LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers just won the 2015-16 NBA Title, the first major sports championship for the city of Cleveland in 52 YEARS. He of course won the Finals MVP, and after appearing in six straight NBA Finals with two different teams, finally won one for his hometown team. People are starting to debate if he is the greatest ever. Of course, the one to compare him to would be His Airness, Michael Jordan. Is LeBron catching MJ? You betcha. Will he surpass him? That'll be up to basketball fans for years to come.
LeBron's career has taken many turns. Drafted straight out of high school, he and the Cavs struggled to have much success, but he did bring them to the NBA Finals in 2007, but they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. In 2010, LeBron was heavily criticized for leaving the Cavaliers and joining the Heat to play with his good friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but he cannot be criticized for leaving the Cavs. LeBron was given very little help, with no significant post players or ball handlers around him. Sure, he basically left the Cavs empty-handed, but is it his fault they couldn't acquire any significant players before or after he left? They certainly had the cap space after he left, but nope. LeBron was hated by many, including Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, and many fans were photographed burning his jersey. But can you really blame him? The Cavaliers refused to give him much help, so he had to go somewhere where he could get help. LeBron wanted to win, and the Cavs wouldn't let him. LeBron knew he would never be seen as great, staying in Cleveland and never having success in the playoffs thanks to ownership and management not providing him with talented players around him.
So LeBron went and won two championships in Miami in 2012 and 2013. After having experienced success, he felt the only thing better than winning championships was to win them for Cleveland. So he headed back to the Cavaliers. Some forgave, some still remembered the hurt they felt. But this time, LeBron was given help in the form of draft pick Kyrie Irving and trade acquisition Kevin Love. And just yesterday, those three were instrumental in getting the Cleveland Cavaliers their first championship.
Most people would still agree that MJ is better than LBJ, but LBJ still has plenty of years to go. I believe LeBron in his prime would win one-on-one against Michael, because of his advantage physically. He's not any slower, and would more than likely out muscle MJ in the post. But in terms of best player, we have to wait and see. And even when LeBron's career is over we'll probably still not know. That's fine with me. There are countless debates throughout sports and entertainment about who is better: Ruth or Aaron, Montana or Brady, Woods or Palmer, Batman or Superman, Hepburn or Streep, etc. Basketball will have it's Jordan and James, and basketball fans should not only be fine with that, but embrace it. Some might be perturbed that MJ might not be solely known as the greatest ever, but if LeBron keeps winning, he deserves to be in that conversation.
I'll just be happy to have been able to watch them both. Heck there will be even be the third person who might be saying Kobe was the greatest ever, or an old-timer who will say Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, or Oscar Robertson. I don't think LBJ will ever surpass MJ, but as long as people speak of him in the same breath and debate him with Michael Jordan, I think that would Mr. James happy enough.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Saturday, June 4, 2016
My Insane Theory for the New Star Wars Trilogy
With Star Wars Episode VII still a year and a half away, it's never too early
to theorize or speculate about characters, their motives, or possible twists. I do believe there will be a twist, perhaps
revealed at the end of Episode VII much like how the twist of the original
trilogy was revealed in the middle movie of the trilogy. Ready for it?
Here it is:
Kylo Ren is not evil. He is a spy sent by Luke to infiltrate the dark side and take down Snoke.
I'll give you a minute to put your mind back together after it's been blown.
Basically, Kylo was in training with Luke when Luke learns of this dark lord that has been in the shadows (Supreme Leader Snoke), and comes up with the idea to use Kylo/Ben as a weapon and spy to try to learn something about Snoke, take out Snoke, or both.
If you've ever read Harry Potter, this would directly parallel the events of the popular book series. In this case, Luke would be Dumbledore using Kylo (Snape) to take down a dark leader: Snoke (Voldemort). Funny thing is Kylo with his long hair and long face looks like Snape. In the Harry Potter series, Snape reported to Dumbledore about Voldemort. Is Kylo somehow in secret communication with Luke? Also in this analogy, Rey would be Harry Potter and Finn would be a combination of Ron/Hermione. Or maybe Poe is Hermione, haha.
I know there's a lot against this theory--such as why does it seem like Kylo Ren in TFA is so desperate to find his uncle? It could be an act. But to back up my theory, Luke went in hiding--not out of shame--but because contact with anyone would risk him revealing his plan. Perhaps Luke found out something about Snoke so bad that he gave up his relationships with Han and Leia so that he could secretly get Kylo Ren to spy for him. Perhaps Luke learned how to expertly flirt between dark and light so well without going too far either way that he felt confident in letting his nephew pretend to be dark. Luke being disgraced about his nephew turning dark is a cover for his solitude--it's so he can meditate, and also communicate with his nephew secretly.
You're probably thinking: Why did Kylo Ren kill Han, then? Well perhaps Han is a bit like Dumbledore in that he might have been dead soon, anyway. Maybe there was someone so hot on Han's trail that they were about to catch up and kill him. I doubt Luke would want Han dead, but if Luke knew Han didn't have long in the galaxy anyway, and it would convince Snoke of Kylo's evilness, Luke would probably say it would be worth it for the greater good. Perhaps Han knew he was going to die. He did say to Rey that he was looking into taking on a second mate, but perhaps that was code for someone to take over the Millennium Falcon... period.
One other thing to back up my theory: Kylo did not appear to be trying to kill Rey. On Starkiller Base at the end of TFA when Kylo fights Finn and Rey, he did not seem to be trying to kill Rey. If anything, he was trying to get her to come with him so he could perhaps fill her in on the secret. I believe if Kylo wanted to kill her he could've, seeing how inexperienced she was. The fact that (while injured) Kylo had trouble with two untrained young adults leads me to believe he wasn't trying to kill them, because he isn't evil.
I know my theory is a bit of a long shot, but I'd love to see it come true. I do believe in some way by the end of the trilogy Kylo Ren will have come back to the light (if he even left it). I mean, what's more badass than being bad, but not actually being evil? You get all the coolness of the dark side but none of the hate. Severus Snape is revered in the Harry Potter series--I think Disney wants the same for Kylo Ren.
Bonus: Take a look at Kylo Ren's lightsaber. Looks like a cross, doesn't it? Like the cross Jesus died on? Perhaps that is a subtle hint that Kylo will sacrifice himself for the greater good. I can definitely see that happening, most likely in Episode IX.
Kylo Ren is not evil. He is a spy sent by Luke to infiltrate the dark side and take down Snoke.
I'll give you a minute to put your mind back together after it's been blown.
Basically, Kylo was in training with Luke when Luke learns of this dark lord that has been in the shadows (Supreme Leader Snoke), and comes up with the idea to use Kylo/Ben as a weapon and spy to try to learn something about Snoke, take out Snoke, or both.
If you've ever read Harry Potter, this would directly parallel the events of the popular book series. In this case, Luke would be Dumbledore using Kylo (Snape) to take down a dark leader: Snoke (Voldemort). Funny thing is Kylo with his long hair and long face looks like Snape. In the Harry Potter series, Snape reported to Dumbledore about Voldemort. Is Kylo somehow in secret communication with Luke? Also in this analogy, Rey would be Harry Potter and Finn would be a combination of Ron/Hermione. Or maybe Poe is Hermione, haha.
I know there's a lot against this theory--such as why does it seem like Kylo Ren in TFA is so desperate to find his uncle? It could be an act. But to back up my theory, Luke went in hiding--not out of shame--but because contact with anyone would risk him revealing his plan. Perhaps Luke found out something about Snoke so bad that he gave up his relationships with Han and Leia so that he could secretly get Kylo Ren to spy for him. Perhaps Luke learned how to expertly flirt between dark and light so well without going too far either way that he felt confident in letting his nephew pretend to be dark. Luke being disgraced about his nephew turning dark is a cover for his solitude--it's so he can meditate, and also communicate with his nephew secretly.
You're probably thinking: Why did Kylo Ren kill Han, then? Well perhaps Han is a bit like Dumbledore in that he might have been dead soon, anyway. Maybe there was someone so hot on Han's trail that they were about to catch up and kill him. I doubt Luke would want Han dead, but if Luke knew Han didn't have long in the galaxy anyway, and it would convince Snoke of Kylo's evilness, Luke would probably say it would be worth it for the greater good. Perhaps Han knew he was going to die. He did say to Rey that he was looking into taking on a second mate, but perhaps that was code for someone to take over the Millennium Falcon... period.
One other thing to back up my theory: Kylo did not appear to be trying to kill Rey. On Starkiller Base at the end of TFA when Kylo fights Finn and Rey, he did not seem to be trying to kill Rey. If anything, he was trying to get her to come with him so he could perhaps fill her in on the secret. I believe if Kylo wanted to kill her he could've, seeing how inexperienced she was. The fact that (while injured) Kylo had trouble with two untrained young adults leads me to believe he wasn't trying to kill them, because he isn't evil.
I know my theory is a bit of a long shot, but I'd love to see it come true. I do believe in some way by the end of the trilogy Kylo Ren will have come back to the light (if he even left it). I mean, what's more badass than being bad, but not actually being evil? You get all the coolness of the dark side but none of the hate. Severus Snape is revered in the Harry Potter series--I think Disney wants the same for Kylo Ren.
Bonus: Take a look at Kylo Ren's lightsaber. Looks like a cross, doesn't it? Like the cross Jesus died on? Perhaps that is a subtle hint that Kylo will sacrifice himself for the greater good. I can definitely see that happening, most likely in Episode IX.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)