A little over one year ago, this
is what the headline said.
Bill Russell Responds to LeBron James Mount Rushmore List
Last week LeBron James listed his NBA version of Mount Rushmore, James chose Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson.
King James has captured or chased afterthe
crown for the past 6 years in a row- and
every year we debate a redesign of our
NBA mount Rushmore's.
crown for the past 6 years in a row- and
every year we debate a redesign of our
NBA mount Rushmore's.
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| For those who couldn't include LeBron on the mountain, alternative monuments have been suggested. |
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| Why has Kobe fallen off of the NBA Mt. Rushmore talk? He would like to know. Russell and Bird don't care. |
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| Is Bird considered because he's a white guy, and is Kareem's sky hook worthy of a place on the Mount? |
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| If LeBron has bumped someone like the great Bill Russell from NBA's Mount Rushmore, can Steph do the same to Larry Bird or Kobe or is he not that kind of player......yet? |
Via Sun-Sentinel:
According to (Craig)Sager, Russell told him, “Hey, thank you for leaving me off your Mount Rushmore. I’m glad you did. Basketball is a team game. It’s not for individual honors. I won back-to-back state championships in high school, back-to-back NCAA championships in college, I won an NBA championship my first year in the league, an NBA championship my last year, and nine in between. And that, Mr. James, is etched in stone.”
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| No really! What happened to Kobe? Why didn't he make the Mt. Rushmore 4? ---------- Shaquille O'Neal is sitting somewhere saying: "Shut up Kobe. I didn't make it either" 
What exactly are we watching? Since this series has destroyed the common bromide "The best team always wins in a 7 game series",
what are we watching?
What value is there to all of the commentary when neither team seems to be doing what we expected of them to start this series, turning an out of shape white guy into the storyline?
I'm rooting for LeBron and the Cavs, but I certainly still anticipate what every fan who is still picking the Warriors expects as well-
for the Warriors to come out and play the way we've seen them play all season, and even at moments in this series. All the folks from Akron, Ohio including one of them with the last name James- thinks that the 2nd best team can and will win the NBA finals this time around.
Let Stephen A. Smith (ESPN) give his FirstTake, and he'll tell you that LeBron is different from Kobe and Jordan because he is more comfortable with losing than either of these legends were.
Magic, LeBron, Jordan and BillRussell- not Kobe, should be the new NBA Mt. Rushmore, right?
LeBron (and Magic),
 unlike Kobe and Jordan, deal with losing better because they realize that "experience is not only the best teacher" it is a prize no one can take away, regardless of the games outcome. LeBron didn't know if his team could make it all of the way to the NBA finals, but says he was certain that he could lead them if they did.
LeBron- bent over at the waist in a yoga style v-stretch, getting
recovery and relief from the grueling battle he'd just won, quickly smiled like a fresh morning sun moments later when talking to Doris Burke about the experience his new brothers were gaining as they struggle to maintain fourth quarter leads.
People who live and think like that can never really lose in life- or basketball. Kobe and Jordan rise to the top of the debate when it comes to rings and moxie, but fall flat when character comes into the Mt. Rushmore debate of NBA greats. LeBron and Magic, on the other hand, shine like the smiles you think of whenever you imagine their legendary skill and bigger personalities.
LeBron is just the kind of player and person to usher in the style of Bill Russell team basketball that is currently elevating the NBA globally since that the NFL is causing headaches and early retirement, and baseball is boring. If we hoop fans think we prefer basketball with lots of scoring, the past few championships series, including this 2015 NBA finals, is challenging that notion since viewership of the finals is at an all time high. Each of these teams have defended at an all time high level and are experiencing the pain and the rewards of stellar defense. Golden State might be looking to shoot better, but if they had defended any less in these first 3 games, game 4 would be a closeout opportunity for Cleveland and not a chance to even the series as it is for the Warriors.
Experience is the best teacher for Golden State as well as Cleveland. An experienced LeBron is not quite certain if the Warriors will keep up and maybe improve their stellar defense, or sacrifice something in the quest for more offense?
Some believe double teaming the ball away from LeBron who is shooting below 40% already is really the key. I think it will insure a triple double and a huge game from Mosgov instead of LeBron's regular 40points, 12 boards and 8 assists that LeBron has averaged in the series? To these aging eyes, LeBron needs the double team to help him create plays. Without it, he appears a tad too old to do what his young legs used to do easily. LeBron is still capable of forcing his way around and through multiple players like he once did regularly, but it costs him so much more than it used to. and it didn't help his last rag tag Cleveland team anyway.
So he doesn't do it until he must.
Freethrows Win Championships
As of game 3, LeBron now seems willing, almost eager, to step up and hit the free throw. Every big game is decided at the line, rather directly or indirectly, and the greatest player alive must have watched the tape and learned from the experience of gaining a victory through the hustle and freethrows of his sidekick, Delly- freethrows that the king has often missed in moments that matter.
FREETHROWS are championship basketball, and at the end of games, heroes succeed and celebrate 20% of the time, while the rest of the time the lunch bucket teams hit their freethrows and haul away the crown.
At this point of the 2015 NBA finals, there are no more secret plays and no more adjustments that will matter. If either team had something decisively effective, they would have used it to win the first 3, highly crucial games, which have each been won by the last team standing, not by strategic mastery. One of the hardest parts of late game freethrows will always be late game exhaustion. Championship fatigue might later send you to the hospital for IV replenishing, or sad and alone in the off season, wondering where you went wrong while wishing you had worked IV hard. As always, the greatest pain yields the greatest gain. Not the pain of playing defense until you feel like you're gonna die- I'm talking about the pain from losing and feeling like you didn't sacrifice to the death like your opponent did to win. If you are lucky to make it back, there is a lot to be gained from such an experience. No One Can Tell Who Will Win
Are we watching the meltdown of Golden State or the over achievement of Cleveland? Why did we expect the Warriors to have experience that they didn't even add through free agency? Leandro Barboso is a serviceable veteran player, but he has never won it all just like the rest of his Warrior teammates. Coach Steve Kerr has Golden States only championship experience, and at times it looks like he would rather suit up and battle LeBron instead of trying to impart his knowledge with a business suit on. There is almost no more coaching left to be done, there is only effort and competition left to decide the season. The great Dan Patrick thinks that the Warriors must change the style of game if they hope to change the result of the game. Everyone who thinks like this is setting Golden State up to be slain by their own sword. These teams are playing the game at the highest effort level, and the more experienced team barely won two games.
Barely.
Although Golden State seemed a clear cut favorite going in, and still a pretty good bet if you ask some, are the Warriors really any more talented than the Cavs, or are have we glossed over every player on the Warriors because of Steph story?
My 2 cents just became an IOU since I'm still stuck with so many questions, even though the team I chose won 2 games already including one on the opponents court. Anyone who tells you that they still have a definitive clue about the outcome of this series is hiding fear or confusion behind a facade of confidence. LeBron remains unsure about the challenge before him, and Steph has also stopped saying that his team expects to win. The tea leaves tell me that this series is totally up in the air- still.
Except for LeBron and a few Cleveland backups, these teams have the same 3 amazing games of championship level experience. I expect LeBron's experience to tip the scale, but we will see, since everyone is obviously watching so very close. |
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