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You can talk about LeBron James without having to bring up Michael Jordan

By Michael Whitlow

Dec 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan yells at an official in the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Bulls 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan yells at an official in the second half against the Chicago Bulls at Spectrum Center. The Hornets defeated the Bulls 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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You know what’s pointless, never-ending and something that’ll never be settled? No, not an argument with your significant other. The answer is the Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debate.

LeBron James is probably the most hated man in the city of Chicago from the months of October to June. (Be thankful for him, Aaron Rodgers.)

James, a four-time NBA MVP and the greatest player of his generation, made huge strides last June in the long-standing barber shop debate of who is the greatest basketball player ever after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers back from a 3-1 series deficit against the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Michael Jordan, widely seen as the greatest basketball player that’s ever played the game, won six NBA Championships, five NBA MVP awards and never lost in the NBA Finals, winning all six Finals MVP awards in the process.

Basically, if Michael Jordan is the GOAT (“greatest of all-time”), LeBron James the best player since him. (Pipe down over there, Kobe stans. This discussion is for players that actually have a case to be the best ever.)

So, why can’t we just appreciate the greatness of both players?

These two could very easily finish as 1-2, 1a and 1b in terms of the greatest basketball players of all-time, so what’s with all of the side-taking in this not-needed debate?

What sparked these thoughts was stuff like this after LeBron and the Cavaliers blew a 21-point lead in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics on Sunday night at home after thoroughly dominated the East’s top seed in the first two games.

(If we’re getting that technical, Jordan had eight career playoff games of 20 points or fewer. See, I can do this, too.)

So, we go from praising LeBron James for being the only other player than Jordan in NBA history to score 30+ points in eight straight games a few days ago to starting a debate that can’t really be had to begin with? The playoffs really do bring out the best in folks, huh?

Look, I’m never one to tell someone how to think or react.

But, tearing down LeBron James for two bad quarters of basketball (and believe me, they weren’t great) after 10 straight fantastic playoff performances in this postseason seems really … well, it’s dumb. That’s just me.

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    • These were LeBron’s per-game averages in this postseason before Sunday’s loss to Boston: 34.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks, all while shooting 56.9 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from 3-point range.

    Those are NBA 2K17 MyPlayer numbers and LeBron is averaging these figures in the playoffs during his 14th NBA season. That seems really good.

    It’s just weird that one bad game from James down the stretch of a Game 3 in a series that’s been dominated by he and his team and all of a sudden, he’s not in Michael Jordan’s league anymore.

    Bulls fans that are older than I am, I know you remember the Bulls going down 0-2 to the New York Knicks in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals.

    Could you imagine social media then after Jordan shot 32.5 percent from the field in the first three games on almost 26 shots again? It would like after your local dump, but instead of just trash, there’s takes of all sorts in there.

    Great players have bad games. In the first full year back from his 18-month suspension for gambling by the NBA stint in minor league baseball, Jordan dominated the regular season, won every MVP award available, but still shot 41.5 percent in the NBA Finals against Gary Payton and the Seattle Supersonics, including his two lowest-scoring games of the series (Game 4, loss; Game 6, clincher) where he shot a combined 11-for-38 from the field.

    Jordan had bad games in the regular season and when it mattered most in the postseason. It happens. James has certainly has had bad games, too. (Just ask any Kobe fan about the 2011 NBA Finals when James lost in six games to the Dallas Mavericks team that swept Kobe and the Lakers two rounds prior.)

    Just because LeBron isn’t a god every night like many think Jordan was, doesn’t mean he loses any steam in the GOAT conversation. LeBron certainly has a case to the throne, but that’s another thing. Shouldn’t LeBron, you know, actually finish his career before we have such discussions in our barber shops that could cause our weekly haircut to have the look of a receding hairline?

    Personally, I love MJ just like you or any other Bulls fan today. He’s the greatest I’ve ever seen and one of my favorite athletes of all-time. (Thank yous go out to NBA TV and YouTube for helping me make up for lost time.)

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    But, we should be able to appreciate LeBron James and his career that’s actually going on today without having to bring up MJ’s name every time something drastic happens.

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