LeBron James

[ATLien]

How much better can he get?

LeBron James
Year 1: 20.9 PPG 5.9 APG 5.5 RPG
Year 2: 27.2 PPG 7.2 APG 7.4 RPG

He is 20 years old right now, doesn't turn 21 until the very end of the year. How much better is this kid going to get? It's pretty scary to think about.

On a side note, Michael Jordan won his first championship when he was 28 years old, after seven years in the league. So keep in mind, even after missing out on the playoffs after 2 years, LeBron is not in that bad shape. His team has sign Larry Hughes, re-signed Zydrunas Illgauskas, and is going after Udonis Haslem. Cleveland should get homecourt advantage for their first round playoff series next year.

[nyjunc]

Michael Jordan also had to deal w/ the great Laker, Celtic and Piston teams. There are some very good teams but none that approach those 3 so Lebron should be able to win one quicker.

[ATLien]

I also wonder how long LeBron's career is going to be if he constantly has to play 40+ minutes a night.

[MarinersFan87]

I don't see how the Cavs could get by the Pistons, Pacers, or Heat (even without Haslem, Simien is probably better that Udonis anyway) until the core of those teams are broken up. By then the Bucks could be better than the Cavs anyway.

[ATLien]

How far in the future are we talking about? Because, I think the teams to watch out for in the future in the East are: Cleveland, Orlando, and *gasp* Atlanta. The NBA is about to enter a new golden era with all the young talent that is coming in and with Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Greg Oden, Brandan Wright, and Kevin Durant are on their way. It's going to be the 1980's all over again, with the return of the fast break.

[MarinersFan87]

Cleveland? By the time the Pistons, Pacers, Heat era are over Z will be past his prime (if he is even healthy in his prime), Hughes will not have lived up to his massive contract, and LeBron will still be searching for a better pure PG to run the show. Orlando? Howard will put MVP numbers but who do else do you expect to help him? Atlanta? Marvin and Josh are nice. But you are going to need a lot more than Josh Childress to help out. Apparently Phoenix has every intention of matching Atlanta's offer.

I think Miami, even when Shaq retires will be the class of the East. Simien is like Carlos Boozer, a guy that put numbers in college, but for some reason no NBA GM liked him enough to take him high, but he won't be dumb enough to ditch D-Wade, I see him as a 16/10 guy pretty soon. Plus, the year Shaq retires the Heat will have tons of cap flexibility, you don't think the top free agent that year will be beating down the door to come play with Dwayne?

[ATLien]

I forgot about Miami. You forgot Dorrell Wright, who has a great chance of fulfilling his superstar potential. Pair him with Dwayne Wade, who already is a superstar, and they will be in the running for the next 10+ years. LeBron James is a HOF-bound player. Of course his team is always going to be in the mix. Orlando needs a better GM, because their last draft was horrible but Dwight Howard is such a beast (in the David Robinson mold), that his team will always contend. Josh Smith and Marvin Williams are elite perimeter players who will probably both average 24+ points for their career, superstars. That pretty much covers the future of the Eastern conference. You need superstars to win, with Detroit being the exception.

[awefullspellare]

Lebron having a 20-10-10 season would be nice. Don't know if it will happen but if anyone can do it it's him.