The story of LeBron James, a.k.a. King James the Great, was already written and published long before he set foot on an NBA court. Years before he was old enough to enter a casino and gamble recklessly with Michael Jordan, LeBron's legacy was already being compared to MJ's. It was foolish and unfair to compare someone who had barely played the game to the greatest who ever played. It's like seeing Johnny Depp act in a high school play, then comparing his acting ability to all of Marlon Brando's work.
LeBron's legacy and legend have always preceded him. He was a great player before he ever played. He was a winner before he won. He was one of the greatest of all time before he had played enough time to do anything. The story of LeBron James's career has always been told before the facts had a chance to catch up.
And now to enhance that legacy and justify their LeBron worship, ESPN and the rest of the sports media want to see LeBron suffer some sort of injury, then play through the pain, and carry his team to victory. They want LeBron to have his Willis Reed moment, they want to see LeBron have the equivalent of Michael Jordan's flu/hangover game against the Jazz. And so since it would bolster LeBron's legacy, each minor malady that afflicts him becomes the focus of attention. Because it's an opportunity for reality to fulfill the prophesy of LeBron's legend.
And LeBron is no passive victim of expectations in all this. We shouldn't blame him for being overrated, but we can blame him for overrating himself. LeBron also wants to enhance his legacy with a memorable injury-game. Which is why he turns every pain into a show. Every bruise causes an awkward limp. Every fall elicits a scream and the cradling of possibly injured limbs. Every cramp requires a grimace between plays. And each corpuscle of blood shed becomes a gusher.
And he wants to get hurt. He dove into the photographers on purpose Thursday night. He launched himself into them. Why? So he could get up gingerly. Or stay on the floor in a fetal position, yelling and screaming in agony.
The reaction of the media was so dramatic after he was cut Thursday night, I'm surprised that the Cavaliers didn't initiate an emergency blood drive in the arena, and give LeBron rapid transfusions during TV timeouts.
LeBron got hurt, which is exactly what he wanted. It's what the media wanted too. They got a raging LeBroner as the man lived up to the legend. As CBS Sport's Ananth Pandian marveled "That LeBron James is one tough guy."
I don't know who was happier about LeBron getting hurt, himself or the sports media who want facts to justify the legend they built around him.
It's tough. For several years now, we've all been able to dismiss LeBron James as a choker, a failure, a joke. Not anymore.
It's very tough.
This isn't like A-Rod winning with the Yankees. This isn't an athlete we hated hitch-hiking his way to a title. LeBron led the Heat to this victory. And last night's triple-double was the icing on the cake of a very respectable postseason.
But just because the performance was respectable, doesn't mean the man is. We all hate LeBron for reasons other than his choking. The choking was just something funny to laugh at him about. He has a ring now, but he's still a douchebag.
Let's look at the facts. He couldn't carry Cleveland to a title. It wasn't until the Heat became a fantasy team that he made it all the way, and only after a few tries. And it's not as if the refs, and the way the NBA is structured didn't help him along the way. The NBA is designed for people like LeBron James to be successful, and it still took him 9 seasons to achieve success.
He won, though. Fair and square. You can give him that and still hate him. He's still a douchebag. And I doubt after this title that the value of his shares in the Douchebag Stock Exchange will go down. If anything, he'll be cockier now.
We've enjoyed some fun Schadenfreude moments thanks to LeBron. The Celtics only won 1 title in the 2000s, but every time LeBron was knocked out of the playoffs, it was almost as good.
But all good things come to an end. A-Rod has a World Series ring. Peyton Manning has a Super Bowl MVP. LeBron James has his ring. But you never know what will occur down the road to allow you to once again mock the athletes you hate. We discovered that A-Rod took roids. And now Peyton is inferior to Eli. It all works out. People never fail to find ways to mock those they hate.
ESPN will be insufferable for some time. But when is ESPN not insufferable?
And as Jason Segel's character points out in the video clip, Jordan has 6 rings. LeBron is on 1, and he got it just barely. Bird has 3. Kobe has 5. Bill Russell has 11.
LeBron might not be a choker or a loser anymore. But until winning becomes more persistent for him, he's not a true winner. Winners win more than just once in a lifetime. He's shed the loser label, but he's not among the NBA's winners. Not until winning becomes more regular.
So LeBron James cramped up last night, and suddenly his performance is being equated to Michael Jordan's Flu Game in the '97 NBA Finals.
Ummm, no.
LeBron was carried off the court as if he'd been shot. Because he had a left thigh cramp. And so started the Hero Narrative. This was how Adrian Wojnarowski started his piece about LeBron hitting an actual shot despite his debilitating injury:
"LeBron James told himself: Get up and walk to the sideline. All around him, there were trainers and teammates to lift him up, but his muscles burned, his legs locked and his desperation to defy the pain was met with the body's resistance. He had been standing on his own in the biggest moments of these NBA Finals, rising above everyone else, and his inclination was natural in the closing minutes of Game 4: All these times he had gone down, all this pain and angst and LeBron James had wanted to get back to his feet and keep hurtling toward his championship destiny."
"Oh my god guys, Lebron has a cramp, everyone get on their feet, standing O for somehow staying in the game."
"If Lebron somehow manages to pull off winning a ring after fighting through a thigh cramp.. it will be a story I tell my children’s children."
In all seriousness, cramps hurt, and LeBron is doing well in the Finals. But some people, like the above quoted Wojnarowski and the folks at ESPN are turning LeBron into something more heroic than he is.
It's just another Narrative of Hype from ESPN. ESPN no longer reports sports news, it exaggerates it.
To me, the story of the 2012 NBA Finals is that someone with talent is finally playing up to their potential. There's nothing gutsy or heroic or special or tough about LeBron's performance last night. He was in pain, but not nearly as much as he was showing. He was playing into it, wincing for the cameras. All basketball players do that. They're just below soccer players when it comes to embellishing pain.
LeBron James is one of the best basketball players in the world. Part of playing basketball is exaggerating pain. So it makes sense that LeBron is also one of the best at exaggerating.
The Celtics had never lost a Game 7 to the Lakers, or in the NBA Finals until last night. But the series wasn't lost in Game 7 alone. It was lost in Games 1 and 6, when the Celtics put forth lackluster efforts, were inexcusably flat, and allowed the Lakers to walk all over them.
Let's get one thing straight: the Celtics didn't choke. The Lakers were the favored team in this series. And the fact that the C's advanced so deep into the playoffs is commendable. Despite the disappointing Games 1 and 6, the Celtics gave their maximum effort in Game 7. They simply didn't execute as well as the Lakers.
I'm going to rip Ray Allen for a bit. Defensively, he had an exemplary night. But offensively, he was a cancer. 3 for 14 from your biggest shooting threat is shameful. I know shooters can have off-nights, but he had 5 off-nights in this series. He was 33 for 90 (36.7%) from the field and 12 for 41 (29.3%) for three. Exclude Game 2's record-setting performance, and he was 22 for 70 (31.4%), and 4 for 30 (13.3%).
The Celtics couldn't find offense, and that's one of the big reasons they lost Game 7. And Ray Allen's offensive contribution was negligible. Certainly not worth $18.8 million.
The most glaring Celtic deficiency and Laker proficiency was rebounding, particularly LA's offensive rebounding. The Lakers hauled in 23 offensive boards. That's 23 times the Celtics could have triggered their breaking offense, 23 times that LA got an extra shot.
The Lakers didn't shoot well (32.5%), but were allowed to shoot often (81 field goal attempts).
The Celtics also put the Lakers to the line far too often. I've already heard grumblings from Celtics fans about the officiating, but it was a superbly refereed game. Very few mistakes. They let the players play. The Lakers actually struggled at the line, but they got there more often. 20 times more often.
The Celtics bench didn't do much, but neither did LA's. Then again, the C's bench was a matchup that favored the Celtics, so a draw serves as a win for LA.
The defense was excellent, especially the help-defense that clamped down on Kobe Bryant. Unfortunately, he got help from his friends. Ron Artest had the game of his life with 20 points, Gasol had 19 along with his 18 rebounds, Fisher's 10 points all seemed to come at key moments. Bryant finished with 23, but only 12 of those came from the floor. The other 11 came at the line. He did have 15 rebounds.
Maybe the Celtics missed Perkins in the paint, and perhaps that contributed to the Lakers' getting so many offensive rebounds. Then again, Perk was averaging only 5.8 rebounds per game this series, 3.5 of which were defensive. His replacements, Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis, each had 9 and 8 rebounds, respectively. So excuse-mongers, look elsewhere.
The Lakers played better; in Game 7 and in the series as a whole. There's nothing to do right now but mourn and look ahead to 2010-11.
I don't think the 89-67 pounding the Lakers gave the Celtics was as bad as the score suggests. But it was still pretty bad. The Lakers dominated the inside game, outrebounding the C's 40-28 (the ratio was much worse before garbage time). The Celtics missed 2 dunks and 3 lay-ups in the 1st half alone. LA's bench outshined Boston's, scoring 25 points, compared to 13 from the C's. The difference was 24-0 at one point in the 3rd.
Then again, Perkins only logged 7 minutes before leaving with a sprain. Then Sheed got himself into foul trouble. This allowed the Lakers to really pour it on. That being said, even a healthy Perkins and the Celtics still lose this game convincingly.
We've seen this kind of game before. The Celtics offense depends on defensive success in order to really get going, particularly Rondo. But the Lakers seemingly hit every shot. Hell, Ron Artest was 6 for 11, and 3 of 6 beyond the arc. When Ron Artest is making jumpshots, it's just not going to be your night.
But the rebounding also killed the Celtics. 5 of Gasol's 8 rebounds came off the offensive glass. Those kind of second chance opportunities kill both the Celtics defense, and slow down their offense.
The Celtics only attempted 10 free throws. The Lakers had 19. To me, that demonstrates the Celtics forfeiting that inside game. And without your starting center, you can't really blame them. But the Celtics need to get to the line, and need to get key Lakers in foul trouble to disrupt LA's defensive scheming.
The Lakers played about as good as they can. Although Kobe is capable of more than 26 points, as we well know. And the Celtics played almost as poorly as they can. 33.3% from the field, 21.7% for 3. No bench contributions, mediocre defense, no rebounding. All the ingredients of a blowout loss. But they can improve. And they must.
Ironically, the regular season comes into play here. All post-season, we've repeated the following mantra in Boston: "See, the regular season doesn't matter." Now it does, with Game 7 on LA's court, where they've won 10 of 11 playoff games.
Game 7 Thursday night. Will Perkins play? Will Bynum? Lots of questions to be answered, but that's what Game 7s invariably do.
Last night the Celtics became the first team to win consecutive games in this series, as they outlasted the Lakers 92-86.
The best player of the game was undoubtedly Kobe, who scored 38. But the best team was the Celtics, who had 4 players in double-figures, and three who scored 18+. Meanwhile, Kobe's 38 was complimented by only 48 total from the rest of the Lakers. And despite amassing all those points, Kobe was -6 on the night.
Paul Pierce had his best night of the post-season, dropping 27, but more importantly his play down the stretch was sheer desire and heart. He ripped a rebound from Kobe, he leaped in the air to catch Garnett's Hail Mary inbounds pass (into double coverage), he incessantly did the "little things," that champions do.
Meanwhile, KG scored 18, with 10 rebounds. Rondo came close to another double-double, with 18 points and 8 assists. Ray Allen had 12, despite missing all 4 of his 3-pointers. Nate Robinson only played 10 minutes, but in those 10 he scored 4 and had 4 assists. He's really fit in with the Celtics' team concept.
So the series shifts back to LA, and rather quickly. I'm surprised the NBA didn't want to stretch this out and play Game 6 on Wednesday, then a possible Game 7 on Saturday. Oh well.
But this was close to a must-win for the Celtics, because needing to win back-to-back in LA is a tall task. The Lakers were 34-7 at home, and 9-1 at home in the playoffs. Then again, that 1 loss came against the C's.
The Celtics rallied around Glenn Davis and Nate Robinson to pull away from the Lakers in the 4th and tie the NBA Finals at 2-2.
The Celtics' bench outscored the Lakers' 36 to 18. The C's outrebounded the Lakers 41-34, including 16 offensive rebounds. And they outscored them 54-34 in the paint.
What was most enjoyable was when the referees contained themselves and let both teams play. They still called fouls that were clearly fouls, and they laid down the law with technicals when appropriate. But the 3rd and 4th quarters were some of the best basketball of this series, thanks in no small part to the officials being officials, and the players allowed to be players.
The Celtics starters couldn't buy a make. They were generating quality shots, but bricking like crazy. It spoke volumes that in a close 4th quarter, Rondo, KG, and Pierce were all on the bench well into the period.
Paul Pierce woke up. He scored 19 points, but was also hustling for rebounds and driving for fouls.
A mammoth Game 5 will comes Sunday night in Boston.
This game was book-ended by two individuals on the Celtics. Ray Allen commanded the 1st quarter and into the 2nd, Rajon Rondo dominated the 4th.
Ray Ray scored 10 in the 1st, then 17 more in the 2nd. He tied an NBA record for successful 3 pointers with 7 before halftime (he'd break the record in the 2nd half).
Rajon Rondo might get 2nd billing behind Allen's record-breaking, 32 point night. But he had a triple-double himself, with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Allen's 3 point orgy was a team-effort, not just an individual taking charge of a game. Through screens, picks, and passing, Ray was given 10+ feet of space to set and shoot. Ray Allen may have drained the shots, but the shots were devised by the whole team.
In fact, when Allen tried creating his own shots, it helped give momentum back to LA.
The Lakers ended the 1st half with a 7-0 run, thanks in no small part to some sloppy play by the C's. The Celtics don't seem to fully respect how good the Lakers are, and at times, either play flat or play comfortable. LA started the 2nd half with a 5-0 run, and eventually took the lead.
It was Rondo who won this game at the end. He scored 8 times in the 4th, and was all over the court, blocking shots, flying into the paint for an offensive rebound.
Everyone will be touting Ray Allen's night, but Rondo was the Celtics' man-of-the-game last night. And he also did it when it counted most, in the 4th. Then again, the Lakers had to assign Bryant to Allen, which freed up Rondo.
In other words, this was a team win, not just a Ray Allen or even an Allen+Rondo win.
Paul Pierce only made 2 field goals, but was solid defensively, and was one of many who helped set-up Ray Allen's 3 point bonanza.
Kevin Garnett had one of the worst playoff games I've seen him have. He got into early foul trouble, had to be benched, and was frequently a non-factor on offense and defense. Thankfully, Rasheed contributed 18 solid minutes, scoring 7, hauling in 7 rebounds, and only committing 4 fouls.
This game is more indicative of how this series will go. It will be close, hard-fought, and closely contested. Hopefully, however, the refs call some looser games. Because I don't watch basketball to see Kevin Garnett on the bench, and Kobe Bryant forced to ease up because he has 5 fouls.
Game 2 Tuesday night in Boston. With 3 in a row at the Garden, the Celtics have an opportunity to really take command of this series. And that's at 9pm local time. Thanks, NBA!
You've probably read, or at least heard of Ted Green's "Guide To Hating the Celtics." It was pulled by the LA Times for this now infamous line:
"By the way, [Paul] Pierce's idea of a fun night is going clubbing and getting stabbed."
But what you don't know is that Green's Guide was horribly written, tritely unoriginal, and flat-out unfunny without that offensive line. In fact, that sentence is perhaps the best part of the piece. Although I think the purpose of including that line was to get the column pulled, or at least draw some negative attention. Did you know who Ted Green was before he scribbled this article? Nope. Neither did I. So kudos to him for figuring out how to get ahead in the Mainstream Sports Media: be a dolt.
But the rest of the "column" is really bad. I don't mean tasteless or classless kind of bad. I mean written by a 7th grader that was held back twice bad. Some examples to illustrate how much of an insult Green's Guide is to writing and to sports:
"The Celtics cry. They cry more than Best Actress winners at the Oscars. They cry like every game is a wedding."
Wow, great metaphors. Really funny. I mean, those Best Actress winners, they really do cry. HAHAHA. And so do the Celtics? WOW! High-larious!!!
"The Celtics also foul... They foul as a strategy."
What basketball team doesn't? This is like criticizing a hockey team for checking as a strategy, or a football team that tackles as a strategy.
"They probably foul their own bus driver on the way to the arena."
Oh Ted Green, you slay me! They foul their own bus driver?!? That's INSANE! Insanely funny, that is.
Kevin Garnett is #5. He wore 21 with the T-Wolves. Ted Green lists him as #21 in his "Guide." Bill Sharman would be pissed. Either it's an incomprehensibly subtle joke from Green, or it's sheer stupidity.
"If you'll be seeing [Paul Pierce] for the first time, you'll hate him before the first quarter of Game 1 is even close to over..."
So right here Green admits that Lakers fans are frontrunners and band-wagoners. First time seeing Paul Pierce? Didn't these teams play in 2008? Maybe LA fans forget because they didn't win? But if you haven't seen Paul Pierce yet, even in LA, you're a bit late to the party.
"Kendrick Perkins: This guy looks meaner than Cerberus..."
I know who Cerberus is, but that's because I'm a nerd. It's also because I'm a Simpsons fan (Season 8, "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show, a producer describes Poochie as "The original dog from hell." A writer then asks "You mean Cerberus?"). All that aside, knowing that Cerberus is a three headed dog that guards the gates of Hades is far from common knowledge. This is supposed to be a guide for frontrunning, stupid LA fans. If they don't know who Paul Pierce is, what are the odds they'll know who Cerberus is?
Californians are familiar with Greek and Roman mythology, everybody knows that, but maybe this one reference was a bit of a reach. And the whole point of allusion is to simplify something for the reader, give them something they can relate to. A better choice: Kendrick Perkins looks meaner than Chong-Li from Bloodsport.
"[Perkins] is prone to getting technical fouls, usually immediately after waking up in the morning."
Stick to stab jokes, Ted. Seriously, that Paul Pierce getting stabbed line gets funnier and funnier compared to the rest of this guy's routine. These are like the bad jokes that the immigrant dude on Family Guy laughs at.
"If [Rajon Rondo] were any more conceited, he'd dribble with his left hand and carry a hand-mirror with his right"
What's the matter, Ted? No reference to Hallgerda, the Viking goddess of vanity? Calling Rondo conceited seems to be pulled out of mid-air. Rajon is quiet, calm, and confident. I can't see anything conceited or cocky. Maybe I'm missing it. But even so, calling an NBA player conceited is like calling a porn star promiscuous, it sort of goes with the territory.
And the worst sentence Green wrote (which is saying something)...
"Just remember this kid is, like, 8 years old and already as arrogant as the rest of them."
Apparently, in Southern California, you actually write "like" in the middle of a sentence. And the punctuation rules are similar to direct address. Use a comma before and after. This is, like, a really good way to, like, you know, sound like a complete moron, or like, hella stupid, or like something like that. Y'know?
So while everyone gets up in arms about the Paul Pierce stab line, it was actually the best part of what is a horribly written piece, filled with unfunny jokes, distractingly confusing references, and an undercurrent of California stupidity.
The parallels were eventually inescapable. Although the National Sports Media did bandy the story about quite prematurely (they talked about a 3-0 collapse after the Celtics won Game 3, a bit early, don't ya think?). But the Celtics aren't the Bruins. Nor are the Magic akin to the Flyers.
And beating Orlando, the 2nd seed in the East, is an accomplishment that should be appreciated. The C's won 2 games down in Florida. And guess what, it's taken them fewer games to get to the Finals than it did in '08 (17 to 20).
Game 6 was a team-effort-victory, something the individually oriented clubs in the East (the Cleveland LeBrons, the Miami Wades, the Orlando Howards) simply couldn't match.
Dwight Howard did have 28 points. But none of his mates had more than 20. Only two others scored in double digits, as the Celtics' defense stuffed the Magcis' vaunted 3-point offense, challenging the deep shots, and forcing the Magic to play a professional offense.
The C's, for their part, hit their shots, especially their 3-pointers (10 for 22 as a team). Pierce was still on fire, scoring 31 points, including four 3-pointers. Ray Allen quietly amassed 20 points, KG somehow managed 10.
Rajon Rondo "only" had 14, but they all came early, when the Celtics' offense was still struggling. He was a one-man fastbreak and aggressively penetrated the Magics' defensive core. Then he fell awkwardly on his butt, and it was Nate Robinson time.
Have you ever seen anyone as fired up as Robinson got? It was borderline obnoxious, especially his post-foul jubilations. But he got the job done, allowing Rondo to lie belly-down on the sidelines without jeopardizing the lead. In 13 minutes, Robinson had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.
All this being said, Kevin Garnett had a forgettable game. The only thing memorable was one of the dumbest fouls you'll see in NBA Playoff history. Just chopping down on a guy's arm. Twice! Right in front of the referee. Although why didn't the ref call it the first time? NBA refs are cowards.
KG needs to improve if the Celtics want to beat LA. But how much can he improve? How much of his recent mediocrity is due to his health? That's a question which will need to be answered on the court starting Thursday.
