006.

By: involvement82

involvement82 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 05:41:12 +0000

Yea yea Kobe got swept in the second round.. Reason being cause of the five championship rings he has weighing him down but this season he will take them off b4 the game so he can earn his sixth and be tied with my man Jordan!!

By: secdominance

secdominance — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 04:26:26 +0000

you mean meaningless games like the Eastern Conference Semis and Eastern Conference Finals which decided who gets to the Finals?

Where was clutch Kobe when he was getting swept in the 2nd Round?

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:39:11 +0000

@musily
Your right, lebron can be clutch sometimes, just in meaningless games mostly,, kobe is just plain second to jordan in history of being clutch in post season, period.

By: Off The Backboard

Off The Backboard — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:37:28 +0000

I’m not trying to suggest that Kobe is ALWAYS clutch – of course he’s not. But clutchness is not defined by advanced stats like guys like Henry Abbott want you to think. When you actually watch the stretch of games in the Finals, you can easily tell if a player is folding under the pressure or living up to the pressure, and minus 2004, Kobe Bryant has risen when his team has needed him (Game 7 in 2010 was an anomaly compared to the other 6 games). On the other hand, Lebron disappeared before our very own eyes in almost every season that he’s played high-stakes in the playoffs and he was not the underdog.

And please don’t blame it on his supporting cast, even in Cleveland. I loved how people praise Lebron if Cleveland won, but blamed the supporting cast if they lost.

By: diablito0402

diablito0402 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:35:02 +0000

Funny, i see one guy taking over games and taking over 4th quarters in the finals, and i see one guy year in and year out fading and just plain dissapearing in the most important moments in 4th quarters in the post season, i wonder which is lebron and which is kobe,,, CLEVER!!!!

By: Off The Backboard

Off The Backboard — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:32:41 +0000

But here’s the thing though – Lebron DID choke. People aren’t overhyping it because they dislike Lebron – he legit disappeared in the Finals the moment Dallas put up a fight. Like much of his career, when another team has been able to stand up to his, Lebron folds. When the other team is weak (regular season), he’s “clutch”, etc. Well, even Vince Carter is clutch during the regular season (check his numbers), its what you do when it counts the most that is most important. When the stakes were the highest, Lebron folded. You can badmouth Kobe all you want, but when the stakes have been the highest (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010), he’s been strong enough to lead his team to victory WHEN IT COUNTS.

By: musilly

musilly — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:39:00 +0000

And in keeping with the tone of the article, whether one “buys” my comment will likely have more to do with how you feel about Kobe and Lebron respectively and how you feel *I* feel about them.

By: musilly

musilly — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:37:42 +0000

No, it’s clever because Kobe chokes more than his reputation for clutch-ness suggests, and Lebron is more clutch than his reputation for choking would allow.

By: gridirongoon24

gridirongoon24 — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:57:20 +0000

Kobe and Lebron pictured above in an article about clutchness (Kobe) and choking (Lebron) … Clever lol