I try not to get caught up in hype when it comes along. 

I was skeptical of LeBron until I saw him play an NBA game.  I didn’t think Dane Cook was anything special when I first saw him gyrating, taking off his shirt, and laughing obnoxiously right into people’s faces (and that’s just during the cocaine-fest he had backstage before his show).  I didn’t get excited about Crystal Pepsi, barbed wire arm tattoos, Windows Vista, the movie Gigli, the Hyphy movement, Planet Hollywood and the McDonald’s McRib sandwich. 

Again, I’m not a guy that gets caught up by media hype before experiencing the product.

So when LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were deemed the next Magic vs. Bird, I was pretty skeptical at such a lofty comparison.  There was even a ridiculous 5-way interview that included some ESPN drone, Magic, Bird, LeBron, and Carmelo that challenged the basketball gods and damn near got everyone killed (thank God Larry Bird is basketball Jesus and stopped the smiting).  It was an intriguing concept because both of these players were so talented at a young age, but there were certain things that were assumed about the two players that were just untrue (we’ll deal with those in a bit). 

We were supposed to be treated to multiple NBA Finals match-ups between the two phenoms that would have rivaled the greatest competitive nature and the best quality of basketball that we’ve ever seen.  It was going to be the new rivalry in sports that made you choose a side like Bird vs. Magic, NBA 2K vs. NBA Live, Tupac vs. Biggie, and Crips vs. Bloods.  There would be no casual watching.  You were going to be forced to be a rabid fan that lived with each win and each loss even if you had no feelings for either team. 

So what happened to this supposed rivalry that was the next generation’s sexy sports story?  Why is it that one is fading away before our eyes and the other one can’t get any talent around him to save his Cleveland life?  Is this rivalry ever going to materialize and give us what we were promised 5 years ago?

In a short answer – no.  We’ve learned many things about these two guys that show us they won’t be considered the top 2 players in this league.  The list is pretty short with LeBron and even though he will be the best player in this league at some point, he has some deficiencies that could cost him a title on his own.  For LeBron, he just isn’t a tough guy and he doesn’t play good, consistent defense.  He sat out 5 games with a sprained finger.  Champions don’t do that.  Jordan would’ve never done that.  Kobe is proving right now that he wouldn’t do that.  Isiah Thomas would’ve never done that.  There’s a difference between playing hurt and playing injured and LeBron won’t do either.  As far as defense goes, it looked like he was finally going to be a force on the defensive end this season.  He started out the first two months as a shutdown guy.  Instead, he stopped focusing during the rest of the season and only stepped up defensively when he felt he had to.  You either have that defensive mentality or you don’t.  I don’t think he does. 

The list for Carmelo is much longer, much more serious, and should make fans feel pretty precarious as they decide whether they think of him as a franchise guy or not.  Most people seemed to get caught up in his marketability.  They looked at the hype surrounding the guy instead of glaring issues that should have been considered.  We were treated with pre-draft analysis that this guy was a star and a can’t-miss prospect.  He was deemed a possible better version of Bernard King.  We were supposed to start counting down the days until the awful Cavs and the respectable Nuggets met for the first time in the upcoming season to see LBJ and Melo go at it. 

Nobody looked into Carmelo’s questionable past in which he didn’t do anything wrong necessarily, but the same couldn’t be said about the people he surrounded himself with.  Nobody saw the fact that he didn’t play defense, didn’t battle for rebounds, and didn’t pass the ball particularly well.  All we saw was Carmelo win an NCAA title as a freshman.  We saw Michael Jordan sign him to the Jumpman logo.  We anointed him the one to challenge the King. 

Well, now we have a situation on our hands that doesn’t look so promising.  With teams like the Pistons and Celtics penciled in as the top 2 teams in the East for the next 3 years, it’s hard to imagine the Cavs being serious title contenders every season with LeBron rumored to be headed to NY as soon as he can and the Nuggets are a complete mess in terms of chances that they become contenders with the current makeup of the organization. 

It’s safe to say that LeBron is never going to win a title when he’s on a team that has Devin Brown and Delonte West (maybe the most illiterate guy in the league now that Darius Miles is being forced out) as the starting backcourt.  With Orlando emerging as the third best team in the conference and Washington on the verge of being legit if they can ever stay healthy, Cleveland seems to be a middle of the pack playoff team in a weak conference.  LeBron is going to have to get some help and the last time he was in need of help, he was given Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Zyndrunas Ilgauskas with cap crippling long-term deals.  It’s safe to say that unless he jumps ship, they might not have an easy time getting players to come to Cleveland. 

For Carmelo, the time in which he is being considered a franchise guy is all but dead.  He doesn’t do anything but score.  And he doesn’t do that exceptionally well or efficiently.  He doesn’t play defense.  He doesn’t rebound that well for someone with his size and athleticism.  He moves so well through crowds on the court that it perplexes me that he hasn’t found a way to get a little Dennis Rodman in him.  He doesn’t pass the ball that well.  He can’t shoot threes and yet insists on taking far too many.  So what’s the star quality that I’m missing?  The Nuggets have 4 wins and 20 losses in the Carmelo Anthony playoff era. 

The Nuggets with the most talented team that they’ve had since Dikembe Mutombo was doing his Cookie Monster impression as he blocked Shawn Kemp and Nate McMillan shots away were just swept out of the playoffs and have the distinction of the first 50-win team to ever be swept in the first round of the playoffs.  Carmelo trade rumors are beginning to gain momentum.  The sky is falling on the Melo vs. Bron finals and there is no way to fix it. 

So were we cheated?  No.  We were just fed a lot of crap to boost ratings for a league that was desperate for them at the time.  The only way we’ll see a LeBron-Carmelo NBA Finals series is if the Cavs get wise and try to trade for Melo right now while his value is low.  A deal of Wally Szczerbiak, Daniel Gibson and a first round draft pick could get Carmelo away from Denver and into LeBron’s roster.  Carmelo is the perfect second gun to have on a team.  He’s like a much more talented Richard Hamilton and that’s saying a lot.  Carmelo along side LeBron would be a fun thing to watch and would give the Cavs’ organization not only a lock to keep LeBron but a title contending team for the next 7 years. 

Plus it would give the media something new to hype. 

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