I am somewhat hesitant to enter the fray on what has become the most overplayed story of this season's NBA Finals, especially in light of the fact that I certainly don't follow the league as much as many of my associates, but I feel like this needs to be said: We all need to leave LeBron James the hell alone. I am not naive enough to think that I am the only person who has come to this conclusion, in fact my friend Daniel (with whom I discussed this after game 5) recently pointed on twitter that ESPN's Rick Reilly reached a similar conclusion in this article, but really, the amount of hate for LeBron at the moment is massively ridiculous. Let me briefly explain why I have come to this conclusion.
1. People talk like they are criticizing LeBron when in reality they are just criticizing their perception/expectation of LeBron. We can all agree, LBJ included, that doing The Decision was a poor choice, but can't we get over it. I realize this is still his first season with the Heat after the aforementioned fiasco, but really, talking shots at LeBron about/because of The Decision is an angle about 400 times more overused than the sponge your gross roommates "wash" their dishes with. In the words of Kanye West, "it's not funny anymore, try different jokes." I understand he is in the limelight and part of that is just the nature of his career choice, but since when does being on TV obligate you to score 83 points every game? It doesn't.
2. I am starting to really feel bad for LeBron. I don't think he deserves this hate. People are trying to make him into a villain and he just isn't. And i think it's wearing on him big time. I would hate to see his career stifled in any way by becoming bitter after having to deflect thousands of hours of criticism for throwing up triple-doubles, making his teammates better, being a quality defender and an elite passer, and generally scaring everyone he plays against (or at least the fans of the teams he plays against)to the point that they can't control their bodily functions. He didn't think through one thing he did. And in case you have become totally brainwashed by the 24 hour coverage ESPN (and others) offers of every non-story ever, including hacks in Cleveland bars discussing how much they dislike LeBron, what he did wasn't actually morally incorrect in any way. It wasn't even really bad. It was foolish, but I don't think it was malicious or deplorable or anything of that nature. Sure, he sounded like a self-centered douche, but it's not like he hasn't realized this and tried to address it. And it's not like he's alone in having something turn out in a way he didn't anticipate. EVERYONE has that experience. Just about everyone makes others upset or causes them to laugh at his expense, but eventually people have to get over it. We should just let LeBron play basketball. Could he develop a post game, sure. Is he perfect, no. I know everyone thinks he should score his teams last 14 points of the 4th quarter and jump over Tyson Chandler's mom's house but I think saying he is "disappearing" or "can't play in big moments" or whatever is a bit of stretch. We think he should score more 4th quarter points, maybe he should, but I am sure of two things. 1.The series is not over. If Miami wins in the end, won't he have proven everyone wrong? 2. I am confident he is trying to do everything in his power to help his team win. We think it would help his team more if he scored 15 points in the 4th quarter, but no one on the Heat seems to think that. Maybe that is worth considering.
3. On a related note, I think all this LeBron talk does a huge disservice to the Heat as team, not to mention the Mavs. It also seems to undermine the concept of a Championship in general. Last time I checked it's a team game, and you win as a team and lose as a team. Cliche I know, but I think it's true. You are part of a championship team, you are never a champion on your own. Basically it sounds to me like we have decided that if the Mavs win, it's only cause LeBron choked. Or like if the Heat win but Mike Miller has to bail them out with a clutch three after LeBron missed one than LeBron's championship comes with an asterisks.
I understand what people are saying I just think it comes too much from what happened with The Decision and not what is happening on the court. Personally I still want the Mavs to win, but i think LeBron has been really classy through all this and that people need to relax a bit before it drives us all insane. Somehow he feels underappreciated at the moment which seems unfathomable. Anyway, my thoughts.
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