Rick Barry Hates Lebron

Cleveland, OH - Hall of Famer Rick Barry has gone and done what nobody else besides the writers at CursedCleveland.com would do...criticize Lebron James. According to Barry:

"He's got major flaws in his game," the Warriors great said in an interview airing Wednesday night. "He's six years into the NBA. How can a man six years into the NBA with his talent have a major flaw in his shot? How can he not use screens effectively? .. . I watch the game very carefully, he doesn't use screens effectively and this is not LeBron's fault. It's the fault of the people who are teaching him. ... There is no doubt in my mind that LeBron, if shown these things, would do them, because he wants to be a great player. He wants to win a championship. As great as he is, he should be better."

Rick Barry is a little off base here. My issue is this, do you really think coaching is the problem here? Do you think coach Brown instructs Lebron to settle for ridiculous jump shots every time he has a chance to beat the buzzer at the end of a game? Do you think he called for that fadeaway in Chicago which led to a loss last week? No, he didn't, and you're an asshole if you think that this guy listens to any of his coaches. He's the coach of this team, but the problem is, unlike Kobe, you don't see him in the middle of huddles pumping up players and telling young players where they need to be. Instead, he can be seen biting his fingernails and gazing into the distance. Chris Jent works with Lebron constantly on his free throw shooting, and is widely known as a phenomenal shooting coach.

Is Barry saying that Lebron's form is off? Well isn't Peja Stojakovic's form a little off as well...as was Jeff Hornacek's, Reggie Miller's...the list goes on and on. Form isn't the problem, consistency is...not everyone can shoot underhanded Ricky.

We've been very critical in the past of LBJ here, and this has been the season, for me at least, where he's started to make an effort on the defensive end and really impress me. He's clearly the most talented player in the game today, I'm just not sold on the fact that he's as driven to win a title as Kobe is, or Dwyane Wade is for that matter. When the Cavs lose, he's still shaking hands and smiling and laughing with opposing teams' players. Do you ever see Kobe doing this? Do you ever see Lebron get a technical foul or show any emotion when things aren't going his way? (Edit, I just saw that LeBron is third in the league in technicals. Apparently he did learn more than just defense from Kobe this Summer) Show me that you are so competitive that you're willing to look immature during or after games. Show me that you have enough fucking nuts to not go hug guys on the other team after they steal a hard fought game from you. Show me that you've spent countless hours in the gym shooting free throws instead of filming commercial after commercial. Then, and only then, will I really truly love Lebron James as a player.

The guy's young, and I've got all the time in the world to wait...and until then thankfully the NBA has a handful of players who I can be inspired by that care about winning...and only winning.