Comments on: Why you should and should not care about LeBron’s whole “passing in the clutch” thing

By: gmsingh

gmsingh — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:33:28 +0000

Lebron is the antithesis of Michael Jordan: Jordan was the most competitive guy ever with exceptional skills, and Lebron is the least competitive guy ever with exceptional skills.

By: 16x8equal49ers

16x8equal49ers — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:22:27 +0000

Im with Lebron on this one I mean Haslem was wide open with an open lane, you always go to the unguarded man. I can’t wait untill this guy wins a championship so people/media will lay to rest, (MJ won @ 28) he’ll have to get pass my Bulls 1st though hehe.

By: cantonbound13

cantonbound13 — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:18:46 +0000

LeBron, Wade & Bosh had planned to join forces well before they reached free agency. Do you realize LeBron applied for a number change while still playing with the Cavs because the number 23 was retired by the Heat. He also met with Riley while with the Cavs. He clearly knew he couldn’t lead a team to a championship & sought out 2 of the top 10 players in the league. He is truely a coward!

By: Awol.West

Awol.West — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:38:40 +0000

This is a must read about LeBron James in the clutch

http://awolwest.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/lebron-james-in-the-clutch/

By: gmsingh

gmsingh — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:38:34 +0000

And yet there are “pundits” that say LeBron is in the running for MVP. When did MVP come to mean “most likely to help the team lose a game”?

By: ceschatz

ceschatz — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:02:34 +0000

You lebron haters are pathetic. The guy is the best all around player in the NBA and you crucify him for making the smart play while he was double teamed? Jealousy sure does make you people say some pretty stupid things and completely make yourselves look like idiots. Thanks for the laughs though.

By: tyronebrown

tyronebrown — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:42:05 +0000

Great article! Those are my sentiments exactly. People act as if Lebron James is playing by himself. The man is on the same level as the greatest players in history and all he ever gets is criticized. If he shoots and misses be can’t handle the pressure. If he passes to a wide open man he can’t handle the pressure and for some reason dwade gets a free pass…whether he is fouling or dribbling the ball out of bounds no one says a word. The writer is correct, it says more about who we are than Lebron James.

By: scoregasmic

scoregasmic — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:28:43 +0000

Is it just me or were both the “why we should and why we should not care” really just why we shouldn’t care

By: bobthis

bobthis — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 15:01:52 +0000

There is an undefined quality that it takes to be a champion. Lebron does not have it.

By: bobthis

bobthis — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:58:47 +0000

You could have said all that in one sentence. Way too long.

By: berbes

berbes — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:35:21 +0000

he has nuts???

By: berbes

berbes — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:33:09 +0000

or at least kurt would be.

By: passerby23

passerby23 — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:53:49 +0000

No one is blaming Lebron for erasing an 18-point deficit, this is about the end of the game and what a closer is supposed to do. The problem isn’t the pass per se, it’s as if he doesn’t want to take the shot that almost certainly would’ve presented itself. One more aggressive dribble and pull-up and the shot was there, but it was clear he was timing the defense to collapse so he could pass it to someone else. And you can always fall back on “Well, he was open, it was the better basketball play” but I’m not buying it.

Why do offensive sets go out the window at the end of the game? Because they don’t matter. It’s all about giving the ball to your best player and asking him to create a play or make the shot himself.

As I mentioned further down, it’s also easy to look good making plays when you’re down 20 when you’re playing loose. Not only that, but you kind of have to play harder just to get back in the game.

The thing for me is Lebron looks as if he doesn’t want to be that guy. He seems to want the escape valve to say something like “I trust my teammates to make those shots” or “it was the smarter play.”

By: rabbiart

rabbiart — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:00:56 +0000

You don’t put up the line that President Johnson did in the 4th quarter, including the totally ridiculous 3-pointer that went straight to the bottom of the net, and then dish the final shot to the 4th best option on the floor that can’t remember the last time he shot the ball. You just don’t!

By: rabbiart

rabbiart — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 01:57:56 +0000

Against LA, the Bulls did not win because Jordan passed to Paxson in the final seconds. Paxson was on fire and Jordan dished him the rock repeatedly for open jumpers in the corner. Watch clips of the 4Q huddle and you’ll see the ZenMaster telling Jordan to give it to Pax. Title 5 was won on a last second dish to Kerr. Watch the clip and you’ll see Jordan on the bench telling Kerr he’s dropping the dime to him when the double team comes.

Also… for whatever reason, Jordan’s teammates made the big last second shot. President Johnson (the original LBJ for you young-uns) seems to have a knack for giving it to the wrong guy.

By: slowclyde86

slowclyde86 — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:46:27 +0000

This post is spot on.

By: metalhead65

metalhead65 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:50:23 +0000

the funny thing about this lebron worship site is had he taken the all star game shot and made it or last night’s shot the headline would have delared how he was now the most clutch player in the game and that that he had proven the haters all wrong. if ever does hit a one of those he will still not be a clutch player until he is like Jordan or Bird or Kobe who did and do it on a regular basis.

By: md23rewlz

md23rewlz — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:18:06 +0000

Ah, good to see this old argument rear its ugly head again. Hello, old argument. I welcome your return. So if Deron Williams goes to Dallas, he’s a coward? What about if Dwight Howard goes to LA? What about Wade, who actively recruited James? As a Mavs fan, I can only hope that Williams and/or Howard are cowardly enough to become BFFs with Dirk. I can only hope.

By: md23rewlz

md23rewlz — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:06:48 +0000

Oh so many things wrong with this. First, semantics level thing that I must get out of the way because such things annoy me–”linsanity” is a media coined term that has literally no influence on the game of basketball. “linsanity” can no more “take and make” the last shot than the futon on which I am currently lying on can, because “linsanity” is not a human being, does not have an NBA contract, and does not tangibly exist. Moving on to actual points now, Jeremy Lin is the point guard of the Knicks and more likely to pass than almost anybody on that team. Jeremy Lin is not the best player on that team and SHOULD be passing. I would rather have Carmelo Anthony with the ball in his hands because he is a better offensive player than Jeremy Lin, and not just better, but better by a wide margin. Or to put it another way, if, in some bizarre alternate universe, LeBron and Lin are on the same team and there’s one possession left, does any rational human being actually say that they would prefer that JEREMY LIN have the ball over LeBron James? I don’t care if James ends up passing, shooting, driving, whatever. Do you know what other teams would think in this alternate universe? “Thank God Jeremy Lin is going to determine this game, and not the best basketball player on the face of the planet.” Final possessions get so many highlights and such hype, but they are also extremely isolated and almost impossible to draw conclusions from. In the past, LeBron James has hit last second shots to win games, missed last second shots to lose games, made passes to win them, made passes that resulted in losses, and everything in between. People who hate LeBron are always going to remember the botched ones, people who love him will always remember the successful ones. That’s just how human nature works. You selectively enforce your own view by remembering only the things that back up your view, until, in your mind, there’s no way to see it otherwise. Long story short, “linsanity” can’t take shots because it does not actually exist. The end.

By: lucky5934

lucky5934 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 21:47:25 +0000

This is more than being a choker. Lebron is lazy without the ball. Their is no he is standing on the outside waiting for the ball. As someone said earlier in this post, he is not a great shooter. And with the talent around him, there is no reason why he can’t receive some decent post up or driving opportunities. But the fact is he doesn’t move much without the ball. He doesn’t work hard at all to get that open look in his comfort zone. Then he is outside of his shooting comfort zone and chickens out on the shot. If he was smart, he would pay Reggie Miller to help him with that, as Miller was one of the all time best of moving without the ball. However, Miller had the heart and desire to get open and take those clutch shots. Lebron, as gifted as he is physically, lacks the heart and desire to take his game to the next level. Above all else, he is complacent. Which in my opinion is much worse than being a choker.

By: passerby23

passerby23 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:25:27 +0000

You should care about this because:

It’s indicative of a larger trend of Lebron not wanting to take the big risk when it counts. MJ and Kobe passed to open players because they were double-teamed and HAD to pass them the ball, which made it a better basketball play. Until you HAVE TO give it up, when the ball is in your hands at the end of the game, the team’s closer is to look to score. Lebron was looking for the defense to collapse on him so he could kick it out to someone else.

Another reason why you should care:

Nobody ever discredits Lebron’s gaudy stat lines and ability to make great plays. He could go for 50, 20, and 20. Nobody is disputing that greatness. This is all about the end of the game when the big shot matters, where championships are won and lost.

Yet another reason why you should care:

Lebron’s microscope would be a lot smaller had he not brought this on himself. He joined with superstars. He promised multiple championships (which means making clutch plays when they count). He danced around at a pep rally.

It’s easy to play loose and make shots when you’re down 20 because you don’t have much left to lose at that point. It’s when things tighten up and you’re paid the big bucks to make the big plays that people care about. Nobody is asking Eddy Curry to make the game-ending shot. If he was making $15 million more, the expectations would be a little higher.

By: lameasish

lameasish — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:10:00 +0000

You people are completely lame and bitter. IT WAS the right thing to do, what about wade’s missed free throw, what about wade’s stupid fouls? He’s a coward? I would say the guy behind a keyboard is the coward. I guess all he had to do is shoot right?, and if he missed then what? Everyone would be saying he should have passed. How can you go though life caring so much about another man? The last thing I will say is, “bench him at the end of the game” whoever said that has no business making comments. He drew two defenders and passed to a WIDE open guy, ya LeBron really lost the game and should not have been out there. Keep hating boys buy try not to be obsessed over another man, seems kind of…

By: kinggw

kinggw — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:06:23 +0000

Or if he made the free throw before that possession, that would have given the Heat a 3 point lead.

By: alfiemonstaa

alfiemonstaa — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:06:15 +0000

You guys get off lebrons nutts!

By: bearsstillsuck

bearsstillsuck — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:44:30 +0000

Lebron is a choker, always will be. I dont get why they just dont bench him at the end of a game. At this point in his career, he knows his strengths and weaknesses, and theres nothing wring with admitting you cant do it. But is it this sites job to protect him?

By: addictedzone

addictedzone — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:34:49 +0000

You’re right Matt

35 point, 10 boards, 6 assists, 0 turnovers… the most dominant performance in the NBA on the day. That’s who LeBron James is.

Finding fault with that performance, that’s who the nattering nabobs of negativism are.

By: pistolpete0903

pistolpete0903 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:31:19 +0000

Will keep this objective.
Let’s face it, LBJ has never been a good SHOOTER (I am not saying he has to be Ray Allen good, but more like Kobe and MJ good). I reckon he is a better player than both of them while driving to the hoop. Good decision on his part, bad on Haslem that he didn’t make it.
LBJ better improve on his jump shot to keep defenses honest; at some point he has to make shots (read jump shots) in the clutch. Barring the playoff series against Detroit and Boston (few years ago), he never helped his cause as a choker.

By: cumonkbe

cumonkbe — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:24:59 +0000

Seriously,
You guys want to blame on the guy that erased the 18 pts lead and gave the team the chance to win the game because he has basketball iq, passing up to his teammate when he was doubled team and trusts his teammate?

You guys would be whinning if he had jacked up the shot over two defenders while his teammate was wide opened.

Basketball is a team basketball and if you play basketball you know that you cannot win all by yourself.

Miami should have benched dwade on defense for fouling Harris beyond the 3pt line. Wade is not a rookie and should know that you cannot jumb INTO a defender when he is going up for a shot.

If the had benched wade on defense after that play, Harris would not have earned that bonus point at the line.

If wade cannot control his momentum then he should raise his hands up and obstruct the shooter view of the basketball, instead of diving right into the defender.

By: cantonbound13

cantonbound13 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:36:17 +0000

Miami’s paying this guy $120 million and he can’t take or make a game winning shot? Suckers!!!!

By: atom665

atom665 — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:03:55 +0000

It’s simple. He’s afraid to shoot that shot. It was not the right play. He was open enough to get a good look. He should of just took himself out. Why even be on the court.