That's nice but remember, it was LeBron James, last year, who reminded all of us fans who love him or hate him that regardless of his success or failure, we must still wake up the next day to our ordinary and inadequate lives. He was talking about you too, Wake. This is the guy you idolize...
Yeah, but he's since apologized for that statement, as well as owning up to the debacle that was the Decision.
My younger brother is as big a basketball fan as I am, though he wasn't old enough to see the Jordan years. His take on next year's championship contenders:
"Only OKC, the Bulls, and to a lesser extent, the Knicks, are championship ready as presently constructed. I think OKC could win it next year, but the Bulls need a little more maturation from Derrick Rose and Luol Deng. They also need Boozer to hit open shots. The Knicks have all the talent there, but they're coaching isn't getting it done. Carmelo Anthony isn't good enough to carry them, but their offense is structured all around him. Their defensive schemes need a lot of work too.
After that, there are a whole bunch of teams that just need a little more to be in contention. The Celtics need to resign Kevin Garnett and strengthen their bench scoring. They'll likely lose Ray Allen but if Avery Bradley can build on last season they should be in the mix. If the Pacers can get a little more size on their bench and if Paul George matures into the second coming of Tracy McGrady they'll be in it. The Magic need a dynamic wing scorer and their young guys need to mature, but they're still close if they can get past their internal turmoil.
In the West, if the Mavericks can sign Deron Williams as many are expecting, they just need to get shooters and defenders and they'll be set. As long as Mark Cuban is the owner it won't be hard for them to get some players in. The Grizzlies have a little more maturing and need more bench scoring, but I feel like they could have gotten to the Western Conference Finals, maybe even the Finals had Blake Griffin not received a lot of favorable calls, if I remember the series correctly. The Grizzlies also missed Darrell Arthur in their bench rotation. The Clippers have two top five players at PG and PF but nearly every other guy on that team is over the hill, isn't the right fit, or simply isn't good. But with a core of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, it won't take much for them to take the next step. Lastly, you can't count out the Lakers. Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, are all still under contract. They've lost to the team that made it to the Finals these past two years and were champions before that. They need more talent on their bench without Lamar Odom, and they can get that by trading one of their four core pieces. They'd still have enough talent to contend if Mike Brown can be a championship coach".
Good points, but I disagree with him slightly. I think the Heat win it again next year. Breaking through to the first one is always the hardest. Not to say that additional championships will be easy, but the Heat (and most importantly, Lebron) will know what to expect. Watching the Finals this year, I was struck by how much Lebron had figured his game out. He was always a freak of nature, but he never utilized all his talent to the fullest, settling for jump shots instead of consistently taking it to the hole. No one can guard him. Lost in the fact that he just won his first championship is this scary fact: Lebron now realizes what he needs to do to carry his team. Last year he deferred to DWade too much. The thought that Lebron now knows what it takes to win is a scary thought for the rest of the league. And for all the jokes about the Heats “Big Two”, Bosh is the real deal. His ability to draw big men outside as well as defend on the pick and roll is key. Also, if Pat Riley can convince vets to take a pay cut for a championship chance, the Heat will be that much more formidable. Guess what? Steve Nash is a free agent. Imagine him running with Lebron and Wade. Lebron has never played with a point guard of Nash’s caliber. See all the open looks that were available to Battier (quickly, this was the first time I’ve seen Battier play for multiple games; I’ve watched him play in the occasional Rockets game, but not in a whole playoff series. Great pickup. I can’t even count how many charges he took.) and James Jones and Mike Miller? You know who I can see benefitting from the open looks next year? Ray Allen.
I think OKC is the biggest threat. They’ve taken steps every year. Lost in the first round in 2010. Lost in Conference finals in 2011. Lost this year in the finals. Every championship team has to go through heartbreak before winning. I don’t know what Lebron said to KD at the end of game 5, but I imagine Lebron telling Kevin “Remember this. Remember the feeling of losing, of seeing your opponent celebrating the championship, remember seeing the confetti and all the pomp and circumstance. Remember this and let it fuel you. Use this, the way I used the loss to Dallas last year to motivate me this year”.
I’d agree with the Bulls, but I’m really worried that Derrick Rose might not be the same. Yes, science / medicine / surgery is more advanced, but I don’t know if Rose will have the same explosiveness that he had pre-injury.
Oh, and if you guys haven’t read this yet:
https://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8085525/lebron-makes-leleap
I'm sure most of you have read Bill Simmons before. For those that haven't, he’s a Boston Celtics lifer, so he has no reason to lie about what he wrote. I find it incredible that Garnett, Pierce, and Rondo all openly dogged Lebron as much as they did.