A King's B-Ball Legacy

The Phoenix Suns won their series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. That should be the focus. Instead, the talk became more about Laker LeBron James. A lot has been made about his poor showmanship in Game 6 and the legacy altogether. The legacy part being ridiculed by many people, especially a lot of the obnoxious Michael Jordan fans. There isn't a lot to say, so I'll try to stay brief.

Being eliminated in the first round for the first time ever does impact James, but not too much in the short run. For his career, there is the doubt of the legitimacy of last year's championship. Compared to Kobe Bryant or even Tim Duncan (Duncan I think gets overrated a tad), he is a notch below them right now. Yes, James' volume of stats do elevate him, but with championships, this elimination makes him out as a bit of a weakling.

For a guy that is supposed to be a leader and a "role model", he put off a bit of immaturity. It's more than just that that makes James polarizing and hated quite a bit. His fanbase is very awful, but so are the Jordan fans. Without getting too deep, the fans on both sides that swear by them go beyond delusion to make their player look perfect. It undermines some of the other legends that came well before them. The elimination could make a difference in ratings getting a boost or cratering. Some heavy favorites are still in. Who do you think advances to the conference championships? 

The Fake Celeb

It's not a surprise celebrities can be fake. They can put on a persona that they care deeply, but don't. You see it mainly with the vocal Hollywood actors and athletes. The ones who constantly complain, but don't put an effort to make change. I'm talking race issues and big incidents. The thing is, there are people of that caliber that are capable of wanting to see change. You see someone like a Russell Wilson donating. Other companies and people that you don't hear often putting their money into a cause. Even if they don't say anything, the contribution to a group has a good effect.

Then you have people like LeBron James. You can make the case of being one of the best players of this century so far. The debate of greatest is not the discussion, however. What is is the phony persona he has. I don't see him as someone who truly gives a crap compared to other players. And this is a criticism of some of those vocal people. They can hide in their fancy homes protected by security and not understand the problems of society. They think they understand, but they don't. Is there stuff he contributes or donates to? Yes, but it's not to the level of what he is complaining about. It's one thing to help children, but to not help find solutions to race issues makes him look like a chump.

I look at James as an attention seeking person trying to look better in order to get fans on his side. Why can't guys like him and Gregg Popovich and a few others find a solution instead of whining? Because they don't have one. And while I do think they need to focus on basketball more (apply this to anyone of any other sport or profession they have), they could do their part to help out without having temper tantrums. The personas people like them carry are bad and they will dictate how others act in the future. Both sides in general, but I feel like it's more liberals whining.

There needs to be real people from both sides. Rather than constantly whining, maybe work together and get a solution or any idea to set up unity. But that will never happen because there is always fighting. The vocal fake ones can either put up or shut up. They can't hide behind social media all the time. There can be peace, but they lose focus on that.

Lake of LA Dysfunction

There was a point where the Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most feared teams in the NBA. The last six years, not so much. Too may issues that have hurt them in recent memory combined with losing seasoned veterans. It has been a small improvement under now former head coach Luke Walton, but the travesty of resignations and partings show how bad the franchise has become.

Magic Johnson stepped down as an executive for the Lakers, and Walton agreed to part ways after three years as a coach. The improvement to what they did last year seemed like a step in the right direction. One of the big issues was dealing with that loudmouth idiot, LaVar Ball, whose son, Lonzo was the second overall pick in 2017 and went to LA. It became a circus frenzy and I don't think Walton and Johnson could take anymore of him.

Of course, you have the signing of LeBron James to come this season to get a championship for the city. It's been roughly ten years more or less since the Lakers won it. The way I view it, James dictates how things go and you can see it in his attitude on how things should go or not go. How he was when they lost to the Knicks was a good indicator of his commitment to the team and how he didn't like a role model, which he never was. He's a freaking head case. That championship year with Cleveland resulted in David Blatt getting fired and Tyronn Lue taking over. Anything that doesn't go James way, some people can lose their jobs or get traded.

It's a mix of multiple things, but it's damning one of the most prestigious franchises in pro basketball is at a crumbling point. Lue could wind up coaching the Lakers and there's a possibility Monty Williams could. They need someone to develop the players and not piss off James. It might be one of the coolest jobs, but the stress, I'm not sure whoever is hired can handle it.

2018 NBA Shake-Ups

The Western Conference has gotten a bit more interesting and will be the headline for the 2018-19 season. It is bound to make it a lot more tougher for the decent teams to even secure a spot for the postseason.

Obviously, we're starting with LeBron James heading to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers. It seemed obvious that he was getting out of Cleveland, so I don't think it's a huge shocker. Out of all the places, though, I'd figured he would have gone to the 76ers or some other Eastern Conference team. Speaking of which, a team like Boston or Toronto has a fighting chance to get into the Finals and actually beat whoever they face. The balance of power will shift tremendously.

One of the more interesting ones has to be DeMarcus Cousins going to the Golden State Warriors for only 5.3 million dollars. That's one hell of a bargain. It's something the league is deeply surprised about and it only adds to the question mark of what could possibly happen. Add in Kevin Durant's signing for another two years and the other players involved, and it's easy to say that Golden State could win another championship with their fourth in five years next June.

A guy that is in the running to be going to another team is San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard. Last year he barely played during the season and behind the scenes stuff was going on about not wanting to stay with the Spurs. There are some teams that are interested, but it's a matter of who do you get rid of. It's going to come down to a couple players, maybe even a draft pick or two. Then again, this is a huge risk to whoever does get Leonard. If he can stay healthy, he can give a good boost to wherever he goes to.

I don't think we're finished yet with trades and free agency yet. My gut tells me that there will be another player that will make huge headlines and cause a little shake up for the NBA. It's only a matter of time.

You're Not Special, LeBron James

You can thank the NBA for giving their league freedom to say whatever they want. Especially for silver spoon players like LeBron James. With the shooting at Parkland Florida, the Cavalier took his shots at President Trump, putting his hand into politics yet again. A Fox News anchor, Laura Ingraham blasted at James and added in a hashtag Shut up and Dribble. Of course, both sides are met with criticism with certain Hollywood people siding with James, and others siding Ingraham.

It is a little uncalled for on Ingraham's side, but she's right. Anybody who thinks this is a race issue needs to stop with that. James wants to be involved in some way. He's an attention whore. He wouldn't understand a thing about politics. He's no different than the average person when it comes to hot button issues. This guy is basically a loser with a high school education. People worship James, and it gets sickening when they believe every thing he does or says. If it were Gregg Popovich or Mark Cuban, or Kevin Durant, we'd be hearing the same thing from Ingraham about saying they should shut up.

It's sad that Adam Silver doesn't do anything to calm this stuff down. This is also the same guy that refused to punish New York Knicks owner James Dolan for his treatment towards disgruntled fans. Is the commissioner of the NBA too chicken or scared to do anything to these guys? They gotta have some restrictions at some point of what you can say. You represent the NBA, show a little respect.

On the other side, Ingraham seemed destined for attention. She could have gotten her point across without relying on a hashtag. Both of this stuff is heat of the moment. Lots of sports fans in support and hatred for James. Vice versa for the anchor. Hollywood dummies like Ellen Pompeo have spoken and said their word. It's a never ending cycle and it's going to keep happening.

I doubt Fox News will change what they do. Same with the NBA. Silver does need to put his foot down on this. There's a fine line between saying your opinion and getting involved in politics. He needs to quit wimping out and delivering punishments to non-NBA game related stuff. If he keeps allowing this, it's going to get much worse with how the players and coaches act when it comes to politics.

Can We Prevent Future Shootings?

As I make a blog about what happened in Florida this week with yet another school shooting, I see the same usual thing. One group of people (such as the moronic LeBron James) want guns banned, blame politics, yada yada yada. The other side defends the use of guns and want to find reasons for why the bad guy did such a tragedy. The sad reality of this one, however, is that the FBI was notified back in September of Nikloas Cruz's comment on a YouTube video back in September.

If Ben Bennight's name hasn't been mentioned a lot other than the news, you'll know it on the Internet. Articles are going on that back in September last year, he noticed a video comment from Cruz, saying he was going to be a school shooter. That comment got Bennight's attention and it led to him calling the FBI in Mississippi where the vlogger lived and was asked questions not too long after that. With this shooting popping up, he was questioned again about knowing Cruz. He didn't.

While it is common to see threat comments on YouTube because of anger, something like saying they want to be a school shooter should raise red flags. The FBI has been an incompetent group for a very long time due to various reasons. They had a huge opportunity four plus months ago to question this, and they blew that. It's sad that this had to happen, but they could have prevented this from happening. This is a black eye to the United States.

To be honest, I don't know what can prevent shootings in the future. The FBI has to be a lot better at taking a school shooter comment seriously. Banning guns is not going to solve anything at all. Neither is any gun reform, firing of politicians, or any of that. There isn't a simple answer. It's very complicated with all sorts of red tape that it could still be a problem when there are new generations of people once we are gone from the world.

We have a lot to do to look at things like mental health, the shooter's history, and any other things that don't seem right. As usual, people look for scapegoats like video games. Instead of shifting blame on a medium or the NRA immediately, let's find the cause of the person's problem and use it as a way to future steps of preventing these kind of shootings from happening. If we can, we can build a better future and people won't have to worry about a psycho on the loose. Otherwise, we're going to keep seeing the same whiny liberals and the very defensive conservatives butt heads over and over like a running gag.

Rest, A Sports Ultimate Decision

I am reminded of a line that actor James Gammon said in the movie Major League. The scene is his character, manager Lou Brown whining to the Cleveland Indians owner about not having proper equipment to keep his players 100 percent and saying even the best players get wear and tear. That popped into my head following another NBA resting on national television. Once again, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to rest it's main three. It's LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin and Love. Facing the Los Angeles Clippers, they got blown out, losing by 30 points.

Just like other times, complaints have been made. Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone and Clippers coach Doc Rivers have chimed in on it and believe this shouldn't be happening even though he has done it to give some of his best players rest. It all goes back to when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did that on a televised game. It did not sit well with then NBA commissioner David Stern. That and getting fined quite a bit of money. Since then, it has happened a number of times with various teams. Golden State, Miami, and several others. Ultimately, commissioner Adam Silver has to do something before things get worse.

Rivers suggested that the league try to do something with back to back games, which is what the Cavaliers had facing the Lakers on Sunday night after the Clippers. That being said, I'm not sure if that will fix the problem. If it was one or two of these guys, that would be understandable. People pay for expensive tickets to watch them or settle for a game on ABC, ESPN, or TNT to see their favorite team squabble with their opponent. That's where leagues get their money and their ratings. You want to see James play. You want to see Irving or Klay Thompson or Russell Westbrook or whatever big star on those nights. Unfortunately, the best teams are usually the ones getting the night games on those networks. I would say at least 10 to 12 teams are going to regularly be seen with a few stragglers if they are in contention for a spot in the playoffs.

I think we're in a new era of sports where starting in every game is pretty much forgotten in the four major sports except for the NFL with some quarterbacks being the Cal Ripken's of their sport. They have the right to complain, but people need to realize basketball is a lot more physically demanding than you think. One wrong move and you can possibly twist an ankle or have a severe injury. The NHL may start a few weeks earlier than the NBA, but it's roughly the same scheduling period. Wear and tear gets the best of all the players. Even the goalies. By the end of a game, they're hoping to get into an ice tub or try to relieve any pain from getting checked into the walls. Major League Baseball is trying to give teams more days off as they go on with their 162 game schedule. Wear and tear and overuse of players is pretty common before a few days of rest are given before getting back to their duties.

I'm not sure if there is a viable solution that can be fixed. Maybe if the NBA could lessen their focus on Cleveland, San Antonio, and a few others for ABC and TNT games, then there wouldn't be all his hoopla on resting players. There's no easy suggestion and solution to this whole thing. You got the fans on one side and the players on the other. One would hope of a way to listen to the fans and figure a way to show it to the players so that both sides can be happy without any aggravation.

Long story short, it's going to take some time. Not to mention some of the big name players are in the late stretches of their careers. Adam Silver has to be very careful with how he plans it out if he is involved.