Ohh LeBron, Sorry About Thou!

LeBron James is so ubiquitous that an alien landing on mother earth would probably think that LeBron is dunking his way to the title. And that alien (I am talking about the one coming from out of space!) doesn’t even need to be a basketball fanatic. For the love of sweet bananas even Obama is weighing on LJ’s next move. Unfortunately though LeBron is probably having cold shower at home thinking about what went wrong. He is not to be blamed for his teams’ failure to cross the Eastern conference. At least he is not to be blamed alone. But one thing he and Cavaliers needs to understand is that basketball is a team game. When MJ said that there is no I in the team, he spoke truth and nothing but the truth. (Paul Pierce ain’t no truth!)

The Cavaliers game plan was revolving around LJ all the time. Play after Play, quarter after quarter and game after game. That not only put too much pressure on him but it probably demoralizes other team members. I mean if I were a team member, and a playing team member, then I would be little ticked off to see the world revolving around one guy. If LJ had a day off, and granted that he rarely had any day off, then there is no way Cavaliers is going to win that game. That’s what happened in game 5 of their latest clash against Celtics. LJ scored 15 points. His NBA career average is more than 25 and that day he could score only 15! And that’s it; the team went down the drain. At the same time Paul Pierce, the superstar mainstay of the Celtics and a genuinely great player, had a completely off series. He was scoring more than 5 points below his average and yet Celtics buried Cavaliers. Why?, because Celtics played team game.

I vividly remember Cavaliers plays against Magic in last years Eastern Conference Finals. Every time Cavaliers were in the trouble LJ would take the ball in his hand and rest of the four players would pretty much melt away in the crowd. I mean I understand giving ball to your superstar in the crunch time. But try to make a play or at least, create a show of making a play. Don’t just give him the ball and expect some miracle. The other players would move aside so much that, watching the game, I was thinking they might as well pack the bag and watch rest of the game from home. In couple of games LJ did manage to break out of jail but that wasn’t going to happen in every game and the team with best winning record in regular session was soundly beaten by Magic.

It’s interesting that in last four years LJ is taking a step backwards. In 2007 he made it to the Conference finals. In 2008 he was beaten by resurgent Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. 2009 results mirrored 2008 except that Magic handed them return tickets. And this year he didn’t even make it to the finals. What’s up with that?

There is no question about LJ’s talents. He is a genuine superstar. His athleticism, his moves, his jump, his shooting everything, everything is just incredible. It’s exhilarating to watch him rising over the ring and slamming the ball down. The sight of him shadowing over the shooting attempt and rejecting the ball with ‘not-on-my-watch’ disdain instantly infuse adrenalin in your veins. His brute force is absolutely intimidating and yet he doesn’t act as arrogantly as some other players do. He is very sure of his skills and his place in the history. His honest talk and carefully choreographed personality makes you feel warm towards him. But he is carrying too much burden on his strong shoulders. He needs to cede some responsibility and share some limelight with others. He needs to play the game of basketball, not the game of dunk-ball, rejection-ball or dribble-ball but simple, old school game of basketball where you make your basket and stop opposing baskets. The plays need to be set in a way that the team makes the basket every time they are in the front court. And if that means LJ doesn’t score 30 points per game then so be it. Because you can’t be the King just by proclaiming yourself, you need to win the crown.

Or in the case, a championship ring.

p.s. –oh and did I mention that Celtics is going to win this year? If not then here, CELETICS IS GOING TO WIN THIS YEAR!