Have you bought into Lebron HypeMachine???

[Change]

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

And he got swept by the Spurs. Wade single-handedly won the championship.

[Who]

Carmelo Anthony + Kevin Durant can match LeBron's scoring ability but neither player can come anywhere close to LeBron's passing ability. Neither player can match his defensive ability either.

LeBron James is by far the best player in the league today.

Each player is his own. Few players can do what lebron does. That is the Same with Kobe, Melo, Durant, CP3, Dwight, etc..... I just think the gap is much smaller then what most people think. Take D-Wade: He can score, defend, pass, blocks, steals, and so forth..... And he has proven he win it all. So how much better is Lebron Really?

I consider Wade the second best player in the league and well above Kobe, Melo, Durant or Chris Paul. He is the one player who can come close to LeBron's all-around dominance. It was a close call last season but Wade's play has dropped off this year while LeBron's has continued to improve, hence, the considerable gap between the two nowadays.

Dwight Howard is a totally different type of talent but has a comparable impact on the game as Wade does. I'd give the nod to Wade as the second best until Dwight's offensive game improves further.

Kobe Bryant is in the conversation talent wise but I don't think he's utilized his abilities well enough this season to be part of this conversation. I think that he has to prove himself again.

Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul do not belong in this conversation. None of these players are MVP caliber talents at this point in their careers. They are All-NBA level players.

[outcry]

Carmelo Anthony + Kevin Durant can match LeBron's scoring ability but neither player can come anywhere close to LeBron's passing ability. Neither player can match his defensive ability either.

LeBron James is by far the best player in the league today.

Kobe,Wade and Pierce is ahead of Lebron..until Lebron proves he can close big games out then he is still sitting in the top(5) players in my opinion.To be the best you have the beat the best and Lebron hasn't won anything,yet.

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

Yes,but before Jordan,Bird,and even Kobe,people didn't pin that #1star badge on them until they showed they could close out the big game(s).Maybe Lebron goes thru this entire career,just close but not making it over the hump.Look at Malone,Stockton,and some others went thru many series,almost there but no cigar.

you state that pierce is ahead of him because he's won, BUT pierce didn't do much until he got a great surrounding cast. lebron hasn't had great players who can complement his game like pierce has had. i don't like lebron, but you cannot deny that he's a top 3 player in the nba.

[housecall]

Carmelo Anthony + Kevin Durant can match LeBron's scoring ability but neither player can come anywhere close to LeBron's passing ability. Neither player can match his defensive ability either.

LeBron James is by far the best player in the league today.

Kobe,Wade and Pierce is ahead of Lebron..until Lebron proves he can close big games out then he is still sitting in the top(5) players in my opinion.To be the best you have the beat the best and Lebron hasn't won anything,yet.

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

Yes,but before Jordan,Bird,and even Kobe,people didn't pin that #1star badge on them until they showed they could close out the big game(s).Maybe Lebron goes thru this entire career,just close but not making it over the hump.Look at Malone,Stockton,and some others went thru many series,almost there but no cigar.

you state that pierce is ahead of him because he's won, BUT pierce didn't do much until he got a great surrounding cast. lebron hasn't had great players who can complement his game like pierce has had. i don't like lebron, but you cannot deny that he's a top 3 player in the nba.

you're right,he's a top 3player at best...as far as he hasn't had the players around him,i think he had enough to get him over the top at times.Jordan  had Pippen and a bunch of Tito Jacksons,but if you are the best,it doesn't matter,you will figure it out with what you have,as Jordan did.James hasn't proven that he can close,simple.
                 CLANG,CLANG... thats what he's remembered for so far at the end of any big games he's been in...maybe he will change this,but until then he is not the best in the game today.

[Roy Hobbs]

This is the first season where I've thought that Lebron's team *should* win the championship, based upon their level of talent.

[Who]

The Cavs have excellent strength and depth but they lack talent at the top of the top of their roster outside of LeBron James.

[Roy Hobbs]

The Cavs have excellent strength and depth but they lack talent at the top of the top of their roster outside of LeBron James.

They don't have another star, but I think Williams and Jamison are both well above-average, and Shaq is still a very good center.  Obviously, without Lebron they're not close to a championship contender, but there's a lot of legit talent there.

[Change]

This is the first season where I've thought that Lebron's team *should* win the championship, based upon their level of talent.

If Lebron doesn't win it all this season, Will you change your opinion about him? I know the media won't, and the hype will continue. The talent level at the top is very similar.

[Who]

The Cavs have excellent strength and depth but they lack talent at the top of the top of their roster outside of LeBron James.

They don't have another star, but I think Williams and Jamison are both well above-average, and Shaq is still a very good center.  Obviously, without Lebron they're not close to a championship contender, but there's a lot of legit talent there.

The second best player on the Cleveland Cavaliers is Anderson Varejao.

The 1994 Houston Rockets with Otis Thorpe is the only other Championship team in the last 30 years to win a title with a second best player comparable to Varejao.

[Steve Weinman]

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

And he got swept by the Spurs. Wade single-handedly won the championship.

Yeah, right.  Even though Shaq was far from his old self and shot poorly from the FT line, he still gave Miami better than 13 and 10 in the Finals to go with 60.7 percent field-goal shooting.  And that's only the first name on that roster whose stats I bothered to check from the '06 Finals.  The rest of Wade's supporting cast was considerably more talented than Bron's '07 team.

Further, the idea that "[LeBron] got swept" and "Wade single-handedly won the championship" demonstrates considerable lack of understanding of the concept that this is a team game.

-sw

[housecall]

I hope the perceivably best player in the game draws the Bobcats for the first round of the playoffs...the Cavs probably win the series but they will know they've been in a fight.Im buying the Bobcats HypeMachine for sure.  

[Change]

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

And he got swept by the Spurs. Wade single-handedly won the championship.

Yeah, right.  Even though Shaq was far from his old self and shot poorly from the FT line, he still gave Miami better than 13 and 10 in the Finals to go with 60.7 percent field-goal shooting.  And that's only the first name on that roster whose stats I bothered to check from the '06 Finals.  The rest of Wade's supporting cast was considerably more talented than Bron's '07 team.

Further, the idea that "[LeBron] got swept" and "Wade single-handedly won the championship" demonstrates considerable lack of understanding of the concept that this is a team game.

-sw

-sw

13 & 10 amazing number, Right? I've never read a more biased statement in my life. Wade couldn't win it alone, but his majesty the incredible James can. Lebron did it all by himself, Correct? Give me a break! Wade was the sole reason Heat beat Dallas. A feat the incredible Lebron couldn't and won't duplicate.

[Steve Weinman]

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

And he got swept by the Spurs. Wade single-handedly won the championship.

Yeah, right.  Even though Shaq was far from his old self and shot poorly from the FT line, he still gave Miami better than 13 and 10 in the Finals to go with 60.7 percent field-goal shooting.  And that's only the first name on that roster whose stats I bothered to check from the '06 Finals.  The rest of Wade's supporting cast was considerably more talented than Bron's '07 team.

Further, the idea that "[LeBron] got swept" and "Wade single-handedly won the championship" demonstrates considerable lack of understanding of the concept that this is a team game.

-sw

-sw

I've never read a more biased statement in my life.

Well, that's probably because you couched your Bron-Pierce "comparison" in the OP as an interrogative rather than a statement.

-sw

[Steve Weinman]

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

And he got swept by the Spurs. Wade single-handedly won the championship.

Yeah, right.  Even though Shaq was far from his old self and shot poorly from the FT line, he still gave Miami better than 13 and 10 in the Finals to go with 60.7 percent field-goal shooting.  And that's only the first name on that roster whose stats I bothered to check from the '06 Finals.  The rest of Wade's supporting cast was considerably more talented than Bron's '07 team.

Further, the idea that "[LeBron] got swept" and "Wade single-handedly won the championship" demonstrates considerable lack of understanding of the concept that this is a team game.

-sw

-sw

13 & 10 amazing number, Right? I've never read a more biased statement in my life. Wade couldn't win it alone, but his majesty the incredible James can. Lebron did it all by himself, Correct? Give me a break! Wade was the sole reason Heat beat Dallas. A feat the incredible Lebron couldn't and won't duplicate.

And on a more serious note, thanks for giving me reason to sit the rest of this one out.

I never suggested 13 and 10 was amazing.  In fact, I qualified that statement by saying Shaq was far from his old self and shooting poorly from the foul line.

I also never suggested LeBron did anything by himself.

Have a good one.

-sw

[Change]

On the other hand, Lebron almost single-handedly carried his team to the Finals, and has had some huge playoffs series.

And he got swept by the Spurs. Wade single-handedly won the championship.

Yeah, right.  Even though Shaq was far from his old self and shot poorly from the FT line, he still gave Miami better than 13 and 10 in the Finals to go with 60.7 percent field-goal shooting.  And that's only the first name on that roster whose stats I bothered to check from the '06 Finals.  The rest of Wade's supporting cast was considerably more talented than Bron's '07 team.

Further, the idea that "[LeBron] got swept" and "Wade single-handedly won the championship" demonstrates considerable lack of understanding of the concept that this is a team game.

-sw

-sw

I've never read a more biased statement in my life.

Well, that's probably because you couched your Bron-Pierce "comparison" in the OP as an interrogative rather than a statement.

-sw

Fair enough.