That's a damn hard argument to make. How about?
I bet all my Coli cash against him being able to close the deal last year
Every player in NBA history since Bill Russell has lost more years than they've won.
He's clearly taken a step back the last two years from where he was in 2012/2013.
And he's played, what, something like 600+ games the last five years? He's played more games in a six-year stretch than anyone in NBA history.
No one on this board can claim I'm a Lebron hater.
Not a single truthful thing?
Game be 70-70 in the 3rd quarter, by the time a nikka run in the kitchen to get some joose the Warriors done hit 7 threes, score be like 112-58
shyt spooky brehs
Damn, if a Golden State run moves a 70-70 score into 112-58, that is spooky as hell.
Lebron putting his entire career on the line game 7...dude is 31 not 38
You must be one of a long line of people who think that wanting to win somehow overcomes actual physical limitations.
Lebron might play with all the effort in the world. That doesn't mean that the tiredness and wear in his body won't pull those jump shots off target.
31 is old for a full-effort athlete. Running backs are usually done or way downhill at 31. Jordan was strong at 31, but only because he'd just taken nearly two full years off, and he still was a step below where he'd been at 24-29. Wasn't McGrady retired by 31? Didn't Vince Carter start falling off at 31? Wasn't Kobe going 6-24 in a Finals Game 7 at 31?
Athletes at 31 are usually relying on their smarts and familiarity with the game to compensate for the deterioration of their body. And they still deteriorate. Only 4 players in NBA history have won an NBA past the age of 31 (Nash, Kareem, Jordan twice, and Malone twice), and except for Jordan's post-break MVPs, most of those were borderline seasons at best.
C. You're acting like LeBron is dog tired. Dude has been at the least, the second best player athletically for the past 2 years at Cleveland. He has a clear resting schedule and is playing for his 3rd championship. You seriously using "he might get tired" as an excuse? What the hell? All those games are gonna SUDDENLY hit him in this specific game when it hasnt yet?
It HAS been hitting him for two years.
Lebron missing 20 games the last two years when he hadn't missed more than 7 games in a season his entire career.
Lebron's defensive effort falling off the last two years, to the point where he wasn't named to any of the All-Defensive teams for the first time since 2008.
Lebron's jump shot completely falling off in the playoffs last year, then being gone all season this year, because he just didn't have the lift on it anymore.
Lebron scoring fewer ppg the last two years than at any point since his rookie season, and at a lower FG% than since his 1st year in Miami.
Lebron having tired-looking games in what appear to be must-win situations (Game 4 against GS last year, Game 4 against GS this year).
Yes, Lebron is still the best player in the game, and he can put up ridiculous games over and over. But his defense and his shooting and his willingness to defer have shown that he's been tired the last two years. This isn't something that "suddenly hit him", it's why he shot 30% from three in the playoffs last year and 31% in the regular season this year. Why he's had to give away more of the scoring load and half-ass it on defense so often.
He still is capable of games like 5 and 6. But it's too much to expect him to do it a third time in a row at this point. He might still put up something like 30-10-10....but I bet they'll need something more like 45-15-5, and at high efficiency, for Cleveland to actually win.
Yea it's hard to bet against Lebron. He has more on the line. He needs it more. He will want it more.
Warriors already won 73. This season is a success no matter what
Not one player on GS is considering this season a success on Sunday if they lose. They are coming out every bit as on fire to win as Cleveland is, possibly more.