LeBron James has been MIA for Heat in NBA Finals

Where were you, LeBron? (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Summer has transformed into Spring, and on cue LeBron James has disappeared. As a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, he floundered when his team needed him to deliver most. He didn’t seem to care in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year–his final home game in his home state–and he hasn’t shown up lately for the Miami Heat.

Cue the brilliant Bill Simmons:

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It’s better for the NBA that LeBron James melted down in Dallas, disappeared and extended his “Wait a second, what the hell just happened???” streak to two straight years. Now it’s threatening to become a late-spring tradition along the lines of Father’s Day, the U.S. Open. Why isn’t LeBron shooting? Why isn’t he driving to the basket? Why does his face look like the face of a little kid who just got called in front of the entire class? Why is his performance making me want to google the Wiggles’ “Hot Potato” video? Does he realize this game is being televised?

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Simmons described his situation perfectly. What the 26-year-old James, one of the greatest athletes in the existence of sport, has done so far in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, which is next to nothing, isn’t altogether stunning, but it is perplexing. He’s 6’8″ 250 pounds–a freight train with the quickness of a point guard and the explosiveness few in the league can attest to. Why, then, does he only have 11 fourth quarter points  the opening four games, compared to the 44 the Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki has put up? This goes beyond the fact that Miami is Dwyane Wade’s team. Something is wrong mentally. If this wasn’t the case, he would have at least scored a point in the fourth in the Heat’s Game 4 loss.

Mavericks guard and Abe Lincoln fan DeShawn Stevenson, his old nemesis, made the stupid decision to say James “checked out” of Game 4 in the closing minutes. Brilliant, Stevenson. Now, The Chosen One is going to score 15 in the fourth in Game 5. But that’s not the point. The point is that Stevenson appears right. James didn’t, for whatever reason, seem motivated. He was guarded well by Jason Kidd, but that’s no excuse. James should have been able to go around him, or at least back him down for baskets. Help defense came early and often, and the Mavericks certainly deserve a substantial amount of credit, but scoring zero points in the final 12 minutes when his team had the chance to take a 3-1 series lead? Befuddling.

After, as documented by The Washington Post, James said: “You’re at the point where you’re just not in a good rhythm. You start aiming shots, you start thinking about plays too much. You start thinking about the game too much instead of going out and reading and react and playing the game.” Why, though? Why and how does the switch turn off? This is the NBA Finals; it just can’t. He is too good of a player to be timid in tense situations. By what he has said, it is clear his problem is predominately mental. Other players aren’t in a poor rhythm. Other players aren’t thinking too much. And even though I enjoy watching him struggle, given how talented he is his demise when it counts is saddening.

He didn’t drive to the basket. He didn’t even attempt to cross up Stevenson or toy with Kidd. He didn’t shoot jumpers when he had them. He forgot who he is, what he’s capable of production-wise, and, in a sense, became who he is when his team needs him most.

Following Game 4, he added in The Washington Post‘s piece, “Eight points is definitely inexcusable for myself. I hold myself up to a higher standard than that. Absolutely, I criticized myself all last night. When we lose and I don’t play well, and I feel I could have did one or two more things to help our team win or get over the hump, you’re definitely hard on yourself. That’s just me. That’s just the makeup of who I am.”

Unless he figures it out soon, and gets his mind straight, he’s going to be hard on himself after many more games. And if that’s the case, Miami is doomed.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)