taking into account means considering something an important part of a decision. I was stating that if you consider the intangibles like will to win and drive to be the best important, then no, I don't think he is the best. Then you posted this, and i still stand by my belief. Most people hold a deeper respect for those who try and fail than those who are too scared to try in the first place.
(1) You are entitled to stand by your opinion. (2) There is definitely something to be said for irrational confidence. I, for example, think I'm way better looking than I probably really am. Is it appropriate to pedestalize irrational confidence in the context of choosing whether to shoot a basketball when the outcome of the game depends on the success of the shot? Questionable. Ball ain't irrational. Ball don't lie.
Intangibles have to be considered when determining the best player. That's where Bron fails miserably.
Here is the thing: you are completely wrong. I say this in the nicest possible way, but I have no choice but to express this in absolute terms -- with zero qualifiers -- or I myself would be wrong. Because it isn't even arguable, I won't argue it. Instead, I would like to help you arrive at a not-indefensible conclusion. I think questions might be useful to this end. Here is one that I think serves as a nice jumping off point. What, if anything, do the results of the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers tend to suggest about the value of Lebron James in terms of wins per season?
At worst, LeBron James allows his fear to overcome him, and at the most critical moments when his team needs him most. When all of the statistics are shoved to their rightful place, deep into the unimportance of the background, where is he when standing center stage, where the glory - and scrutiny - are the most blinding? He's nowhere to be found. That's where he is. Nowhere. And not once, but consistently, so much so as to have become a truth so universally accepted as to be less of an opinion, and much more a statement of fact. Even to the point that his OPPONENTS are sickened by his complete and utter cowardice. Read that again: his OPPONENTS are sick of his inability to perform on any stage of significance, real or imagined. And they tell him. To his face. Can you quote me a stat - hell, any number of stats - that can overcome that? Perhaps you can, and he is the greatest player in the NBA....statistically speaking. Butt if there is even a modicum of serious debate that he actually IS the best player in the league - then that's an infinitely more damning argument against the NBA, moreso than LeBron.
There is nary a modicum of serious debate about whether LBJ is the best in the league. Why not? Such a debate requires as a prerequisite that reasonable individuals be willing to advance an argument that they would be willing to trade LBJ, straight up, for another player in the league. Thus far there has been a modicum of interest in advancing an indefensible argument.
Kid, That you love the guy is self-evident. Where is he at the moment of greatest need - and where good gives way to great? That's not the only question in the argument, for sure, but it's the only one that matters.
So we're talking regular season wins? Because I thought we were talking about being a champion in every sense of the word.
What I found really peculiar watching it live was the interview after the game with Lebron on the bench. When asked about the game, he devolved into how he played, how he will remember the end, how well he played until that point, etc. I kept thinking "It's the damned all-star game in a labor disputed season, and you are the biggest name in the sport." The answer has to be some garbage about a great weekend, good show for the fans, great players, terrific opportunity, etc. It has to be. But it wasn't. I found the whole thing odd.
I'm trying, but the insanity in this thread is really confusing and distracting. The Heat make the playoffs without him. No doubt.
Sorry - this is my friendly way of stressing its preeminent importance. And also, as a means of gently and respectfully saying that all of the stats and successes that he has undoubtedly had, albeit in moments of infinitely lesser importance, mean exactly jack [penis] in stark comparison to the fact that he's a cowardice, over-hyped, festering sore of a fear-driven [itch bay]. I will abandon the point, trusting that it's been properly recorded and duly noted.
The posts you originally quoted referred to the 2006 Heat...but this year's team makes the playoffs easily without Wade. They might fall behind the Bulls, but that's about as far as it would go.
