My name ain’t Jay, but I hope I can sound off on hoops as good as my man can.
Being tied 2-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals is a good spot to be in when you’re coming home to play game five. But if you lose game five and have to play the elimination game on the road, it’s nearly disastrous. That’s how quickly things can change in the NBA playoffs. Not even the good job, good effort kid can make you feel better.
While “The Decision” may have made hating LeBron mainstream, the naysayers were starting to come out of the woodwork three years earlier when the heavily favored LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers lost in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Orlando Magic. It was during that playoff season where the dream Lakers vs. Cavs finals was about to come to fruition. We wanted to see it – Kobe vs. LeBron. That was the season where it seemed LeBron was going to will his team into the finals no matter what. The best players usually do. At least we remember it that way. But he had a very average game at Orlando and the Magic won by thirteen points in the deciding game. Faced with another game six playoff elimination the following year, James had a much better game, netting a triple double against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, but his team lost again. He threw his Cavs jersey off on his way to the locker room and the tone was set.
Just a couple months later, he was a member of the Miami Heat. Being the biggest free agent in pro basketball history brings a spotlight. Choosing to leave your prior employer on national TV without first telling them brings a spotlight. Gloating in front of your fans about how many championships you were going to win and getting all the way to seven and not stopping, well, that just places a bullseye on your back.
Re-watching the video is hard. You can see Pat Riley sitting in the crowd half-smiling listening to LeBron’s claims. You want to take the words back out of his mouth for him. You want to tell him, “Be humble, LeBron, be humble.”
If LeBron is going to step outside of the nasty shadow he’s cast over himself, it’s going to start with game six in Boston on Thursday. The Celtics need only one more win to get to the finals, for a chance to win an unprecedented 18th championship. LeBron’s going to have to twice do what he’s never done before; win elimination games. Or else he’s going fishing.
In that same infamous video in which LeBron declared multiple world championships, he also said that he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would challenge each other so hard in practice that the games would be easy. Well, that was a lie. And unless he can back up his words and start that title run now, King James will just be known as the Lyin’ King.
4 comments
Andrew says:
Jun 7, 2012
Good point about the importance of tonight’s game 6 for LeBron. The Heat really should win lots of championships with the players they have, but do they have a Team? Right now, I say no, and that’s why they are losing – They need some sort of cohesive leading force to take them over the top – should it be LeBron? Could it be someone else? Could BronBron stand it if it were someone else? There’s something in his head that just isn’t quite right, I think…
GG says:
Jun 7, 2012
I think the Heat have a better team this year than last year. But they are still like you said, not a great team in the aspect of, every player has a role, and the bench doesn’t get overused, and small things that really good teams have. Shane Battier plays way too much. Mike Miller plays way too much. Haslem should be a 25 minute player. And to be fair, Chris Bosh is a darn good player who they miss dearly in this series.
LeBron is the do-everything man. He’s their best playermaker/rebounder/scorer. And in order for them to win, he has to do all of that, and Wade has to play well. This playoffs, LeBron hasn’t taken one game off. Wade has been bad in half of them. Thus, it’s not that LeBron isn’t doing his thing. He is. I think this has been his greatest season ever. But when you brag and put that bullseye on your back and still lose, the onus falls on you. No one cares that Wade has been a dog in half these games. No one cares that you lost Bosh. Because he didn’t say, “If Wade is playing well and Bosh is healthy, we’re going to win 8 championships.” He just said they were going to win eight championships.
But also, he has to do so much more than just about any player in history in order for his team to win. MJ was his team’s best scorer and clutch player. But Scottie was their best defender. And Horace and Rodman were their best rebounders. And Phil and company had those guys in their roles. The Bulls were pretty lucky when it came to being healthy. When Kobe had Shaq, all he had to do was outplay his guy. Shaq was in his prime. And when he didn’t have Shaq, he was the premier scorer in the league, but they couldn’t do anything until Gasol came along. But then again, he never said they were going to win 8 titles. LeBron set that whole thing up and he has to make it happen, or else he looks like a hypocrite, no matter what the true story is.
blerd says:
Jun 7, 2012
Perfectly said.
GG says:
Jun 8, 2012
LBJ was awesome tonight. Does he have that in him again? They’re going to need it.