LeBron James didn't stand up to Dallas in the NBA Finals
They declared it LeBron James Day in Dallas. Everybody got off work 12 minutes early.
It wasn’t the missed shots, number of rebounds or points in the paint that bothered me about LeBron James in the NBA Finals. Even his comments about the fans that criticized him going back to their lives didn’t get to me.
It wasn’t that the Heat lost to a solid Dallas Mavericks team that had me questioning James. What bugged me is that didn’t take the shots, or attempt to grab rebounds. He didn’t want to participate. He didn’t engage. He deferred to Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. I even saw him pass up wide open shots (or drives) to give the ball to Mario Chalmers.
If you looked at his numbers for the series on the whole, they weren’t that bad. But he absolutely disappeared in the fourth quarter. When he had a triple double in a game five win he scored two points in the fourth. It had to be the quietest triple-double in the history of the NBA.
In one sequence in Game Six he passed the ball twice after he received it at the top of the circle. He never even looked at the basket but simply caught the pass and whipped to it to another player on the wing. He did this on consecutive possessions.
I don’t think the Miami Heat acquired James so Udonis Haslem would be taking big shots down the stretch. Giving it up to Wade is one thing but Chalmers? Haslem?
He caught the ball on the post several times against Jason Kidd, who is five inches shorter than him, and he never backed him down. He continually settled for fall away jump shots or passed it back out to the perimeter.
Sure there’s pressure, but a couple of things here – number one – didn’t James bring that on himself, along with Wade and Bosh, when they held a celebration complete with strobe lights, music and dancing after the three were brought together?
Number two – James, who is considered by many to be the best player in the Association, can’t handle the pressure of an NBA Finals?
Some suggested Wade wilted a little himself in the last game. But after carrying the Heat through the entire series he was likely a little worn down. Isn’t that why James was brought to South Beach? To take some of the load off of Wade?
Forget the Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird comparisons. Right now James isn’t as good as Dirk Nowitzki. Before you double over in laughter, consider this. Put Nowitzki on Miami and LeBron on Dallas in the Championship series. Now who wins the title?
I’ve never seen Magic, Jordan, Bird or Kobe Bryant shy away when the game was on the line. Bryant takes heat all the time but it’s for taking too many shots not hiding out. Magic was clearly the leader of the “Showtime” Lakers. He got praise when they won but also took the “stuff” when they lost. But it was always for trying to do too much.
When the Lakers were ousted by Houston in the 1981 playoffs after winning a title the year before, it was Magic who took the bulk of the criticism for missing the last shot. But the point is he took the last shot. He got better and came back to win four more titles.
“Kobe shoots too much” is usually the rant heard when things aren’t going well in LA. But he’s always shooting, pressing, pushing…he’s playing.
James wasn’t shooting, he wasn’t driving…he avoided the paint like the plague. When the spotlight was on he shriveled.
James has the skills but now he needs to take the advice that every baseball umpire delivers at the beginning of the game. “Play Ball!”
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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