Cavs Board

I love Lebron.  Maybe too much so.  But today is one of those days where I sit back and say “No wonder so many other NBA fans hate the guy”.

Any Cavs fan understands how sickening it is to constantly hear “Kobe is the best player in basketball” or “Lebron will never be as good as Kobe because Kobe has three rings” because we see night in and night out what Lebron will do in an effort to win. 

Personally, I don’t think there is a better player in the league than Lebron James.  But I haven’t written word one on that this summer, because I’m not debating the MVP award.  The fact that there is room to debate the issue of who’s better is the conclusion as far as I’m concerned.  It depends on who you ask.  Can’t we just agree to leave it at that… at least during the Olympics?

There’s a complex we have as a society where athletes need to constantly be paralled by those who came before them.  Rather than just admiring greatness, the general douchery of respective team’s fanbase turns every achievement or failure into a “see i told you so” moment.  Kobe scoring 81 points in a game was amazing, but accompanying that story were two adjacent stories.  One was focused on the fact that the Lakers still barely won that game against Toronto (the Kobe hater perspective).  The other was discrediting Wilt’s accomplishment of 100 points in a game as far less impressive because the competition was inferior (the Kobe lover perspective). 

The Olympics have been no different, except when everyone, whether a Kobe or Lebron fan, should seemingly be rooting for their shared success, the collective “fan clubs” for #24 and #23 (or rather #10 and #6) are still trying to make their cases in the “who’s the best player in the world?” debate.

I posted about my general disgust towards homerish fans and people who feel the need to discredit greatness simply because it does not exist on their team just two short days ago, but it’s worth revisiting, because it seems Henry Abbott over at True Hoop may be feeling that exact same way with the onslaught of media who have been hugging the nuts of Lebron James and his unselfish play as of late.  He writes:

The only question I really have is, will LeBron James stop telling us how selfless he is (Thamel quotes him saying “I’m probably the ultimate team player. I’ll sacrifice whatever for the success of the team.”) long enough for us to give him the Selfless Player of the Summer award?

The quote Henry refers too is one from today’s piece by Pete Thamel in the New York Times.  Here is some of what he had to say:

With his persistent vocal leadership, his rugged rebounding and his ability to drive to the hoop at will, James has outplayed Bryant. James has better statistics, has played multiple positions, and has emerged as the team’s leader.

While Bryant has not played poorly, he has continued to play as if he were on his N.B.A. team instead of adapting and adjusting to his Olympic teammates. James has stood out precisely because he has blended in so well.

“I knew it had to come from someone,” James said of his leadership role. “It doesn’t matter how good individuals are, if you don’t have a leader, it’s not going to be right. I took that responsibility from Day 1, saying I’m going to be the vocal leader and I’m going to be the leader of this team.”

Bryant, meanwhile, has looked a bit lost. Although taking 16-foot fadeaways or pull-up 3-pointers in transition instead of passing to Luke Walton or Trevor Ariza may be a smart play in the N.B.A., taking those shots rather than passing to Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony with Team USA is not always wise.

Jesus Christ.  Kobe scored 25 points, seemingly found his rhythm and what follows is that?  It’s no wonder the guy has a chip on his shoulder.  And as much as I can’t stand listening to some of the ignorant comments made by Lakers fan on sports radio out here in LA, I almost feel sympathetic towards them. 

It’s the same reason Cavs fans hate the national media by and large.  Because no matter what Lebron does or says that would indicate he’s happy in Cleveland, the items that get talked about and get mainstream run are the write ups about him leaving (or in Kobe’s case about him being selfish). 

Passionate fans who follow every news tidbit see the stories.  They see the whole scope.  They see every innocuous comment Lebron makes about how much he loves playing in Cleveland and they watch it run in the Plains Dealer or Beacon Journal and nowhere else.  Then they see the “I love Madison Square Garden” comment picked up all over the country by writers desperately trying to appeal to a larger audience than just simply the Cleveland faithful.

Everyone (myself included) loves the allure of a good hypothetical debate like “who is better?” or “why would Lebron leave?” or “how good would player A be with player B” when it’s done in a balanced context.  Far too often though, the people in charge of writing those articles have some serious biases or overlook the stories that might refute their ill-informed horseshit.  That just causes distrust and division.

I don’t know even know where I’m going with this post.  I’m actually defending Bryant, which despite having no ill will towards him as a player, I swore I would leave for those Lakers fans who irritate the shit out of me.

Bill Livingston piled on too in the Plains Dealer:

What has happened at the Beijing Olympics is the beginning of James’ Most Valuable Player campaign for 2008-09. He always could pass. He always could attack the basket more relentlessly than anyone. The Cavaliers forward’s emergence as a devastating defender completes the picture.

Kobe Bryant is still the top lockdown defender on what seems to be an unbeatable American team. But Bryant’s forced shots on offense and poor 3-point shooting keep him from being more than the third-best player on the team so far, behind James and Dwyane Wade.

(All you Kobephiles, please take your place for the official protest in the line to the left, the one that appears to contain the population of China.)

So I guess I have nothing else to say on the subject other than the obvious.  Lebron is great.  Kobe is great.  Can we just root for the gold and put off all this pissing match garbage until after the season begins?