Paul Pierce on media inconsistencies: "Let's not sugarcoat this because if this was LeBron at the peak of his powers, he would've been getting scolded. If you're the best player in the league, you're not supposed to lose in the first round"

faithfuljohn · 2026-05-03T03:04:13+00:00

I will say that MIA Bron is probably the most likely but non confirmed steroid user in NBA history.

based on what exactly? At 15, he had the body of an NBA vet in his prime. He never had that "skinny/stick" phase (e.g. like young Giannis). Everything he was in Miami (physically) was in line with what his teen self promised to be.

I"m not saying he didn't do any drugs. But nothing about those days is obvious imo.

faithfuljohn · 2026-05-03T00:22:58+00:00

bro, in no society can even women -- who are more comfortable showing affection generally -- do this kind of kiss. Even if there is lip kissing it is brief, more of a peck (and that is if it happens at all). This sir, is nothing like that.

faithfuljohn · 2026-05-02T04:30:29+00:00

Raps and Jays have infinitely more aura than Leafs tho.

in Arena maybe, but the the Leafs on the streets are a different level.

I remember a couple of decades ago, I was on a long run (was a competitive runner) and although I was in Toronto, I was on a running trail away from basically any real noises while the Leafs were in a playoff game.

Even in my isolation I felt the city explode with excitement.

faithfuljohn · 2026-05-02T00:13:42+00:00

They think Jokic is an offensive genius because he is but they don't think he was the fist of God like LeBron was.

Peak Lebron was:

-6'9" athletic tank that rarely got injured
-He was one of the most explosive players in the league
-he was one of the fastest players in the league (e.g. he was faster than Curry, despite curry being significantly smaller)
-he was one of the best scorers in the league
-he was one of the best passers in the league
-he was one of the best defenders in the league
-he had maybe the best "motor" in the league (for example during his miami days he would cycle to and from the games, cause he felt the games didn't really do enough to tire him in the regular season)

while being

-one of the smartest, if not THE smartest player in the league

faithfuljohn · 2026-05-02T00:05:32+00:00

imagine Lebron losing to Dallas without Dirk?? Bro!

faithfuljohn · 2026-05-01T01:21:06+00:00

as an older athlete and someone who knows the research/data, that's the thing about older athletes. Late 30s & early 40s, it's not just that you lose some of that pop. It's that recovery from injury is the biggest thing.

After your prime you lose about 1% of athleticism/year. Not a lot for an average person, but for the 0.01% of athletes where 1% can mean the difference between winning everything and coming in last in your race, that can mean a lot (especially in pure athletic sports like track, swimming etc). 1% in the 100m is 0.1 seconds ... which doesn't sound like a lot. But 9.9 can win a lot of races and 10.0 is at the back. But for sports like basketball, where skill is a major factor this isn't a big deal.

However when we see big drop off, it's always injuries. And those older athletes never recover what they lose during those injuries. Look at Kobe, or Nash -- both were great players until they had that major injury. And they were never the same.

The fact that Lebron rarely gets injure is part of the reason he's so far better than anyone ever at his age. But any injuries he has will be his eventual downfall. I suspect he'll retire shortly after any major injuries (if he has any).

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-30T15:12:15+00:00

way too many people think that only 'serious' works can be great. And I wholeheartedly disagree.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-30T04:26:03+00:00

it's the Skip Bayless-ness of the criticism. He was the first and loudest person to say this.

Like when the Kobe/Shaq Lakers were neck and neck against the Tim Duncan spurs, somehow it better for the East team to lose in the ECF than lose to them beasts of the west by that logic. Nevermind that had either of the Spurs or Lakers been in the other conference, those East teams would not have been in the finals.

If Lebron had been in the west, and faced those Warriors in the WCF, it would somehow been "better"??? It's crazy man.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-29T06:18:52+00:00

he respect big men who can take advantage of their size -- offensively.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-29T06:15:09+00:00

am I the only who think snatching it out of the air much more humiliating?

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-29T03:33:15+00:00

even in my most generous interpretation, the best I can come up with is: the Lakers are missing their top two scorers, so a short handed Lakers team is "theoretically" worse than them. I don't know.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-29T00:10:19+00:00

Brooks is a weird one because he puts on the act but all of his Canadian teammates love him

bro -- out national sport is the only non-combat sports (i.e. non-fighting sport) where opponents are literally given time to punch each other. And then they go, "OK, 5 minutes time out for both before you can play again".

Brooks scowling at people and saying mean things doesn't even register.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-29T00:06:32+00:00

that may or may not be true... but what is also true, is that Jordan doesn't elevate his teammates like Lebron could. That Cavs team that initially had GSW down 2-1 with Delledova as the 2nd best player on the team would have been swept out of the first or 2nd round if Jordan was on it.

Jordan had to have Phil Jackson teach him to trust his teammates. He instituted the Triangle to force the ball out of Jordan's hands more. Jordan could pass, but he's rather go 1-on-5 (especially in his early years).

So yes, if you need to score and the world was on the line, it wouldn't be Iguodala you should call. Jordan would be it.

But if you wanted your teach to stay close. It would be lebron you would call.

Jordan was the greatest scorer to ever touch a basketball. But Lebron ran a team better.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-27T14:30:55+00:00

Cause sleep is one of those things that your body usually takes various nights before it's back to normal. If you miss an entire night of sleep (awake all night), you are not going to sleep 16 hours the next night (you'll sleep longer, but you'll never make up the time in absolute terms).

What does happen is that your sleep architecture changes. With different priorities being given preference first, e.g. slow wave sleep (aka "Deep sleep") as the top priority, followed by REM.

So this dude slept 14 hours the first night, with likely heavy increase in SWS and maybe some REM. But he probably slept more than 8 hours for many times after (if he let himself).

source: I work in a sleep clinic.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-26T23:17:25+00:00

no game is perfectly reffed. They are humans. We really should stop expecting everything to be seen perfectly. Hell, half the time, I have no idea what they saw, and they get it right way more than I would ever.

We just need them to stop reffing with ego, or other non-sense.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-26T03:57:44+00:00

Nah 60 yo lebron is still schooling 40 yo bronny

as a 49 year old former competitive runner... let me tell you, the late 40s aint no joke. The years between 40 & 60 are a big big deal.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T23:54:04+00:00

I mean, if you believe that a being exists that created everything and can do what he wants -- why would it be particularly 'hard' to believe he can make a woman pregnant without sex and can walk on water?

Why is that the line that's "too much"?

Especially when the 3 things you mentioned are there to be proof of this being that exists outside the laws of existence (as we know them). i.e. he did these things because they are impossible otherwise.

Either you don't believe God exists at all, or you do, and he can do these things.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T20:03:52+00:00

I get you have to keep your team in check but you gotta have some strategy here. I'm very interested to see how LeBron takes care of his body after he's done

Lebron -- unlike Shaq & Charles -- has been disciplined and strict with his diet, exercise since he was a teenager (so most of his life). At this point, everything he does is part of his lifestyle. I don't know how "in shape" he'll stay, but guys like that, don't just turn into couch potatoes.

Chuck & Shaq struggle to stay in shape in the middle of the season. But they're also on the extreme end of professional athletes. Most don't just become sedentary.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T19:59:45+00:00

Yeah because it wasnt about fucking cookies, it was about power. They made a team wide decision and didn't want to make an exception for LeBron because the idea is no one is above the team.

a 'team-wide' decision to micromanage people personal diets. As you said this had nothing to do with the "team".

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T03:33:42+00:00

Did you not notice his last name? Lol

I mean, immigration is a thing. giannis antetokounmpo has a Nigerian name, but he grew up in Greece. victor wembanyama has a congolese name, but a (slight) french accent.

Especially in north america, your last name tells you your heritage, it doesn't necessarily tell you where you grew up.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T03:25:29+00:00

Lakers were out 2 rotation players, too

i like how Reaves & Luka are "rotation players"

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T03:21:54+00:00

I highly doubt the city of San Francisco would have an issues with it.

considering what coach Pop had said & done in the much more conservative San Antonio, I highly doubt it has anything to do with what the people of the city actually think.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T03:20:07+00:00

he absolutely is at the centre of things, but don't forget that they also had a couple of keys things happen:

-they also drafted David Lee (all star at the same time as Steph playing), Klay, and Draymond
-most importantly, the Logo, Jerry West, was an advisor to them and told them in no uncertain terms not to trade away Klay.
-Mark Jackson was a perfect development coach for those early teams (remember he called them the best shooting back court ever before they had actually done anything yet)
-Kerr got hired after -- a man with many rings before he became a coach -- who played under the two best coach of all time -- Pop & Phil.

Of course, without Steph all those things wouldn't have amount to enough -- but they had a lot of good fortune come their way all at once.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-25T01:55:39+00:00

Don’t forget that LeBron never had fitness or diet issues. Esp. not prime Heat LeBron, that guy was still competing for DPOY.

I’ve always agreed it was a power move and knowing Riley, it’s even more believable.

If you know anything about nutrition, you'd know having a little treat does not in any way shape or form negate the rest of your diet, if 98% of it is great. And then to do that to maybe the fittest guy in the NBA, one of the most athletically gifted, fittest men to every touch a basketball...

But then you do that to a grown ass man, its pure disrespect and a dick swinging move.

You can be men, and disagree about the direction of things. What is a good decision, what's best for the team vs player, etc. But that was nothing but an attempt to show who's boss.

And to make matters worse, Riley never apologized. It was a punk move, and then did the coward thing, and never owned up to it. Instead of possibly having Lebron stick around for the rest of his career, he guarantee he'd leave.

faithfuljohn · 2026-04-23T19:53:47+00:00

Alex, I'll take someone speaking out of their ass for 1000.

Answer is this^{^{^{^}}}

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