Are the Mavs Affecting LeBron James Mentally?
As the NBA Finals have progressed, with Dallas gaining momentum, we’ve seen the Mavs talk quite a bit of trash to LeBron (particularly, Shawn Marion.) According to DeShawn Stevenson, James isn’t really out to make people pay for their words. From Yahoo! Sports: “These Dallas Mavericks go to great lengths to mess with him, hurling insults and insinuations with regularity that they never would’ve dared with different superstars. Why? Because they believe it messes with his mind. They believe the words will fester within him, keep him thinking when he ought to be reacting. Terry says James can’t guard him, and so far he’s been right. DeShawn Stevenson essentially called him a quitter in Game 4. Shawn Marion appeared to call him much worse on the floor, too. James won’t get mad, and James won’t get even and make people pay a price. When opposing players hear people insist they ought to be respectful of James out of fear of retribution – be careful they don’t stir him with words – they privately giggle. ‘Different guys are different,’ Stevenson [said]. ‘Kobe Bryant feeds off stuff like that. He looks for it every time. LeBron’s a different kind of person. Obviously he’s a freak of nature, able to do a lot of things, but everybody in this league is built different.’ Built differently. Translated: Where’s the killer within? Where’s the best player in basketball, the prodigious talent that left the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics crumpled messes back in the Eastern Conference? Where’s the cold-bloodedness? Where is this guy?”
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I read him and Wade were making fun of Dirk and his fever after game 4, and look what happened to Wade in game 5, he got hurt. Truly great players show respect to others that deserve it, these guys don’t and it’ll make me sick if they walk away with this championship!
Other than that, I agree LeBron is good. I don’t think he’s GREAT. Dirk is great (no, I’m not a Mavs fan). Kobe is great. I think even Dwayne Wade will be considered great. The difference I see from all these players to LeBron is that drive, that fierce, competitive desire to win, that ability to will their team to victory. Maybe he does have it, deep within, but thus far in his career I haven’t seen it.
Build you up just to tear you down. but like air he will rise.
Bron will go ghostface x rocky on your @sses come sunday.
He’ll turn into a bulldozer with a wrecking ball attached. He aint been hungry since the 2009 Orlando series. Not even close to 2007 detroit series.
But come sunday when the heat plays at home. No bullsh!t offensive fouls will be called not even bogus loose ball fouls on haslem. None of that.
Lebron needs to stop passing, and start shooting. A super star takes the shot because he believes that it will go in every time. That’s what separates the Jordan’s from the James’, an unbreakable confidence in their ability to hit the shot when it matters most.
It’s not really complicated. It’s maddening, but not complicated.
sh!t like “Who’s the biggest stank ho on Jersey Shore?’. Pass.
I read the posts after the 2006 Finals and Dirk got busted by nearly everyone. I can only remember 4 or 5 guys that defended him.
The list of guys who said that Dirk was the softest player of them all after getting his team to the finals ( a big accomplishment itself in my opinion ) included names like Khalid Salaam or WhithotEboy.
I don’t want to say that this justifies what is happening to LeBron right now because it doesn’t but it shows a general attitude of blasting guys that come short and it is a general problem in basketball and especially this site.
Maybe all of us should think a second before we post and then talk about basketball. These guys are all human and they have already accomplished so much by advancing to college, the league, the playoffs and finals and then all of a sudden when they have one, two, three bad games they are loosers?????????????????????????????????
I know that most guys here will not self reflect and go on with their usual posting and most of them will not even read this comment because I’m posting to late.
I just wanted to share this thought.
Nice team basketball by the mavs , by the way.
Jordan, Scottie and the Bulls needed a lot of tries to win it all.
Everyone cramping on the heat needs to know one thing mike miller needs to step up. He steps up and plays like the consummate professional he was supposed to be and this arguement is a moot point. Lebron, Wade and Bosh still don’t have a bench.
But he needed like 2-3 tries to get there because the Pistons stood in their way. So he actually lost the ECF and got blown by some media people for it.
Too bad Kha never shows up in comments anymore though.
His mental game is his only weakness right now.
What I find interesting is that MJ got bashed by the media for being a one-dimensional-scorer type of player when he lost to Detroit twice in the ECF and LeBron gets bashed because he is a team first player without that killer scorer gen.
They are all not perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t hate. I’m human.
Scottie would have been the man on any other team if he would have been traded in his prime.
I once read an article, when scottie had beef with the general manager of the Bulls, in which it was said that the heat wanted to trade nearly there whole starting five for Scottie. So his value was pretty high at this time.
When he finally went to another team in 98, after his 6th chip, he was 33 years old and not the same in my opinion.
year. Heck, every team was waiting to get him on their teams since he first stepped on an NBA court. LeBron is not this disrespectful person that people are making him out to be. The media built him up and are partly responsible for turning him into a super idol, now they want to capitalize on him again by tearing him down??? Don’t believe them! Members of the media just want to get famous themselves! LeBron has answered all the media’s questions with integrity, even when the questions were more like opinionated jabs and didnt deserve an answer. If you want to see an example of disrespect, look at DeShawn Stevenson saying LBJ is “overrated”. I’ve never ever heard LeBron say that about anyone! Or Shawn Marion trash-talking James on the court. LeBron is a clean player and doesn’t do that either. If trash talking is what you want to see, fine. But then don’t point the “disrespect” finger at the only person in this situation who IS the one being disrespected. I hope the people expressing their hatred of LeBron is only a very small proportion of our society. Because these “haters” and their attitudes are not the kind of world I want my children growing up in. I was taught
decency when I was growing up, which wasn’t that long ago. It seems like people speaking out against LeBron fail to
see that even though he has super-natural talent, he is still a human. Try and put yourself in his shoes. He is more than one of the best basketball players of all time. He is also a father, son, spouse, friend, and mentor. He has never been in trouble for anything. He had committed no crimes. Deciding to go and work somewhere else, and telling everyone who wants to know your answer all at one time is not a crime. He didn’t go to the team you wanted, so get over it. But for goodness sake, grow up and quit trashing someone for no good reason. He may not be perfect, but nor are you. Not one person on this earth is. Stop being a follower, clear your head, gain a kittle maturity and decency, and think for yourself.
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