Would lebron have ever made the Finals if he played out West?

[Psileas]

Of course he would. He'd have a Western team. He wouldn't have the Cavs in the West.

Plus, he did beat the best Western team twice, including a 4-1 victory right? So, not only is there a chance he might do it again, even with the Heat, he might even be 2/2 in the Finals ( ), which is better than 2/7 per ISH "logic".

[Dragonyeuw]

The obvious answer is it depends on which team he's playing for. The Spurs and Warriors are two obstacles he'd have to overcome the last 4 years. Prior, OKC, Mavs, Lakers.

[choppermagic]

Just to try and give this scenario more detail for evaluation, if I look at the NBA draft order from that year, the Denver Nuggets was the first Western Conference team picking. So instead of picking Carmelo, they pick James.

Does James make the Finals in any of the Denver Nuggets years?

I say possibly 1.

[Dragonyeuw]

Just to try and give this scenario more detail for evaluation, if I look at the NBA draft order from that year, the Denver Nuggets was the first Western Conference team picking. So instead of picking Carmelo, they pick James.

Does James make the Finals in any of the Denver Nuggets years?

I say possibly 1.

Which year though? Is the team around him the same? Does he decide, after being eliminated for 4-5 years up to, say, 2010, to leave? Too many variables to consider...

[TheMarkMadsen]

Yes in 2012, not sure about 13.

[NBAGOAT]

if you just took that Miami team and switched them with a random team out West he would be 2/2. I don't see any team in 12 or 13 that could beat the heat. Obviously wouldn't make the Finals the other years since the best team was in the West. If you just put him on a random west team, completely depends on who's around him.

[Goldrush25]

Probably never. He would've been a Tmac level guy in the West.

So T-Mac in the West conference, second best player ever in the East?

You wouldn't be dropping the Cavs into the West, you're putting Lebron on a pretty good Western team. You put Lebron on the Spurs and watch what happens.

I think it's logical that he gets to half as many finals (say 3) but he wins every time, so he probably has 3 titles instead of 2.

[Wade's Rings]

Using his Miami teams and that stretch of time he makes the Finals in 2011, 2012, and 2014. I'm not sure about his 1st 7 years because that depends on the teams he's on unless we're using the exact same Cavalier teams he was on.

[Dragonyeuw]

Using his Miami teams and that stretch of time he makes the Finals in 2011, 2012, and 2014.

The Heat lost to the Mavs in 2011 and the Spurs in 2014. if you transplant the Heat to the west that means they lose in the west playoffs against those teams as opposed to the finals, assuming of course that those matchups occur. Bear in mind that in 2011 alone, it took them several weeks before they found some kind of formula to correct course and finish with a high seed in the east. They wouldn't have that luxury in the western conference that year.

[TheMarkMadsen]

So T-Mac in the West conference, second best player ever in the East?

You wouldn't be dropping the Cavs into the West, you're putting Lebron on a pretty good Western team. You put Lebron on the Spurs and watch what happens.

I think it's logical that he gets to half as many finals (say 3) but he wins every time, so he probably has 3 titles instead of 2.

Oh wow if you put Lebron on a team that already won three championships without him since he's been in the league and you think he'd have three titles??

Wow bow down to his greatness

[choppermagic]

Which year though? Is the team around him the same? Does he decide, after being eliminated for 4-5 years up to, say, 2010, to leave? Too many variables to consider...

Yeah, I know - tough question to answer. Just trying to take a shot at answering the OP. I figure it presumes he stays in the West, so i assume he stays with Denver throughout and not collude in the West.

[Lebron23]

If he played out West, He's going to have much better teams.

[Wade's Rings]

The Heat lost to the Mavs in 2011 and the Spurs in 2014. if you transplant the Heat to the west that means they lose in the west playoffs against those teams as opposed to the finals, assuming of course that those matchups occur. Bear in mind that in 2011 alone, it took them several weeks before they found some kind of formula to correct course and finish with a high seed in the east. They wouldn't have that luxury in the western conference that year.

The Heat lost in 2011 because Lebron choked in the Finals. If they were out west he doesn't choke vs Dallas in the Conference Finals and Miami beats them. He then chokes vs Boston in the 2011 Finals. In 2011 the Heat started off 9-8 but were on a 62 win pace after that, even if we adjust for them playing out west they still finish with 58 wins. Plus the East wasn't weak in 2011, the Bulls won 62 games (best in the league), Celtics won 56, and the Magic won 52 games.

In 2014 adjusting for the West the Heat were still on a 58 win pace and they played well through the 1st 3 rounds of the playoffs. They gave out in the Finals. Maybe it is a stretch to say they would have made the Finals because the West was extremely strong that year.

[Dragonyeuw]

The Heat lost in 2011 because Lebron choked in the Finals. If they were out west he doesn't choke vs Dallas in the Conference Finals and Miami beats them.

How do you figure this? What difference does it make Miami playing Dallas in the west playoffs, versus the finals, in terms of Lebron's performance?

[Goldrush25]

Oh wow if you put Lebron on a team that already won three championships without him since he's been in the league and you think he'd have three titles??

Wow bow down to his greatness

So if we've already decided that you wouldn't respect him no matter what conference he was in, then what's the point of this thread?