Although the Celtics handed the Cavaliers their worst home playoff defeat in franchise history, the story line coming out of Game 5 was less about Boston’s ability to click on all cylinders, as it was about LeBron James’ amazing disappearing act. The Celtics are more than capable of beating the Cavaliers without questioning why, as we saw in Game 2, but something was definitely off with LeBron Tuesday night. But the burning question is why?
For the first time since LeBron James became the LeBron James that we know today, I watched a game where he was in, and did not remember that he was on the floor. That’s how much of non-factor he ultimately became after connecting on 3 of only 14 shot attempts for 15 points. I knew there would be a fire storm in the media and amongst knowledgeable basketball fans immediately after this performance, and there was.
LeBron didn’t just have a bad shooting night. It seemed like more than that. He wasn’t his usual assertive self, which is a rarity to say the least. In the last 24 hours, we’ve listened to reasons such as “He’s just setting the stage for a historic performance in Games 6 and 7”, “He’s sending a message to Cavaliers brass that he needs help. Similar to what Kobe did”, “He wanted to see what his teammates could do without him”, “His elbow flared up”, and “He’s not a true leader.” I’m sure I’m missing a few. We’ve even heard people say that he didn’t look sincere in his post game press conference. They said that his body language didn’t come across as genuine. When did we become body language experts?
I’m not sure that I buy any of those notions because LeBron has never hinted even slightly that he thought his teammates were inept and honestly, have you seen a closer team that the modern day Cavs…ever? Their pre-game and in-game exuberance is borderline overboard.
Although LeBron is a force to be reckoned with offensively, he is notorious for not being assertive enough when it matters most. We’ve seen this movie before. So why is everyone so surprised? The scene of the movie that comes to mind was in the 2007 playoffs against the Detroit Pistons where he passed the ball to Donyell Marshall in the closing seconds of a game to win it. Marshall ultimately missed the corner 3 and leadership questions ensued. He has done this aside from that time as well.
I don’t think LeBron has fully grasped the concept of go-to-guy / franchise player yet. He knows that he is unstoppable when he’s on, but sometimes seems more concerned with the assist column than the points column because only 14 shot attempts for a player of his magnitude is a joke. That’s what was wrong with LeBron in game 5.
I don’t think that he was sending any message to anyone. I don’t know him personally, nor do I care to, but it doesn’t seem like something he would do. I simply attribute it to the fact that he’s too great to be as unselfish as he is and hasn’t grasped that 100% yet. Yesterday, after practice, reporters questioned LeBron’s leadership abilities and his legacy in a series of questions shot at him. LeBron was noticeably offended by those questions stating reminding them that’s he’s only 25 and his legacy hasn’t even been established yet. If anything seemed genuine, it was his response to that line of questioning
There, of course, was also talk after the game that that officially sealed his fate as becoming a new member of the New York Knicks this summer. I have long since said that I don’t think LeBron is not going anywhere this summer. I thought that championship or not, he’d be staying put. For the first time, I’m backing off that a bit. I’m starting to lean slightly in the other direction now. The jury is still out for me, but if LeBron goes to New York, or anywhere else that has room for 2 max deals, he’ll be able to literally handpick his running mate. Therefore, when he decides to be passive, as he inexplicably does from time to time, there will be another certified superstar to pick it up for him and he won’t be questioned like he is now.
The feeling after the game was also that the Cavs were already eliminated. Even their owner, Dan Gilbert, helped that feeling by stating, “The entire franchise has done everything in its power to put all our players and its coaching staff in the best possible positions to execute when it counts. The last two home playoff losses and the manner in which we lost these game does not come close to being anywhere near the high expectations all of us have of our organization. Our fans and supporters deserve more.”
That was only Game 5. There series isn’t over. If the Cavs go on to win the series, we will have forgotten all about this and order will be restored. It will be interesting to see how he comes tonight. I’m sure he’s annoyed by all of the negative talk about his over the past day, so be prepared to see a LeBron James tonight like we’ve never seen before.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.
