After watching another lackluster performance in The Finals from LeBron James, I find myself reflecting on his career and my perception of him. Thursday night LeBron James recorded a triple double in the NBA Finals. That is something that normally would be celebrated and heralded as a great performance. However, once again the story is "Where was LeBron in the fourth quarter?" LeBron had 2 points last night in the final 12 minutes of the game. That followed a 0 point performance in clutch time the night before. Overall in 5 Finals games, LeBron has 11 points. So for the second year in a row people are questioning his ability to close games out when it matters.
Immediately LeBron apologists started the excuse parade. "He had a triple double! His wife is cheating on him! The heat didn't need him to score more, they needed to play better defense!.... This sounds awfully familiar.... Didn't we go through this last year? Something about LeBron finding out Delonte West had slept with Lebron's mother? That was the rumor after the game 5 no show from James.
I will be the first person to admit I have no idea what that would feel like. I can't imagine being put in that situation. But what separates me and everyone else from being an elite athlete is the ability to set aside your personal life and perform at an extraordinary level when it matters most.
Disclaimer: It is not LeBron making all of these excuses for himself. But nonetheless, they are being made.
I am sure there were plenty of times when Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson had a lot on their mind when they arrived at the arena. But they always seemed to rise up in those occasions rather than shrink back. Jordan was hindered throughout his career by his gambling addiction. He was seen at 2 o'clock in the morning in Atlantic City the night before a conference finals game against the Knicks. How did he play? 36 points and 9 rebounds. Magic Johnson has well documented his experiences of "encounters" with women before, after, and even during games. He eventually left the game because he had contracted HIV. You don't think he ever played with distractions?
The ultimate story of a player playing with something going on in his personal life is the infamous 2003-2004 season of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant was facing ALLEGATIONS of rape and in 7 separate occasions had to attend a court hearing in the morning and play a basketball game that night. 4 times it happened during the regular season, and on those days, Kobe Bryant average 31 points a game, including a 14 point performance where he had to miss the first quarter. Twice in the first two rounds of the playoffs he performed under similar circumstances and Bryant put up 31 points against the rockets and 42 points against the Spurs.
However the exclamation point came during game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Up 2-1 in the series, the Lakers faced a critical game 4. If they lost then Minnesota would reclaim home court advantage in the series and would be looking at a game 5 in Minneapolis that could give the Timberwolves the advantage. Kobe Bryant had a court hearing that day in Colorado, and was facing an earlier start time than normal in LA. After arriving in LA less than 2 hours before first tip, Kobe responded with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal.
Greatness is achieved when one overcomes adversity and maintains a high level of performance. LeBron has shown flashes of this throughout his career. Basketball fans will never forget his performance in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. After scoring a career playoff low of 10 points(until Game 4 of 2011's finals where he scored 8) in game one of that series, LeBron responded by practically single handedly winning games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, scoring 32 and 25 points and nearly recording triple doubles each time. However Game 5 was probably the highest point of James' career thus far. LeBron scored 48 points, including Cleveland's final 25 points and all 18 in overtime. This game in Detroit swung the series in Cleveland's favor and took them to the NBA Finals.
What has happened to that LeBron? What has happened to the LeBron that took over games in Cleveland? What has happened to the kid that faced scrutiny over him driving an escalade that "his mom bought him" when he was 17 years old and then mocked the media by driving a remote control escalade on the court before his next game? LeBron James has turned into something that basketball fans do not even recognize. He has become passive and indifferent. He has become defensive and bitter towards people that ask him questions. He appears to prefer stand in the corner, make a few nice drives here and there, pass the ball, and watch Dwayne Wade try to win games by himself. Where is that killer instinct? Where is the kid that scored all 25 of his teams' final points?
Is it fair for us to expect a 2007 Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 performance of LeBron every playoff game? Of course not. But we did not put him in this position. LeBron James is responsible for every criticism he is getting right now. He can not blame me, the media, his teammates, his family, or anyone else for all of the scrutiny and attention that comes his way, including from the city of Cleveland.
Because it was not the city of Cleveland that strapped him down and tattoo "Chosen 1" on his back. It was not me who embroidered "King James" on the head rests of that infamous escalade he drove as a 17 year old. It was not the media who said of LeBron, "I Have a goal and its a huge goal... Thats to bring a title to Cleveland and I am not going to stop until I do." It was not ESPN who arranged the one hour special to tell the world where he would be taking his talents (except in the fourth quarter). It was not his teammates who stood on a stage and said, "We are going to win a championship... not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six... seven championships."
Much like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James has brought all of this upon himself. The difference between the two? The ability to shut people up and put all of the crap going on aside and perform when it matters most.
I sincerely hope that LeBron can become the player he used to be again. Game 5 against Detroit was one of the single greatest performances I have ever seen. Until LeBron can find a little fire in his gut and learn to take over games like that again, he will never be the same man much less one of the greatest of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment