Who better to assess the comparison than someone who battled with Jordan and remains a astute observer of the game?
As always, Cartwright was thoughtful and insightful.
"The big thing about LeBron," he began, "is he's one of rare guys where there's no position for him. He similar to maybe Magic [Johnson]. That's the best comparison because he can play one through five. What can't he do?
"Michael was basically a two-[guard]. What's LeBron? A one? A two? A three? You can't say. That's what makes him an anomaly; there's no match-up for him.
"Michael was as hard as anyone to guard. This guy [LeBron] is really unguardable. Who do you match him with? He's too darn big and too darn strong. Put a big guy on him and he goes around them. Put a small guy on him and he beats him up. He's a nightmare of a match-up."
Cartwright also brought up another significant factor in the comparison: The Cavs overall talent, especially when compared with the Bulls of that era.
"It's really remarkable what he's done there considering the questions marks [about the Cavs], from players to coaches," he said. "He's basically doing everything down there.
"He makes his teammates better, much better. And he is now a leader, the leader on that team.
"Look at Cleveland. Without, Michael, we still felt we could win [the NBA title], and took the Knicks to seven games [before losing] in ['93-'94] Eastern Conference championship. Could [the Cavs without LeBron] do that? I don't think so.
"And like a lot of [great players}, similar to Micheal, similar to [Julius] Doc [Erving], as his career has evolved LeBron became a better and better shooter. Not that they were great [shooters] but if they're on from outside you've got a problem.
So is LeBron comparable to Michael at this stage of his career?
"I would say absolutely, absolutely," Cartwright said.
"He's absolutely on best player on planet right now. I don't think you'd get much argument on that."
Beyond, improved shooting, Cartwright says LeBron had to learn how to win, and that leaving Cleveland for Miami, where he won two titles, played a vital role in that learning curve.
"Michael came into the league early [after his sophomore season at North Carolina]; LeBron and Kobe [Bryant] came in really early. [Both joined the NBA right out of high school.] They had to go through a period of maturing to be able to take on that kind of responsibility.
"Heck, it took us two years to get past Detroit Pistons. Things were not always rose. Not easy. Even when we were winning, there was always doubts.
"LeBron had to leave [Cleveland] to get what he wanted, and to understand what it took to win, what kind of commitment it took to win. Now..."
"Appreciate the guy while he's here," he said. "He's pretty good."
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2...lly_be_co.html
SBR Top-Rated Sportsbooks
Bill Cartright & Bill Lambeer - "Lebron is Better Than Jordan" !!!!!!!!
Reply With Quote
And with said Stars went 2-2. Interesting.
Originally Posted by meader99
