[Brandon]

LeBron doesn't have shit for players. They won 66 games because of him.. and it was an amazing feat to do that much with this group of scrubs. Anyone who believes these players are good needs to go back and check the depth chart..

He's also 24. LOL @ him 'never winning a championship'.. MJ didn't win until he was 28 and had Pippen.

LeBron averaged 40ppg, 8ast, 8rebounds in this series. What the hell more was he supposed to do? He also shot over 50% from the field.. He MADE his shots.. the others didn't.. its amazing he even averaged 8 assists with how horrible they were. He set them up for open looks the entire series.

Ask his teammates if LeBron is a leader. They love him.

[Celtics_Own]

Just because someone is loved, doesn't make him a good leader. He isn't the leadership type in my mind. He needs someone like a Pippen or someone that can help him lead because he can't do it himself. Paul Pierce was never a great leader either he needed Antoine back in the day. I mean, its weird comparing Lebron to Paul Pierce and Antoine wasn't a great player, but Lebron needs someone like Antoine Walker. He needs someone like Pippen. But he had the players he needed to make it to the finals IMO. I think it was just because they played Orlando. No one could Guard Rashard and Dwight. Expecting Big Z To guard Dwight is a little crazy. I dno, I really still am not set that Lebron can lead a team by himself. He can carry a team with his skill, I just don't know if he can lead it by himself. He had the players, he didn't have the leadership.

And one player doesn't get you 66 wins. One player can't do that. He had the pieces to win a championship, the defense was amazing the whole year, they just couldn't carry that into the playoffs. The players they needed to show up to win a championship didn't. I am going to say it again, they had the team to do it, but they just couldn't. Lebron has one more chance, I think he can do it with this team. He just needs to get everyone on the same page.

[Brandon]

What is wrong with you? They didn't play well against the Lakers or the Magic in the regular season either..

I don't know where you're getting this idea that they should have won the championship. They won 66 games because they beat all the teams they are supposed to beat.. They didn't have many letdown games against the shitty teams.. but when it came to the quality teams, they didn't play well.

[Celtics_Own]

Yeah well I still see the fact that Lebron could have won a Championship this year. I am not saying that would have, but this was his best chance at getting one. I always said that the Cavs would lose to the Lakers in the finals. But everyone else disagreed with me. I want to know why everyone thought Lebron was going to win a championship this year. Because now all these people are saying that he wasn't going to win it when before he lost, all these people said he was going to win it. I might not be making sense, but so many people said Lebron was going to win it all with Mo, but now that they lost, people are saying he didn't have the pieces. I want to know why. I still haven't gotten that question answered.

[Dj1223]

Originally Posted by Celtics_Own
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Yeah well I still see the fact that Lebron could have won a Championship this year. I am not saying that would have, but this was his best chance at getting one. I always said that the Cavs would lose to the Lakers in the finals. But everyone else disagreed with me. I want to know why everyone thought Lebron was going to win a championship this year. Because now all these people are saying that he wasn't going to win it when before he lost, all these people said he was going to win it. I might not be making sense, but so many people said Lebron was going to win it all with Mo, but now that they lost, people are saying he didn't have the pieces. I want to know why. I still haven't gotten that question answered.

If they had the pieces needed to win a championship around Lebron, then they would not have just gotten eliminated. On the offensive side, Besides Lebron, only Mo Williams and Delonte West can contribute on a consistent basis. Defensively, their post players lack agility and atheleticism and their guards are small compared to the rest of the league(besides a few teams). They need to get bigger and add another threat offensively and defensively in the post. Until they do that, they will struggle against bigger teams

[Rated-RKO-Franklin]

Well the Cavs need to give LeBron help and fast. If he does not get help next year I'm sure he will be gone. I think a good player who is a free agent will be The BirdMan Anderson. He could be a great starter for them and will bring them energy. They also need a Six Man! They do not have any relyable bench players at all. They have no depth in that team.

The Cavs also need a coach with a brain. Mike Brown is the Eric Mangini of the NBA. Dumbass. His bad game plan cost the Cavs a chance at The Finals.

[Necro]

Nelson to play in NBA Finals

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orlando Magic players say Jameer Nelson will play in the NBA Finals, even though the All-Star point guard and his coach remain publicly pessimistic.

Nelson participated in a full team practice Tuesday for the first time since tearing the labrum in his right shoulder Feb. 2. While Nelson and coach Stan Van Gundy still said the point guard's status won't be determined until game day, players said Nelson looked "terrific" and expect him to be on the court against the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I expect to see him out there at some point in the series," backup point guard Anthony Johnson said.

Nelson had what was then called season-ending surgery Feb. 19. Nelson's rehabilitation was supposed to take at least another two months.

Game 1 of the Finals is Thursday night in Los Angeles, and healed or not, Nelson wants to play.

"I'm not saying I'm any tougher or stronger than anybody, but I've been known to do some amazing things sometimes," Nelson said Tuesday, again lobbying for playing time.

Magic general manager Otis Smith had repeatedly said Nelson will not play again this season. But he recanted his comments Monday and said a quicker recovery and the chance of winning a championship has forced him to at least take a look at Nelson

"It's still no in my mind," Smith said. "There's a very smidgen of a chance he can play."

That "smidgen" seems to be growing.

Nelson has been playing full-court games and practicing in non-contact drills for the last two weeks. Tuesday, he participated in every drill.

Players said Nelson wasn't in his All-Star form, but even not completely healthy, he was better than most NBA point guards.

"He was terrific," Magic forward Mickael Pietrus said. "Hopefully, he will play and can help us win."

Starting point guard Rafer Alston expressed similar optimism.

"I was going to try to run him ragged out there, but I didn't want to cross him over," Alston said. "He did cross me over a couple times."

The Lakers are preparing as if Nelson will play -- and for good reason.

Orlando was 2-0 against Los Angeles this season. Nelson was Orlando's leading scorer in both those games, averaging 27.5 points.

And with the Lakers' troubles guarding point guards in the postseason, they're not taking any chances.

"He's a terrific player. He's really come on a lot in the last year as a player," Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "Someone's got to play that position and we have to match whatever happens there. He has the speed and intelligence to play that position very well for that team."

Nelson has been trying to convince the Magic for a chance at playing since the playoffs began, with each round the team advances the idea -- and the talk -- of him returning grows.

For the Lakers, Nelson is just one more offensive weapon they have to worry about.

"They add another scorer," Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant said. "They have a team full of them, but he is another player you're going to have to deal with on defense."

The Magic's title hopes seemingly took a major hit after Nelson was injured. A trade-deadline deal that brought Alston from Houston largely saved the Magic's season, allowing the rotation to remain the same and Johnson to continue to provide solid play as Alston's backup.

The Magic are hoping Nelson can only add to that success.

Van Gundy, perhaps trying to keep his coaching strategy a secret, again expressed doubt Tuesday whether Nelson could seriously return for the Finals. But he also said that even if Nelson doesn't play in Game 1, he could play later in the series.

"He was OK," Van Gundy said, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll have to wait and see."

[Necro]

Bosh won't extend deal before 2010

TORONTO -- Chris Bosh doesn't plan to sign a contract extension with the Toronto Raptors this summer and is preparing to become a free agent at the end of next season.

Bosh is in the final year of a deal that will pay him $15.7 million. While Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo has spoken optimistically in the past about signing Bosh to an extension this summer, Bosh said that isn't his intention. He said leaving his status up in the air could actually help both himself and the Raptors, who missed the playoffs this season with a 33-49 record.

"[When] I signed a three-year [extension in 2006]... I had a goal in mind, and that was to put myself in the best position [in 2010] ... I'm thinking I just want to stick to my goal, stick to what I was doing," Bosh told reporters. "That's a part of the plan ... I just want to address things [after] next season. There's a reason why I did things the way I did them back then."

Should Bosh become a free agent in 2010, he'll join a crop of players that could include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash.

Bosh is gone. Not shocking.

[Freak]

I still don't think this rules out the possibility of him re-signing in Toronto, since I believe they can still offer him more money than any other team, but if I were Colangelo I'd be looking into every option available right now -- and that means listening hard to every trade offer out there.

I'd start by seeing what the Bobcats want for Jeff Green (who apparently doesn't mesh well with Durant) and the #3 pick (used on Ricky Rubio, if I know BC), and see if Bosh would be enough. Then, if you like Rubio enough, move Calderon for a shooting guard or use the money you saved on Bosh to go sign a guy like Ben Gordon. Or, use that money to overpay someone like Paul Milsap.

[Toaster Oven]

Originally Posted by Freak
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I still don't think this rules out the possibility of him re-signing in Toronto, since I believe they can still offer him more money than any other team, but if I were Colangelo I'd be looking into every option available right now -- and that means listening hard to every trade offer out there.

I'd start by seeing what the Bobcats want for Jeff Green (who apparently doesn't mesh well with Durant) and the #3 pick (used on Ricky Rubio, if I know BC), and see if Bosh would be enough. Then, if you like Rubio enough, move Calderon for a shooting guard or use the money you saved on Bosh to go sign a guy like Ben Gordon. Or, use that money to overpay someone like Paul Milsap.

Thunder <,<