Friday, June 8, 2012

Did Lebron turn the corner?

We've all heard the lines.

"He disappears in the 4th quarter."

"He's afraid to take over the game."

"He can't shoot the ball."

People have been looking so hard for reasons that Lebron is not the best player in the game, and I can't say that I don't somewhat understand the sentiment.  We want our stars to be loyal, and when I say stars, i don't  mean guys who have made a couple of all-star games.  I am talking about players who have the talent to transcend their sports to where they are icons who launched from their sport, rather than players who are known because of their success in the sport.  Think Magic, Jordan, Manning, Jeter.  That is the kind of talent that we are talking about in Lebron.  It's why people were so upset about 'The Decision' and why he had the pull to get that crap on our televisions.  Also, as a personal pat on the back, I have never seen more than 5 seconds of that particular brand of crap.  I knew what it was, and it didn't matter where he went.  If he had stayed in Cleveland, that show was grandstanding, if he didn't, it was grandstanding.  But it did one thing, Lebron became famous to people who don't watch basketball.  If he had stayed in Cleveland, it would have made him beloved by all.

Instead, it made people want to hate him, and I have to say that they have been quite successful in hating.  It has also led to this ridiculous Yo-Yo affect on sports coverage around the Heat.  They are so built up that a loss is an end of the world, 'the HEAT have been solved' moment, and every win is a 'OMG, these guys are unstoppable' moment.  Neither of these are true.  Here is what is true, and it was well illustrated last night.

When Lebron is focused enough that he works to get good shots and his jumper is falling, there is not a damn thing you can do about it.  Last night reminded me of the Cavs run to the finals where Lebron put the team on his back and went nuts for a couple weeks.  People like to forget about that because the man has a propensity to use athletic ability and vision to try to set up teammates occasionally at crunch time.  Last night was what they have all been asking for.  You are the best on the court, go beat them like they stole something.  You are the best on the court, show us that they can't stop you. 

Well you know what, last night, his jumper was falling, and they couldn't.

45 minutes        19/26 FG      2-4 3 pt     15 Rebounds    5 Assists

HEAT win by 19 IN BOSTON.

That's what you all wanted, now shut up and let's see who gets to take a shot at the Thunder.

No comments: