 |
| Now that LeBron has gotten the monkey off his back, who will be next? |
I'm sure you, like me, and most of America have been letting it all settle in. You know what I'm talking about, the sad realization that LeBron James is no longer the butt of all of our jokes involving 3/4ths, receding hairlines and whatever anyone can think of to poke fun at the league's most polarizing star. Well it's over. No more pressure for him. No more disdain, well except from the bitter contingent out in Cleveland who still can't get over being spurned for nicer shores. No more, "Did he make the wrong decision?" questions. Two years or so of anti-LeBron rhetoric is out the window. So now what? Now who do we peg the onus on to get the monkey off their back. Well here's our top-5 list of guys that have the pressure on them now that LeBron has broken through.
5. Deron Williams
He may be the forgotten man over the past two years, playing in irrelevant city of Newark, but he can still ball. This off season is solely his, now that Dwight Howard decided to undecide that he had decided to stay with the Magic or whatever. Will he remain with the Nets while they make there much anticipated, but highly overrated, move to Brooklyn? That is still in question, but I think if he wants to break through he'll want to move down to Dallas and team up with Dirk and the passionate organization led by nutjob Mark Cuban. Staying in Brooklyn and hoping that Dwight Howard comes is an interesting, but risky choice; we all know Howard is as indecisive as Peter Griffin. Either way Williams sort of downgraded his status when he went from the contending Jazz to the doormat Nets, we'll have a more accurate read on D-Will's status once we know where(and with whom) he's playing.
4. Chris Paul
CP3 is one of those guys that is often falsely pegged as a "winner." What has he won? A gold medal with the Redeem Team? Exactly, really nothing. Maybe it falls back on his lack of great teammates, but Chris Paul hasn't really deserved the title he's been given by some. CP3 is probably the second-best floor general in the game, behind Rondo, but he tops my list of point guards with killer instincts. He can go Kobe on you at times which is a good, and bad thing. When he decides to take over, late in games usually, nobody else touches the rock. The shots will fall most of the time, but for some reason Paul abandons his high-IQ point guard game for this wannabe-Jordan type of play that is really only meant for a select few players. His Clipper squad, at this very moment, is not built for a championship. Blake Griffin is too fragile late in games and lacks all-around skill and awareness. Youtube highlights are nice for Lob City, but if CP3 wants to win in L.A. he'll probably have to reach unimaginable heights(like 30 and 15 a night). The competitive drive is there, that's for sure, but his decision to stick with a dysfunctional Clippers organization may come back to haunt him. Or maybe, just maybe, he can be a true savior for the league's biggest joke.
3. Carmelo Anthony
The man forced himself into the most pressured packed situation in the history of sports. Playing for the Knicks is like being the President, nobody wants to do it, you've got unheralded expectations if you do it, and if you win just once, then you're immortalized. It isn't clear if he and Amar'e can coexist, since they are both premier scorers who don't move well without the ball and aren't defensive stalwarts(more out of effort), but there's truly one more year for them to answer that question. 'Melo has only escaped the first round of the playoffs once in his career and has proclaimed himself as one of the elite players in the league, but he's somehow also escaped the same expectations LeBron "unwillingly" took on. They're best buds, were drafted in the same draft(2 spots separating them) and have been compared since they started gaining national attention in high school. There really is no more time for Anthony to be called out for not playing defense or not trying hard enough, he has to step up and be a leader. And lose some weight too.
2. Kevin Durant
Some people might be surprised to see Durant here at the two spot but you'll find out why in a second. There really is two ways KD's career could go. One, he could use the motivation from losing to LeBron and go on a vicious tear along the line of winning five titles and raining daggers in LeBron's mug. Or two, he could simply be the next Patrick Ewing. A guy, who had a great career, should have had multiple rings, but was confronted with the task of beating a super human. LeBron just may be the career-long roadblock to Durant's time in the NBA. That would be a seriously unfortunate situation because KD has both the better team, and is seen in the better light by the public. Ewing is a controversial "great" player because he never won a title, hopefully circumstances won't be as bleak for Durant.
1. Dwight Howard
Oh Mr. Superman, how badly you have villainized yourself. D12's opt-out fiasco last trading deadline has increased the pressure on him to win ten fold. No longer is he the league "nice guy," flying through the air and throwing balls through hoops from 5 feet away or flashing that charming smile that everybody thought was genuine. Or maybe it was genuine and the guy got some bad advice, when he decided to take the Magic the gut-wrenching superstar ride for one more season. I'm not sure we've seen Howard reach his ceiling which could be either frightening or downright wrong(How could a guy with that freakish build disappoint us?) Maybe he just needs a teammate and a point guard with an win-first attitude and not a buddy-buddy guy like Jameer Nelson. You know, someone to get up in his grill and tell him, "this isn't a f**king joke anymore". We'll see if Howard pushes his way out of Orlando this off season to the possible destination of Brooklyn. If he does that, and it's after D-Will leaves, then we'll realize that Howard isn't playing basketball to win, he's playing it because he's 6-foot-11, 265 lbs and can jump as high as LeBron. Basketball may just be his money maker and if that's the case then shame on him.
0 comments:
Post a Comment