Playing in his near hometown of Cleveland had been easy. Here was the homegrown hero, never held accountable and always revered. He could get away with whatever he wanted up there, after all he gave Cleveland seven years of record breaking, high flying and spectacular basketball the likes of which they had never seen. For the first time since 1964 they had reason to believe they could actually win a championship and it was all because of King James. Along the way he broke every age related NBA scoring record and put up the kind of all around stats that would make Fat Lever blush. Unfortunately all the impressive stats added up to exactly one less than stellar NBA finals appearance and zero championships. Lost in all the excessive coverage and mind numbing stats were the bad habits he started to develop. Habits that real hoop heads had to know would come back to haunt him later.
I haven't watched a whole lot of Heat basketball this season, but I can't be the only one who noticed that Lebron is at his best when surrounded by mediocre talent. In Cleveland, Lebron never had to learn how to share the ball with other ultra talented teammates and it led to the greatest current myth in the NBA, Lebron James makes his teammates better. Over his seven year career in Cleveland , the Cavs brass paired him with numerous talented players only to watch it blow up in their faces year after year. As much as he helps a player like Andy Verajao , he hurts a guy like Larry Hughes. Putting James on the floor with Eddie House , James Jones, Chris Bosh and _____ Center seems to work best for the Heat right now and that's a shame. For a team that can conceivably boast a new school answer to Jordan and Pippen , to flank James with those guys is absurd. When Wade and James are on the court together it's almost as if Wade is relegated to Mo Williams status, watch Lebron iso and be ready to catch and shoot. That is a complete waste of his ability. Granted the guy is playing with a sore hamstring right now, which is one of those lingering kind of injuries, but the guy has to have room to play his game.
It's would seem as though it's not too late to make adjustments, after all the season is only about 20 games old. However, if you factor in that these problems are not new to this season and look overall at his body of work it becomes increasingly clear that this may not be so easily fixable. Right now Lebron looks to be headed for a career that could be an mixture of Allen Iverson and Steve Francis. No one questions the heart and talent Iverson had in his prime, but it was damn near impossible to build around him. There is also no doubt that Steve Francis was one of the most electrifying athletes in the NBA during the early part of the decade but the little things escaped him. Building around Lebron James should be easy, he can literally do everything on a basketball court. He is an above average rebounder, a tremendous finisher and his court vision is up there with the best in the business. If you look a little closer though, all of the things he does well kind of mean he has to dominate the ball for the entire game and that can tend to hurt his teammates. Just because you're a great passer doesn't mean you're not also a ball stopper. If you build your team specifically around Lebron James, you're going to end up with a bunch of limited one dimensional players surrounding him. Some strong rebounders and guys who can finish close to the rim, and some spot up shooters who can defend and I don't think that's what the Heat had in mind when they put this "super team" together.
Someone in Miami has to step up as a leader and take control of this team and I think that person has to be Dwyane Wade. He's the only one of the big three who has made his game work with another superstar and won a championship in the process. He is already the scapegoat for the Heat's early struggles even though his stats compare favorably to the King (identical shooting percentage, more rebounds, blocks and less turnovers) so why not go all the way and just take the reins? If he actually steps up and holds Lebron accountable for his play and makes him mesh with what the team is trying to do, it can really be lights out for the league. They have the talent but running the Cavs old offensive sets with Wade spotting up is not the way for this team to win. Right now the Heat are not playing like the team we envisioned when this all began back in July, and even though I'm an admitted hater of Lebron and the whole super team concept, as a fan of the game I can't deny I was secretly hoping that they would play the kind of basketball the likes of which the NBA has never seen. With Lebron facilitating and moving the ball and Wade in all-out attack scorer mode, the sky is truly the limit.
The scary thing is they're probably going to figure all this out and win 60 games and shut us all up. If they don't, the blame should be placed squarely on Lebron James and his ego. No one has ever held him accountable before, but starting now could rewrite NBA history. If you're anything like me you're praying they don't get it together while simultaneously crossing your fingers that they do. One thing is for certain, even if he doesn't go down as the G.O.A.T. like we all thought he would, Lebron James decision (ha) in July of 2010 might have made him the most polarizing figure in NBA history. Then again, falling just short of our expectations should be what we all expect from him by now, right?
