Tag Archives: Miami Heat

June 18, 2012 · 5:20 pm

Thoughts on the NBA Finals

Game 3 thoughts here. I haven’t posted my feelings on game 1 and 2 but those are sooo last week. So let’s get on with my feelings on the series thus far.

– its been fascinating to see the public clamor over a Lebron James vs. Kevin Durant Finals when it’s merely a subplot. It’s a subplot to the bigger picture of Lebron’s career which includes validating his greatness with championship trophies that he promised the citizens of Miami the moment the “big 3” came. James is the biggest star and the villain once again in his third trip to the Finals and second in the black and red of the Miami Heat uniform. This is his second consecutive trip to the Finals and yet he by himself has earned the Yankee treatment: anything short of a championship trophy would be a failure. The pressure put on his shoulders makes us, those hoping Lebron fulfills his destiny- Star Wars style- the ridiculously overbearing parent who chides his child whenever he does something wrong. Who ridicules him when he misses a key free throw in the late stages. Who scream obscenities at him when he passes the ball to a teammate who is surprised by the pass because of his own expectation of Lebron. It’s a fascinating case study on the way we root for the best players in the game.

It’s interesting personally for me, who grew up bitter during Michael’s spectacular run through the NBA Finals during the 90’s because he made it his personal mission in life to eliminate the Knicks. Little did I know that he made it his mission in life to destroy everyone who stood in his way.

As I grew up and got older my feelings about Jordan changed. Age had brought me wisdom I suppose but it brought me perspective. My eyes were more open to the other Jordan. The brand. The shoes. The sheer greatness that I had witnessed and never got to relish because when you’re young you don’t appreciate shit unless your team wins. I couldn’t like Jordan. My blue and orange blood wouldn’t allow it. Of course that wisdom hasn’t allowed me to appreciate Pat Riley after he left since he continues to stick it to the Knicks even a decade later.

But now I look at Lebron and see a lot of the animus and bias I had when watching Jordan come to fruition in the shape of Lebron James. Yes, his story is far different from the glorified Michael Jordan years, but the NBA is still the same: market the heck out of the biggest star. Hope he makes good decisions and leverage the player’s greatness to global branding profits. More than any other sport: basketball markets the crap out of its players and makes no apology off profiting from that. The lesson here: we’re gonna make money off you, if you want to make money you’re more than welcome to.

And alot of the financial cache translates to on court favoritism. Though it was said in jest, the Jordan rules were very real. Ask Byron Russell how much of Jordan’s game 6 final shot in a Bulls uniform was push off and how much was good basketball move. Much of it is still alive in Lebron. He is now the financial cash cow that the league exploits and in turn allows to play under a different set of rules.

To say the referee missed the call standing five feet away in game 2 would be tough enough but throughout the playoffs the instances of favoritism are too numerous to mention. The argument then becomes: isn’t that what is supposed to happen? Shouldn’t superstars get favoritism anyway? Yes, but then how do you reconcile Kevin Durants foul woes? My favorite response is: Durant hasn’t paid his dues. Why? Because he’s 23? Is he pledging a fraternity? Is he climbing the corporate ladder? Perhaps he is. Maybe this is his rite of passage. Durant is only going to enter his prime in 4 years which should also begin Lebron’s decline. A perfect passing of the refereeing baton and the NBA’s full scale global push.

So this series isn’t just Lebron vs Durant, it’s the NBA doing what it does best: putting its star in a position to shine; he need merely to take the baton and run with it.

– The biggest loser here is Russell Westbrook. The Heat’s biggest problem these last two years has been its inability to figure out its power chart. Lebron came to Wade’s team. Lebron is the better player so why isn’t he the defacto leader? So I found Dwayne Wade’s admission that he was in fact deferring to Lebron as a calculated moment of catharsis. No superstar of Wade’s ilk admits that without there being some deeper motive behind it. And usually it’s organizationally endorsed. It tells me more about Lebron and how sensitive he is to the question than anything.

So why is Westbrook the loser? Because he wants to be the man. He is physically gifted enough to be fooled into thinking he could be the man. But it’s so clear that Kevin Durant is the man. Westbrook is in a lose lose situation. Shoot and miss and feel the wrath of a fan base that ONLY wants you to pass to the other guy. Shoot and make it and the fans are just happy they got away with it. It’s a thankless job for one of the game’s brightest young stars.

It will be interesting how deep the emotional scar will be if the Thunder lose this series. This is clearly Kevin Durant’s team and their success will ultimately be at his feet while it’s failure will be laid at the footstool of the point guard who refuses to subjugate himself to the amazing powers of Kevin Durant. How long will Westbrook carry the baggage of being a lackey? Will he yearn to be the man somewhere? He’s been playing good sport for a while now but it’s clear he wants to be the hero and who knows if sometime in the future it leads to discord and a request to be traded. Its not inconceivable.

Remember also that James Harden emerged as a better secondary option than Westbrook who is miscast as a point guard. The looming decision of whether to sign Harden to an extension could mean that Westbrook has to take a backseat even more.

Which is why as important as this championship is for the future of the Miami Heat, it could be equally important to the future of the Thunder.

– Scotty Brooks rejecting a 3 year $11 million extension seems bizarre given Sam Presti’s ability to get the best deal at the end of the day. The gears in my brain started working and I put Phil Jackson’s recent comments regarding the Knicks and rejuvenation his chance to re enter the fray as a coach. His penchant for entering already established teams is well known. What about the triangle for OKC? It’s a nice thought but lets be honest: Phil would have to take a pay cut to come to OKC. I don’t see Presti handing out a contract upwards of $40 million to a coach approaching 80 but we know Phil’s ability of handling egos and managing young talent and bringing it all together to win a championship. Apart from the Laker job, I can’t see any other job catching his interest. Miami makes sense purely from a basketball point of view but he and Pat Riley don’t seem be a good fit. Riley would take over that team before Phil ever came to town.

I believe he had real interest in the Knick job but given James Dolans lack of common sense being a huge deterrent to winning championships rather than box office I believe Phil will stay away. I think it was in poor taste for Jackson, not to say what he said but to say it the way he did. Calling them clumsy seems more like a personal attack on the regime than the players. Saying Carmelo is a ball stopper or that Amar’e and he don’t fit are not moments of epiphany for Knick fans. This is something we painfully found out despite suspending our common sense over a season. Thats just sour grapes over the Knicks not even giving uncle Phil a courtesy call. That was admittedly dumb on the Knicks part but my suspicion is that the Knicks went cheap and refused to give Phil his money. The cheap shot may be Phil’s way of further driving up his price and letting the Knicks know: thanks but no thanks. Which is what he could’ve done from the beginning but…..

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June 6, 2012 · 3:56 pm

Its a team game

The adage is simple: you let a team as crafty and veteran as the Boston Celtics lay around they will find a way to beat you.  And that’s what happened last night.  With every single minute passing and Miami unable to pull away on one of its patented runs that usually destroy lesser teams, the Celtics looked up at the scoreboard.  Never panicked.  And then put a few baskets together and cut the lead.  Again and again, everytime the Heat tried to pull away the Celtics reeled them back in and it was almost amusing at times to watch.

The Miami crowd, if that is even a real thing, was shocked at the end of the game and rightfully so.  They are not a basketball crowd.  They are a bunch of stray cats that had nothing better to do than be lured into a big arena.  They were given free t-shirts and told to make noise when given cue.  They were told by several green shirts peppered into the crowd that those guys with the jersey number six and 3 were good and that number 1 hadn’t played in about two weeks because of an abdominal strain.  They were given this information under the premise that they should cheer the boys in white and boo the men in green.

But last night’s game wasn’t simplistic enough for the novice to understand fully.  To appreciate what had just occurred.  The Boston Celtics have been the better team since they first left Miami.  They have played harder.  They have played tougher.  And they have controlled the tempo.  One of, if not THE BEST, players in this series is a man going on 37 who everyone forgets had a reputation for not being clutch.  Don’t act like everyone forgets the Minnesota years.  And it wouldn’t be ridiculous for one to ask: how is that possible?

Every single announcer made it sound as if the Celtics had zero chance of beating the Heat.  Everyone figured five games would be enough for the Heat to vanquish the Celtics.  Its not their fault.  Supernatural talent makes people forget logic.  Dwayne Wade and Lebron James’ performance against the Indiana Pacers had us all convinced that the Heat were going to steamroll their way into the Finals and the inevitable matchup against the Spurs- who they themselves have fallen on hard times.  Lebron is the best player on the planet.  Dwayne Wade, aka Prince Charming, is one of the five best players in basketball and they both play for the same team.  This is a star heavy league and teams with superstars win championships.  One can argue that with two superstars of almost equal talent (if this series has proven anything- that’s not even true, Lebron is far away a better player than Wade), they should be better than an old, aging group of veterans.

But the blinding light of talent has clouded our judgement about the fundamental premise of a team game.  Its a team game.  Its five players playing as one.  Knick fans that grew up in the late sixties and seventies will NEVER EVER forget those Knick teams because they were the embodiment of team.  No superstars.  No one hogging the ball or wanting more attention.  Just a collection of very skilled basketball players who understood that in order to beat the mighty Lakers or Celtics or anybody you had to play for each other and as one.  That there couldn’t be star gazing or standing around.  Everyone had a role and last night, Doc Rivers crystallized that when he declared Rajon Rondo as the leader of the Boston Celtics and gave us one of the best quotes that symbolize the difference between a good coach and a great coach.

“I think they kind of understand that Rondo’s the leader everybody else plays with Rondo.  Kevin is still a great player, and Paul is still our best scorer. But they’ve gotten out of each other’s way with roles. I think all the new guys have added a great competitive energy to our basketball team. So, early on when we were losing, I kept saying people were getting conditioning messed up with age. They kept looking at our team and saying, ‘We’re too old.’ I kept saying, ‘No, we’re out of shape and let’s find out how good we are later.’ Sometimes, as a coach, you have a feel about a team. I don’t know how good this team is. I’ve said that, but I know it’s a team. We can play with anybody.”

So Rondo is our leader.  Kevin is a great player and Paul is still our best scorer.  The three best players on the Celtics and all have clear distinctive roles on the team.  Rondo leads.  Pierce scores.  And Garnett is just great.  All different in their own ways but all come together to form a great team.  Yes, Paul Pierce hit the dagger three pointer- because that’s what he does.  Right in Lebron’s face even.  Yes, everyone will talk about Chris Bosh’s four minutes of game time in the second half despite playing decently for a guy who missed the last eight games.  But it was Mikael Pietrus who hit critical threes. It was Rondo who continuously tapped the ball into the waiting hands of green jerseys.  It was KG who enforced the middle as a no fly zone for Miami’s gifted scorers.  It was KG who kept his defender honest by knocking down 20 footers with consistency.  All three with great performances individually but under the umbrella of their role.

That is the definition of team.  A group of players playing with a common purpose.  A control of all things even as the game gets late and the situation gets tense.  Its not that they have been here before literally.  Yes, they have been together as a group playing under this kind of pressure but never in this specific situation.  But great teams ultimately control their circumstances.  Great teams forgo the individual pressure that they carry and know when to strike.  They know that the situation calls for someone to step up and they all know who it is without even talking about it.

I had a discussion on Facebook a few weeks back when Lebron James passed a three pointer over to Mario Chalmers who had a decent look and we debated the decision of Erik Spolestra to use Wade and Lebron as expensive props for Mario Chalmers to get a chance at a three pointer.  Most believed that it was the right play.  And yes, the computer will spit out that in that specific context giving the ball to your best 3 point shooter is in fact the right call.  But my common sense couldn’t help but think to ask this simple question: if Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are your best players and you have lavished upon them boat loads of money based on that logic, how then can you possibly NOT include them in the final seconds of a game where it means win or loss.  Those are the players you want deciding the game.  Mario Chalmers missing IS NOT the point.  I’m not insinuating that Lebron or Wade would’ve definitely made that shot because we can’t possibly know that.  But what I can know is that you have entrusted them with this belief that they are the best players on the team, how then can you possibly leave the outcome of the game to your fifth, sixth or seventh best player?

The name of the game is team.  A team who understands each player’s role within the context of the situation and the moment.  Its ok if this were game 23 in the middle of the season but the Heat lost a playoff game because Mario Chalmers missed a three pointer at the end of regulation.  That could’ve been disastrous.  That’s what I want people to understand.  How can you possibly say that this team knows itself when they don’t know what to do at the end of a game?  Poor execution because they are defended well is one thing, but poor execution because the play selection was terrible and the play was stupid is something else entirely.

The Celtics don’t need to be reminded.  That quote personified what they are.  They have been honest with themselves this entire season.  Doc Rivers has a feel for this team because he’s locked in just like every player is right now.  Ray Allen didn’t moan or piss about Avery Bradley being the starter when he returned, it was all part of the bigger plan.  Rivers doesn’t have to mind his words or hope that what he says won’t destroy the confidence of his players.  He says what he wants because it needs to be said.  He lashes out because things need to be lashed at.  Because the Celtics are a team, not a collection of individuals.  The best quote on twitter, often a forum for great creative one liners, was that  last night an NBA team beat an AAU team.

The Heat can still win this series.  But they have to figure out what they are exactly.  They have to get the ball into the hands of their best players at the end of games.  Even the young OKC Thunder figured that out.  Kevin Durant scored 16 in a row at one point during OKC’s victory in game 4 because they understood that he’s their best player and when he’s starting to hit circus shots that you MUST feed him the ball and get him as many touches as possible.  The hierarchy must be present.

For the Heat to be successful now, everyone must fall into line.  Lebron must realize he’s the top dog and make sure that everyone follows him.  The Heat will go only as far as Lebron will take them, but not when everyone, including themselves are unsure if its he or Wade doing the leading.

 

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June 10, 2011 · 4:04 pm

Seriously Lebron- What’s up?

52 to 11.

That’s Dirk Nowitzki’s fourth quarter tally and that second number is Lebron James.

I am going to preface this by saying I didn’t watch all of Game 5 but the beauty of social networking websites and 24 hour sports news networks and league specific channels running on an all day clock make it so that you NEVER have to kick yourself for not setting your DVR.

A few days ago I wrote an article questioning what was eating Lebron James.  What could possibly be weighing on his mind that could possibly cause a second consecutive crash and burn for the self-appointed King James?  If you believe the internet, then its Rashard Lewis.  But Mike Wise had a great line in his Washington Post article which says it best:

“After boxing, nothing affords a naked-eye view of a supreme talent like basketball. Viewers see James’s mood swings, interpret his body language, see the fidgety nibbling of his nails, the primal roar after a malicious slam, and they instantly feel they know him in a way they could never know a helmeted free safety or a masked goaltender.”

And we all feel that instant connection to Lebron James, the most televised athlete in the history of the game.  Lebron the phenom came up at just the right time, as social networking was exploding, as tv cameras were following child prodigies around, everyone carrying around smartphones so we would never miss a score, and as DVR’s made it possible for people to NEVER miss an important sports game ever again.  So his connection with us is instant.  We see everything even this unbelievable footage of Wade and Lebron clowning Dirk and acting as if he were putting on a performance with the reports of a sinus flu.

Yet, the biggest act has been this Lebron James.  Whoever this Lebron James is.  Is the real Lebron the guy who torched Boston and absolutely destroyed Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls?  Or is it THIS James, on the biggest stage of his career and looking about as lost as a kid who walked into the wrong classroom on the first day of school.*
*= not like that ever happened to me 

For James haters this is best case scenario: the Heat losing, and Lebron being a shadow in the fourth quarter shrinking under the weight and burden that his talent brings.  Who is Lebron James?  He’s the most televised athlete of our generation and yet we have no clue what he is.  But we will find that out in Game 6 and perhaps Game 7.  The law of averages for a talent of his kind suggests that he will get it together, put his skirt away and bring his man pants to American Airlines Arena in Miami on Sunday and help the Heat reclaim some of the lost momentum.

Of course, if they don’t, Lebron may never recover.  The camera tells the whole story.  Nail biting.  Lebron looking around for someone to get this hot potato we call a basketball away from him.  The pathetic display of emotion when he creates a turnover.  You know, the “I gotta show something here so that fans don’t think I don’t care” look of half ass incredulous-ness.*
*= yeah, I just created a word right there- deal with it! 

But if these last few outings have proven anything its this: we now have a clear understanding of who’s the man.  Its almost universal that Lebron James is the better player than Dwayne Wade.  But perhaps even that discussion is changing and shifting.  Because its what have you done for me lately and lately James hasn’t done diddly.  Wade, with bruised hip and all, sitting a quarter managed 23 points.  Lebron happy to play stat-sheet killer threw up a triple double and still the haters were in full force.

His supporters will run to that argument: are you kidding me? He had a triple double.  What else do you want him to do?

The only problem with that argument is he came to Miami because his supporting cast was infinitely better here.  Yes, I’m even giving Chris Bosh some props because I can’t be more impressed by him.  He can’t fall on that safety crutch that his teammates suck like he could in Cleveland.  Dwayne Wade has consistently shown up.  He will get the Finals MVP if the Miami Heat win.  Chris Bosh has been better than I EVER expected on the glass and he’s been consistent with his jumper.  But everyone’s waiting for Lebron to show up.

Don’t count him out either.  With his kind of talent you never want to give a guy like that motivation but the Mavs have consistently given him that motivation throughout.  Deshawn Stevenson said he quit.  Jason Terry dared him to think he could guard him for the next five games like that.  These threats should’ve fueled Lebron to have a monster games 4 and 5 and yet, it seemingly deflated him even more.  The thought process here is this: what’s going on that Lebron can’t seem to focus?  Where is Lebron James when his team needs him?

Physically its tough to miss him, mentally he’s miles away.  In his mind, the Heat have won the title and he’s playing pick up games with Jason Kidd and Jason Terry.  He probably hasn’t seen the huge banner that reads FINAL on it.  This is it Lebron.  Make or break.  Its about that time.

Oh wait, he said that too.

Now all this is making sense.  Lebron wasn’t teaming up with Wade, he was running to Wade.  Lebron said it perfectly: he was taking his talents to South Beach to be Wade’s lackey.  It makes sense that Scottie Pippen, always jealous of Michael Jordan and never able to do what he did, would dis Michael to give props to Lebron.  Because he sees everything in him that he saw in Lebron.  He wants everyone to make THAT comparison.  Lebron is Scottie 2.0.  And ya know what Scottie?  You’re right.  He is.  He’s Karl Malone 2.0.  He’s freaking Shawn Kemp 15.0 (i mean he has a lot of baby mama drama doesn’t he?).  Yep, he’s the evolution of the talented Superstar with one glaring thing missing: that ring.

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June 8, 2011 · 3:14 pm

What’s eating Lebron James?

Honestly, when the question was asked about Lebron shying away from the big moment in crucial situations, even I was a bit taken aback by it.  I felt bad for Lebron who I reminded myself quickly should NOT be a person anyone feels bad for.  Not after the offseason and not after the preseason parade.  But I was a bit puzzled by his question.  Sure, Lebron is allowed to have one bad shot or one bad quarter which is all fine and well.  But if you want to be the best you have to earn it and for Lebron there is no other end game.  If he becomes anything less than better than Michael Jordan when all is said and done consider his career a failure.

Seriously.

Its not that I think being better than MJ is going to be easy by any stretch.  The weight of that title can crush any normal man but Lebron hasn’t been trained to be normal all his life.  His teenage years, his adolescent years have all been spent under the watchful eye of the television camera and so there is no hiding for Lebron.  He’s made his life one big Truman show so we can all enjoy and bask in the life and times of a great basketball player and before I say anything about his Game 4 performance let me repeat: Lebron James is already a great basketball player.

But game 4 was atrocious.  From beginning to end.  He looked like a rookie navigating his way around his first playoff game.  He looked like a kid in a toy store for the very first time.  He was there for the ride and happy to be there.  Unfortunately that’s not Lebron’s job.  Lebron is supposed to be everything and nothing that Michael Jordan was.  He has to take over fourth quarters.  He has to score the game winning basket.  He has to get the big steal.  He has to make the big defensive play to turn the tide.  That’s what HE has to do.

There is however, the problem of having someone on your team that can rival your own talent and skill set.  After all, isn’t that why Lebron and Wade joined forces?  Lebron never had the kind of band mates he has in Miami in Cleveland.  It was about winning and forming the best team possible under NBA free agency rules.  So if that IS the case. why should anyone care if Wade does the heavy lifting?  If Wade carries the team once in a while.  I mean, it was Lebron who carried the Heat against the Bulls.  Shutting down Derrick Rose on one end and then hitting clutch shot after clutch shot on the offensive end.  It was the fulfilling of the prophecy moment for most Lebron fans.

But Wade’s disappearance throughout the Bulls series was not due to failure of trying.  We never questioned Wade’s effort like Lebron’s clearly was after Game 4.  Lebron looked confused.  He looked uncertain.  He looked scared.  He looked lost.  He looked nothing like what we expect and what we expect is MJ.  What we expect are memories we have of Michael Jordan.  Sure we acknowledge the push off on Byron Russell in 98 but we remember the hand staying in the air as he posed for what SHOULD HAVE BEEN his final game.  An artist so sure of what to do in critical moments.  A different being in critical situations.  What was so crazy about LBJ’s performance was this: we saw it in his eyes.  He wasn’t in the game.  He wasn’t so much involved in the goings on of this crucial game 4.  Another game in which they held a 9 point advantage with 7 minutes to go and faltered again.

There are really two sad things about last night’s game:  If Lebron had looked anything like his normal self, the Heat win this running away.  They are up three games to one and on their way to either a five game win or six for added celebratory effect in downtown Miami.  They lost by 2 because for some reason Lebron just wasn’t himself for the entire game.  Dirk Nowitzki outscored Lebron James in the fourth quarter alone.  In 90 career playoff games no one had ever held him to single digits in points and yet on the Finals stage, in a game where I was blown away more by Dwayne Wade’s ability as the BEST two way guard in the game* than Lebron’s no show until I started looking for Lebron on the court like a parent who just remembered they had a kid with them.  Panic set in and I was wondering if Lebron was even in the game and then I saw him turn it over.  I went online looking at his stats and was confused.  6 points?  Are they only showing me the points for the quarter?
*= seriously if there is any argument I’d like to hear it because Dwayne Wade’s block of Tyson Chandler and his 32 points and his Finals MVP showcase performance are all you need to know to end any argument anyone has.  He’s the best 2 way guard in the game.  Better than Kobe.  Better than everyone.  Forget it.   

It was beyond me.  But that’s only because my expectation of Lebron is so much higher than perhaps he has of himself.  Maybe he’s unsure.  Maybe he got a text message from Delonte West and noticed he had checked into Akron, Ohio near his mom’s house.  Maybe the lingering Jordan debate is just too much for him.  Who knows what was bugging him, but what we do know is that for the Heat to win this series, Lebron has to be himself.  Lebron has to rise above his below mediocre self and become that guy from the Bulls series.  How can anyone think that Jason Terry can guard him?  Credit the Mavs D from taking the ball out of Lebron’s hand and making him throw passes to players wearing blue jerseys.  But also you have to consider that Lebron is fading from this series for altogether other reasons just like he did when he quit on the Cavs last year against Boston.

You have to wonder, what’s eating Lebron James?

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June 1, 2011 · 1:11 am

the Inevitability of the NBA Finals

I dont know if Dirk Nowitzki knows this or not, but he’s the last line of defense.  He’s the last thing that stands in the way of Lebron James and inevitability.  The last stand against the great army that marches from the beaches in the South.  This aint Normandy but its imperative that Dirk and Co. storm that bleep.

History may say different, but for me personally and everyone my age, there has NEVER been anything like this.  In fact, let’s go one step further: there has NEVER been anything like this.  Imagine the best player in the sport holding it hostage over a year period prior to his free agency and then well into the summer until finally announcing his decision on a nationally televised “fundraiser”?  You can’t.  It has never happened.

Even Lebron can admit somewhere that the “Decision” was a misguided endeavor put together by friends and people who advised him to do this.  People who have constantly given him this sense of entitlement that rules don’t apply to him.  What else could be the cause of a human being putting on such a show?  It doesn’t make any sense.

The fact is, the Lebron James Summer culminates in these Finals.  I don’t expect anything less than a raucuous atmosphere in both American Airlines arenas.  I watched the game at Tonic last Thursday and the waves the fans were riding with each Lebron shot in the Fourth Quarter, in which he destroyed the league MVP in much the same way Michael Jordan did to Karl Malone when Malone won in 1997, was incredible.

We constantly compare Michael to Lebron but criticize Lebron for taking a much different path.  Michael didn’t let down an entire city because before he had to make a “Decision” the Bulls had drafted Scottie Pippen and had assembled the necessary pieces to make a run.  Michael had his shoe deal and hype coming out of college.  Lebron had his starting at age 13.  Michael went to North Carolina to learn his craft, Lebron played in front of a very demanding home town crowd who expected nothing but great things out of the kid from Akron.  Michael scored, and scored and scored but Lebron has had to score for his team, set up the offense and grab rebounds.

Consider the stat that STILL blows me away about Lebron James: he’s led his team in points, assists and rebounds, all three categories in the same game 19 times.  19!!!!  Nobody in NBA HISTORY has done it more than 3.  Let that sink in before you start cursing out Lebron.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still hate the prick for choosing to take his talents to South Beach over coming to the big city and taking on a real challenge but think about the even bigger challenge he created.

He brought this incredible weight and pressure on himself.  He chose to do go through with the Decision.  He chose to dis Cleveland as their owner said in his dis letter of record to Lebron.  He decided to join his friend Dwayne Wade in Miami and throw a big championship parade prior to the season and declare his intent of winning “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six…..”  He’s the one that made everyone pissed off at him to the point that we laughed at every failure.

I remember a sense of unbelievable pride when the Knicks came back and beat the Heat.  Suddenly I fooled myself into thinking that this regular season game was bigger than what it was.  I remember believing the Knicks were better than the Heat.  That’s what Lebron did for the game of basketball.  He made EVERY single game matter.  Every loss was vindication for Heat haters.  Every win was greeted with cynicism; “only won by 15 eh?  WEAK!”

The Jordan comparison got to be ridiculous.  Jordan would’ve NEVER done this, never done that.  Jordan would’ve made that game winning shot.  Jordan would’ve passed there.  All this because we hated Lebron and those of us who had seen Jordan at his apex remember what a dominant figure he was capable of winning games by himself.  “Lebron can’t win by himself.  Look, he ran to Wade to get help.  He’ll never be number one.”

But after the last two rounds of these playoffs you tell me who’s team the Miami Heat is?  Who’s carried the Heat down the stretch hitting clutch shot after clutch shot?  The Heat trailed the Bulls in the last two games of that series and yet there was Lebron bringing them back.  I clenched my fist and held my tongue.  Finally, we were witnessing.  Finally, with a decent supporting cast, Lebron James was providing us with the magic that we were all promised from the moment he arrived in the public consciousness.

I won’t forget watching the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 where Lebron scored 25 points down the stretch of the fourth quarter to will his team over a still formidable Pistons team.  Lebron James went on a rampage and could not be contained and THAT moment convinced me that he was special.  He was better than any player.  Nobody could stop him.

Throughout this entire playoffs I’ve been a third hating him, a third marveling at him, and the final third just being mad that he wasn’t taking over.  He’s had this ability all his life and he didn’t seem to understand how to harness it.  It came and went and when it wasn’t there he looked like a guy who didn’t care and as an NBA fan when you see a guy that big, that strong, that fast not able to post up Muggsy Bogues you’d be mad too.

I’ve always seen Lebron as a guy who could be, can be, and should be.  He isn’t.  Yet.  The scary part is, if he figures it out, he could go on a Jordan like run.  A run which the NBA hasn’t seen the likes of since Jordan himself.  There’s that name again.  A few days ago Scottie Pippen drew the ire of every basketball fan when he dared to suggest that Lebron James could be better than Michael Jordan.

Physically, its possible.  Mentally is what separated Jordan from the pack and even there I think Lebron has a feel for the game that very few have.  By NO MEANS am I a Lebron fan.  I want the Mavs to win because I think Mark Cuban being handed the Larry O’Brien trophy by a pissed off David Stern is must see t.v..  Because I think Jason Kidd deserves to win a championship and because I think Dirk Nowitzki will NEVER be appreciated if he doesn’t win one here.  Because the 2006 Finals were such a complete and utter disgrace officiating wise that karma MUST reward the Mavs with a title over this star laden team.

But if Lebron does win, I’ll be happy as an NBA Fan.  Amazed that one man put himself in such a hole and in such a bad way and can somehow still come away with a victory with a majority of the NBA fan base so violently rooting against him.  Against the inevitable.

 

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December 5, 2010 · 2:24 pm

Thoughts on Lebronaclypse

It was Apocalypse Now. It was happening, Lebronaclypse. TNT had turned on to live coverage of Heat-Cavs aka Le-Traitor’s return. No music, just audio of Cleveland- the victim.

That’s what they were. Make no mistake, Thursday night every city looked at Lebron as a villain because we felt sorry for Cleveland. Because ESPN wouldn’t stop playing that Top 10 Cleveland’s most suckiest moments countdown.* And let’s face it, after “The Decision”, everything about Lebron seemed to have a bad vibe.
*= I mean Cleveland HAD to be booing ESPN too right? I mean for months their reporters gave Cleveland zero chance to retain Lebron. They kept making snarky remarks about how sad Cleveland was pre-Decision if Lebron were to leave and the worst was that countdown. If I were Chris Broussard, I’d steer clear of Cleveland for a while till this blows over, oh wait, it won’t.

I even had an article written up about how selfish Lebron was- you know piling on. There were reports about him already wanting coach Erik Spolestra out. Maverick Carter- his best friend/business adviser/consigliere was planting stories in the press. Chris Broussard- the go-to reporter for Lebron’s camp was the pipeline for information leaks.

The problem was, many in the press had grew tired of his act. Spolestra was Riley’s hand picked successor and a well respected coach in the eyes of basketball scribes. So reporters started remembering little tidbits of Lebron during the Olympics that fit the new national mindset on Lebron: child superstar turned big baby. Attention seeking crybaby who needed things to go his way and wanted NO part of the struggle.

Which is what made the mash up of Lebron’s commercial and Michael Jordan’s excuses Nike commercial so great for people of my generation: Jordan was the best, who built his game on the time honored tradition of hard work- the kind that built up the country and Lebron represented the new school- immensely gifted but only interested in the shortest path to glory- the kind that put this country in the mess that its in today.*
*= I realize that I’m reaching BIG TIME with this, but work with me, its mostly for effect.

With that said, we knew everyone would focus on Lebrons every movement, his facial twitches and we’d harp on every show of emotion.

Fast forward to the open of the program and there was no music, just a shot of Lebron entering the arena. Ernie Johnson with a brief set up and then “BOOOOOOOO”. That’s all you heard. I was literally ready for anything at that moment. They wouldn’t allow fans to take bottles into the arena- beer was flowing but only into paper cups. The National Guard was called in and extra security was in the house. Kenny Smith called the atmosphere “Game 7 like” and for game 19 of an 82 game schedule, that’s a big deal.

But everyone was focused on Lebron. The camera was fixed on him for a few minutes, following everything. But Lebron kept cool and something else happened that I wasn’t prepared for: Lebron embraced the atmosphere.

I was sure that he would crack. That the city would will the Cavs to a victory and Lebron would press and try and do too much. If the stories were true, then he wasn’t strong enough to handle it and would crumble like a house of cards. I bought into it. Add on to the fact that the Heat were a mystifying 10-8 entering the game.

The Heat who talked about multiple championships in their introductory public self congratulating ceremony, the team that was going to threaten the 96 Bulls for greatest team of all time label, were a less than Jordan-esque 10-8 heading into the Cleveland showdown. Somewhat of a letdown considering how much trouble the league was supposedly in.

But out came Lebron and he was singularly focused. A different Lebron showed up. He went through the crowd and began to start shoot around and as he touched the ball he began to immediately do dunks, but the kind you perform during dunk contests. But the kind you do with extra emphasis to intimidate. The kind you do to send a message: Let’s set things straight Cleveland, I’m still one of the two best players on the league and physically may be the most impressive specimen ever. I’m not just going to beat you, but for every time you boo, I’m going to show you it only serves to motivate me.

He had that snarl about him that made him more noticeably intriguing. He made his first two shots. He was playing a bit tougher on defense. He was taking over games and allowing the Lebron who was in Cleveland to manifest itself in his old playground. I began to watch more and realize that two things had happened:

Lebron’s killer instinct was beginning to take form and Cleveland had no shot. Lebron, for all his lack of P.C. and unawareness, still has the talents to take a team to the Finals. We have never questioned his physical ability, but this move shocked the heck out of traditionalist fans who wanted to see a superstar deliver. Especially one that’s supposed to be one of the two best players in the league.

But Lebron had that look in his eye thursday that if its all about basketball, removed from the B.S. of all the extra curriculars, Lebron is still the most physically gifted talent the NBA has and he’s only ENTERING his peak. That’s what everyone wanted to see. 38 points in 30 minutes. 5 rebounds. 8 assists. Blowout victory. That’s the Lebron we expected all season. The turbo that was on for the last two seasons was in full effect Thursday night.

Even Cleveland had to witness. At some point, even the boos faded. Lebron began chatting it up with the Cav bench and to be honest, it was then that I was most scared for him. Thursday night was supposed to be the cherry on a crap sandwich Lebron was supposed to eat if you believe in karma. Lebron was supposed to miss every shot. Cleveland should have had its victory. But once again Cleveland was a victim and at this point I don’t think anyone cares. All the crap Lebron took, he came out on the other end of Thursday night looking every bit the golden child he was in Cleveland for the first seven seasons. Cleveland went back to its position as a tortured city and the world was put back in its axis. I kept watching to see Lebron.

For some reason I kept thinking to his pre-game dunks and the most telling moment was when it came time to do his ritualistic powder toss. He did it. Powder flew and the boos grew, and he looked around and like any classic wrestling villain, he stared at the crowd and embraced the hate. All of the insults muted by each other and it was just rambling nonsense in his ear. It was the moment that I got the inkling that this night would not end up the way that most Lebron haters would like it to. This night was about Lebron and he would make it about him and do everything he could to destroy the Cavs. He was facing more than just the Cavs, he was facing his own immortality. All the hate must have crested in his mind and if this one game did unlock the Lebron most feared when he signed with the Heat, then this was a bigger win for the Heat than anyone couldve imagined.

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July 9, 2010 · 11:52 pm

Lebron’s decision: the day after.

The one thing that I knew going into last night’s announcement was this: no matter what happened, Lebron James was now going to be universally disliked.  The last few months were unlike the NBA has ever seen or ever will see.  His “Decision” special was filled with as much drama as a Yankees/Twins series.  The outcome had been there for days and this growing sentiment that the three men had arranged this together seemed fitting.  But still, it was something that came off as unsettling and almost pitiful even as a fan of one of the hopeful teams.

As a Knicks fan after much sulking, I looked at it from a rational standpoint and I understand why he did it.  Lebron did it to win championships and nothing else.  At the end of the day that’s what this game is about and for the winners go the spoils and for losers go nothing.  There’s no such thing as second place.  Lebron understood that better than anyone.  As a man expected to carry his team to the championship these last two years it was a colossal disappointment that he never accomplished that goal for his home state.  Despite all the rumblings the fact was this, Lebron wanted the championships and naturally one would expect the glory that comes with it.

I get it.  I even get the need to have two very talented men to support you and help shoulder the burden of bringing a title to the resume.  Even as he’s teaming up to become part of this (un) holy triumvirate, make no mistake this is all about Lebron which explains why he didn’t go the simple route and join Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade at the podium for their announcements (which of course makes the cry of ego maniac ring truer but we’ll get to that.).  I get why he would want to play with his friends and build a dynasty with them.  I get all of that.  In fact, me and my buddies from high school always joke about each getting a place on the same block and growing old together.

Even then you didn’t expect it.  Even then you held out hope that perhaps this whole Lebron to the Heat was just smoke screen for either his eventual return to Cleveland or escape to Chicago or New York which both wouldn’t be as universally destroyed like this move is.  Don’t get me wrong, leaving the Cavs makes him look like a jerk.  Leaving the Cavs for South Beach makes him look like a doubting-his-own-talent jerk.

I don’t buy that this is bad for the NBA.  In fact, all this Lebron speculation cost ESPN a lot of its credibility and almost destroyed Twitter.  It was THE TALK of the internet and everyone and I mean even the President had an opinion on the matter.  This is fantastic for the NBA in a time in which ticket sales are down and the league is losing money in the hundreds of millions.  All this hype over the super team will draw huge ratings.  Quick prediction about how many Heat games will be shown on national television?

I don’t even buy the talk that this immediately vaults them to the top of the pack in the NBA.  The Lakers still have Kobe, Artest, Gasol, and Odom and a very good supporting cast which the Heat will have to address in the coming days.

But there are some negatives here in the immediate future that must be discussed, and other points but before I do that I just want to throw one last conspiracy theory because these Lebron rumors have been so fun:  David Stern facing sagging sales and a tough economic future, send an email to every big name free agent over the next two seasons to begin forming super teams.  The NBA will push through outlandish trades and create 6 or 7 elite teams filled with two or three top 20 players in the league and approve an unbalanced schedule where these teams will meet once a week on TNT and ESPN.  Don’t put anything past Stern.

First negative: Immediate fall out in Cleveland was bad.  So bad that all you saw were Lebron jerseys being burned, young white women crying, and empty bars perhaps symbolizing Cleveland’s economy now that Lebron isn’t there.  But the icing on the cake was a half drunk/half crazed letter by super fan/owner Dan Gilbert destroying Lebron’s reputation and basically saying everything that any Cleveland fan would.  In all of this, Cleveland is the biggest victim, but are they?  If the fix was in from jump street and Lebron, Wade and Bosh had planned this all along, then yes Cleveland is victim.  But if not, if this were an actual decision and Lebron heard out every camp’s proposal how could New York be bashed for its proposal and not Cleveland?  Everyone’s biggest complaint about New York’s presentation was that it was all about New York and very little about the roster and about the players it would surround him with.  Well, Cleveland had a 60 win team with no cap flexibility to add pieces unless it had a sign and trade set with a player but Chris Bosh, the player that many had earmarked as Lebron’s pick to roll with him, refused to play in Cleveland (I don’t blame him).  Other than that, Cleveland did nothing else to show Lebron that they were serious suitors other than to play on his emotions of staying at home.  While the Cleveland roster was better than the Knick roster, in time we’ll see how much Lebron elevated that roster to a 60 win team.  Lebron on last year’s Knicks could’ve made them at least a 50 something win team in the East if they were capable of winning 29 on their own.  The point is that Cleveland made nothing more than a half hearted attempt at keeping their star player on their roster.

Which brings us to the Heat’s first game at Cleveland which should bring more than just fireworks.  I legitimately am worried for Lebron’s life.  What he did by screwing them over and doing it on national television was embarrass a town that didn’t need another reminder of how sports-cursed they are.  He gave them 7 years of his heart and yet in the end, all anyone will remember is Dan Gilbert’s assertion that he quit on the team in his final 4 games and took the cowardly way out.  That will lead to bitter resentment.  I was listening to talk radio this morning and they were trying to find a perfect comparison of how he would be greeted by fans in Cleveland and the best they came up with was Vince Carter who’s every shot for years was met with resounding boos.  This was for years and he’s not even from Toronto.  Lebron’s exit is a little more personal and he’s already eclipsed Art Modell as the most vile sports figure in the Cleveland area.  That’s no easy task but Lebron found a way to do it.  Also, the poetry in the fact that every cruel Cleveland loss is just one word: the Fumble, the Drive, the Shot and now, the Decision.    Lebron couldn’t have been that cruel could he?

Second Negative: It sets precedents on several levels.  What does it tell small market teams like Cleveland that they can’t even keep one of their home grown stars?  Sure, on the same day Kevin Durant resigned with the Thunder quietly via Twitter, but he’s a shy kid who’s on a pretty loaded roster.  There will be more guys that go the Lebron route and leave for flashier pastures and it sets a precedent on another note as well.  Lebron’s one of the biggest basketball stars on the planet and his decision became a nationally televised event.  What will the next super talent do to upstage the self titled King?  How will technology affect this change and how much has unbridled access destroyed the mystique of star players?  Imagine we hadn’t been put through this charade?  If Lebron knew where he was going all along it seems rather selfish and egotistical to do something like this and stretch this out for his own sense of self worth doesn’t it?  What was he promised?  How hard was he laughing inside while Mikhail Prokhorov made his business pitch?  What does Jay-Z think of him now that he made his choice to join D-Wade and Bosh?  I’m sure he won’t be thrilled if he finds out that he had made up his mind a long time ago.  Point is, our society seeks answers and requires access at all times and doesn’t seem to have a sense of boundary to them.  If Princess Di’s death marked the explosion of the term paparazzi, then what will Lebronapalooza be the start of?  Technically Lebron gave us what we now crave.  Everything.  We want to be the fly on the wall.  I wouldn’t be surprised if a documentary detailing everything will be released with extra footage of them discussing this plan months in advance giving us the answer we pretty much know.  They planned this and they strung us along for the ride.  Whatever new era in media we are entering its uncharted waters and Lebron is making history.

Third negative and I can’t come to call this a negative, because its more selfish on my part.  The biggest question mark coming into this whole thing was motivation:  What was Lebron really after?  Was he out to be the greatest of all time?  Was he out to be the home town kid makes good storyline play out?  Was he out to be the kid from the sticks makes it big in the Big City?  Was it legacy?  Was it about pride?  What was it?  Selfishly all the hype about Lebron had made us come to expect something uniquely incredible.  We were all convinced that he would do something that had never been done before on an NBA court before all was said and done and that may still be the case but its a very long shot now.  By taking his services to South Beach he’s joining Wade’s team.  He’s now fully inserted himself into shot gun mode and decided to lower his game and his possible stature as the game’s greatest to help Wade become a multiple time champion.  Sure Lebron stands to gain but not as much as previously thought.  Forget his brand and what it will do to it financially by becoming just another piece.  His legacy is lessened by joining forces.

I’m sure Lebron will tell you a good story about sacrificing for the greater good of championships and all that and frankly I’ll believe him.  At the end of the day he couldn’t deal with the weight and burden of being THE MAN at one spot.  He couldn’t imagine failing in New York or Cleveland or Chicago because in those three places he would’ve certainly been the undisputed number one.  He goes to one of three places where he’s the undisputed number two.  It was a tough choice and one made with the understanding that he will be seen as a lesser player but with the knowledge that that sacrifice will be forgotten in the stream of championships this Heat team will compete for.

We all want to compare players to Jordan and I’ve never thought that it was a fair comparison but I get why people do it.  We all need a reference point, something to judge another person by and the only way to do that is by comparing that person to one of equal talent.  The fact that Lebron was continuously compared to Jordan without any rings tells you what people see in his potential but now, in my opinion, he has to go above and beyond to jump back into the conversation.  Say what you will about Jordan and how he played in a different era, but even if Jordan, Bird, or Magic were in the place of Lebron they would’ve never joined forces.  They had too much hubris and pride to do that.  They all wanted the recognition and worked hard to get it and they could never handle being upstaged by their own teammates.  Jordan would’ve went to a place that he could own or stayed in Cleveland to finish the job.  They had a certain pride that kept them from walking away.  You knew those guys would eventually get rings because that’s all they wanted.  But talk of being a billionaire clouded Lebron’s head and clearly his mind.  He was busier setting up his post-basketball life than focusing on the task at hand.

I guess its selfish on our part to see a person not see his potential reached.  I would’ve rooted for Lebron had he stayed in Cleveland.  I would’ve understood had he went to Chicago and I would’ve been positively thrilled had he come to New York.  But Miami still makes no sense to me from one stand point: Why not do it unless you wanted no parts of the responsibility?  If we had billed you as our best player how come you weren’t ready to accept that responsibility?  I guess that’s the main word: responsibility.  Is it his responsibility to us as fans or to himself that he should pay attention to?  We were told that we were witnesses, but what are we witness to now?

Just like last night, he’s taking much of the mystery of the next few seasons out of it.  Its almost expected that the Heat will win the title for the next few seasons.  They will be the biggest attraction the NBA has ever seen since they broadcast the original Dream Team’s games back in 1992.  Nobody can deny the talent level oozing from this team but one can imagine the blame that will fall on the Heat if they dont fullfill the prophecy.

Maybe Lebron walked into an even greater challenge than he left.  I mean, to lift Cleveland to a championship filled city was tough enough but to do so on a team where everyone will watch with a microscope and wait for failure could be even more trying.  Maybe the thrill of being the team with the big target on their back, a traveling team of all-stars will motivate them to show up on every single night.  The need for fans to be treated to a show will make them work harder to give them one.

But let’s step back and take a breath for what last night was: a self centered 25 year old embarking on the next chapter in his not so secretive life.  A guy who couldn’t handle the big city lights of New York, or walking in the shadow of MJ, or lifting his home town team to championship glory, but rather chose a path less traveled with two of his close friends.  I’m not saying that he made the wrong decision, that answer will reveal itself with time.  I’m saying that his decision could’ve been handled better by a kid we all thought knew how to handle it.  But maybe we don’t know a thing.  Maybe Lebron will win and we’ll eventually forget and Cleveland will get another superstar to bring them that elusive championship that city seeks.

But one thing will always bug me:: how on earth did Chris Bosh’s insignificant ass convince both Lebron and D-Wade that he was the key in all of this?

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