Like two peas in a pod or two men in a tub, LeBron James and Patrick Ewing suffer the slings and arrows of fan disrespect.

They seem, on first blush, to be on par as figures for fan derision and despising.

Epitomizing the hopes of fans, Ewing and James also polarized and served as lightning rods for their opponents.

Yet, LeBron is far more disliked than Patrick Ewing ever was.

Ewing may have been stung by the wrath of fans, but LeBron has been burned in metaphoric effigy.

During his heyday, Ewing suffered increasing hostility by New York fans. The reason was simple: he never brought the expected championships that were the alleged hallmark of a great star. 

On the other hand, Patrick Ewing stayed the course. He remained loyal to the city and the franchise, playing out his best years with lesser teams, always on the verge of winning the big series. He never bailed on the Big Apple, and perhaps now in retrospect, New Yorkers can cut him some slack when compared to LeBron, the monster that ate Cleveland.

LeBron’s despicable “showtime” extravaganza to take his talents to South Beach will forever stain the halls of infamy. His emotional fragility may also doom him. He cracks like a walnut in a holiday ballet.

Stress undermined LeBron in Cleveland and perhaps history will repeat in Miami with his vaunted Heat. The augurs so far are not good for Gloria’s son.

The series with Chicago will tell us about how truly cursed LeBron will end up. His ATM card seems unable to open the pearly gates to the NBA Finals.

Ewing never threatened to leave town, nor gathered forces to join him in a personal egotistic quest. Patrick Ewing has to be admired, now more than ever, for his stoicism and dignity.

Like an ancient mariner, Ewing stayed the course and the sea of basketball rolled on, unforgiving and never allowing him a championship.

Ewing went down with the Knicks in the great tradition of a captain and his ship. He played over 1000 games with the Knicks. He deserved the eventual induction into the Hall of Fame and, perhaps, he deserved better luck.

LeBron James might take a page out of the book of Ewing. Alas, LeBron’s titanic ego has embarked already on his maiden voyage to the NBA Finals, and the ship has sprung a leak.

The Chicago iceberg hit the S.S. LeBron on Sunday. We’ll know then whether LeBron James panics in the rush to the lifeboats, knocking Wade and Bosh over the ship railing. 

If LeBron James slips into the briny deep at South Beach, he may find his talents have nowhere else to go.