Unsportsmanlike Conduct?

I was looking forward to Sunday's Miami Heat/Oklahoma City Thunder game not only with fingers crossed for an OKC victory, but also for the display of raw basketball talent that would be on the court: Durant, LeBron, Westbrook and Wade on the floor at any given time as well as some guy named Bosh that everyone keeps talking about. Epic Game Potential (EGP) was sitting at about 60-70%.

And it was quite the game - hotly contested down to the end with Durant hitting some clutch shots down the stretch, but at the end of the day it was all for naught. With about 25 seconds left in the game, there was an interesting moment on the Miami offensive side of the ball.

After Wade missed a well contested 19-footer, Heat down 102-103, Mike Miller corralled a crucial offensive rebound and dished out to a completely open LeBron James - I mean COMPLETELY open, as in no OKC Thunder player was within 8-10 feet of LBJ. What happened next was fascinating: James started to go up with the shot, stopped, then dished to Eddie House who hadn't taken a single shot all game.

For you numbers people, LBJ for the game: 23pts on 7-14 shooting, and 2-5 from 3pt range - not too shabby, which makes his decision to pass even more interesting.

However, I don't find much use in speculating on what was going through LeBron's head at the time of the shot. I will point out that Eddie House drilled that shot, took a page out of Sam Cassell's celebration book, and was promptly fined $25,000 by the NBA. Check out the footage below:



Final score: MIA 108 - OKC 103.

I'm thinking of a number...

... and it's your weekly salary. Now I'm thinking of how much LeBron James' birthday cake cost. If you're my age, the latter is probably larger.

The Miami Heat have been ripping through their opponents recently, winning 20 of their last 22 games. LBJ and and especially D. Wade have found their groove and their place for now - this team can score frighteningly fast. Can they sustain it through June? We'll see...

... for now, let them eat cake.

Excuses

Some of you may remember the Cleveland response video to LeBron's Nike ad, the commercial where he repeatedly asks the camera, "What should I do?" Whether you loved the commercial or hated it, you have to admit that it does raise some interesting questions about the psyche of the King.

I wrote two extended posts on "The Decision" back before and after it happened. In the second, and also during a post from way back during the NBA Playoffs, I referenced several writers and my own personal opinion on LBJ's lack of a "killer" gene, that Michael Jordan X-Factor. Where am I going with this?

Someone decided to mash-up an old MJ commercial with the newer LBJ commercial creating the video below. Maybe, you should listen up, LBJ.

The Aftermath

There are no shortage of people talking about "The (infamous) Decision." It passed Bill Simmons' "Mom Test." It passed my "Dad that doesn't care about sports" test. And finally, it passed the "Female coworkers who REALLY don't care about sports" test. Everyone had something to say, an opinion, a thought, a comment, a suggestion. I do too.

LeBron James captivated a nation (and possibly the world) last Thursday night and held them captive for 28 agonizing minutes (let alone the previous week and a half, and after promising only 10) before announcing simply that he was "taking his talents to South Beach" and the Miami Heat.

Enough has been said about the "basketball" nature of the decision. Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and Cleveland all had their pros and cons, but Miami had friends, sunshine, and no income tax. Whatever, that aspect of the decision can only be analyzed retrospectively. We won't know the basketball ramifications until we see these teams on the court. There's been a lot of movement; many teams won't play anything like they do this year - the comparisons and match-ups will be very interesting to learn and watch develop across the league. But right now, it's all speculation.

The one thing we can analyze now is how this spectacle took place and how arguably one of the world's most popular athletes imploded his image faster than anyone since Tiger Woods... okay that was pretty recent, but you know what I mean. The backlash was immediate and sustained, turning "The Decision" into "The Catastrophe." A couple things stuck out to me -

1) The incredible lack of respect for the city of Cleveland, OH:

A friend (correctly) noted that LeBron James "does not owe Cleveland a damn thing." The Cavaliers got lucky with that draft pick, it's true. But he does owe the fans of Cleveland respect. And that respect demanded honesty and good faith, neither of which was exhibited in "The Decision." LeBron apparently failed to answer a single phone call or text message from Cavs ownership dating back to the end of the season. He left them hanging all the way to the end, and you can't convince me that he was entertaining going back. When Tom Izzo came to visit the Cavs, LBJ didn't even go to the meeting. During the announcement his comments regarding the fans back home was minimal, but he did manage to refer to himself in the 3rd person several times and indicate that he asked his mom what she thought would make him "happiest." C'mon son.

2) Immaturity isn't the right word, and I don't know what is, but Rick Reilly said it best in a short column today:

"James loves to have fun. He's not a killer, like Michael Jordan. He's not a harping-on-the-court-coach, pain-in-the-rear like Kobe... The fake camera shots, the dancing, the chalk. He was like that in high school and he's still like that. So why should anybody be surprised when he wants to play with his friends in a city that's 97 percent fun?... Wade can be the killer... James will just dunk, swat layups and do his Kid n' Play impressions."

Back in May I said, "Lebron couldn't will himself or his team to fight anymore, and that is a big question mark." Now he doesn't have to. He's got Wade now. Reilly continues, "You may want him to be something else, but he's not. What are you going to do, sue?"

The Alex Rodruigez/LeBron James analogies are fascinating. Phenomenal talent, can't do it by himself, goes somewhere else to be in the shadow of a city's giant for the purpose of winning a championship. Took A-Rod a while - let's see how LBJ does.

In short, I blame the media for allowing this television debacle happen. I blame every public relations profession in LeBron's camp who knew this was a bad idea and didn't speak up and say "Hey guys, have you ever considered that this may be a bad idea?"And if that person doesn't exist then I blame LeBron James' camp. I also blame the state of American sports and the perils of "fan-dom." We care too much, as evidenced by silly blogs like this, and the American sports industry feeds off of it.

When it really comes down to it, I really don't know what to think. I completely understand LBJ's decision. He's going to have a helluva time playing his game with his friends in South Beach, but the pressure is on. He has got to win and win soon. I simply cannot comprehend the methodology. Nothing indicates that he "made the decision" that morning - everything points to premeditation.

Let's assume for a moment that the LBJ/Bosh/Wade trifecta was concocted way back at the 2008 Summer Olympics as put forth by some writers. Let's imagine then that LeBron, knowing this was the plan, actually did quit in the Boston series, an idea put forth by many, including Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and myself. Now put "The Decision" in that perspective, and it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It would be as if the NBA were turning into the WWE. Conspiracy theory, I know, but what if?

Side note: while Dan Gilbert was more than likely out of line in the above-linked letter, let he without the sin of overreacting after feeling extremely betrayed and cheated throw the first stone. I don't agree, but I can't judge.

As sports media agonize over this "LeBacle," David Ortiz won the Home Run Derby last night and had this to say afterwards (paraphrased): "I wanted to do this for the fans, that's why we're here. They come to see us, and I'm happy we were able to put on a good show." Wow, now that's what I'm looking for! A stark contrast to "LeBron's gotta do what LeBron's gotta do." We care so much for no discernible reason whatsoever, and that just feels good. Alas, maybe I'm asking too much.

Game 6: The Game that Changed Everything

Thursday was one of the longest workdays I can remember. Time was crawling. I would work for an hour, check the clock, and then realize that it had only been 4 minutes. I couldn't wait to get out of there - I had tickets to Game 6 of the Boston Celtics/Cleveland Cavaliers series at the Garden.

Bill Simmons called it the "concrete pouring game" when we, the fans, would be able to cement a solid grasp of what type of player Lebron James is; in an article earlier this season, Simmons contended that LBJ had the "Jordan/Erving/Thompson DNA strain," but in a Game 6 recap column he wrote that we have to "Take the Jordan DNA out...

"Jordan was a killer. Jordan didn't care if his teammates despised him. Jordan never, ever, not in a million years, would have allowed his team to quit in the final two minutes of Thursday night's game the way LeBron did. His teammates feared him, loathed him, revered him and played accordingly. Bird had that same quality. In the second half of his career, so did Magic. Winning meant so much to those guys that their teammates almost didn't have a choice; they had to follow suit. Or else."

Exactly. So which Lebron was going to show up on Thursday? And for that matter, which Celtics team was going to show up? Games 4/5 Celtics or Game 3 Celtics (what I like to call the "I'm going to continue to pretend that was a violent nightmare" game)? But wait, isn't that interesting?

We wondered which Boston Celtics TEAM was going to show up for Game 6, but only which Lebron James, an individual, was going to play. At its very core, this is why Lebron has not won a title - the championship cannot be won on the shoulders of one great player. It's just like going to meet girls at a bar - if you're stunningly handsome and a great smooth-talker, they're still going to wonder why you're alone. You need a rock star wing-man, the Robin to your Batman. He doesn't have that in Cleveland, and at this rate, will never have it.

But back to the game: the Garden was a jungle that night.

The first Celtics possession, Kevin Garnett took it to Antwawn Jamison and hit a beautiful turn-around jumper... and then he did it again... and again. After three possessions and three KG buckets, you could tell he was going to put on a show. Watching KG hobble around at the end of the season was candidly disheartening, if not all-out depressing. But that night, he was back. And the Garden knew it.

But it wasn't all Celtics - Mo Williams had 20 pts. in the first half, and my buddies and I were worried that All-Star Mo Williams had come back from the dead. Back and forth, up and down, the game went on with plenty of excitement, not always from the usual suspects. In the 2nd quarter, Tony Allen posterized Antawn Jamison and the Garden went bonkers. Here was the guy who makes every true Celtics fan nervous when he has the ball dominating the guy who was going to help LBJ get to the championship. Perfect.

The game was tight all the way through the end of the 3rd quarter, 76-67. Then LBJ came out and gave the Garden their first "Oh no" moment of the night. He dribbled right up to the three point line and absolutely drilled it. The C's had an awful possession and then LBJ went down the court, came off a screen at the top of the key and fired again. Buckets. Oh, S#!*.

But that was it. The C's called a time out, regrouped and handled that 4 point lead and grew it to 9 by the end of the game, with the Boston faithful screaming for all 48 minutes. I've never been part of a crowd like that before. It was incredible. One other thing that was incredible: with 2:07 left in the 4th quarter, down 9 the Cleveland Lebronettes showed about as much urgency as George Bush during Katrina, i.e. none.

My father as I was growing up always said, "Find out what puts a fire in your belly and chase it with unbridled passion. Never let anyone stop you." For Michael Jordan it was winning, for Peyton Manning it's advertising dollars, and for Mark McGwire it was biceps... er, homeruns. But Lebron couldn't will himself or his team to fight anymore, and that is a big question mark.

The Celtics closed out the game with a few 3pt shots from Pierce and (shockingly) Rasheed Wallace. But the "Most Thunderous Moment" Award goes to Kevin Garnett. Rondo and KG were on a fast break and KG got the call about 8ft. from the basket. Regular season KG lays that in off the glass. Game 6 KG, elevated, all 18,624 fans elevated with him, and he threw down a vicious one-handed dunk. You could probably hear the Garden from Cleveland.

So, now the C's face Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the media story is LBJ's performance and future. Let it be said that while LBJ could have played better, the Celtics won this series because of post-season experience, outstanding defense, and a greater will to win. 'Nuff said.

Game 6, Lebron James: 27 pts, 19 reb, 10 ast, 9 turnovers. Or what I'll call, the most visually un-impressive triple double I've ever seen. I didn't know he had one until I checked the box score.

PS - speculating about where LBJ is going is a useful as speculating about what Brett Favre is going to do next year. Let's just see what happens. I just know that the Knicks just made a lot of money on season tickets on Thursday night.