Linball

Do you not remember his epic disappearing act his last postseason in Cleveland? Have you not seen him pass up final shot after final shot throughout his career? Look, the guy is the best player in the league. But he shies away from the moment. Call it apathy. Call it anxiety. The result is the same.

It's who he is. He didn't want to be the man in Cleveland or anywhere else. Wanted to put together an all-star squad because he doesn't have that hunger. This goes way deeper than last year's Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Though it's comical to dismiss them, like the baseball threaders here who want to write off pitchers' bad starts. "When he's not bad, he's good!"

 

Isiah Thomas won two titles in his age 27 and 28 seasons. On which non-NFL planet are those not prime years?

 

James has about 4-5 years of prime basketball left. If he never gets that ring, where does he rank?

And it he was ever going to get that ring, this is the year. Wade is not getting any younger.

 

James is the NBA's Phil Mickelson: more popular and discussed for not having the ring. I think he gets a kick out of it, as evidenced by the McD's commercial where he makes fun of his chances of winning seven (one more than Jordan, haha).

 

Look at his career. Some guys peak early. Thomas did. He was at his best in 1984-85. Anyway, I'm done with this debate. Isiah Thomas was a great player. We can agree to that.

 

Dumas was clearly the best player o n those teams. At the time I think it was pretty universally accepted.

 

Question: Does his early career, when he had that epic game against a still pretty good Pistons team to propel a horrible Cleveland team to the finals, count at all? While I also think he defers a bit too much in the clutch, I think at worst he goes from "the best player in basketball" to "just" a Top 10 player. LeBron not having a ring yet is more of a reflection on his past teams and the lack of depth on last year's Miami team. If they don't win again this year (assuming they stay healthy), then I think there is a legitimate question about LeBron's overall legacy, but excluding the ESPN-led hype of 2010-11, I don't think his team has ever been the favorite for the title until this year.

 

You know who hasn't been talked about in several pages on this thread? Jeremy Lin.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

All the ones that scored more points, apparently.

 

Anyone who believes Dominique Wilkins was a better player than Thomas in their respective primes is reaching way too much. It's like saying Carmelo Anthony was a better player than John Stockton because Melo scored a lot more points.

 

Of course it counts. In general, he slinks away from the big moment. In general. With talent like his, there are going to be exceptions. I'm looking at his entire body of work.

But your final point, about Miami lacking depth and not being a favorite for the title until this year, kind of brings me back full circle to the point that initially began this departure. And that was that the Knicks and Heat dispel the NBA saw that it's merely a "superstar league."