Handlogten's Heros
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Miami is super thin… Jimmy needs to go God mode. This gonna get interesting
2023 NBA Playoffs Discussion Thread
- Thread starter ONE LOVE
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I think to understand LeBron’s hate you have to go back to the Decision. LeBron was from Cleveland, got drafted by the Cavs, and yet the first chance he got he bolted out of there like a bat out of hell.
Cleveland people were angry and felt betrayed, and even were burning his jerseys. There was like a mini riot in the streets iirc.
But the shockwave didn’t just end in Cleveland. People all around the world who were at one point betrayed in their own lives felt the betrayal as well and identified with the Cleveland people and sided with them.
Cleveland people’s hate subsided somewhat when LeBron went back and won a Chip for them.
However people all around the world still had the hangover of that betrayal and the hate for LeBron’s in their heart still remained. This is because the betrayal in their own lives have remained and we’re never atoned the way Cleland people’s betrayal were atoned by LeBron going back and winning that Chip.
LeBron’s “Decision” therefore symolised for them all the hurt and betrayal people around the world have felt in their own lives. To many they would never forgive LeBron and never loved him the same way they love Kobe and Michael for this very reason.
Man, I wish we had Tatum. That dude is going to be an elite wing for the next 10 years.
fishonjazz
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Yep. Said it before but I will say it again. He would be my number 1 pick for the jazz if i could pick anyone off any team.
LeBron doesn't get enough credit for making it to 10 NBA Finals, including 8 straight.
I've often seen his Finals losses be weaponized against him, as if it would have somehow been better if he hadn't made it to the Finals in the years he didn't win the title.
fishonjazz
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This. People who think losing in the finals is knock on him are so stupid. My favorite jazz seasons of franchise history were finals losses lol.
fishonjazz
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Honestly the best thing for lebrons legacy would have been for him to die tragically right after the bubble championship.
Handlogten's Heros
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Kobe’s legacy is just different… stayed with one team and grew up in front of a huge fan base. He has ride or die fans… Bron was transient through big chunks of his career so those fans aren’t nearly as loyal.
fishonjazz
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I could be wrong but it seemed like Kobe had tons of haters before he died. After he died the haters either became fans or simply went quiet. His death made him a darling.
Certain people just like the way Kobe played more and the whole "mamba mentality" persona he crafted.
I like LeBron, but he's kind of boring from a personality perspective.
I like LeBron, but he's kind of boring from a personality perspective.
Kobe wasn’t even the best player on his team for 3/5 of his championships. He never did **** by himself. He could never carry a team to the Finals by himself like LeBron.
You’re right his legacy is different. Google Kobe Colorado 2003 to learn more.
LeBron is the goat….but he did change the way the NBA has been covered and I don’t think it’s been in a good way. Very early on in his career the NBA became about him an his pursuit of Jordan, specifically his rings count.
Everything became championship or bust, and not just for LeBron. LeBron has obviously had the most impossible standards set on him but so does everyone else. There is one winner and if you’re not the team winning the championship you are clowned on. Everything else that was accomplished is forgotten at best and might even be used against you. If a player wins the MVP or a team has a great season but they fail to win the title that is just seen as extra fuel to clown on them.
The league is all about the championship, but more specifically how that championship relates to legacy. Everything is about the bigger picture. The NBA is not a league that sells itself on the sport and competition being played on any given night. It is all about what this game means in a greater context.
As a result, the NBA regular season is basically just one long preseason that teams and players hardly care about. Without a competitive regular season there’s no opportunity for more interesting narratives to develop. It’s just championship or bust, and without a good buildup it often ends in an anticlimactic finish to the season.
I just can’t imagine growing up and watching basketball when I was growing up with the new narrative style. Guys like AI, McGrady, Carter, KG (on the the TWolves) etc would just repeatedly clowned on or made irrelevant because they created their legacy during the regular season by putting on a show in a day to day basis.
Everything became championship or bust, and not just for LeBron. LeBron has obviously had the most impossible standards set on him but so does everyone else. There is one winner and if you’re not the team winning the championship you are clowned on. Everything else that was accomplished is forgotten at best and might even be used against you. If a player wins the MVP or a team has a great season but they fail to win the title that is just seen as extra fuel to clown on them.
The league is all about the championship, but more specifically how that championship relates to legacy. Everything is about the bigger picture. The NBA is not a league that sells itself on the sport and competition being played on any given night. It is all about what this game means in a greater context.
As a result, the NBA regular season is basically just one long preseason that teams and players hardly care about. Without a competitive regular season there’s no opportunity for more interesting narratives to develop. It’s just championship or bust, and without a good buildup it often ends in an anticlimactic finish to the season.
I just can’t imagine growing up and watching basketball when I was growing up with the new narrative style. Guys like AI, McGrady, Carter, KG (on the the TWolves) etc would just repeatedly clowned on or made irrelevant because they created their legacy during the regular season by putting on a show in a day to day basis.
fishonjazz
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While i think your post has merit, this part is where I disagree to an extent:
I still love watching regular season jazz games. Hell even summer league and pre season. I still love great players who haven't won championships and dont clown on them. My number 1 player in the league right now is Jason Tatum and he has no rings and might get bounced from the playoffs by an 8th seed tonight.
So while you might be mostly correct, that stuff doesn't apply to me personally.
Oh I definitely still enjoy the basketball being played, that was more of a comment towards how the league is covered. I will always watch NBA basketball, it doesn't matter how they sell it to me, but Tatum will be raked over the coals if he loses. Same for Jimmy. In general, there's more talk about player failures because only one team can win at the end of the day. While the league is championship or bust, the narrative around the league is still dominated by the "bust" and not the championship.
What affects my personal viewing experience the most is that teams and players themselves don't really care about the regular season games. The regular season is at lower quality as the night to night competition levels have dropped. Yeah, I'm that guy....It does make the league worse when good teams sit out their best players because they are saving it for the playoffs and bad teams are also sitting out their good players to lose on purpose. I will always watch, but the regular season doesn't pack the same punch as it used to.
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Handlogten's Heros
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I’m aware… just explaining why his fans are so vigilant. Lebron would have the same thing if he stayed in Cleveland his whole career.
I don't think he would. Kobe fans are Kobe fans. He could have gone to Utah and he would still have had those fans. Kobe just represents a lot more than Lebron does.
I think him playing for the Lakers has a lot to do with it. Curry fans are almost on the same delusional level as Kobe fans. They have a lot of the same fans.