No Celtics thread

[deadheadskier]

No, he definitely was a beast in the playoffs for sure. MVP no doubt.

That said, I don't like the "star" treatment he gets from the refs. MJ got it too, all the greats do, but Lebron is clearly given way more leniency than any other player in the league. The Celtics should have won game 2, but the no call on the blatant foul on Rondo prevented that.

The No call on Lebron fouling Durant in Game 2 of the Finals was even more maddening. Realistically, the Heat should be up 3-2 with this heading back to Miami.

It is what it is.

 

[Geoff]

That said, I don't like the "star" treatment he gets from the refs. MJ got it too, all the greats do, but Lebron is clearly given way more leniency than any other player in the league.

Yep. The no-calls and blocking calls on clear offensive charging calls are endless.

I boycotted the NBA regular season after that stupid lockout. I watched the Celtics in the playoffs. The first few games, I only knew 4 players on the team. I stopped watching the finals after the no-call on Lebron James as Kevin Durant was going to the basket with the final shot of the game to put it into overtime. I think I'm done with the NBA.

Recall that MJ was one of the world's great A-holes until he hired a PR firm to control what came out of his mouth. He famously badmouthed Larry Bird when he won the league MVP saying the league gave it to the white guy. In his interactions with the press in his first 5 years, he came off as a total punk. It miraculously changed when it was made clear to him how much endorsement money it was costing him. I think the same has been happening with Lebron James. News stories that he actually reads books (the PR guys gave him books to put in his locker). His public face is now carefully crafted to maximize the endorsement contracts. It's not real.

 

[JimG.]

Yep. The no-calls and blocking calls on clear offensive charging calls are endless.

I boycotted the NBA regular season after that stupid lockout. I watched the Celtics in the playoffs. The first few games, I only knew 4 players on the team. I stopped watching the finals after the no-call on Lebron James as Kevin Durant was going to the basket with the final shot of the game to put it into overtime. I think I'm done with the NBA.

Recall that MJ was one of the world's great A-holes until he hired a PR firm to control what came out of his mouth. He famously badmouthed Larry Bird when he won the league MVP saying the league gave it to the white guy. In his interactions with the press in his first 5 years, he came off as a total punk. It miraculously changed when it was made clear to him how much endorsement money it was costing him. I think the same has been happening with Lebron James. News stories that he actually reads books (the PR guys gave him books to put in his locker). His public face is now carefully crafted to maximize the endorsement contracts. It's not real.

None of this is new...the same applied to stars of old like Bird, Magic, and Julius Erving. I remember everyone thinking Bird and Erving were the nice guys of the NBA until they both tried to choke each other during a game. I'll never forget the photo on the back page of every newspaper in the country showing them with their hands on each other's throats. And those guys got calls/no calls just like today.

And maybe MJ was an A-hole to you and me because he always kicked our team's asses in the playoffs, but I doubt Chicago and middle America thought of him that way.

So now we're going to downplay LeBron winning because of the refs? You could do that in any sport if you wanted to.

Sounds like sour grapes to me.

 

[kickstand]

And maybe MJ was an A-hole to you and me because he always kicked our team's asses in the playoffs, but I doubt Chicago and middle America thought of him that way.

No, MJ is just an asshole. Did you ever read the SI story about his HS coach who - as the story goes - "cut" him as a sophomore. The way I had heard the original story was that MJ got cut and he was out, left without a team. Baloney. He was sent to JV, like 99% of all sophomores are. His friend made the team because he was 6'7" and they needed height. Well, we all know the rest of the story. Fast-forward to a year or two ago when MJ invites the coach to his HOF induction and then belittles him in front of the entire audience and on TV. The dude is an asshole.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1193740/index.htm

 

[JimG.]

No, MJ is just an asshole. Did you ever read the SI story about his HS coach who - as the story goes - "cut" him as a sophomore. The way I had heard the original story was that MJ got cut and he was out, left without a team. Baloney. He was sent to JV, like 99% of all sophomores are. His friend made the team because he was 6'7" and they needed height. Well, we all know the rest of the story. Fast-forward to a year or two ago when MJ invites the coach to his HOF induction and then belittles him in front of the entire audience and on TV. The dude is an asshole.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1193740/index.htm

You missed my point...I don't disagree he's an asshole, but fans of the Bulls overlook all of that because he won alot for them. To them he isn't an asshole.

I'm a Yankee fan...most people think Joe Dimaggio was an asshole too, and he really was, but to me he was a great baseball player first, asshole second.

 

[deadheadskier]

I don't really have a problem with assholes in the sports world truthfully. Bill Belichik is probably the biggest asshole of a coach in the game. Would I want any other coach over him? Hell no

 

[Geoff]

You missed my point...I don't disagree he's an asshole, but fans of the Bulls overlook all of that because he won alot for them. To them he isn't an asshole.

I'm a Yankee fan...most people think Joe Dimaggio was an asshole too, and he really was, but to me he was a great baseball player first, asshole second.

The point is that we will now have a Lebron James marketing blitz. You'll see the airbrushed, voice dubbed Madison Avenue version. Not the semi-literate prep school to NBA player who never touched a book until his handlers told him it would be great PR to pretend that he is literate. MJ had the exact same handling. The guy was a punk but they polished up his image to get all that endorsement money.

All athletes are heroes in their local market. I'm talking about using them in the national market representing them as something they aren't.

 

[JimG.]

I don't really have a problem with assholes in the sports world truthfully. Bill Belichik is probably the biggest asshole of a coach in the game. Would I want any other coach over him? Hell no

Thank you.

 

[JimG.]

The point is that we will now have a Lebron James marketing blitz. You'll see the airbrushed, voice dubbed Madison Avenue version. Not the semi-literate prep school to NBA player who never touched a book until his handlers told him it would be great PR to pretend that he is literate. MJ had the exact same handling. The guy was a punk but they polished up his image to get all that endorsement money.

All athletes are heroes in their local market. I'm talking about using them in the national market representing them as something they aren't.

I guess I pretty much just accept and ignore that collateral stuff.

I never bought shoes because Jordan wore them, especially after those commercials with Spike Lee.

 

[kickstand]

I also think in this day of instant information, we know about someone's asshole-iness almost as soon as he disses that 6 year old looking for an autograph. Back in Jordan's day, it was a lot easier to cover up/enhance one's imagine. PR firms are working double-time these days.