This was going to be just a tweet, but 140 characters wouldn’t do it
justice. Neither would an extended Facebook status update. I need to
get this off my chest in a much longer fashion because I think it’s
important to say. Because no journalist who wants to maintain a good
relationship with CAA (the agency that seems to be the agency of
choice of all of today’s biggest names), can afford to write this and
to be perfectly honest I (
don’t blame them.

But make no mistake. Tonight’s game six in Boston will be the most
important game in Lebron James career.

First off, that’s not a dramatic statement at all when considering who
we are talking about. Lebron James is the game’s best talent even with
Kevin Durant’s performance last night. But he has no ring and with his
Decision in 2010 heaped a whole bunch of unnecessary pressure on his
shoulders when he already had the expectation of leading a team to a
few championships.

But now he faces a Celtic team playing with the one trait that Lebron
must tap into to beat them: pride. Forget Celtic Pride. It’s not just
the proud history of the organization that Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo,
Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are playing for. They are playing for their
own individual pride. They’ve all been called old, over the hill and
yesterday’s news. They weren’t even supposed to make it to a sixth
game. And yet, a proud veteran team coached by an able minded, good
old school coach, are destroying the younger, more supposedly talented
team.

Why, then can’t Lebron summon this same mental fortitude?  Is it that
not enough people doubt Lebrons skill?  He may want to go on the
Internet for any added motivation instead of reading books.

These last two years couldn’t have been easy for James. He pulled a
Hogan and went villain on us overnight and raised his hands in protest
when they lost wondering why everyone was against him. I suppose the
parade didn’t help matters.

But here we are in the second year of what should’ve been a historic
joining of talents with Wade and Bosh, and the Miami Heat are on the
verge of a six game upset at the hands of the more battle tested
Boston squad. Ever since Lebron came into the league, the Celtics have
been proverbial doorkeepers. They kept him out in 2008 and again in
09. They were the reason for him, Bosh, and Wade joining forces in the
first place. They couldn’t beat Boston by themselves and felt they had
to gang up to beat them and did so finally after Rondo got injured.
The thought among Celtic fans and the team was with a healthy Rondo it
would’ve been the Celtics playing the Mavs in the Finals.

That fearlessness of playing the supposed super team belies a simple honest truth:  The Celtics know that they are a better team than the Heat and know that in team sports like basketball, unless you have five Lebrons or five Wades, there is no way that three guys and a bunch of stiffs can beat a well put together team.  Basketball is about individual talent, but the best teams always follow the formula of having chemistry and using that chemistry along with individual talents and figuring out how they all fit together.

And yet the thing that strikes me is that at the end of these games there’s Miami within striking distance.  There’s Miami needing baskets and there’s Lebron taking jumpshots or passing the ball.  Which is beyond me since the referees have showed us that if Lebron drives to the basket consistently, he will get every single call.  Its just the truth.

Well, the passing has to stop.  Now its time for the best player on the planet to take control.  To take firm grasp of his fate and his basketball legend and to write a new chapter.  Its time for the Heat to end the Celtic era.  Its time for Lebron to exercise demons.  Jordan had to beat the Pistons in order to take that next step and for the Heat and especially Lebron, beating the Celtics while at full strength would be cathartic.  You can’t imagine the emotional weight that would be lifted if Lebron defeats the Celtics IN Boston to set up a game 7 at home.  Because in that game 7, if you thought the officiating was terrible before, and if you’re a fan of the idea that things are set up in a WWF kind of way, then you ain’t seen anything yet.  What are the chances that the Heat shoot 10-20 more free throws than the Celtics and set up a dream NBA Finals Best of 7 series between the OKC Thunder and the Miami Heat?

Tonight’s game is also important because if they don’t win major changes are coming.  Put it this way, Erik Spolestra WILL be fired if the Heat don’t win an NBA championship.  I think we can all agree on that.  But if they don’t make it to the NBA Finals at the least, the Heat will more than just kick tires on a Wade trade and believe me, it will be Wade who gets traded.  Bosh won’t fetch them anything of real value, though one can make the argument that trading Wade or Bosh and freeing up space for a guy like CP3 at the end of next season while getting a better supporting cast would probably benefit the Heat more than just a star for star trade.  The fact is, the Heat have to see this window and know that with three stars taking this much cap space, it limits their opportunities to upgrade the team at positions like center.  Imagine a Roy Hibbert there who can keep defenses honest.  Joel Anthony is a fine center defensively but is much more suited to coming off the bench.  Ronny Turiaf is NOT a starter and there isn’t enough toughness aside from Udonis Haslem in terms of big men and so the Heat have to consider that shaking the dream team roster up is not just a possibility but is a must this offseason.

If not the front office, Lebron may have to demand a trade BACK to Cleveland who suddenly have a young core in place and may have more pieces coming on the way thanks to some shrewd dealing and good drafting.  Lebron knows that going into this game, if they don’t win the Thunder who look like supermen in white, are on the horizon for the next 5-7 years as legit title contenders.  They thought they’d be competing for five to six championships and so did everyone else, but if the Heat and especially Lebron don’t get things together and show what he’s made of, he may have to find a new super team to take down the new threats popping up in OKC and elsewhere .