LeBron James made a decision last summer that turned him from hero to villain. But even before taking his talents to South Beach, James was the most scrutinized player in the NBA. So becoming a targeted man only aided in clouding the critical opinion of the league’s best player.
So let’s put aside our distaste for the guy who broke Cleveland’s heart on national television and give credit to the former MVP who has his team just two wins from the NBA Finals. Here are three fallacies about James:
James is Robin to Dwyane Wade’s Batman » Wade may have a title, but James is the better player. While Wade has finished in the top five in the MVP voting twice, James has finished in the top five the last six seasons and won the award twice. A good litmus test for this was the aftermath of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. In a 103-82 loss to the Bulls, James (15 points on 5-for-15 shooting) and Wade (18 points on 7-for-17 shooting) had equally dismal performances. So shouldn’t Batman be the one shouldering the blame for the loss? Instead, it was James who spent the off-day hearing how Bulls forward Luol Deng shut him down, and it was James who bounced back with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 2 victory.
James lacks the clutch gene » When you think of clutch, you think of last-second shots. But being clutch also can mean dominating the fourth quarter of close games — and that’s what James has done throughout this postseason. The Heat have had four one-possession games entering the fourth quarter, and James scored in double digits in each. Miami struggled all season in games decided by three points or less but has excelled at extending leads late in games.
Derrick Rose is better than James » At least that’s what MVP voters thought. Rose won the award this season, but did he deserve it over James? Let’s compare the regular-season stats. James: 26.7 points, 51 percent from the field, 7.0 assists, 7.5 rebounds. Rose: 25.0 points, 44.5 percent from the field, 7.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds. The MVP is often won by the most trendy player, not the best. That would be James.
