I'm no LeBron James hater, nor am I here to tell you that he's not going to win tonight. He probably is. I see the script:
You have the boring Pistons team, a team no one outside of Detroit wants to see in the Finals. You have the Spurs, a boring and now "dirty" team that no one wants to see in the Finals. Along comes the once and future King, LeBron, who will vaniquish these foes. James, for the first time perhaps all season (and definitely all playoffs) drives hard to the hoop, going for layups and fouls instead of settling for jumpers. And in doing so proves to be worthy of the mantle of Jordan. He wins his first title at 22 (tying him with rival Wade) with an awful crew of teammates (worse than Kobe's Lakers? I say it's dead-even), proving that even without a Pippen, James can win a title. How many more could he win if he ever gets a decent 2nd banana? Can he pass Jordan? Russell?
And David Stern and the NBA live happily ever after. The storyline of the offseason is who can beat the King, and the new and future Kings. The NBA: Always about the stars, not the teams. Sorry Spurs and Pistons - get some stars with personality.
Or maybe that's not how the script goes, and maybe the Pistons come back tonight and force a Game 7 in Detroit. Whatever happens in the future, this post is about the present. The NBA as of June 2nd, 2007. LeBron James ain't the King, not yet.
ESPN is crowning him, though. Here's Bill Simmons:
"Within 35 minutes, the fork was officially shoved into the Celtics and everyone else in the East. Our worst fears had come true. LeBron decided to make LeLeap."
So are all the newspapers - look at theNY Daily News today:
"Greatness promised. Greatness delivered.
When LeBron James' moment arrived, he was ready. Just like another No. 23.
Call it LeBronesque."
And the blogosphere? Please, who hasn't written on the LeBron James' amazing performance... check outHenry Abbott's collection of LeBron links here.
And me? Maybe I'm cynical, but I still think Vince Carter played with more heart and toughness than LeBron at his age. And that's why I'm going to wait until I see the end of this playoff run before I crown the new King, okay?
It's not that I'm hating. I want LeBron to become the one, just like everyone else. And it's not that I doubt he's capable of doing it - it's just that so was Vince Carter, and so many more that have come before. To do it requires more than just sheer skill. It requires bring the A-game regularly, and still being able to kick it up a notch to the A+ game when needed. It requires mental toughness, and ganas. Want. Determination.
Why should I believe LeBron has that after one monster game? Was it impressive? Yes. Was it epic, perhaps a top-10 playoff performance? Yes. So was Andrew Toney's playoff performance, and Sleepy Floyd's.
Vince Carter drop 50 points in Game 3 of the 2001 playoffs against Iverson. It was an incredible performance, one that featured Vince going 12-15 FG in the first half, including hitting his first 8 three attempts, and finishing with 34 points to put the 76ers out of commission early in what would be a Raptor blowout win.
In case you forgot how hyped Air Pussy was, he was ROY. He came from UNC, same as Jordan. He could rise and dunk like no one since the original Air. He made the All-Star game his second year, and won the dunk contest. The press crowned him after that 50 point game, and we know how it ended. He missed the shot to win Game 7, and then never really lived up to being the next Jordan, and instead the best he can probably do is be the next Pippen.
LeBron won't go that route - he's the real deal. But can we just take a second before annointing him? Didn't we go through this last season, too? When the Cavs were up 3-2 on Detroit in the semis? When LeBron beat Gilbert Arenas on some one-on-one type ish in the first round?
Sometimes I feel like I must be the only cat out here old enough to remember stuff like reading about Vince Carter's 50 point performance. Or, to pull out the age card, I can remember watching Bernard King. No, he was a shell of himself by the time I saw him live. He wasn't the King that I watched when he was a young guy who could do anything he wanted to, like Jordan or a young Carter or LeBron on those occasions he tries, or Kobe.
Celtics fans like to bemoan their tragic lose of Len Bias. I remember Len Bias, and he was also a great college player with tons of skills. He would have been great. But King was great, and he's a tragedy, too. Bernard King should have played one meaningful game with Patrick Ewing. Just one. He would have changed the perception of Ewing's career... if young Ewing, the one with knees who could jump and block and actually move, had been teamed with the King that could score from anywhere at anytime, they would have had some championships. And Patrick would be considered in the top tier of centers, not the second-tier.
Instead, Patrick had to play those early years, before his knees gave up, with guys like this dude:
Oh, that reminds me... haiku for my Bulls fans:
Kenny "Sky" Walker,
Reborn as Tyrus Thomas?
We'll stick with Curry!
Yep. Death always make the potential seem like the reality, doesn't it? People honor Kurt Cobain without remembering that in 1991 Pearl Jam was considered superior (although I will postface this with an admission that Grunge was not my thing, so I'm just going on what I remember at the time, please don't turn this into a debate on the quality of their respective music, I don't really care). Biggy was great, but people forget that when Nas lost the "Lyricist of the Year" award at the Source Awards to Biggy, it was an outrage. Illmatic was a top-10 rap album, and everyone knew it at the time. Now disrespect to Biggy, who is definitely worthy of the mantle, but who knows how it would have turned out if he hadn't died. Or if Nas had been the one murdered. Someone should have shot Big Daddy Kane, or Rakim, back in '89. Speaking of '89:
Potential? I'm tired of seeing flashes of it.
I'm not saying I need to see LeBron score 50 tonight (that's stupid), I just want to see him lead his team to a win, and to a championship, before I throw out all the hyperbolic comparisons to the great ones. That's all. It's a small line between the Chris Webbers and the Tim Duncans.
And it would be nice if Detroit threw a double team at him, too. Flip Saunders, it's not hyperbole to compare your coaching ability to a pile of crap. I would be willing to bet that Flip Saunders might actually be the second best coach named Flip on his team - I know the NBA has rules on player-coaches, but Flip Murray might do better with a clipboard in a postseason game. No predictions on tonight's game or this series from me, but I will say this: Flip gwan get fired if Detroit lose, man. Stop LeBron tonight or update your resume.
F*ck, I can't stop posting Kenny Walker pictures... why is he still rocking the flat top in his mid-40's?!?
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