Lebron James is finished, the Hawks can take the East.

[Hawkmoor]

Im i the only one who has noticed that Lebron is finished?  Dude has almost ZERO perimeter game now. I first noticed it against the Hawks.  This is why he whined and got Cleveland to bring in J.R. Smith last year. Dude never really did have a consistent jump shot, now its total garbage. I looked at his shot chart from this past regular season. Lebron took a whopping  681 shots at the basket. Im talking right AT the basket, not 5 feet, AT THE BASKET. ( dunks, layups).   Lets compare that to the other small forwards in the top 10 of NBA scoring this past season.  Paul George took 285 shots at the basket.   Kevin Durant took 340 shots at the basket.  Heck, i think its safe to say that NO OTHER small forward took as many shots at the basket as Lebron James did last year.

This is a major reason WHY i cant stand the NBA.  They know if they stop the Lebron James bullrushes to the rim, he would drop from 24 points to around 15 points a game.  Cant market him as the " king" in that scoring range.........lmao.

This brings me to Atlanta. Golden State and Toronto showed ( biyembo) that all you got to do is get physical with Lebron.  The refs cant save him if you throw waves of bangers at him, which the Hawks will be able to do if they keep their frontcourt intact and add Noel. ( moose can go, and splitter if need be for salary space.)  I honestly believe if the Hawks do that, they can take the East next year. I have confidence they will find a scorer at the two or three to compliment what they would be able to achieve upfront. 

Lebron is finished. It doesnt take long in the NBA for the skills to go, and i already see it with him.

[benhillboy]

LeBron is indeed a shell of his mid-2000's self.  One year in Miami he led the league in catch and shoot efficiency and buried the Spurs in Game 7 from the perimeter.

I thought how you did coming into the playoffs, thinking Detroit would rough them up and grab a game or 2, but he was still good enough to lead a chemistry-starved and defensively-challenged team to a sweep over them and us.  If he stays in the East he's still the best player by a wide margin over Butler and George.  He's 250 pounds but handles like an All-Star PG.  Getting to the rim is his bread and butter and will be for some time regardless of the career-long wear-and-tear pacing plan he's now on (and half the damn NBA).

Hopefully a GS gentleman's sweep will put the pressure on him to head West for even more assistance to winning a ring than having the largest payroll of "talent" in one of the most desolate cities in f&@kin America.  We might start hearing Clippers rumors soon.  

Leaving Pat was silly in hindsight, but LeBron has to be The Don and Riles ain't having that.  He'll have LeBron knocked off before he concedes any power.

Edited June 5, 2016 by benhillboy

[Mdizzle5]

Not quite. We wouldn't get past Toronto. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

52 minutes ago, Hawkmoor said:

Im i the only one who has noticed that Lebron is finished?  Dude has almost ZERO perimeter game now. I first noticed it against the Hawks.  This is why he whined and got Cleveland to bring in J.R. Smith last year. Dude never really did have a consistent jump shot, now its total garbage. I looked at his shot chart from this past regular season. Lebron took a whopping  681 shots at the basket. Im talking right AT the basket, not 5 feet, AT THE BASKET. ( dunks, layups).   Lets compare that to the other small forwards in the top 10 of NBA scoring this past season.  Paul George took 285 shots at the basket.   Kevin Durant took 340 shots at the basket.  Heck, i think its safe to say that NO OTHER small forward took as many shots at the basket as Lebron James did last year.

This is a major reason WHY i cant stand the NBA.  They know if they stop the Lebron James bullrushes to the rim, he would drop from 24 points to around 15 points a game.  Cant market him as the " king" in that scoring range.........lmao.

This brings me to Atlanta. Golden State and Toronto showed ( biyembo) that all you got to do is get physical with Lebron.  The refs cant save him if you throw waves of bangers at him, which the Hawks will be able to do if they keep their frontcourt intact and add Noel. ( moose can go, and splitter if need be for salary space.)  I honestly believe if the Hawks do that, they can take the East next year. I have confidence they will find a scorer at the two or three to compliment what they would be able to achieve upfront. 

Lebron is finished. It doesnt take long in the NBA for the skills to go, and i already see it with him.

Would you trade anyone on the Hawks to obtain Lebron?

[JTB]

Good post I like where you are going with this and you make solid points but as long as the league (NBA front office) markets lebron he's going to continue to go right through the east as much as I hate the guys basketball game in general the east is pretty damn easy for him. 

I agree we probably could get more bangers to go at him and atleast be a huge challenge in a series but the NBA will find a way to allow lebron to advance. But his days of going through the east are getting shorter that's for sure.

[Diesel]

As Lebron is able to act as GM of his team and the league allows his team to get whoever they need.. They will be dominant in the East.

Don't be fooled, there's a whole lot of folks hoping that Lebron can win the title in Cleveland this year so that it will take the stranglehold off of the East.   There's not a 30/30 talking about Cleveland Being the losingness city for nothing.  Lebron didn't leave and Clevleand just so happened to get 3 1st pick overalls.   The League wants Cleveland to win a CHIP so that it will have to stop giving Lebron everything he wants.   And Stop turning a blind eye to his steroid use.

I give Lebron 3 more seasons before he calls it a career.

 

 

[Hawkmoor]

58 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

Would you trade anyone on the Hawks to obtain Lebron?

Funny you said that. IF Sap got the protection from the refs that Lebron does, i would take Sap RIGHT NOW because of Lebron's diminished game.  Give Sap the SAME protection and with Sap's perimeter game, i would take him right now over Lebron. Again, i say this ONLY because i see that Lebron's perimeter game is gone.  Golden State, i been saying 6, but this might not go past 5 games.  Lebron is finished.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Hawkmoor

[hawkrule152]

LBJ is finished? You are making this post as he finished Game 1 of the finals only 1 assist off of a triple double.  Who cares if his outside game isnt like Durants or Currys. He is strong enough to drive in and get anything he wants in the paint. He draws so much attention that he can drive in every single time and kick it out to a wide open guy for 3. I do not root for the guy one single bit, but the East will continue to be his for the next 3-4 years.

Edited June 5, 2016 by hawkrule152

[Trout7]

He probably will keep ruling the east for 3 or 4 years, but it is so sweet seeing him keep getting his ass kicked by the west.

[Thomas]

10 minutes ago, Trout7 said:

He probably will keep ruling the east for 3 or 4 years, but it is so sweet seeing him keep getting his ass kicked by the west.

Yeah, watching him not hold a trophy is like roundball Nirvana or something.

[Guest]

I hate LeTurd as much as the next guy but please stop the crazy talk.  If this is LBJ finished, I'll  still trade anyone on this Hawks team for him.

It's  gotta be the offseason - I'm  ready for Summer League.

[Alex]

Lebron was finished against the Hawks too?  I am a Lebron hater too, but he's still at worst a top 3 overall player in the league.  He knows whenever he barrels into the lane that he's getting a call, making a basket, or both.  The way to play against him is with great team defense.  Something Golden State did in game 1.  

[Lurker]

16 minutes ago, Alex said:

Lebron was finished against the Hawks too?

This story is already pretty well known with the Hawks. The defensive scheme they had hid a lot of problems that was going to be exposed against them. No big small forward and no shot blocker that strikes fear into LeBron severely compromises the defense and they have two choices against that kind of team. Pack the paint and live with a lot of 3's being taken, just contest as best as you can (this part did not happen for the most part), or guard the perimeter and leave the paint open.

For Toronto, what helped them is Biyombo was fearless and WANTED to meet LeBron at the rim.

For Golden State, what helped them is they too have those shotblockers and they have several big bodies to throw at LeBron.

At the very least, if you think the Hawks can beat LeBron without a star's presence (this is very doubtful), you need a paint presence that actually scares him and at least two big bodies at small forward.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Lurker

[MaceCase]

"All Shaq can do is dunk!  He has NO SKILLS you force him out the paint and he has nothing!  He's finished!  LMBAO"

 

 

 

Did I nail the style right?

[ViewsFromTheSquawk]

Excellent point. That's why I'm loving this Noel/Teague deal. It would make us a tougher/younger team. Then if you sign one of them GSW's wings in the offseason (Iggy/Barnes) then we'd be really cooking with gas to run this conference. 

[ViewsFromTheSquawk]

I mean honestly the creator of this thread has excellent points. The teams that usually challenge Lebron is the physical ones with the shot blockers. 

 

Pacers=Roy Hibbert

Raptors=Biyombo

Spurs=Duncan/Splitter

GSW=Varejao/Bogut/Ezeli

Bulls=Noah

[TheNorthCydeRises]

30 minutes ago, MaceCase said:

"All Shaq can do is dunk!  He has NO SKILLS you force him out the paint and he has nothing!  He's finished!  LMBAO"

 

 

 

Did I nail the style right?

Pretty much.

[benhillboy]

2 hours ago, ViewsFromTheSquawk said:

I mean honestly the creator of this thread has excellent points. The teams that usually challenge Lebron is the physical ones with the shot blockers. 

 

Pacers=Roy Hibbert

Raptors=Biyombo

Spurs=Duncan/Splitter

GSW=Varejao/Bogut/Ezeli

Bulls=Noah

And half of those guys aren't  very good.  Can't forget Chandler, too.  It's actually amazing that his teams are usually outclassed in the Finals.  

LeBron is fortunate to be playing in the current financial climate.  Most  aspiring billionaires under 40 at least dropped out of the Ivy League.  But he is quite unlucky to have allegiance to a city that is very undesirable as a living destination for FAs.  Even more unlucky that his peak years intersected with the end (?) of the Spurs Dynasty overlapping the start of the Warriors'.  

How ironic is it for the greatest passing forward of All-Time to suffer possibly 4 Finals losses to the best passing teams we've seen?  He belongs on those teams more than anyone.  Could he tuck tail, forgo millions, and join either one of them?  With the total disregard the millennial superstars have for the Generation X'ers Style of building a unique, single-team legacy, it wouldn't surprise me.

Edited June 5, 2016 by benhillboy

[Hawkmoor]

Like i said....................lmao

[MaceCase]

7 hours ago, ViewsFromTheSquawk said:

I mean honestly the creator of this thread has excellent points. The teams that usually challenge Lebron is the physical ones with the shot blockers. 

 

Pacers=Roy Hibbert

Raptors=Biyombo

Spurs=Duncan/Splitter

GSW=Varejao/Bogut/Ezeli

Bulls=Noah

Honestly, no.  that's the overly simplistic view much like it's overly simplistic to say "all you need to stop All Time Hall Of Famer X is Y".   If it was so easy how come they became All Time Hall of Famers then?  LeBron has had the most trouble going against the teams more talented and balanced than his, period.

 

Let's just overlook All World perimeter defender Paul George not only making LeBron's life hell on offense while nearly matching him point for point on defense and give credit to soon to be out the league  Hibbert.

let's also continue the most overrated two game sample of Biyombo's career.  LeBron shot 62% against the Raptors, yes, 62 fricking percent.  What, did Biyombo hold him below 100% shooting?

Both the Spurs and Warriors went small against LeBron.  The Spurs had DPOY winner and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in addition to Diaw becoming the 6'8" reincarnation of Bill Walton and Hakeem Olajuwon.  The Warriors moving Bogut to the bench and starting  Finals MVP and All League defender Iguodala is what turned their previous series around against the Cavs.

The Bulls never challenged LeBron outside of the media trying to prop them up but they still had All World defenders in Deng and Butler on the perimeter, the latter of which was able to duplicate some of what Paul George was able to do.

Dallas had the perfect storm of squeezing the last bit of juice out of Deshawn Stevenson and Shaw Marion while forcing LeBron to guard Jason Terry's reincarnation of prime Joe Dumars.

 

To say a player that is still better than 99% of the league is done is asinine much like it's equally asinine to say that one singular ingredient has been all it takes to make LeBron wake up in night sweats.

 

 

oh and I forgot 

 

LMAO