LeBron James PTImeline

An oral history of LeBron James' basketball career to date

Talking Heads vs. Real Basketball Discussion

Why Did LBJ shoot more from the left side in 2012 Finals? Because he "wanted it" more?

 Question: if LBJ played like 2012 Finals LBJ in the 2011 NBA Finals would the Heat have won? Skip Bayless would undoubtedly say "yes".

Better question: could LBJ have even played "this way" in the 2011 Finals if he had wanted to? Mark Cuban would say "no way".

No matter how good you are you can't just "do what you want" on the basketball court.  It is a team game where you react to what the defense gives you.  And based on what Cuban gives to us before being interrupted by the non-game watching Skip Bayless the 2011 Mavs threw some intricate and changing defensive sets at the Heat last year.  Cool.

Regardless, at least enjoy the first video below before ESPN takes it down to save face:



Here is StephenASmith complaining about access:



Thanks to Ball Don't Lie for the videos and Deadspin for the shot charts

LBJ & The Great Con of Sports

"There's never been any question that LeBron James is a great basketball player. And even when he was coming up short in the playoffs, haters like myself just used those failures as an easy excuse to pile on him further, because he's a dipshit and he deserved it. The fact that he's won a championship doesn't fundamentally alter his character in any way. That's the great con of sports: the idea that winners win because they have character and losers lose because they don't. If you think LeBron is a good guy now because he won a title, then you probably had no business thinking he was a bad guy to begin with, because the outcome of a sporting event says nothing about the person within."

Thanks to Deadspin.com for the quote

Regardless, I need to get me a t-shirt with my face on it just like LeBron. I don't know if that would make me an a-hole or awesome. Probably both.

LeBron in 2012

In a shortened season, many pick the Miami Heat to win it all.  They've improved their team, have a year of experience under their waistbands, and LeBron is tired of playing the villain.  Wait, what?

Aside from continuing to pimp an addictive cold sore and chapped lips remedy LBJ is taking a  new post-Decision mindset into this season.  He's no longer going to be The Villain as Windhorst explains in this piece right here.

Wait LeBron, you can't just decide to not be a dick in the eyes of the fans.  You can control a lot of things with your incredible skill, power, money and fame.  But you cannot control what people think of you.  Especially when there's stories out there like THIS.

Here's to the Heat being odds on favorites to win it all this shortened season with LBJ still being hated by the people.

DJ Steve Porter: The Year of LeBron

Rocking this one in my ipod and zune....for like a minute.

The Business; Dirk vs. LeBron

The hot chicks at Bloomberg have some interesting videos on the business side of Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James.  Just like their difference in play in the NBA Finals, the difference in they way they run their "brand" is striking.

First we have LeBrand and his new 25% equity ownership of Sheets Energy Strips, a breath strip that gives you energy. Maybe he could have popped 10 of these strips before the 4th Quarter:



Contrast that to Dirk, the agent-less, non-endorsement-seeking "I just want to play basketball" Finals MVP:

2011 NBA Finals Game 5 Roundup

I've mentioned The Basketball Karma Gods before in this here web log and have found it to be a pretty good indicator of future results. Most recently I said that Russell Westbrook's bitchyness would lead to a Thunder loss in the WCF and Carlos Boozer's rap would to lead to a Bulls loss in the ECF. Both Karma reads were correct.

I can't say that I knew about the now popular "LeBron and Wade Feigning Dirk Illness After Thursday Morning's pre-Game Shoot Around" before Game 5 tipped but when I saw it during the telecast I knew that it wasn't good for The Heat. The above video shows two Superstars making a dumb joke in the middle of the NBA Finals with the Series tied 2-2. BronWade are either:

1) using comedy to calm their nerves about a very important Game 5 later in the day
2) just being jerks and not focusing on Game 5 later in the day

Something tells me that Dirk hasn't thought or smiled at a joke since the playoffs began. I know that South Park has ruled that Germans are the most unfunny people in the world but I know I've seen Dirk joke around before and I know he will smile on the court.  Just not in these playoffs.  Steely-eyed unwavering determination (or maybe he's just still sick).

After re-watching the above video 9 times, I'm pretty certain that the answer on BronWade's joke is answer 2. The Larry O'Brien trophy isn't the main focus of their lives right now as basketball players in their absolute primes. They focus more or global icon status, sweet parties in South Beach, million dollar sponsorships and, of course, chicks. And this is why the Basketball Karma gods struck them down in Game 5.

Fellow Theta Chi Alum from The University of Purdue Brian Cardinal did his job filling in for Peja by throwing his body everywhere (therapusa chier, brother). T'was fun to watch!  An attempted charge on Wade led to something called a "contusion" which I'm sure is just a smart word for "a bad bruise". This forced Wade to sit out many minutes of Game 5....which may have actually been a good thing, according to StatGeeks, since BronWadeBosh were a -14 last night when on the floor together. But it's tough to argue that Wade's absence didn't hurt the psyche of the Heat.

In LeBron's case I was thinking that he would come out in Game 5 with fury in an all out assault mode to prove "The Haters" wrong. He did notch a trip-dub becoming the 5th player in the last 25 years to attain this in a Finals loss.  But Karma bit LeBron as well when it came to the 4th Quarter even though he tweeted "It's Now or Never" on the twatter:

Let's provide the trusty 4th Quarter comparison of Lebron v. Dirk in the Finals through Game 5:
              James            Nowitzki
Points:    11                    52
FG:        4/16                13/27
FT:         3/3                  27/27
REB:      10                    15

Heck, even Jason Terry (with LBJ guarding him) has outscored LeBron 16-2 in the 4th Quarter of Games 4 and 5.


Karma most definitely caught up with the Heat.  This is the logical conclusion, right?  Speaking of logic, wasn't the world supposed to come to an end a few weeks back?  I digress.

Game 5 was entertaining as all heck.  Even Jeff Van Gundy called it "the best Finals game I've ever seen!!" which might be a bit of a stretch.  The teams finally broke out of their offensive funks/getting dominated by awesome defense.  Dirk scored 29 but it was really the small kids who made it happen for the Mavs.  As TrueHoop points out:

"Jason Terry (21 points), JJ Barea (17) and Jason Kidd (13) each set series highs in points. According to Elias the trio of guards became the first set of teammates to each have 10 points, five assists and three 3-pointers in an NBA Finals game." 

With 4:37 left in the game, the Mavs were down 4.  They ended on a 17-4 run.  The Mavs celebrated after their 3 point makes, much like the Heat prematurely celebrated in a Game 2 loss, and the craziest game of this Finals was in the books.

We are watching a superior team (Heat) lose to a pretty dang good team (Mavs).  If the Heat can turn it on in Miami, they can still win the 'ship despite imperfect execution all throughout the season and the playoffs.  Part of me wants them to figure it out and win in spite of themselves.  But 98% of me loves the Mavs, their run, and the Dirk redemption tour of 2011.  I can't wait for the articles that say "if the Mavs lose Game 6 it's over".  Can't wait for Sunday.

Weekly Chat; Game 4 NBA Finals

Bilbo is a party animal

Cam looks A LOT like Mark Cuban

Maaatt decides to start off the Weekly chat with a question posed to fellow Nextians Bilbo and Cam: I don't get what Lebron is doing. His lack of hustle last game was so obvious in clips. That last drive he was one foot away from Dirk's drive and didn't even move a muscle to help out, WTF? Is it his ego? Is Wade tearing it up, so he get his feelings hurt that he's not the best player on the team? Or is is just super tired from the reg season and playing all playoffs? Is it a possibility he has totally gassed? Is Eddie House secretly screwing his mom AND Bibby's sister???

Cam: When LeBron scores 15 points or less in a playoff game, his teams are 0-7. Fascinating.

What’s even more fascinating is that LeBron has scored less than 15 points in a playoff game 7 times. 7 TIMES. He is the best player in this league, hands down, but he’s got some sort of mental problem.

Jordan never did this, was a complete killer, and has never been passive his entire life. During Jordan’s rookie season he bought a PacMan machine for his house because he was determined to be the best PacMan player on the Bulls. LeBron’s more about being a global icon and illegally recruiting college players to sign to his stupid agency. Hey LeBron, why don’t you develop a post game this summer instead, mmmkay? Either that or at least try to become a killer like you were in the Bulls series. Which brings up the point:

Wade and LeBron currently can’t both be awesome at the same time. It’s one guys’ stage or the others’. Chicago Series = LeBron dominate and Wade plays like crap. Finals = Wade plays incredible and LeBron is passive. Do you think they talk about this before a series starts or do they just figure it out after game 1 and go from there?

They’ll probably still win the ‘ship this way but it is quite strange.

Bilbo: What if LeBron is playing bad on purpose so he can explode in the last couple of games? Yeah right! The Jordan comparisons need to stop. They are different players completely. A better comparison is Magic, except that even fun time Magic had a switch that turned him into a beast. Maybe LeBron didn’t come with that switch, ya dig? Maybe he isn’t the player we want him to be and never will be. He wants to focus on his brand, fine. Global icon? Sure, why not. But he needs to know that craving the spotlight comes with a cost, namely, that anything less than incredible on the way to a title is a failure. Anything less than superhuman plays night in and night out on this stage is unacceptable. Maybe the best comparison should be Wilt Chamberlain. He too had all the physical tools but could never take that next step to greatness. I think he ended up with one title when he prolly should have had 4-5.

That being said, it would not surprise me to see he take over game 5. That is, if D-Wade will let him.

I’m still sticking to Dallas in 6.

Cam: It's hard to stop the Jordan comparisons. Especially when Scotty Pippen just said that LBJ was better than Jordan.  Aside from Scotty being a dick, check out LBJ's downward trending usage rate:

Dwyane Wade vs LeBron James
Usage Rate, 2010-11 Season

	Wade	James
Reg. Season	28.8	29.6
First 3 Rds	26.8	25.6
NBA Finals	26.5	19.4

Crunch Time: Dirk vs. LeBron in the 4th Quarter

Tale of the Dominating Performance vs. the Disappearing Act. Stats through Game 4 of the NBA Finals:

Dirk Nowitzki vs LeBron James
4th Quarter This Series

	Nowitzki	James
FG	12-24	3-12
FT	18-18	3-3
Reb	14	7
Pts	44	9

Thanks to TrueHoop

Why The Bulls Won't Win

Playing your Karma Kards right is important to winning.  Former Warrior Owner Chris Cohan constantly messed with the Karma of the franchise and look at the hole the new ownership has got to climb their selves out of.

The basketball Karma gods tend to focus on the small things.  Russell Westbrook's constant scowl and frazzled attitude will most likely dismantle the Thunder's hopes to beat the Mavericks in the WCF, for example.

The Karma gods haven't struck down the Heat and probably won't.  They most likely understand why LBJ left Cleveland and appreciate the effort him and his Heat teammates are giving in the ECF.

So this song with Twista by Carlos Boozer is frightening.  First of all, he calls it the Bulls "Anthem". I wonder how Jerry Krause feels about that?  Boozer also secured the services of a PA announcer introducing which dude is singing. Wow.  CHECK IT OUT

Something tells me that the Karma gods won't take this over confident pile of garbage lightly.  Especially since Boozer is so bad at rapping/hip hopping.  I wish this wasn't the case, but I'm pretty sure the Heat will take out the Bulls in the ECF.  And that is painful to say.

The LeBrons

The "hilarious" The LeBrons commercial from a few years back has made it's way into animated form.



I'm pretty darn sure that the makers of The Boondocks took some time off form a show that's actually good to make this stanky piece of web 2.0 marketing veiled in cartoon form.  Bing, Gucci, Nike, HP, Intel, Sprite.  Good work taking over the world on the way to Billionaire-hood, LBJ.

The Heat Are Sucking

Wade's all like "WTF?" and "Shut up, LeBron".

Everyone who enjoys The Association is noticing the problems the Heat are having.  They had a 24 point lead over the Magic last week and lost.  They had a decent 6 to 8 point lead against the Bulls yesterday and ended up failing in that one as well after both James and Wade missed shots on the last possession.

Word on the street is that Wade is becoming disenchanted with LeBron.  LeBron takes the last shots, LeBron puts the team on his shoulders, LeBron knows that he is better than Wade.

Here are some sweet articles about the current state:
Wojo on THE Situation
BDL's Dwyer on Heat Players Crying

Chris Bosh Left in Hot Car

How could D-Wade and LeBron just forget about their teammate Chris Bosh like that? It sounds like Eddie House didn't do his job!

Onion SportsDome

LeBron is a Robot

Please figure out a way to enlarge this picture (hint: click on it).  Enjoy LBJ's arm-tats, phoney baloney Power Balance wristbands, and receeding hairline-covering headband.  Now view his chest.  Look at and enjoy his nipples (again).  Be thankful that he's wearing Nike crashpad technology on his ribs.  But then look at that hexagon-shaped thing poking through his jesey right unerneath the "Miami" logo.  What the heck is that?  A six sided symbol proclaiming that he is illuminati?  His Deceptacon logo/weak spot?  His robot on/off button?  I'm going with robot.

Thanks for your time.

LBJ & D-Wade; Photo of the Year

Now if this picture doesn't make you cream your jeans, then you are more jaded than THE Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (a show which I totally don't watch when my wife has it on).

Check out the Fanhouse article with photog Morry Gash (awesome last name) to get the scoop.

Clevelanders Response to "What Should I Do?"

Continuing on with the "What Should I Do?" LeBron commercial meme, some dude in Cleveland has put together the Clevelanders version. Pretty solid!

What Should Cartman Do?

South Park's hilarious recent episode makes fun of the LBJ "What Should I Do?" commercial:

Mysterion Rises
Tags: SOUTH
PARKEric Cartman,Mysterion,more...

Thanks to South Park Studios (where you can watch full SP episodes) for the clip.

LeBron's Post-Decision Nike Commercial

So, what should he do?  Classic commercial:

LeBetard on James/Wade/Bosh Contracts

This guy wrote THIS ARTICLE about the new "Big Three" and how between the three of them they sacrificed $47 Million to sign Udonis Haslem.  Haslem then called up D-Wade and professed how much he loved him. He should do more than that.

Remember the old Big Three?  No, not those Boston misfits.  The real Big Three who won 3 Championships (thanks to @johnhollinger's twitter).  No love for Timmay!

Illuminati!

More ridiculous, I mean, concrete evidence that LeBron James is Illuminati with D-Wade and CB-4. Enjoy the fuzzy math and super scary music: