Last night offered a damn entertaining basketball game that did not end the way I wanted it to. Lebron missed a lonnnnng 3 at the buzzer for the win and now the Cavs are on the brink, down 3-1, trying to do something that has only been done 8 times out of 190. At least 2 of the 3 games they are trying to win will be on their vaunted (but flawed) home court.
While Lebron has nothing been short of amazing and his teammates have largely been sub-par (poor shooting by Mo, Delonte; absence of a bench; atrocious coaching, i.e. having Ben Wallace guard Rashard Lewis on the 3 pointer that gave the Magic the lead in regulation), this situation is on Lebron. I know he is tired, playing lots of minutes and it looks like he is doing everything he can, but he is settling for too many jumpers.
Last night Lebron took 10 3s! Sure, he made 4 of them, but I guarantee if Lebron has the ball and goes to the rim on those 10 trips down the floor, he is coming away with a heck of a lot more than 12 points. The guy gets to the line if he sneezes in the paint (although I think the call on Pietrus at the end of regulation was legit; stars get that call). He could blame his supporting cast in years before (rightfully so) but when you win 66 games, are the best team in the league and have elaborate pre-game routines, you better win the chip. I’m not saying they can’t (they could be up 3-1 in the series if him and Mo make buzzer beaters in games 1 and 4; they also could have been swept last night), but the odds overwhelmingly say they won’t. Then again, the NBA is where amazing happens.
2 years ago