Should Bran REALLY get a pass for his '07 Finals Performance?

[PsychoBe]

game 1:

bran and his team cut down a 17-point deficit in the 4th into single digits.

ginobili hits a pair of free throws and bran commits a crucial turnover with 2:13 left to go in the 4th.

his team never recovered.

bran only scored 6 points on back to back three points in the entire quarter.

game 2:

again, bran and his "worst ever finals team" cut down a 17-point deficit in the 4th into single digits.

bran makes a three-point play and cuts the lead down to just 8 with 4:53 left in the quarter.

bran never scored again, and he committed a turnover with just under 3:00 left in the game and his team never fully recovered.

bran scored 8 points in the 4th this game, however, as stated before, when his team was only down eight, he never scored again and he committed a crucial turn over.

game 3:

bran scores 12 points in the 4th, and even brings his team back within 1 point with just 5 seconds remaining.

ginobili is fouled and makes two free throws and now the cavs are down three.

bran misses the 3-point attempt to tie and his team loses.

however, when the cavs were only down 4 with just over 3:00 left in the game. bran missed his next three straight shot attempts (including a bunny from 1ft) and the majority of his points came from the free-throw line (4 total).

game 4:

bran and the cavs come back from an 8 point deficit (62-50) and bran makes two straight shots to give the cavs the lead (60-61) with 7:55 remaining.

bran misses his next two shots, but manages to split a pair of free throws with a little over 5:00 remaining. varaejo makes a bunny and the score is tied (66-66) with 4:15 remaining.

bran took an ill-advised 3-point shot after ginobili's make with just over 4:00 remaining in the 4th. ginobili missed his next shot attempt and bran committed a crucial turnover with just over 2:00 left to play.


he managed to make a three-point shot to help bring his team back within five (74-69) with just 1:35 remaining.

however, on another crucial possession, bran inexplicably lost the ball and committed the worst turnover of the game.

despite his team's best efforts, they never managed to recover.

despite the scoreboard making it seem closer than it appeared to be (83-82) the game was never in doubt due to the fact that time was not on the cavs's side and damon jones made a last second 3-point attempt.

[Ranked 12th]

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2015/10/20/drake-dance/drake-3.w529.h352.gif

WE

STAY

WINNING...

[TheMarkMadsen]

No

people act like the series wasn't winnable which is hilarious

games 3 and 4 were decided by a combined 4 points and Lebron played horrible in both games. He was historically inefficient in game 4 when he became the only player in nba finals history to take 30 or more shots while scoring less than 25 points in the same game

[Ranked 12th]

https://49.media.tumblr.com/34c0b3b42a7ec20035fd410a724727a8/tumblr_mymz3tOsFZ1sqlvl3o1_500.gif

[Showtime2001]

It's just funny to me how idiots will be like it's ok that LeBron choked in the 07' finals because he was only 22.

These same idiots will go on a rampage and criticize a 18 year old rookie Kobe for airballing shots that no one else on the team had the balls to take against a better Jazz team in 97'.

[Horatio33]

I remember Robert Horry saying before the series that LeBron was the head of the snake, and the Spurs would attack him relentlessly when defending him.

He was the 1st, 2nd and 3rd option on that team. Who else was helping him? Boobie Gibson? Big Z? Anderson Varejao? He had an awful team, carried it to the finals. I'm no LeBron Stan. His 2013 finals still gives me nightmares.

[Young X]

He should get more of a pass for the 2014 and 2015 finals than this series. At least in those series he for the most part played solid/well. This series was horrible and alot of the games were still close.

[rmt]

There was no way that Cavs were going to win the 07 Finals. All the Spurs had to do was control Lebron - shadow him with Bowen on the perimeter and close off the paint with Duncan - force him to take contested jump shots. Spurs were too talented, too experienced, too deep, too well-coached, too ... you get the drift.

[Ca$H]

Didn't Kobe murk the same Spurs team the following season in the WCF? Lakers won 4-1.

[Bankaii]

It's just funny to me how idiots will be like it's ok that LeBron choked in the 07' finals because he was only 22.

These same idiots will go on a rampage and criticize a 18 year old rookie Kobe for airballing shots that no one else on the team had the balls to take against a better Jazz team in 97'.
People rampage on Kobe averaging 16 points on 37 points for an entire Finals series while being the same age as Bron except Kobe had the MDE getting tripled.


To OP,
Watching box scores and posting with extreme bias doesn't accurately depict anything.

[ScalsFan21]

How is this still being talked about? Anyone who watched this series knows that winning one game against a team like the Spurs (which came within a bonehead Ginobili defensive play of being in the 3rd leg of a three-peat) with that kind of supporting cast would have been historic. The Spurs don't just blow 17-point leads in back-to-back games without going into cruise control. Up 2-0 on the road of course the Cavs would make the games seem close with their backs up against the wall and Pop and the Spurs realizing just how pathetic a mismatch this series truly was.

Very easy to sit there on basketball reference reading play-by-play and trying to act like games 3 and 4 were winnable for Cleveland.

[ShawkFactory]

No

people act like the series wasn't winnable which is hilarious

games 3 and 4 were decided by a combined 4 points and Lebron played horrible in both games. He was historically inefficient in game 4 when he became the only player in nba finals history to take 30 or more shots while scoring less than 25 points in the same game
Dude, that series was not winnable. A couple games? Sure.

The Spurs just seemed comfortable and didn't even play that well. If the cavs put any type of pressure on them by winning even one game it would have been a different team that you saw. They knew they had the series from the start and it showed with there often lackluster play.

Lebron did he and his team no favors tho.

But even if he plays well..maybe Duncan becomes more focused. Ginobili too. Etc

[warriorfan]

Didn't Kobe murk the same Spurs team the following season in the WCF? Lakers won 4-1.

Yes

[PsychoBe]

Dude, that series was not winnable. A couple games? Sure.

The Spurs just seemed comfortable and didn't even play that well. If the cavs put any type of pressure on them by winning even one game it would have been a different team that you saw. They knew they had the series from the start and it showed with there often lackluster play.

Lebron did he and his team no favors tho.

But even if he plays well..maybe Duncan becomes more focused. Ginobili too. Etc

revisionist history at its finest.

i just showed you proof of how bran's "all-time worst team" cut down two separate 17 point deficits twice in the 4th quarter, and yet he still came up short.

crucial turnovers, crucial misses, etc.

[tmacattack33]

game 1:

bran and his team cut down a 17-point deficit in the 4th into single digits.

ginobili hits a pair of free throws and bran commits a crucial turnover with 2:13 left to go in the 4th.

his team never recovered.

bran only scored 6 points on back to back three points in the entire quarter.

game 2:

again, bran and his "worst ever finals team" cut down a 17-point deficit in the 4th into single digits.

bran makes a three-point play and cuts the lead down to just 8 with 4:53 left in the quarter.

bran never scored again, and he committed a turnover with just under 3:00 left in the game and his team never fully recovered.

bran scored 8 points in the 4th this game, however, as stated before, when his team was only down eight, he never scored again and he committed a crucial turn over.

game 3:

bran scores 12 points in the 4th, and even brings his team back within 1 point with just 5 seconds remaining.

ginobili is fouled and makes two free throws and now the cavs are down three.

bran misses the 3-point attempt to tie and his team loses.

however, when the cavs were only down 4 with just over 3:00 left in the game. bran missed his next three straight shot attempts (including a bunny from 1ft) and the majority of his points came from the free-throw line (4 total).

game 4:

bran and the cavs come back from an 8 point deficit (62-50) and bran makes two straight shots to give the cavs the lead (60-61) with 7:55 remaining.

bran misses his next two shots, but manages to split a pair of free throws with a little over 5:00 remaining. varaejo makes a bunny and the score is tied (66-66) with 4:15 remaining.

bran took an ill-advised 3-point shot after ginobili's make with just over 4:00 remaining in the 4th. ginobili missed his next shot attempt and bran committed a crucial turnover with just over 2:00 left to play.


he managed to make a three-point shot to help bring his team back within five (74-69) with just 1:35 remaining.

however, on another crucial possession, bran inexplicably lost the ball and committed the worst turnover of the game.

despite his team's best efforts, they never managed to recover.

despite the scoreboard making it seem closer than it appeared to be (83-82) the game was never in doubt due to the fact that time was not on the cavs's side and damon jones made a last second 3-point attempt.

Your logic is this: Because Cleveland was able to turn blow outs into single digit games, this means Lebron James played horribly and deserves more blame than he gets.

:biggums:

LOL...as if he wasn't part of the comeback...or as if he wasn't part of the reason that the Spurs only took a 17 point lead in the first place instead of a 35 point lead (which would not have been that surprising if Lebron didn't play).

[ShawkFactory]

revisionist history at its finest.

i just showed you proof of how bran's "all-time worst team" cut down two separate 17 point deficits twice in the 4th quarter, and yet he still came up short.

crucial turnovers, crucial misses, etc.
You're proving my point.

The Spurs played complacently. Those leads were cut down because they went to sleep. They knew they were going to win the series either way.

Lebron doesn't deserve a pass for his performance. But the Spurs were a far better team and if Lebron played better I think that still would have been apparent.

You have Ginobili and Parker basically at their peaks as players, even though Ginobili didn't play well in that series.

Duncan was still a top 3-4 player in the league and still in his prime.

Popovich was still the coach.

It wasn't a winnable series.

[SouBeachTalents]

OP is being disingenuous about how competitive those games in San Antonio were. The Spurs were up double digits until the 2 minute mark of the 4th in Game 1, when the lead was briefly cut to 8, which is as close as the Cavs would get. A similar situation played out in Game 2, the Spurs were up double digits in the 4th until the 5 minute mark, where the Cavs would cut the lead to 8, but would once again get no closer.

Games 3 & 4 were very competitive in the 4th, and as poorly as LeBron may have played, he did have big 4th quarters in both games, scoring 12 & 13 in the 4th in Games 3 & 4.

Did LeBron play poorly? Absolutely, but his team really was overmatched talent & coaching wise

[greatest-ever]

He gets a pass for losing because he had a clearly worse team and was only 22. However, i don't give him a pass for playing like garbage.

[TheMarkMadsen]

Dude, that series was not winnable. A couple games? Sure.

The Spurs just seemed comfortable and didn't even play that well. If the cavs put any type of pressure on them by winning even one game it would have been a different team that you saw. They knew they had the series from the start and it showed with there often lackluster play.

Lebron did he and his team no favors tho.

But even if he plays well..maybe Duncan becomes more focused. Ginobili too. Etc


if Lebron even plays slightly below his normal averages they win games 3 & 4 and anything can happen with the series tied 2-2 and a guaranteed home game still to go

Like I said, he put up 30 shots to get 24 points, had 6 turnovers and his team lost by 1 point.. it's not like these games weren't winnable..

If he plays OK in games 3 & 4 the Cavs go back to Texas and have a chance to win the series and even if they didn't end up winning at least you could say he shocked the spurs by winning b2b games.. which almost happened despite how poorly he played.. you don't get a "doesn't count" pass for that..

who knows what happens if he plays decent in those 2 games in Cleveland

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Never
one of the worst series ever for an alltime great, if not THE worst

[SouBeachTalents]

Never
one of the worst series ever for an alltime great, if not THE worst

His 2011 Finals are considerably worse imo

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

His 2011 Finals are considerably worse imo

07: 22/7/7 in 43 minutes, 6 turnovers a game. 35/20/69 shoot, crap defense
11: 18/7/7 in 43 minutes, 4 turnovers a game. 48/32/60 shoot, meh defense

id take 11. he was more efficient and played better D

[ShawkFactory]

if Lebron even plays slightly below his normal averages they win games 3 & 4 and anything can happen with the series tied 2-2 and a guaranteed home game still to go

Like I said, he put up 30 shots to get 24 points, had 6 turnovers and his team lost by 1 point.. it's not like these games weren't winnable..

If he plays OK in games 3 & 4 the Cavs go back to Texas and have a chance to win the series and even if they didn't end up winning at least you could say he shocked the spurs by winning b2b games.. which almost happened despite how poorly he played.. you don't get a "doesn't count" pass for that..

who knows what happens if he plays decent in those 2 games in Cleveland
Look, I'm really not excusing Lebrons performance. But if the Spurs weren't up 2-0 in a series they were probably going to win from the start, don't you think they would have played a little differently in Cleveland?

Haven't you ever gone a little lax against some guys you knew weren't actually gonna beat you?

They were the better team. By a significant margin.

Lebrons play doesn't change that. Maybe he could have played better, beasted a couple of games, and it would have been over in 6 instead of a sweep.

Either way, it's still 2/6.

[34-24 Footwork]

OP is being disingenuous about how competitive those games in San Antonio were. The Spurs were up double digits until the 2 minute mark of the 4th in Game 1, when the lead was briefly cut to 8, which is as close as the Cavs would get. A similar situation played out in Game 2, the Spurs were up double digits in the 4th until the 5 minute mark, where the Cavs would cut the lead to 8, but would once again get no closer.

Games 3 & 4 were very competitive in the 4th, and as poorly as LeBron may have played, he did have big 4th quarters in both games, scoring 12 & 13 in the 4th in Games 3 & 4.

Did LeBron play poorly? Absolutely, but his team really was overmatched talent & coaching wise

You guys say the same shit every year.

Win= Lebron made his teammates better
Loss= No way Lebrons' team could win against the opposing team


It's literally the SAME excuse over and over and over.

[SouBeachTalents]

You guys say the same shit every year.

Win= Lebron made his teammates better
Loss= No way Lebrons' team could win against the opposing team


It's literally the SAME excuse over and over and over.

You dispute that the Spurs weren't much more talented? And that Pop isn't a significantly better coach than Mike Brown?

[34-24 Footwork]

Good thread, op. I've been saying the same for YEARS. I watched that series ROOTING FOR LEBRON because I hated the Spurs (specifically Ginobli).

Thankfully, Kobe took those boys to the chopping block the following year with relative ease.

[34-24 Footwork]

You dispute that the Spurs weren't much more talented? And that Pop isn't a significantly better coach than Mike Brown?

I'm not disputing that. I'm simply just showing you guys' bias year after year.

That SUPER DUPER SPURS team of 2014 that you guys bragged about being one of the GOAT teams got taken to 7 games by the Mavericks that same post season. No excuses made for Dallas. It's only Lebron's teams that "aren't good enough".

It's just pathetic and a lot you can't see through the mental gymnastics going through your heads to justify lebron's CONSTANT ASS SPANKINGS in the finals.

[pauk]

Lebron at 21 took the worst team to ever be in any Finals EVER through miracles (see especially ECF), it was the worst mismatch in NBA finals history, his best player there was Boobie Gibson... they were not supposed to be there against prime Spurs... even that ECF team they beat (Pistons) would have at least won some games, maybe even the Championship if the Cavs/Lebron didnt get that historically lucky... The magic then ran out or not (it didnt matter against that Spurs) and they/Lebron met on a Spurs team & defense mismatch of epic proportions... they were able to double-triple team Lebron the entire game, if he somehow managed to blow by then he was shaded & trapped by 2-3 Forwards/Centers behind whos all eyes were on only Lebron, which essentially just meant 1 vs 5(11) & chucking longrange jumpers was the only thing avaliable for him, those others scrubs around just stood around him open or not... and bricked... just like the Spurs predicted & exploited...

So ofcourse he underperformed in that Finals... but that was INEVITABLE... thats the point, if you consider the circumstances its not so absurd to think "What other 21 year old in NBA history would do anything better in his shoes or better yet take that team to the Finals?".... If you can answer that objectively, then sure, lets not give him a pass....

Its literally like trying to disregard a Fiat Punto driver who came 2nd in a Formula 1 race... somehow... but it happened.... ofcourse he didnt win.... but come on....

[PsychoBe]

read my post pauk. bran missed three consecutive, crucial shots when his team was down 4 with 3:00 minutes remaining.

his shooting percentages were 35/20/69....

when kobe was bran's age, he carried his team in overtime against the pacers in the finals when shaq was fouled out.

wade was a fmvp when he was virtually the same age as bran (carried his team from behind).

magic johnson won a crucial game 7 without kareem his rookie year to secure the finals

i just want to know once and for all, looking at the games realistically, should bran get a pass for this horrific loss?

try to be objective.

[34-24 Footwork]

Iverosn took the WORST FINALS TEAM EVER to the finals and got 1 win against arguably the BEST TEAM EVER.

He still gets no excuse. But Lebron does.

Let that sink in....

[LAZERUSS]

OP is being disingenuous about how competitive those games in San Antonio were. The Spurs were up double digits until the 2 minute mark of the 4th in Game 1, when the lead was briefly cut to 8, which is as close as the Cavs would get. A similar situation played out in Game 2, the Spurs were up double digits in the 4th until the 5 minute mark, where the Cavs would cut the lead to 8, but would once again get no closer.

Games 3 & 4 were very competitive in the 4th, and as poorly as LeBron may have played, he did have big 4th quarters in both games, scoring 12 & 13 in the 4th in Games 3 & 4.

Did LeBron play poorly? Absolutely, but his team really was overmatched talent & coaching wise

This.

I don't know why this topic continually surfaces here. If anything, it was a miracle that Lebron even carried that pathetic cast of clowns to the Finals.

[34-24 Footwork]

This.

I don't know why this topic continually surfaces here. If anything, it was a miracle that Lebron even carried that pathetic cast of clowns to the Finals.


It's a legitimate conversation....you guys are way too emotionally invested in it.

[Showtime2001]

This.

I don't know why this topic continually surfaces here. If anything, it was a miracle that Lebron even carried that pathetic cast of clowns to the Finals.
Yes it was such a "miracle" that LeBron defeated all time great teams like the 41-41 Wizards/Nets in the first 2 rounds and weak Pistons team without Ben Wallace in the ECF.

:applause:

[LAZERUSS]

Yes it was such a "miracle" that LeBron defeated all time great teams like the 41-41 Wizards/Nets in the first 2 rounds and weak Pistons team without Ben Wallace in the ECF.

:applause:

Please list Lebron's supporting cast.

His second best player was the legendary Larry Hughes, with his 14.9 ppg .400 FG% season.

And that was the regular season.

In the playoffs...Hughes averaged 11.3 ppg on a .347. Their second best player in the post-season was Big Z...at 12.4 ppg.

The fact was, Lebron's best teammates were no better than bench-warmers.

[ballinhun8]

Whobwas Iverson's second best player? Aaron McKie? Raja Bell who was signed that year? Snow? Tyrone Hill??



And he won a game against arguably the best Playoff Team Ever.

[Gileraracer]

Bran is a choker. Water is wet.

[sportjames23]

It's just funny to me how idiots will be like it's ok that LeBron choked in the 07' finals because he was only 22.

These same idiots will go on a rampage and criticize a 18 year old rookie Kobe for airballing shots that no one else on the team had the balls to take against a better Jazz team in 97'.


He ain't lyin.

[Straight_Ballin]

I just love the logic on this board. :banana:

A team was so damn good that they beat everyone in their division but because they happened to play an even better team than them in the finals, they get a free pass for losing. :roll:

Only in the mind of a delusional bran stan.

2/6

[Showtime2001]

Please list Lebron's supporting cast.

His second best player was the legendary Larry Hughes, with his 14.9 ppg .400 FG% season.

And that was the regular season.

In the playoffs...Hughes averaged 11.3 ppg on a .347. Their second best player in the post-season was Big Z...at 12.4 ppg.

The fact was, Lebron's best teammates were no better than bench-warmers.
I never said his team was great.

He played teams in the first 2 rounds that were worse than his and then beat a Pistons team that was done without Ben Wallace.

If anything its more of a "miracle" that Kobe got his team to the playoffs that season.

[pastis]

There was no way that Cavs were going to win the 07 Finals. All the Spurs had to do was control Lebron - shadow him with Bowen on the perimeter and close off the paint with Duncan - force him to take contested jump shots. Spurs were too talented, too experienced, too deep, too well-coached, too ... you get the drift.

the only smart post in this thread

[choppermagic]

It's just funny to me how idiots will be like it's ok that LeBron choked in the 07' finals because he was only 22.

These same idiots will go on a rampage and criticize a 18 year old rookie Kobe for airballing shots that no one else on the team had the balls to take against a better Jazz team in 97'.


Actually i think a lot of people now realize Kobe airballing those shots was an indicator of how frigging fearless he would be in his career

But yeah, Kobe at 22 already had plenty of clutch playoff moments to his resume.

Lebron has a tendency to shrink under pressure. It has surfaced on multiple occassions and 2007 was probably the case.

[34-24 Footwork]

the only smart post in this thread

#1 seed Mavericks getting their shit pushed in by the #8 seed Warriors was the best thing that happened in the playoffs in a long time. I'll never forget that :lol

[riseagainst]

Bran and his stans getting shat on....

[pastis]

#1 seed Mavericks getting their shit pushed in by the #8 seed Warriors was the best thing that happened in the playoffs in a long time. I'll never forget that :lol

hmm. I'll never forget how Kobe chocked the 2004 finals away. I will never forget how LA lakers dropped from being title contender to lottery after shaq left. Missing the playoffs in his prime.
I will never forget that Kobe never lead his team in WS like gasol and ariza did lead the lakers (im not even talking about leading the league in WS and WS/48 like Dirk 3x times) I will never forget how gasol dropped 19/11/2 on over 50% with PER 23 over 2 championshp runs. I will never forget that Kobe always had jackson.

or Duncans 08-09 series and especially 10-11 series:

im quoting Lazeruss


Took his 61-21 team down the toilet in the first round against a 46-36 Memphis team...and in a series in which he averaged 12.7 ppg on a .478 FG%. In the clinching game six loss, he put up 12 points on 5-13 shooting, with 5 TOs.


we both have many thing we will never forget:applause: :applause:

[34-24 Footwork]

hmm. I'll never forget how Kobe chocked the 2004 finals away. I will never forget how LA lakers dropped from being title contender to lottery after shaq left. Missing the playoffs in his prime.
I will never forget that Kobe never lead his team in WS like gasol and ariza did lead the lakers (im not even talking about leading the league in WS and WS/48 like Dirk 3x times) I will never forget how gasol dropped 19/11/2 on over 50% with PER 23 over 2 championshp runs. I will never forget that Kobe always had jackson.

or Duncans 08-09 series and especially 10-11 series:

im quoting Lazeruss




we both have many thing we will never forget:applause: :applause:

Good stuff.

Lol @ Biedrins (no name Scrub) giving Dirk the BUSINESS.

White on White crime of the highest order :applause: :applause:

[Smoke117]

Kobe stans just can't stop obsessing over Lebron...it's hilarious. :lol

[34-24 Footwork]

Kobe stans just can't stop obsessing over Lebron...it's hilarious. :lol

the word "kobe" is in every one of your post :lol

...and that nigguh like 40.

[3ball]

Should a future HOF get a pass for averaging 22 ppg on 35% in a playoff series, while his team loses 4 straight games by single-digits, including 1-possession nail-biters in the last 2 games?

No... obviously not

[Jacks3]

The worst Finals performance of all-time...after his 2011 Finals.

[hiphopfan777]

No way. Easy road to finals. Played old guys in pistons. Wow

[SouBeachTalents]

The worst Finals performance of all-time...after his 2011 Finals.

Kobe's '04 Finals were worse than LeBron's '07

[Ranked 12th]

The worst Finals performance of all-time...after his 2011 Finals.
His 2007 performance was better than more than half of Kobe's finals appearances (2000, 2004, 2008, 2001).


LeBrons worst is almost as good as Kobe's best.

[riseagainst]

Kobe's '04 Finals were worse than LeBron's '07

wasn't Kobe responsible for winning a game against the GOAT defensive team?

how great was the 07 spurs team? No one cares to even mention them, especially when Kobe destroyed them in 08.

:lol

[Papaya Petee]

wasn't Kobe responsible for winning a game against the GOAT defensive team?

how great was the 07 spurs team? No one cares to even mention them, especially when Kobe destroyed them in 08.

:lol
Using a team from the year later?
By that logic Kobe is a scrub because in his prime he got murked by the 2004 Pistons and Wade in 2005 and 2006 dominated them as a 2nd and 3rd year player. :roll:

[Dresta]

Of course not: getting swept in the finals and playing like utter trash when most of the games were pretty close is not excusable for a guy that was meant to be one of the best players in the league.

[PsychoBe]

no one here is reading the op clearly.

Re: Should Bran REALLY get a pass for his '07 Finals Performance?

you can say he "he never had a chance to win", and even though that's not true, how does that excuse his performance?

35/29/69 ??????

how is that an excusable shooting percentage?

down four points in a must win situation and you go on to miss three consecutive field goals including a 1ft bunny?

should any top 10 player in nba history get a "pass" for such a performance?

again, try to be objective.

[feyki]

No , like his 08,10 or 11 . But he earned the don't choke and playing very well against tough competitons since his 2012 season .

[3ball]

.
Lebron doesn't deserve a "pass" for any of his Finals losses:


2015 Finals

Lebron's defense allowed a 7 ppg role player to become greater than Curry, while shooting 39% against constant single-coverage.. But let's imagine a different scenario - what if Lebron DID hold the 7 ppg role player to 7 points, and shot WELL against the single-coverage?... Obviously, he would've won the Finals like MJ would have - MJ never shot 39% against single coverage or let Byron Russell become > Karl Malone.


2014 Finals

Lebron's defense allowed Kawhi to get 18 ppg on 61%.. If he held Kawhi to 12 ppg on 45% like OKC and DAL did, then the Heat would've been competitive like those teams were.. Furthermore, if Lebron plays better defense on Kawhi and DOUBLES his 17 shot attempts to 33 like he did in 2015 Finals, then the Heat win.

We all saw how Lebron's aggressive 33 shot attempts controlled pace and won 2 games in 2015 Finals, even though his Cavs' supporting cast was worse than his Heat casts, and the Warriors were a superior opponent to the Spurs.

Aside from better defense and offense, Lebron could've won the 2014 Finals if his style simply didn't foster a sophomoric brand of basketball and force teammates into predictable play-finishing roles that were doomed to fail against the best playoff teams.


2007 Finals

Despite Lebron's horrific 22 ppg on 35%, all 4 games were single-digit affairs, including one-possession nail-biters in Games 3 and 4.

The 2007 Cavs had a terrific defense - all they needed was a capable volume scorer.

[Gileraracer]

His 2007 performance was better than more than half of Kobe's finals appearances (2000, 2004, 2008, 2001).


LeBrons worst is almost as good as Kobe's best.

Why does one have 5 rings while the other one, a guy that colluded twice to form a team he fits into, has only 2 then?

[SouBeachTalents]

.
Lebron doesn't deserve a "pass" for any of his Finals losses:


2015 Finals

Lebron's defense allowed a 7 ppg role player to become greater than Curry, while shooting 39% against constant single-coverage.. But let's imagine a different scenario - what if Lebron DID hold the 7 ppg role player to 7 points, and shot WELL against the single-coverage?... Obviously, he would've won the Finals like MJ would have - MJ never shot 39% against single coverage or let Byron Russell become > Karl Malone.


2014 Finals

Lebron's defense allowed Kawhi to get 18 ppg on 61%.. If he held Kawhi to 12 ppg on 45% like OKC and DAL did, then the Heat would've been competitive like those teams were.. Furthermore, if Lebron plays better defense on Kawhi and DOUBLES his 17 shot attempts to 33 like he did in 2015 Finals, then the Heat win.

We all saw how Lebron's aggressive 33 shot attempts controlled pace and won 2 games in 2015 Finals, even though his Cavs' supporting cast was worse than his Heat casts, and the Warriors were a superior opponent to the Spurs.

Aside from better defense and offense, Lebron could've won the 2014 Finals if his style simply didn't foster a sophomoric brand of basketball and force teammates into predictable play-finishing roles that were doomed to fail against the best playoff teams.


2007 Finals

Despite Lebron's horrific 22 ppg on 35%, all 4 games were single-digit affairs, including one-possession nail-biters in Games 3 and 4.

The 2007 Cavs had a terrific defense - all they needed was a capable volume scorer.

All that nonsense from somebody who literally hasn't watched a game in 5 years