This is a little bit unfair to Rose, isn't it? Here he was blasted for not being effective taking shots when the rest of the team was struggling scoring just like LBJ was in CLE, and for not being "clutch" when somebody else carried the team, like LBJ is now.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I know I came off heavy handed with Rose after the Heat series. My intention was NOT to blame Rose for the Bulls defeat---but rather INCLUDE him in it. He did not play well in addition to his teamates. If the Bulls do acquire help for Rose, Rose might have to adjust his game to benefit the team, too. I don't think going forward that the Bulls can have Rose taking the shots he did and get to the next level.

I don't think I criticized Rose when somebody else had a good game in a Bulls win.

Luke that doesn't invalidate anything. Wade didn't decide to step down against the 2006 Bulls, and step up against the 2006 Mavericks. The Mavs are weak defensively at his position, Chicago isn't.

When LeBron is handling the ball, he tends to walk it up and then pound the hell out of it. Unfortunately, lots of passing and maximizing the use of your shot clock are even more important against zone defenses.

He's the most talented player on the planet, and he's made strides in his post game, defense, and perimeter shooting... but excess dribbling and poor time management continue to be serious problems for him.

I didn't say Wade was having an "historic" series. I said he was playing better in the Finals than he had in the previous rounds and that LeBron was playing worse in the Finals than he was in previous rounds. Not a lecture, just pointing out some stats.

Yeah Wade has "Stepped" it up against a weaker defense, the Bulls are the best defense in the NBA. Funny how that works when you have a weak backcourt defending you.

It is about matchups, Wade has a much more favorable one and LeBron let the hot hand do his work. Wade needs the ball in his hands to make it work, it was part of the gameflow. You're not really following how weak a matchup Wade has, it made sense at the time.

Game 4 is a different matter, but don't try to lecture to me about how someone coasting through the first and third round, who doesn't play 44 minutes a night, is having such a historic series. He's playing great but it is within the confines of the matchup on the court.

Even against Boston adjusted plus-minus says Paul Pierce is the best perimeter defender. Even then James had a tougher two-way assignment.

Anon, terrific article. Thanks for the link... couldn't have had better timing with that, bro. Yeah... I believe he CAN do it. 'WHY DIDN'T HE' is what is vexing me. Post up the little ankle-biters, LBJ! Make 'em pay!

That certainly wasn't meant to be misleading. I just looked up the numbers and averaged them out. He had a phenomenal conference finals. He's having a sub-par finals. I don't know how you can objectively say that's not true unless you're a diehard Miami/LeBron fan. I hate the guy and want him to lose, but I still generally try to be objective on my assessments of him (and every other player) regardless of my personal feelings towards them.

Also, LeBron has MORE assists in the finals than he does the rest of the playoffs, so I'm not sure what you mean about the iso-sets for Wade not racking up assists. And I'm not sure about the "game flow" argument either. LeBron did okay, but certainly not what you'd expect from the world's most talented player (and I mean that, it's not sarcasm.) Just for comparison's sake, here's the same stats for Wade:

Wade's Finals stats: 4 games, 29.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.5 SPG, 1.8 BPG, 1.5 TO/G, and 49-80 shooting (.613)
Rest of the playoffs: 15 games, 24.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 3.3 TO/G and 120-265 shooting (.452)

Wade has stepped it up in pretty much every category in the Finals, while LeBron has gone down, which was all I was trying to say.

Kobe was my favorite player for a while, I still found the critics of James annoying even back then.

Misleading on your part, the first three games followed the gameflow. Wade scored in heavy iso-sets on a weak Kidd/Terry/DS. He's not going to rack up assists in those situations.

People have a problem with Game 4, as do I, but I'm curious to see what else is left. I think he's tired but I'll know more depending on what else happens.

Regardless Erik should have been more intelligent with James, his elbow was still wrapped in ice back in the October training camp. He doesn't seem like the type of player that will have a super long career, better be careful.