Dethroning The King: Is LeBron More Vince Than Michael?
James sucked last night. There are absolutely no other plausible excuses for going 3-for-14 at home in one of the most critical games in Cleveland sports history. You could see the heartbreak on the face of every Cleveland Cavalier fan in the Quicken Loans Arena - it was like they to watch the last scene of "Six Feet Under" on a loop for two and a half hours. 120-88. The most lop-sided home playoff loss in Cleveland Cavaliers history. How in the blue hell can the "best player in the NBA" and media-anointed "King" allow his team to lose by thirty-two points at home. That's the part I still cannot get over. Do you think Jordan, Kobe, Bird or Magic would ever let that happen on their home floor? Well, Kobe would, but only to prove a point.
It was unbelievably refreshing to hear the likes of TNT's Charles Barkley and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert thrash into James' lackadaisical performance last night. But you're insane if you think the backlash won't create an army full of . But I have a question for apologists everywhere: what possible excuse do you have left in your "it's not his fault" Rolodex?
For years we have heard about how amazing is even though "he's only... years-old". While the six-foot-eight, two-hundred and fifty pound forward is still just twenty-five years of age, James has been in the league seven full seasons. He has 548 regular season games on his odometer, 70 playoff games played, and over 3,000 playoff minutes logged. This isn't exactly a wet-around-the-ears-and-a-little-in-his-pants Kevin Durant we're talking about here. James is nothing if not a veteran NBA player in the meaty prime of his career.
Then..there's the elbow. If I were to honestly guess, I'd say elbow injury is actually vastly more serious than anyone is letting on. But we don't know anything about the elbow. Other than when someone mentions it about 5-10 million people collectively roll their eyes in disgust. Let's just simply put it this way for anyone who will use the elbow as an excuse foe : It damn sure wasn't hurting him in Game 3 when he single-handedly eviscerated the Celtics. Exactly. Let's move on.
Over the past few seasons, we've heard a never-ending clamoring from various analysts/talking heads about how supporting cast sucks and James could not be blamed for his team's failure in the playoffs. And this was true...in years past. Not this year. The are arguably the deepest team in the league, have a player that can takeover games in stretches when is out (), and have team chemistry that can only be rivaled by the Phoenix Suns.
So, if it's not the supporting cast, the elbow, or the teammates, who can these apologists pin another failure on?
Mike Brown.
It's perfect! He absolutely refuses to have an offensive strategy, ignores the fact that playing small-ball would destroy Boston, and just sucks overall! He's absolutely the perfect scapegoat, you know, except for the fact that basically hand-picked Brown the head coach after the firing of Paul Silas. But if you ignore that, it's perfect!
post-game press conference performance was just as disgusting and appalling as his in-game performance was. It was such a half-assed attempt to "say the right things" while at the same time keep a distance between himself and the blame. The quote that stuck out to me was, "Have three bad games in a seven-year career....". That just stank of . Where was the anger in his voice? Why not just simply say "I sucked" instead of using the plural "we"?
The media has spent years deploring Vince Carter as nothing more than a choking malcontent who will never win because of his selfishness and self-pity. If you would allow me to call myself a sportswriter/media member, I would proudly consider myself among Vince Carter's detractors. But let's take a look at Vince's strongest criticisms and see whether has these qualities:
Milking a possibly fake injury: check.
Blaming teammates for his own short-comings: check.
Arguing with coaches publicly: check.
A full arsenal of self-pity and above-it-all cockiness: check.
An aloof and careless look in critical moments: check.
Coming up short when his team needs him the most: check.
Now, I'm not saying James is Vince Carter. But I am saying, seven years into his NBA career, that maybe James will never become the icy-veined killer like Kobe or Michael. Even though, according to 82games.com, dwarfed the competition in their Clutch statistics metric, would you honestly want him taking the last shot if your life depended on it? And could you not name five to ten guys you'd actually trust more your savior?
The media has also spent columns, books, and even a movie praising James for almost a full decade and have spent almost none of that time acknowledging his faults. We have been like a loyal girlfriend steadfastly staying with our mentally abusive boyfriend because we see so much potential for greatness. Well, after seven years, I think it's about time we realize is who he is and we're not going to change that. He's the guy we placed on a level with Michael, Larry and Magic without ever winning anything. He's the guy we have assumed multiple NBA titles for when it's actually more probable that he never wins one. And he's the guy who has spent seven years soaking up this praise and loving every minute of it.
Michael Jordan spent his seventh off-season hoisting an NBA trophy. Vince Carter spent his seventh off-season deploring the city of Toronto and boasting about his new-found home in New Jersey. And unless things drastically change, James will spend his seventh NBA off-season hoisting his already inflated ego shooting a movie and parading around on a self-indulgent free-agent tour when everyone knows he's staying in Cleveland.
Long live "the King".
