OT: Lebron being stretched beyond his physical limits.
Interesting article on how the grind of a NBA season takes a toll even on the best condition players.
http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2015/story/_/id/13071387/lebron-james-unfathomable-workload
that happen very rarely. Getting hit by a pitch? Maybe 10 times in a season. Running full speed and diving into the ground? Maybe 1.5 times a game, depending on how good your are at getting on base. Running into a double play and actually getting caught with cleats? Maybe 10 times in a season.
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Try getting your 6'8', 250lb body up and down the court for a whole season.
I thought it was interesting they said the average person can only do ten minutes of all out sprinting/jumping in a week before injury risk increases significantly. I wonder what Toews/Stamkos/anyone else playing big minutes are at right now.
LeBron is more or less superhuman, but the superlatives were a bit much, IMO. Humans climb mountains, make it through SEAL training, compete in Ironman competitions and do a whole bunch of other things that, like LeBron's finals performance, would kill an average man.
Basketball players may jog upcourt sometimes after a change of possession, but in the halfcourt, they're cutting pretty hard - and on defense they have to hustle or they'll give up an easy basket. Altogether, an NBA starter runs about 2-3 miles a game, and a considerable portion of that is sprinting.
Really, to argue that any professional sport isn't hard on your body is crazy.
Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
Edit: should have kept reading down the thread before posting.
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In the last 11 years of NBA play he definitely is. Last person to play this much in a Finals was Kobe in 2004. And he had a much better supporting cast than LeBron does. I'm not really sure who the last person to do what LeBron is doing is.
Yes, he is. 5 straight finals and team USA obligations while being the primary ball handler, shot taker, and often defensive stopper. Who else has done that for 5 straight years?
Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!
He is impressive...
so tired of hearing how "hard" LeBron has it or any NBA player. Boohoo. They dick around half the season.
the implication that this piece should be read as a plea for pity (and thus ignored), or
the idea that professional athletes (and of the caliber of Lebron yet) should be run by their coaches in practice. Otherwise they're being coddled, don't you know, and won't work on their craft, or their bodies.
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Credit him and the Cavs for sweeping the Hawks, but that's a long time to rest/recover.
That's true, but have you ever read about his workouts on off days? They're about as demanding as games are themselves, maybe even more from a physical standpoint. Sure he probably rested a couple days, but you can bet he was in the gym grinding for hours everyday. You don't get to be the best in the world at something by sitting around. I mean just look at him. He's a beast. He takes no days off, which is why he's been the most fit player in the league since his 2nd/3rd year in the league which attributes to his greatness and ability to never get hurt, besides a couple facial fractures, rolled ankles and cramps. Pretty incredible he's never had a serious injury given the state of his game, especially in his younger years playing above the rim all the time and at his size.
The Cavs tend to play a very slow game utilizing most of the shot clock on every offensive possession. They'll take it to 6 or 7 seconds most of the time, isolate Lebron, and let him shoot, drive or pass. So Lebron spends a decent amount of time in every game standing still. I am not taking anything away from his ability but I definitely wouldn't classify him as being "stretched beyond his physical limits".
Dude is competing in the finals with Matthew Dellavedova as his second best player and all people can do is hate. He was averaging 40 ppg the first three games for God's sake.
"JORDAN WOULD HAVE DONE IT" or some shit.
JORDAN WOULD HAVE DONE IT!
I think people forget how big LeBron is and take the for granted by questioning how he can be run down and that other players go through the same grind. The man is 6'8 250+. Basically like Karl Malone running around game in game out like Allen Iverson. It's bound to take it's toll compared to if he were a few inches shorter and 30-40 pounds lighter. Man is a beast doing everything for his team and at that size... no matter how well conditioned he is, it's bound to take it's toll especially with how much basketball he plays every year.
Lebron is weak. Just ask the female Warriors' fan.
I don't really care for LBJ, but he's been impressive in terms of workload this playoffs. However, they played 14 games in the first three rounds combined and had about a week and a half to rest. I doubt many have had that luxury before entering the Finals. In 2008, the Celtics played 20 games before the Finals and then played 6 games in the Finals. Now it's a little different because they didn't have the work load that LBJ had.
I'm much more impressed with LBJ's mental workload than anything else. He has to wake up everyday knowing his team 100% depends solely on him. And if he doesn't have a solid game, his team is screwed. That's gotta be taxing. And it's why I think GSW will win the series since Game 4 was actually the first time they played well this series.
That being said, if he pulls this off with the laughable roster Cleveland trots out there it will be a HUGE statement.
I'm a hater of the NBA in general to be honest. This guy holding a presser to "take his talents to South Beach" and guaranteeing 7-8 titles puts me over the top.
Rooting for the Warriors HARD in this one. Love it when team basketball wins out over stardom .
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I wonder how much longer he can remain at his current level. He's only 30 but it's an "old" 30, given that he entered the league at 18 and has played a huge number of playoff games over the years, plus multiple summers with the U.S. national team. His body will probably break down in the next few years.
I think he is hitting his peaking this year. The next two seasons will blur the line between late prime and post-prime. Cleveland is far from a shoe-in to win one with him there.
I'm rooting for the Cavs to lose but there's no reason to bash LeBron for this article - he didn't ask ESPN to write it. And he's been to the finals 5 times in a row and will likely go to the finals next year - that's like 1.5 extra seasons especially when you factor in the intensity level. Yes, a lot of NBA players endure a lot during the post season but LeBron is legitimately a cut above the rest when you factor in all the minutes he's played and the burden he has to shoulder.
He may very well lose this year and go to 2-4 in the Finals. And you know what? He's still the consensus best player of this era. This just proves that he's human, but it's still on whole a pretty impressive showing for a human.
Lest we forget, Michael Jordan got bounced every year by the Pistons until Phil Jackon and Pippen come along. Magic Johnson lost in the finals 4 times and made several clutch flubs in 1984 that were probably the difference in LA losing to Boston 4-3. Larry Bird stunk up the joint in the 1985 finals after wearing Michael Cooper like a blanket (Celtic fans naturally and wrongly claim that they would've won had Bird been fully healthy)
Shout out to lebron's hairline, it's still going strong despite the amount of minutes he's played.
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