LeBron James: Can He Still Go Down as the Greatest Player of This Generation?
To say the least, LeBron James has received some flak lately.
Whether it's two-bit role players wearing classy shirts or just the entire NBA world mocking you for your failures, James is receiving the brunt of this NBA Finals loss. He didn't do much to prevent it either, considering that he was easily the worst of Miami's big three during the entire series. James was a liability on defense and basically a non-threat on offense, as he posted the worst stats of his postseason career.
This marked the second time in his career where James came up short for a title, with the first time coming in 2007, when he and a number of lower-tier role players led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first Finals appearance in franchise history. They were humbled and swept by the veterans of the San Antonio Spurs, as James could hardly provide any resistance again a greatly superior team.
This time around, there was no excuse. The Miami Heat could have possibly been up 3-0 at one time and could have put the series away a number of times had James posted near his averages. Instead, he was posting a little more than 17 points per game and had the worst games of his career during the most crucial games.
With his team up 2-1 with the possibility of taking full command of the series with a 3-1 lead, James finished with eight points in Game 4, and the Heat ended up losing by three. LeBron wasn't aggressive and couldn't knock down anything near a jump shot, basically rendering him useless on offense, as he couldn't find any sort of offensive rhythm to rely on like he did so well in the series prior.
Miami would lose the next three games with James playing the part as scapegoat. It's not like he didn't deserve it either. His aggressive nature was dearly missed. Because he wasn't driving and wasn't drawing fouls, the Dallas Mavericks were able to rest on the defensive end and were able to take over in the fourth quarter with little to worry about from LeBron.
All of the Heat's postseason success had been based on their ability to take over in the fourth quarter. Against Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago, the Heat had been able to wear teams down over the course of the game leading up to the fourth quarter, where they eventually took over. Against Dallas, because they hadn't worn them down by driving, the Mavericks were able to use all that conserved energy to knock down shots and drive at will on the Heat's defense.
It was an ugly first Finals appearance for the big three, but it doesn't give reason for the constant criticism of LeBron James. Through all this hype and media coverage, it seems that no one has pointed out that James will be entering the second year of a five-year deal with the Heat next season. For a team that was just brought together and had its fair share of struggles throughout the course of the regular season, this was a decent start to the hopeful start of a dynasty.
Of course, you won't hear that anywhere. It's much easier to look at James' failures now before his positives. Rather than looking at the number of clutch shots and the myriad of astounding fourth quarters, we solely pay attention to James' dismal performance in the NBA Finals. Even though he was able to prove that he was clutch in their series against Boston and Chicago, it has done nothing to balance out his abysmal Finals.
James' legacy thus far has mostly been based on individual success. While he was able to lead the Cavaliers to some of their best seasons in franchise history, including 66- and 61-win campaigns in consecutive season, they only made it to the Finals once in his time there. They would usually enter as the No. 1 seed but would come up short on every occasion, with James taking the blame for his lack of effort, his inability to lead the team or the fact that he couldn't hit a shot when it mattered most.
He proved he could do that this postseason, but you would still never guess it with the way the media focuses only his play during the Finals.
Despite not having too much team success, James has been racking up individual accolades since he joined the league in 2003 as an 18-year-old straight out of high school. He's won two MVP awards and two All-Star game MVPs, has been on seven All-Star teams, five All-NBA First teams and three All-Defensive teams and led the league in scoring when he averaged 30 points per game during the 2007-08 season. He's not even 27 years old and has more accolades than most players will ever rack up in their lifetime.
Even with all the individual success, James still had trouble acclimating to his new surroundings. With Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade by his side, the Heat still started out 9-8 and had many problems during the regular season. They failed to keep a number of fourth quarter leads despite having two terrific clutch players and could barely play on the same level as the elite teams of the league. They had finished 1-6 against the same Bulls and Celtics teams that they only needed 10 games to beat in the playoffs.
James' legacy has been greatly overshadowed due to his inability to come up big when his season is on the line. He has made it to the Finals twice during his eight-year career and has come up well short on both occasions. In 2007, you could have chalked that one up due to the fact that he barely had anything near a legitimate supporting cast. In 2011, however, there was no excuse for what transpired and how James handled the situation.
LeBron is a two-time MVP, however, and if he is the great player that we have come to know, then he will acclimate and will eventually take home a title, maybe as soon as next season (barring a lockout). He's one of the most athletic specimens to ever step onto an NBA court, and it's wrong to judge him on his championships so early into his career. James played like an entirely different player in this year's Finals, but he will right his past wrongs if he truly is one of the best players to ever step out onto a court.
With four years left on his deal with the Heat, James will only see his chemistry with Wade and Bosh grow, as well as his experience and his mental state. LeBron greatly suffered from a mental standpoint during the Finals from the pressure of winning, while also receiving a great deal of criticism, and it caused him to suffer on both ends of the ball. It's obvious he still has plenty to work on, but it's also obvious that he's too good of a player to allow that to happen for the next few seasons.
By the end of his tenure with the Heat, it should come as a huge surprise to anyone if James does not secure at least one title. He and Wade are the two best players in the game, and they are much too good of players to allow falling short at that point in the postseason for a few more seasons. I know we can say that LeBron won't have postseason success, but we need to understand that this is only the first year of a five-year deal.
With four years remaining, we can only predict and imagine what's going to happen next to the Miami Heat franchise. They'll have a healthy Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem for next season, as well as possibly a few new role players that they'll pick up during the offseason. With word that they're looking to sign Samuel Dalembert and possibly a reliable point guard, they can only improve from this rocky first year.
LeBron James will secure a title with the Miami Heat before his contract with the team ends. He's too good of a player and has too good of a team to allow himself to walk out of here without a ring on his finger. Even today he can be considered the best of this generation for his individual accolades alone; with any sort of team success, James could be in the conversation of the greatest players of all time.
It would be foolish to think that LeBron isn't a good enough player to secure a championship over the next four seasons. He's going to be too motivated and too hungry to not pick up the prestigious award. For James, he understands what's at stake, and he has too large of an ego to allow himself to continue facing this kind of criticism for a few more seasons.
