If they lose, they lose. I think it will be a great series. The Spurs won 2 of 3 during the season, but all three games had some things going on that won't be present in the playoffs.

I would hardly call a team with Bynum, Kobe and Gasol wildly inferior to anyone, and I wouldn't say the defending champions are either. Being 6 and 1 against those teams is pretty impressive.

Memo though, if you win, you weren't outplayed in the game. For stretches, sure, but playing all 48 minutes matters. They learned that last year while choking away two games against the Mavs.

Maybe the Lakers will learn something from these games. What they should learn is their coach stinks. Where was Sessions in the 4Q (again)? He was playing a nice game. Why was Kobe chucking up wild jumpers?

Im almost in denial at this point. Hoping he steps up big this afternoon. I really want him 2.

40 18 and 9

One game, but he did play outstanding. Lucky for him it wasn't close late.

He's gotta do it more. I am lost as 2 why this does not happen nightly. He is that talented.

Time to shock the world! #showyaluv


KG wouldnt know a fairweather fan if it bit him in his grey ******* hairs!!

A.I. needs to be introduced at the Garden. :D

Philly is an Elton Brand trade away from becoming a top 5 team.

I love OKC tonight. Moneyline and plus 4.5 to b/u.

I think we might have witnessed a transformation tonight. Even though James missed the game winning shot at the end of regulation tonight, just the fact that he took the shot was big. Not only that he took the shot but the way he went out and demanded the ball after he got that offensive rebound. I'm ok with him missing. All players miss more in that situation than they make, even Jordan and Bryant. I just liked the way he ran out to the perimeter and called for the ball and didn't shy away from the moment the way he has so often in the last couple of years. I think that was huge. It reminded me of that moment some years ago when Isiah Thomas told his teammates that he was taking the shot, period, and that either they would win or lose and it would be on him but he was taking it.

He's the best basketball player in the world and the best talent ever. He needs to start making that shot and winning titles to validate it all.

I don't think he does. I think validation comes in the course of 48 minute games, 82 games a year. Best talent ever? I don't agree with that either. The most physically gifted and best in the world currently? Without a doubt. I just don't feel that championships are as necessary as others do to validate anything. Did Oscar Robertson's career become validated when he finally won a title (at age 32, in his 11th year and only after being traded to Milwaukee and playing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)? Did Jerry West's career become validated when he finally won a title (at age 33, in his 12th year and only after Wilt was traded to play with him in LA)? Was Kevin Garnett somehow a better player when he finally won a few years ago than he was in his prime in Minnesota?

This year, I think that San Antonio is better than Miami and OKC might be too. James can get 35-10-10 every night and could still lose. It wouldn't lessen his play.

Here are two guys that won three MVP's each and their cumulative numbers for those three seasons:

Player 1................................................. .....Player 2
241.........................games................. .........219
38.6......................minute/game..................38.1
20.4....................attempts/game................19.7
.504...........................fg%................ ...........505
1.7.........................3pt att/game..................4.2
.392.........................3pt %..........................342
5.7...........................ft att/game...................9.3
.889..........................ft %............................773
2.2.........................off rebounds....................1.2
7.9.........................def rebounds...................6.3
10.1..........................rebounds............ ..........7.6
6.7............................assists............ ..............7.4
1.82...........................steals............. .............1.72
0.90...........................blocks............. ............1.00
3.1...........................turnovers........... ...........3.3
26.2..........................points.............. ............28.5

The numbers are very similar I think. Do you know who the two guys are?

Did Oscar and Jerry have even 1% of the hype and virtual deep throating the media and fans gave LeBron before he entered the league?

Nah.

Feel free to include him with the greats but don't try and say his situation isn't different from those guys...who seem to be decent guys and don't immediately start premature ejaculating when a camera is in their face.

That's not fair at all. Media coverage back then was nothing at all like it is now. There was no Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. There wasn't sports talk radio like it is now. There was no "Around the Horn" or "First Take" or any number of the shows ESPN has on seemingly around the clock. Hell, there was no ESPN at all. No NBAtv. It's impossible to compare the two eras.

The other thing is, just as a horse doesn't run any better if the public bets him to 3/5 than he would if he was 10/1, LeBron's abilities and performance level doesn't rise or fall based on the media or the fans. I can start a blog saying that Robert Griffin is going to be the best quarterback in history and break every passing record. My blog won't make him play any better. Mike Krzyzewski once said "never let your success or failure be defined by someone else's expectations." Whether the media and fans fawn all over James or they never say another word about him, that doesn't have anything to do with how good or bad he is.

LeBron is bitchmade. I don't know how anyone can argue that. That shot at the end of regulation was a microcosm of his entire late-game personality. He has a 6'1"/170 lb. guard on him talking sh it, daring him to win the game, and he backs away and badly misses a fallaway 20-footer at the buzzer. It's comical at this point how scared he plays under pressure.

You want to talk about fairness when you're pretty much completely discrediting team championships having any relation to individual greatness.

I mean fine. You've got a few others on here who agree with you that LeBron is great. He's a phenomenal athlete and that's been apparent since he was a kid. I don't deny that. BUT...he is not a great professional basketball player yet. In my opinion he doesn't have the credentials to be included as of this point. Can he? Of course.

Will he? I seriously doubt it. He's proven time and time again to fold when it matters most. And maybe I'm on a different f.ucking planet than the rest of you but championships matter. Whether it's team or individual.

Nobody outside of swim fans know who the f.uck Ryan Lochte is. Broke Phelps' world record in the 200 I.M. Don't really mean s.hit though unless he does it in London.

Done.

Lebron certainly didn't help his reputation last night even after hitting the tying shot. What the hell was that last possession in regulation? Awful...

He doesn't want to shoot when it matters most. Not sure why...because like you said he drained the game tying shot right before that. But he acted like the basketball was on fire the way he got rid of it.

What was he supposed to do there? Wade tossed him the ball with 7 seconds on the clock 28 feet from the basket and stood there. When he went right two defenders jumped out at him. Haslem rolled away from the lane, Battier was standing on the far right sideline, Wade left the screen and Chalmers set up 30 feet away from the hoop then rolled toward james.

Garnett was standing right behind Pietrus shadowing James and Chalmers by going at James brought his defender right to him. What would anyone have done there?

Again what was he supposed to do there? When the other team commits 3 guys to you what is the excuse for the other guys standing around? It was an awkward ending but if you watch it again think how is it possible for 4 celtics to be between him and the basket and not a single Heat player is even moving except Chalmers who for some reason was running at him. And the 3 was a far bigger shot than the last second possession. You dont think there is more pressure when you are down by three with 30 seconds to play than when the game is tied? Miss one and the game is probably over, miss the other and you still are playing.

But of course it is LeBron James so all sanity is tossed out the window...

He dribbled into traffic like he always does in those spots. The pass was embarrassing. He should study Durant.

Seriously, about what he should do...ANYTHING different than the last 20 times he has been in that spot. I don't give him nearly as much credit for hitting a WIDE OPEN three. He is supposed to make that.

You have the ball 8 feet behind the three point line with 8 seconds to go. You are defended at the line. Behind that defender is KG looking to be the help defender. At the foul line are two other defenders. The clock is running out. Wade has run out of bounds on the baseline. Battier is a statue. Haslem has faded right to get out of the way. Chalmers is running at you. What exactly are you supposed to do? Shoot a 30 footer? So that you can say that he should have driven?

When the guy makes a shot he is supposed to. When he doesnt he sucks.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320603002

Stop the video at 1:30

You tell me what anybody could do there.

The tell me what an NBA team is doing in a situation like that with a "play" like that.

I've never said he sucks, ever. I've called him the best player in the world until very recently. We can drum up all the excuses we want to drum up, but the guy doesn't want to take the big shots at the end. He has proven it time and time and time and time and time again. The one big one I remember him hitting to beat Orlando he had no time to pass. It was an inbound and a heave.

Simple question...does Kobe, Durant, Jordan, Wade, or Bird get a shot off there? If you say no, you are kidding yourself. He is bigger and stronger than all those guys. There were a ton of different things he could do, like posting up instead of getting the ball a mile from the basket. He could drive hard and pull up, which is pretty much unstoppable given his speed and strength. Some of the blame, I guess, should go to the coach, but we all know this is a players league and Lebron has carte blanche to do whatever he wants.

Lets not forget this guy brought this all on himself with the smoke machines and the "not four, not five, not six..." bullsh!t. He is a fabulous player, but not nearly as good as he thinks he is.

The idea that other players would have gotten off a good shot with the entire team between him and the basket is laughable. If you want to question the wisdom of Miami seemingly having no set play at the end of the game fine. if you want to say that James should post you'd be wrong but at least that is a semi-defensible position(They would just switch KG on him and double down and James is far better facing the basket).

From the postion he received the ball last night there was almost nothing anyone could have done alone. No picks set, no one rolling to the basket, no logical off the ball movement.

Funny for a guy that supposedly doesnt want to take the last shot, etc the opposing coaches don't seem that willing to play him straight up on defense like they do with Durant.

I've always thought that when you are being triple teamed, the best basketball move to make is to pass the ball. Granted, he did make a piss poor pass.

He is probably better than he thinks he is if you use the Lebron James haters logic. If he thought he was better than he actually is he would be taking all these ill-advised shots while defended by 4 guys no?

And what does that really matter? Kobe can take terrible shots, play selfishly, not try on defense and because he has been fortunate enough to play on good teams that have won championships it is ok. But James makes a poor choice in ANNOUNCING where he is going to play and then shows up a team sponsored pep rally and everyone hates him. The fact is that he is a good teammate, good passer, good rebounder, superior defender almost all of the time who hasnt had any off the court issues for anyone to complain about and he is hated and denigrated.

It was deflected by Chalmers man who was coming at him from the right side. But it is James and he alone gets blame, no credit can be given to any others when he is on the floor.

Was it a great basketball play? Of course not but he was trying to make something happen and there are 4 others guys standing around watching. I can't understand why Miller wasn't in the game to spread the court. KG didn't even consider guarding Haslem till the ball went his way. At least with Miller in there you have to respect his shot.

And funny how Wade who has been awful for a lot of the playoffs gets off despite just flipping the ball to James and running out of bounds on the baseline. Or not drawing the foul on Daniels on the last shot in OT

Wade gets no pass with me, he stunk the entire game. Maybe he was irritated the play wasn't called for him, I don't know.

Like I said, James is a fabulous player, he just doesn't want that last shot. Why did he drive right? Left was clearly the better option. You didn't answer, any of those other guys getting that shot off? He passed to a guy that had no prayer of making the shot, so anything James would have taken was better than the option he chose.

Yes, passing to an OPEN teammate when doubled is the best move but you can't do it with no time and the guy isn't open. A 30 footer was a MUCH better option than what he did.

If he goes left than KG forces him awy from the basket toward the corner which gives him no chance of finding anyone. Like I said it wasnt a great play as he left his feet and was forced to throw a defended pass to the only guy plausibly open. But arguing that a contested falling away 26 foot shot is a better option than what else can I say. His chance of success doing that was about 2% versus the pass which was about the same chance. There isnt a player in league history who gets grief about that play except maybe Kobe who would have shocked everyone by passing.

The real fault should be with the coach. You have 20 seconds to go in a tie game and you come up with that as a play? Watch the shot Durant makes to beat the lakers and you see a design that at least allowed Durant to be isolated far away enough from help to not be doubled. Why they didn't put Jones or Miller or both in to at least make Boston spread the defense? Or give the ball to james at the point and set a pick for him and set up Miller, Wade, Chalmers, Jones, Battier at the three point line to allow someone to be open on the double or help? Make KG defend outside the paint. While James didn't make an effective basketball move the play was doomed from the start unless a Boston defender fell over.

Who knows maybe they had a great play set and they ignored or screwed it up. But the fact that Battier was a statue, Haslem was flaring out away from the basket and Chalmers was cutting towards james while Wade was behind the backboard makes me wonder what the hell they were trying to do?

The only thing I'll add is that dribbling away 3.5 seconds doing nothing didn't help.

His teammates suck, but what did these guys think was going to happen with three veterans all making close to the max? They thought it wouldn't matter, but they were wrong. They'll be stuck picking up old guys looking for a title like Battier (I still can't believe Durant wanted this guy on the Thunder) and Juwan Howard.

If they Heat were smart, they would jettison Wade in a heartbeat. He is clearly falling off in a hurry. Sure, he has flashes, but so did Jordan with the Wiz. He isn't near the player he once was.

It wasn't a last five minutes situation. It was a last 48 minute situation. I thought James was pretty clutch tonight. I know, he should have scored 50 but I'll take 45 and 15 boards in a road elimination game anytime. Yep. Not clutch at all. This was even better than the last time he faced elimination in Boston when he also scored 45 even though the Cavs lost. Guess that one was his fault.

Best player in the world, by far. Harden will be a big issue for Miami in the Finals. Either way its going to be great after Miami takes Boston out on Saturday night.

Everyone raves about Durant and he's a great player. But really, why is there any question about James being the best player in the world? Every basketball analyst says it, especially the former players. Durant has won the last three scoring titles ONLY because James let him. Each of those years, Durant took more shots than James and he's outscored him by 0.4, 1.0, and 0.9 points a game during those three seasons. At the same time, James has averaged 2-3x more assists per game (in 2010, it was 8.6 to 2.8) than Durant. If James wanted to be just a little more unselfish, he could easily score more. The first of Durant's scoring title years, James ranked 6th in the league in assists (he's been top 10 four times) and his 8.6 per game set an NBA record for a forward. At the same time, James rebounds just as much as Durant does and is a much better defender. I will give you that Durant is looking like the better player when it comes to final possessions and being more clutch. I will concede that James is not even in the top five of that category. I'd put Chris Paul on top followed by Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, and Durant. But the game is 48 minutes long, not just the last five. There is nobody that comes close to being as productive in all areas in a 48 minute game, night in and night out.

People on ESPN say durant is better. For me its not even close. I do believe OKC matches up favorably with Miami though. Should be an amazing series.

How does the end of his shaft taste? Contain your fandom, dude. It was an elimination game...not game 7 for the 'ship.

Have some respect. It was an all time great performance... per Magic and Stephen A. That's 2 now just in this playoff run.

No disrespect to Magic but Screamin A is a certified racist and LeBron ball licker. I give a f.uck what he says.

F.uck respect. I don't respect a guy who starts games by imitating Ashy Larry from the Chappelle Show. And furthermore this is a team they should have already closed out. Celtics are old as f.uck.

Obviously he played great last night. Let's see what happens in game 7 and if they make it to the finals.

You have a pretty short memory. Last year you were beating the same drum and I recall even you admitting he disappeared in the finals.

Hey, at least PG1985 agrees with you. He's known for his strong opinion on virtually everything.