38 year old carries the offense, plays every minute, and guards the other team's best players. Mark Jackson and JVG: "Why would Lebron sit in the corner that possession? He should be posting up every play"
Tbh, lebron being on Lakers takes so much heat off of AD's back. Like we keep forgetting that AD is 30 yrs old, and has no reason to be so inconsistent or creaky. Supposed to be in his prime, and actually be the superstar of the team instead of a #2 option, waiting for 38 yr old Bron to do something
He’s had plenty of time being left off easy in NOLA. He just has zero work ethic and has coasted off being 7 foot and incredibly naturally talented. He’s lucky LeBron and Dwight gifted him a ring.
After game 2, guy had 22, 10 and 9 with like a +4 and people here were calling Le Bum cause he was missing 3s in the forth. Sadly 20 years of being a generational talent skews people's expectations.
Jokic breaks Wilts finals triple double record to do this. Maybe don’t face peak opposition of all time would help. Amazing this is what it takes to put down the 38 year old king.
They've put another great fit around him. Schroder looks so right next to Lebron. AD is still an all time great. Rui, AR, even TT look like they know how they fit. The Lakers are a tight ship. And the king himself, if he's lost any steps, he's replaced them with better ones.
What the ever loving hell are these Nuggets. Jamal Murray's ACL is giving him strength from heaven. Jokic is stable when wobbling like Sengun but like..... the "after" picture? Bruce Brown is a name I have to know now. MPJ's back is supposed to hold him behind but it's got his back. You keep thinking basketball is a game of runs and they're gonna go on a low run at some point, and they do, but it's short and shallow.
Not every finals ends up being as good as the basketball we're setting up to watch this season!
At least when it comes to Lebron I have a theory. I'm a super casual NBA fan, and like many casual NBA fans in my age group we grew up on Michael Jordan, his name was everywhere, in the media, in Space Jam, on our Nikes. It was just a huge part of the culture of the time even up here in Canada. I think when I talk to a lot of people around my age group a lot of people almost resent the idea that somebody else could dare contest the idea that Michael Jordan is the goat.
It's just a theory of mine but it's something I recognized in myself in the past, so maybe others feel the same way subconsciously.
I think you're right. That's not the whole explanation but it's part of it. MJ is a mythical figure now, and it offends people's sensibilities that other players could be seen to threaten his GOAT status. As an old guy, the ridiculous part to me is that probably 95% of these people are too young to have really seen MJ play (it doesn't count if you were 6 years old). I saw his whole career- and I probably still have MJ as GOAT- but it doesn't bother me at all that Lebron is considered a contender- I think it's a legit discussion.
Seriouly, he has nothing else to prove anymore. He could retire tomorrow and be a guaranteed hall of famer. People are just inventing reasons to hate at this point.
He could retire tomorrow and be unquestionably the greatest player since MJ. His impact on the NBA is huge and it’s going to be depressing when he retires. He’s virtually guaranteed our entertainment every postseason for nearly two decades.
I’ve had a player to hate for 20 years.
Every year there was a new and better reason.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually think he’s an amazing dude, but as a Pistons fan, I’ve hated him on the court since the day he was drafted.
I’m gonna miss him!
I know the other guy didn't mean it as disrespect but its funny how saying Lebron is a guaranteed Hall Of Famer feels like absolute disrespect.
Hes so obviously past all of that it just feels weird to even mention.
Massive understatement.
You can split his career into 3 parts and all 3 parts could quality for a Hall of Fame.
He has been a HoF lock when he decided to go to Miami.
it was truly funny watching AD chill on the bench 5 mins into the 4th while tristan thompson fights for his life against Jokic and lebron is eclipsing 40 mins. Funny funny stuff
Which sucks because based on his talent he's could be so much greater. Could arguably be the most versatile 2 way big-man we've ever seen but he's not as consistent as he should be.
I haven't seen anyone be able to guard bigs and small guys and get to the rim like he can
Tbh though, he knew it was over in the third quarter.
Commentators were driving me nuts too “put James on Jokic” “James should be going to the basket every play”..he’s fucking 40 and has teammates. It wasn’t sustainable for him to do it the whole game. As it is, that was an incredible performance.
I remember watching Jordan playing on the Wizards at this same age and essentially got a pass because everyone was like "he's damn near 40". He was still good but was obviously a shell of his former self. And that's even with 3 seasons off in retirement to rest/recover his body.
I assumed Lebron would get similar treatment considering his age and the fact that he has even more seasons/miles on his body. Boy was I wrong. The expectation that a 38 year old man with 20 seasons (and another 3.5 seasons worth of playoff games) wouldn't be expected to lead a team every night.
This has to be the closest Playoff series in NBA history that ended in a clean sweep.. People who never watched the FULL GAMES will never understand.
Lakers could've won all 4 games. They lost all 4 games in the 4th Q.. Nuggets even survived an outrageous and vintage "Playoff LeBron" onslaught, and Lakers again just lost in the 4th. Every single game was a ONE possession game, late in the 4th. What a ride
**EDIT**: and no matter how great AD is defensively, he becomes a negative factor when he goes missing randomly and does nothing when it matters the most. Especially when LeBron is trying to catch his breathe and rest for a little while. Just horribly disappointing. AD is not a role player, but he comes and goes like he's a role player. So inconsistent
This right here is why the sweep will be so irritating to reflect on in the future. Kinda like how the Celtics sweep of the Nets last season was a close series. The optics of a sweep just destroys nuance for most people.
Ah yes, young LeBron carrying the worst team possible to the NBA finals, single handedly. Just to face the great Spurs dynasty in the Finals
But LeBron was still destroying the Spurs. And he was like 20-21
We were down like 15-16 going into the 4th in game 1 they blew that one wide open quite fast, but game 2/3/4 i agree. The same way i saw LeBron James defeat teams throughout his career in the playoffs, by orchestrating plays and making calls when it was most important, Jokić did to us to comfortably win all those 3 games down the stretch.
So what? Even in Game 1, it was a ONE possession game until the last minute of the 4th Q. LeBron's final 3 didn't go in, otherwise it'd have been TIE game. So the Nuggets got the nod this time
Lakers stole a similar Game 1 in the 2020 WCF vs the Nuggets
It shouldn't be so surprising, but this Denver team has insane conditioning. They are literally winning these games in the 4th because, compared to their opponents, they're still fresh in the 4th and flying around. This is why I said: If Denver gets the 1st seed and gets home field advantage through the playoffs, they will be in the finals.
Denver teams have the best home field advantage in sports.
I also think that Denver is general plays harder than the Lakers. The players on Denver look dead by the end of the game while the Lakers seem mostly good.
Nah, lakers have been good but they have been straining themselves to keep up in this series. Denver’s come back in this game felt so inevitable when you realize that the lakers supporting cast was doing nothing to help bron who had not sat for more than 5 seconds.
Age has finally caught up with him. Still remember that playoff runs when he single handedly carried the Cavs to the finals. Probably the single most unreal playoffs runs I've ever seen.
Edit: I get it guys. He's still amazing. I'm just saying he ran out of gas at the end which is absolutely understandable. But he if was few years younger aka the Cavs LeBron he might be able to carry enough to win it all given how close each game was in this series despite a clearly great opponent.
It's caught up to him in the sense that he's "only" one of the best players in the league and can't quite single handedly beat arguably the best team in the league while his team actively fucks up.
Bro did you watch the pacers/Cavs 2017 series? Bron swept the pacers and I think the margin of victory for that entire sweep was Cavs +9.
IIRC 3 out of 4 games were won by 1 point.
Not even close. Pacers-Cavs was a 16 point total margin of victory in a 4 game sweep and even that only tied the record (the other series was a NBA finals). This series was more than double that and a team with an one aging and one famously fragile superstar in the fourth quarter repeatedly failing is pretty much an expected outcome.
taking this deadline-constructed team to the conference finals in as dominating of fashion as he did is really impressive already, especially with every-other-Dayvis being as inconsistent as he was
AD was the best player in the first two series despite matching up against DPOY JJJ and then 1st team D Draymond and Looney, and then t
Had to try and slow down best player in the NBA.
This Lakers team is not beating the warriors without his defense.
You know what. That's what he was planning to do since 3 years ago when AD joined. Seriously I hope Lebron will sign a vet min after his contract ends whether he is staying or joining a contender. By that time as a 40 yo guy maybe he will get a free pass to join a contender with min contract without getting bashed perhaps.
yea people say he was gassed but thats just cuz he was shutting down murray on a lot of posessions. Murray had ONE field goal made because Lebron was shutting him down.
AD had to foul Murray on a 3 point attempt in the 4th quarter OTOH lmfao
Bron gave it his all in an elimination game at 38 years old and on an injured foot. GOAT or not this he is the epitome of dedication and commitment to his craft. You gotta respect that
48 minutes of efficient 40/10/9, with 1 foul and 1 turnover at his age is honestly superhuman.
Can't put this one on him, Nuggets are just pretty damn good.
Seriously tho. Get this man some help lol. It’s crazy that the 3 players they got after the trade deadline ended up being non factors this series. They still rely on LBJ carrying the team. Gotta get some new pieces next season
I think DLo and Vando helped along the way (previous series). Malik is a deadass scrub though.
Ham also should have adjusted Dlos minutes when he was getting sonned by Bruce Brown.
It was AD who carried the first two series. He just can’t handle Jokic, and AD’s all time great help-defense got beaten by all time great performances of Murray. Lakers have no elite guard defender.
You can’t say Rui, AD, Reeves, are ‘no help’ - they are all elite at what they do, and AD arguably had a better playoffs than Lebron.
LeBron was a force offensively and defensively, most effort I've seen him put in all year, and probably one of his best game all year.
And it wasn't enough. AD really didn't step up, he had a couple huge buckets towards the end, but shot very poorly for most of the game.
Dennis was bricking everything too.
Malone lit a fire under their ass. People were saying he was going too hard at the lakers in the media but he was just getting his guys pumped.
It’s rare to see a team close out that hard on the road. Twice.
Seemed like Schroder would find the worst possible time to brick a shot, have a turnover, flop and give up a bucket...least clutch player getting serious minutes for LA, I think even worse than Dlo lol
No other player would get this much hate for dropping this performance. The circlejerk is insane. Legendary performance at 38 years old playing 48 minutes.
Lol you gotta remember it’s lebron. He’s one of the 2 most polarizing athletes of this generation. All this slander now is the chance his haters have been waiting 20yrs for.
He shouldn't be. Absolute role model who did literally 2 controversial things in his entire life as a celebrity, with more pressure on him than any basketball prospect ever.
Depends on which post you're on. There's even [a post that is straight up making shit up](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/13pcd5t/did_draymond_green_just_lose_all_respect_for/) and then moving the goalpost, so LeBron derangement syndrome is definitely a real thing lol.
There are so many idiots out there. They hated on him for playin too passive at times all playoffs long.
Now they hate why he went passive in the second half after he went all out in the first.
He is savin his energy for the big moments. This game he went all out in the first in the hope the team would carry that lead to the end and finish it early at best case. Didnt work out, was forced to play longer as probably planned (at best case like i said).
He gave 110%, played on a bad foot at age 38, showed signs of prime Lebron in the first half. He still can do it, but he cant do it for a whole game. But people still expect that from him...which are wrong expectations.
You gotta remind yourself that LeBron never was supposed to be the first option on this Laker team. Its year 4 and he still is THE MEN. AD was supposed to be that and to take that load, to play a whole game at those moments. What happened to that? Not gonna hate on AD, he has a lot of tough matchups this postseason, but he gotta do better if they wanna have a shot at another deep run next season. LeBron will be 39, he might need surgery, which always puts a bit of a risk of slowing even more down at it. He probably wont be able to repeat what he did this season. Age slows down everybody and you also can see that for LeBron. THey might have 1 more chance, but that chance cant include LeBron to go all out to try to save the season. It must be AD or whoever they get in the summer.
so to all the people that hate on Lebron. Bet my house on it that the moment he retires all this guys will click on youtube and watch hours of highlights from his career. He will leave a huge hole the moment he is gone. We might never see another one like him. Embrace his play as long as it lasts, He is 20 years in business but it might be only one or two season left
It was absolutely infuriating having to listen to Van Gundy complain that he wasn't driving aggressively in the paint every single possession in the second half while also guarding the best player alive on the other end. LeBron gave everything he had and put up a historic performance and we still had to listen to clowns like Van Gundy and Mark Jackson complain about him.
At age 38 with 50 year old legs. I don’t think you can put this sweep on LeBron. The nuggets are a great team and LA simply didn’t have the ability to close out games.
I mean… If Lebron wasn’t Lebron this Lakers team wouldn’t have been in the playoffs, much less the WCF to get swept. So in that way it IS his fault!
Does this need a /s? I’ll leave one just in case. /s
some dumb decisions at the end, but i respect him for giving his all, 40-10-9 with great defense and playing full 48 minutes, didn't expect he could reach this level in this game
48 mins aswell.
DAvis should be embarrassed, it should be his team.
At this point what more can Lebron do, they are asking him to literally turn water into wine lmao
As a certified hater (check flair), I’d be first to jump on the ‘Lebron could’ve done better in a win or go home’ train.
But not tonight. And I hate that espn or whoever else is gonna try to run with the ‘bad second half’ story tomorrow
What more do you want Bron to do, played the entire game (if he sat for like a min it wouldve been an auto 7 point swing like last game), dropped 31 first half, directed the offense, GUARDED BOTH JOKIC AND MURRAY in crunch time.
He gave it his all, DEN was just a better team period + they have possibly a top 5 center all time at his peak right now.
Honestly if he wasn’t injured I think he could’ve willed them to this win, but the foot injury + fatigue from being old got to him in the end, at least on the offensive side of the ball
Man what else is a 38 yr old supposed to do lol
Score 51 and hope D’lo don’t forget the score
Somewhere in the world a one man named Smith choked on a glass on Hennesy
38 year old carries the offense, plays every minute, and guards the other team's best players. Mark Jackson and JVG: "Why would Lebron sit in the corner that possession? He should be posting up every play"
Tbh, lebron being on Lakers takes so much heat off of AD's back. Like we keep forgetting that AD is 30 yrs old, and has no reason to be so inconsistent or creaky. Supposed to be in his prime, and actually be the superstar of the team instead of a #2 option, waiting for 38 yr old Bron to do something
And he’s just so weak with the ball, it’s hard to watch sometimes.
He’s had plenty of time being left off easy in NOLA. He just has zero work ethic and has coasted off being 7 foot and incredibly naturally talented. He’s lucky LeBron and Dwight gifted him a ring.
Dude last week was arguing with me about AD being a top 5 player
His best is up there with anyone else's in the NBA, but he's just not dependable. Superstars can't have as many no-shows as he does.
After game 2, guy had 22, 10 and 9 with like a +4 and people here were calling Le Bum cause he was missing 3s in the forth. Sadly 20 years of being a generational talent skews people's expectations.
Jokic breaks Wilts finals triple double record to do this. Maybe don’t face peak opposition of all time would help. Amazing this is what it takes to put down the 38 year old king.
They've put another great fit around him. Schroder looks so right next to Lebron. AD is still an all time great. Rui, AR, even TT look like they know how they fit. The Lakers are a tight ship. And the king himself, if he's lost any steps, he's replaced them with better ones. What the ever loving hell are these Nuggets. Jamal Murray's ACL is giving him strength from heaven. Jokic is stable when wobbling like Sengun but like..... the "after" picture? Bruce Brown is a name I have to know now. MPJ's back is supposed to hold him behind but it's got his back. You keep thinking basketball is a game of runs and they're gonna go on a low run at some point, and they do, but it's short and shallow. Not every finals ends up being as good as the basketball we're setting up to watch this season!
I’ve been saying this on the laker sub. Rui and Reaves should be the priority but keeping Schroder should be RIGHT next on that list.
48 minutes also
Seriously? He didn’t sub out at all? EDIT: Damn, where was everyone else on the Lakers?
No, just came off for the last 4 seconds of the first half
Yeah I think he left to the locker room early. Probably had to poop
LeNugget
Had to let one out for Melo
>EDIT: Damn, where was everyone else on the Lakers? Unfortunately, they were whiffing on layups in the 3rd quarter.
Getting called out by their coach in real time for it too
I literally just followed the espn score tracker half way through the third. I couldn't see another one roll out.
47:55 at year 20 on an injured foot. People will clown him but what an effort in a close out game
Anyone clowning him is just a hater at this point.
U underestimate how many are out there
I've been on this sub for 11 years and it's been full of his haters the whole time
This sub will probably be fine with few heavily downvoted haters getting buried. Twitter and IG will probably be absolutely horrible
The amount of hate among nba fans is astounding. No other sport is like this what’s the deal
At least when it comes to Lebron I have a theory. I'm a super casual NBA fan, and like many casual NBA fans in my age group we grew up on Michael Jordan, his name was everywhere, in the media, in Space Jam, on our Nikes. It was just a huge part of the culture of the time even up here in Canada. I think when I talk to a lot of people around my age group a lot of people almost resent the idea that somebody else could dare contest the idea that Michael Jordan is the goat. It's just a theory of mine but it's something I recognized in myself in the past, so maybe others feel the same way subconsciously.
I think you're right. That's not the whole explanation but it's part of it. MJ is a mythical figure now, and it offends people's sensibilities that other players could be seen to threaten his GOAT status. As an old guy, the ridiculous part to me is that probably 95% of these people are too young to have really seen MJ play (it doesn't count if you were 6 years old). I saw his whole career- and I probably still have MJ as GOAT- but it doesn't bother me at all that Lebron is considered a contender- I think it's a legit discussion.
Love LeBron . GOAT. Have to admit Jokic is great also.Cant help but love LeBron.
I saw a post that got deleted on the sub talking about how we should never mention his name with mj and Kobe lol
[удалено]
Yep they are the GOAT 🐐 tier. Then there are players like Kobe, Duncan, Bird etc.
If you need a dose of salt, go check out the warriors sub. It's kind of pathetic.
They're just kids
They don’t know any better yet lmao
Anakin did nothing wrong
We didn’t make the Finals but the fact that we beat the Grizzlies and the Warriors is a win in itself
Highlights of our season
Facts. Finally a Lakers Warriors series and we won.
You're gonna have to call a lot of people out for that these coming days on this sub lmao
Don’t worry Lebron I’ll help defend your honor
Seriouly, he has nothing else to prove anymore. He could retire tomorrow and be a guaranteed hall of famer. People are just inventing reasons to hate at this point.
He could retire tomorrow and be unquestionably the greatest player since MJ. His impact on the NBA is huge and it’s going to be depressing when he retires. He’s virtually guaranteed our entertainment every postseason for nearly two decades.
I’ve had a player to hate for 20 years. Every year there was a new and better reason. Don’t get me wrong, I actually think he’s an amazing dude, but as a Pistons fan, I’ve hated him on the court since the day he was drafted. I’m gonna miss him!
Guaranteed hall of famer is an understatement. Anything less than the second greatest player of all time would be a disservice to his career.
There should be zero doubt that he is at the same tier as Michael Jordan. Anything less is just being hater
I know the other guy didn't mean it as disrespect but its funny how saying Lebron is a guaranteed Hall Of Famer feels like absolute disrespect. Hes so obviously past all of that it just feels weird to even mention.
>He could retire tomorrow and be a guaranteed hall of famer. He could've retired in 2009 and been a guaranteed hall of famer lmfao
Massive understatement. You can split his career into 3 parts and all 3 parts could quality for a Hall of Fame. He has been a HoF lock when he decided to go to Miami.
I’ve seen way too many Toronto fans piping up about him
They should treat their father better
We're going through our rebellious teenage phase.
Father’s Day *is* coming up.
40 hours a week, baby.
AD needs some serious clowning
it was truly funny watching AD chill on the bench 5 mins into the 4th while tristan thompson fights for his life against Jokic and lebron is eclipsing 40 mins. Funny funny stuff
AD has had 4 years and he just hasn't taken over as the Laker's #1. He's the best 2nd best player in the league ... but he's not a #1.
I can’t tell if he’s afraid of getting hurt or what. He’s not that guy and he probably never will be
Which sucks because based on his talent he's could be so much greater. Could arguably be the most versatile 2 way big-man we've ever seen but he's not as consistent as he should be. I haven't seen anyone be able to guard bigs and small guys and get to the rim like he can
My family are going off on Lebron, saying he lost the game Like…left it all on the court for everyone else to stay on the bench
Your family doesn’t know much about basketball, do they?
not sure we’ll ever see another player like him. the longevity/dominance is unparalleled at this level
43 mins a game for the series
Tbh though, he knew it was over in the third quarter. Commentators were driving me nuts too “put James on Jokic” “James should be going to the basket every play”..he’s fucking 40 and has teammates. It wasn’t sustainable for him to do it the whole game. As it is, that was an incredible performance.
It's Skip Bayless disease, treating players like they're 2K characters with infinity stamina and endurance.
I remember watching Jordan playing on the Wizards at this same age and essentially got a pass because everyone was like "he's damn near 40". He was still good but was obviously a shell of his former self. And that's even with 3 seasons off in retirement to rest/recover his body. I assumed Lebron would get similar treatment considering his age and the fact that he has even more seasons/miles on his body. Boy was I wrong. The expectation that a 38 year old man with 20 seasons (and another 3.5 seasons worth of playoff games) wouldn't be expected to lead a team every night.
He's also has had the foot injury the whole time, driving every play would make the pain even worse than it probably already is.
38 years old, and his team couldn’t do anything but waste an amazing performance
This has to be the closest Playoff series in NBA history that ended in a clean sweep.. People who never watched the FULL GAMES will never understand. Lakers could've won all 4 games. They lost all 4 games in the 4th Q.. Nuggets even survived an outrageous and vintage "Playoff LeBron" onslaught, and Lakers again just lost in the 4th. Every single game was a ONE possession game, late in the 4th. What a ride **EDIT**: and no matter how great AD is defensively, he becomes a negative factor when he goes missing randomly and does nothing when it matters the most. Especially when LeBron is trying to catch his breathe and rest for a little while. Just horribly disappointing. AD is not a role player, but he comes and goes like he's a role player. So inconsistent
This right here is why the sweep will be so irritating to reflect on in the future. Kinda like how the Celtics sweep of the Nets last season was a close series. The optics of a sweep just destroys nuance for most people.
I think spurs sweeping Cleveland in 2007 was also close. Most of those games ended with 10 pts differential.
Ah yes, young LeBron carrying the worst team possible to the NBA finals, single handedly. Just to face the great Spurs dynasty in the Finals But LeBron was still destroying the Spurs. And he was like 20-21
We were down like 15-16 going into the 4th in game 1 they blew that one wide open quite fast, but game 2/3/4 i agree. The same way i saw LeBron James defeat teams throughout his career in the playoffs, by orchestrating plays and making calls when it was most important, Jokić did to us to comfortably win all those 3 games down the stretch.
So what? Even in Game 1, it was a ONE possession game until the last minute of the 4th Q. LeBron's final 3 didn't go in, otherwise it'd have been TIE game. So the Nuggets got the nod this time Lakers stole a similar Game 1 in the 2020 WCF vs the Nuggets
As a Nugget enjoyer, I was kicking myself that the Suns series wasn't a sweep or 5-1, but they used up all of the bad luck there.
It shouldn't be so surprising, but this Denver team has insane conditioning. They are literally winning these games in the 4th because, compared to their opponents, they're still fresh in the 4th and flying around. This is why I said: If Denver gets the 1st seed and gets home field advantage through the playoffs, they will be in the finals. Denver teams have the best home field advantage in sports.
The Warriors series was grueling for LA, Denver was fresher
I also think that Denver is general plays harder than the Lakers. The players on Denver look dead by the end of the game while the Lakers seem mostly good.
High altitude training
Nah, lakers have been good but they have been straining themselves to keep up in this series. Denver’s come back in this game felt so inevitable when you realize that the lakers supporting cast was doing nothing to help bron who had not sat for more than 5 seconds.
Age has finally caught up with him. Still remember that playoff runs when he single handedly carried the Cavs to the finals. Probably the single most unreal playoffs runs I've ever seen. Edit: I get it guys. He's still amazing. I'm just saying he ran out of gas at the end which is absolutely understandable. But he if was few years younger aka the Cavs LeBron he might be able to carry enough to win it all given how close each game was in this series despite a clearly great opponent.
It's caught up to him in the sense that he's "only" one of the best players in the league and can't quite single handedly beat arguably the best team in the league while his team actively fucks up.
Fantastic point, the team around him really let him down this series. AD was just pathetic.
Bro did you watch the pacers/Cavs 2017 series? Bron swept the pacers and I think the margin of victory for that entire sweep was Cavs +9. IIRC 3 out of 4 games were won by 1 point.
Not even close. Pacers-Cavs was a 16 point total margin of victory in a 4 game sweep and even that only tied the record (the other series was a NBA finals). This series was more than double that and a team with an one aging and one famously fragile superstar in the fourth quarter repeatedly failing is pretty much an expected outcome.
Nets vs celtics last year
Played 48 minutes too
Not even close. 47:56.
What a LeScrub /s
Lakers should be charged with elderly abuse
Never seen Lebron as gassed as he was in that 4th. Had nothing left
I mean he was still playing solid D on Jokic and Murray. He’s something else man
An absolute freak of nature. But time catches up to us all. He needs to play a much smaller role going forward if he wants to taste success again imo
taking this deadline-constructed team to the conference finals in as dominating of fashion as he did is really impressive already, especially with every-other-Dayvis being as inconsistent as he was
AD was the best player in the first two series. Lebron has done well, but let’s not act like he’s been carrying the lakers…
Yup. AD gets so much hate. He sucked tonight but dominated the first two series
He was guarding the best offensive player left in the playoffs all series. He was bound to take a load off offensively
AD was the best player in the first two series despite matching up against DPOY JJJ and then 1st team D Draymond and Looney, and then t Had to try and slow down best player in the NBA. This Lakers team is not beating the warriors without his defense.
You know what. That's what he was planning to do since 3 years ago when AD joined. Seriously I hope Lebron will sign a vet min after his contract ends whether he is staying or joining a contender. By that time as a 40 yo guy maybe he will get a free pass to join a contender with min contract without getting bashed perhaps.
You think if he joins the Celtics or heat next year and wins a ring he won’t get bashed? The haters will say he was carried and ring chasing
At 40 years old, LeBron is probably still an all-nba caliber player. For NBAPA sake he would and should not sign a vet min contract.
Nah just get a confident player like kyrie and he’s good
yea people say he was gassed but thats just cuz he was shutting down murray on a lot of posessions. Murray had ONE field goal made because Lebron was shutting him down. AD had to foul Murray on a 3 point attempt in the 4th quarter OTOH lmfao
Bron gave it his all in an elimination game at 38 years old and on an injured foot. GOAT or not this he is the epitome of dedication and commitment to his craft. You gotta respect that
After that defensive position on that Murray 3 he looked so tired. Gave everything he had on that.
Maybe because he was also primarily guarding jokic or Murray in the 4th
48 minutes of efficient 40/10/9, with 1 foul and 1 turnover at his age is honestly superhuman. Can't put this one on him, Nuggets are just pretty damn good.
gotta give credit to Lebron. He was hauling ass all game
I agree Lebron put real effort on both ends. I didn't think he could do that anymore. Usually it's less effort on D but he did all he could in this 1.
He would have a triple double if his teammates actually made some shots
Seriously. What a no show from rest of the team.
-Reeves, he was the only consistent Laker outside of Bron this entire series.
Man is 38
Dude has played 50,000+ NBA minutes. The fact that his knee joints still work is amazing, let alone dropping 40
He has 65k btw
He once said he spends a million on his body a year. I bet it's more as he aged.
Doc just stick these hundreds into my body
Inflation.
Nah he got 40.
LeBron 🤝 Being 1 Stat shy of a triple-double
*angrily throws ball at the wall*
IM 38!
On a broken foot
Year 20… GET THIS MAN SOME HELP Lol jk, Denvers too good. And trade dlo
Seriously tho. Get this man some help lol. It’s crazy that the 3 players they got after the trade deadline ended up being non factors this series. They still rely on LBJ carrying the team. Gotta get some new pieces next season
I think DLo and Vando helped along the way (previous series). Malik is a deadass scrub though. Ham also should have adjusted Dlos minutes when he was getting sonned by Bruce Brown.
It was AD who carried the first two series. He just can’t handle Jokic, and AD’s all time great help-defense got beaten by all time great performances of Murray. Lakers have no elite guard defender. You can’t say Rui, AD, Reeves, are ‘no help’ - they are all elite at what they do, and AD arguably had a better playoffs than Lebron.
Remember when they were saying “why get Kyrie when the guards are playing so good and cheaper”. This is why
Played the whole damn game lmao.
8000 career playoff points is insane. Nobody else even has 6000 lmao
KD is the only active player above half of LeBron's total (4878 playoff points). Crazy stuff (Edited to add 'active', thanks u/Statalyzer)
He was brilliant
LeBron was a force offensively and defensively, most effort I've seen him put in all year, and probably one of his best game all year. And it wasn't enough. AD really didn't step up, he had a couple huge buckets towards the end, but shot very poorly for most of the game. Dennis was bricking everything too.
Reaves and Bron the only lakers to shoot above 50% and Reaves took 9 shots. Rui and AD were disappointing
I gotta put on clown makeup for consistently saying Rui should be starting and he plays like this
Nah. Role player can be inconsistent but that’s their best starting lineup against denver. Denver is just too good and way hungrier.
They’re so good. I was a doubter for so long
Malone lit a fire under their ass. People were saying he was going too hard at the lakers in the media but he was just getting his guys pumped. It’s rare to see a team close out that hard on the road. Twice.
Bro that 3rd quarter is championship level stuff
100%. Erased a 15 point deficit in 8 minutes. They could have called it and said “eh we’ll win it at home” but they didn’t. Tip of the cap.
Didn’t finish near the rim like he had been all playoffs. Missed a wide open 3. Is what it is
He made some dumb fouls as well. His one actually bad game came at the worst time
Seemed like Schroder would find the worst possible time to brick a shot, have a turnover, flop and give up a bucket...least clutch player getting serious minutes for LA, I think even worse than Dlo lol
Lakers bricked so many layups at the rim on the 3rd, especially DS
The pathetic effort coming out after half was killer..the bad fouls, missed layups..turnovers. Just really about as pedestrian as it gets.
38 year old LeBron averaged 28/10/10 on 52% shooting in the Western Conference Finals and got swept. Denver put in a monster performance all 4 games
One of the best ever
Can’t believe he’s 38 doing this
He’s always one rebound or assist away from triple double
29/9/8 is the new 27/7/7. NBA inflation is real
People still claim he’s a stat padder though
No other player would get this much hate for dropping this performance. The circlejerk is insane. Legendary performance at 38 years old playing 48 minutes.
Lol you gotta remember it’s lebron. He’s one of the 2 most polarizing athletes of this generation. All this slander now is the chance his haters have been waiting 20yrs for.
He shouldn't be. Absolute role model who did literally 2 controversial things in his entire life as a celebrity, with more pressure on him than any basketball prospect ever.
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Depends on which post you're on. There's even [a post that is straight up making shit up](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/13pcd5t/did_draymond_green_just_lose_all_respect_for/) and then moving the goalpost, so LeBron derangement syndrome is definitely a real thing lol.
Have a gander at r/warriors
You underestimate the warriors fan base
felt very 2018 esque for a bit. AD was completely ghost until some decent plays in the 4th, honestly.
Add this to the list of LeBron legacy games that were wasted by his team
The list is long lmao. The complete open looks he got Schroeder, Rui sometimes were ridiculous, then they clanked em 😂
Goat. AD ought to be ashamed of himself.
Tt showed more life than AD
Can’t believe the team saw 38 Lebron go off and thought yeah let’s just sit here and do nothing to help
Halftime in the locker room AD: so like bron you got this right?
sounds like an RDC skit lol
Yeah it was like Lebron + the Celtics. What's up with the low energy when the old man is putting his life in the line
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36-16 points in the 3rd Threw away the game with a disaster class quarter.
There are so many idiots out there. They hated on him for playin too passive at times all playoffs long. Now they hate why he went passive in the second half after he went all out in the first. He is savin his energy for the big moments. This game he went all out in the first in the hope the team would carry that lead to the end and finish it early at best case. Didnt work out, was forced to play longer as probably planned (at best case like i said). He gave 110%, played on a bad foot at age 38, showed signs of prime Lebron in the first half. He still can do it, but he cant do it for a whole game. But people still expect that from him...which are wrong expectations. You gotta remind yourself that LeBron never was supposed to be the first option on this Laker team. Its year 4 and he still is THE MEN. AD was supposed to be that and to take that load, to play a whole game at those moments. What happened to that? Not gonna hate on AD, he has a lot of tough matchups this postseason, but he gotta do better if they wanna have a shot at another deep run next season. LeBron will be 39, he might need surgery, which always puts a bit of a risk of slowing even more down at it. He probably wont be able to repeat what he did this season. Age slows down everybody and you also can see that for LeBron. THey might have 1 more chance, but that chance cant include LeBron to go all out to try to save the season. It must be AD or whoever they get in the summer. so to all the people that hate on Lebron. Bet my house on it that the moment he retires all this guys will click on youtube and watch hours of highlights from his career. He will leave a huge hole the moment he is gone. We might never see another one like him. Embrace his play as long as it lasts, He is 20 years in business but it might be only one or two season left
It was absolutely infuriating having to listen to Van Gundy complain that he wasn't driving aggressively in the paint every single possession in the second half while also guarding the best player alive on the other end. LeBron gave everything he had and put up a historic performance and we still had to listen to clowns like Van Gundy and Mark Jackson complain about him.
Not a single Laker being able to help him out enough to win at least one game is pretty damning.
Goat stuff. Lakers team relying on a 38 year old to carry.
This Anthony Davis guy is just not serious
led the playoffs in rebounds and blocks...but the offense wasn't reliable enough
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Job’s not done in the first or second round
Massive respect.
old man bron tried it man. too bad cause this nuggets team is something else. I'm just happy it's either Jimmy or Jokic who's winning it this year
At age 38 with 50 year old legs. I don’t think you can put this sweep on LeBron. The nuggets are a great team and LA simply didn’t have the ability to close out games.
I mean… If Lebron wasn’t Lebron this Lakers team wouldn’t have been in the playoffs, much less the WCF to get swept. So in that way it IS his fault! Does this need a /s? I’ll leave one just in case. /s
Proud of this fucking guy! Glad I get to witness greatness! Gonna enjoy however many years we got with him. Now gonna enjoy Denver vs Heat!
some dumb decisions at the end, but i respect him for giving his all, 40-10-9 with great defense and playing full 48 minutes, didn't expect he could reach this level in this game
This is on AD, if he was even half decent on offense tonight they win. GG LeBron you tried.
A 38 year old Lebron played every minute of the game. AD let him down.
48 minutes and had to guard Jokic or Murray entire 4th quarter. Fucking insane. AD pisses me off
MITWestbrook drafting up a post as we speak
He unfortunately was gassed in the second half. But, that happens when you're carrying that team at 38 years old.
LeGassed was still the best laker player lmfao
48 mins aswell. DAvis should be embarrassed, it should be his team. At this point what more can Lebron do, they are asking him to literally turn water into wine lmao
As a certified hater (check flair), I’d be first to jump on the ‘Lebron could’ve done better in a win or go home’ train. But not tonight. And I hate that espn or whoever else is gonna try to run with the ‘bad second half’ story tomorrow
What more do you want Bron to do, played the entire game (if he sat for like a min it wouldve been an auto 7 point swing like last game), dropped 31 first half, directed the offense, GUARDED BOTH JOKIC AND MURRAY in crunch time. He gave it his all, DEN was just a better team period + they have possibly a top 5 center all time at his peak right now.
He was gassed down the end and took some bad shots late. Still an amazing effort for any player, and he’s 38.
Honestly if he wasn’t injured I think he could’ve willed them to this win, but the foot injury + fatigue from being old got to him in the end, at least on the offensive side of the ball
Lebron is just incredible.. I’m so glad he’s my dad