LeBron James is right - I woke up this morning with the same problems I went to bed with last night. They are many and they gnaw at my sanity day and night.
But what James doesn't seem to realize is that he woke up this morning with many, many more problems than he went to bed with last night.
His play on the court in important postseason moments continues to raise questions about his ability to win. And every public comment coming out of his mouth or his fingers continues to raise the level of venom he faces.
I'm not a fan of LeBron James - I never have been. My opinion of James was not adversely effected by "The Decision" special or the appalling pep rally James, Wade and Bosh staged last summer*. My opinion of LeBron James is that he is a talented, but grossly overrated basketball player - and for me, his decision to take join the Miami Heat confirmed that.
*I still can't figure out Wade being a part of it. He's better than that. He wasn't new to the team - through he was the man who orchestrated Bosh and James bringing their talents to South Beach. But the big problem with the event was that it was just three guys. Had they waited till the rest of the roster was filled out, and then had a similar celebration to spark fan support for the upcoming season, it would have made much more sense, and felt much cleaner.
LeBron James is the most physically gifted athlete to ever step on an NBA court. He has all the talent required to lead a team to dominance and championships, and then some - and some day, just as Peyton Manning found an opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and Phil Mickelson found a way to fit into a green jacket, I do think he will. But I recall watching James play as a high schooler on ESPN**, and thinking then what I think now - he doesn't know how to best use the many talents he has to play team basketball. He just doesn't understand the game.
**ESPN acted irresponsibly marketing individual high school basketball players. Given the way AAU leagues are destroying the game, making these high school kids celebrities before we've even seen if they can be good in the NCAA essentially voids any chance they'll develop true basketball games that fit their talents. Thankfully, with the 19-year-old age limit in place, there is less of a market for high school basketball on the leading sports network.
Signing with the Miami Heat confirmed to me that LeBron James doesn't comprehend the path to greatness in professional sports. He had opportunities, in New York, New Jersey and Cleveland, to be the foundation of a team and continue striving towards his goal of winning championships***. Instead, he chose to be supporting character in Dwayne Wade's chase of greatness. I don't criticize him for leaving Cleveland, or for making a spectacle of his free agency - the media is just as culpable in that as he. But I do criticize him the same way Charles Barkley and other former players have - for not having the desire to lead, to be the man, on a championship team. On the Heat, James is just one of the guys who plays next to a superior player.
***I do believe James is sincere when he says he wants to win multiple titles, and do appreciate that about him.
Still, Miami could have been, and possibly could still be, a tremendous opportunity for James to elevate his game and his career. But for that to happen, he needs to learn basketball skills and cater his game to Wade's. Many analysts claim that Wade and James can't coexist on the same team because both need the ball in their hands too much. While that's true, I'm forever shocked by how few analysts point out that James would be at his best with the ball out of his hands more often than not.
LeBron James has the physical size, strength and skill to dominate other small forwards with his back to the basket, but to this point in his career, he's never worked to develop a post game that would allow his teammates to feed him the ball in position to score. Also, he's an incredible slasher and finisher, but rather than use those skills by making cuts to the rim, he continues to run to the ball when it's 25-30 feet from the basket. James' lack of basketball IQ seems to catch up to him in the moments his team needs him most, and he's been at his worst in playoff exits against Orlando, Boston and Dallas each of the last three years. Granted, his team has gone one round further each year, but James has also played worse in that final series each year.
In my eyes, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James should be Stockton and Malone 2.0, or rather Stockton and Malone hulked up after exposure to gamma radiation. Running the high pick and roll, with James setting screens for Wade and then either rolling to the rim or popping out for an open shot, these two could be nearly unstoppable. But instead, James spends too much time watching Wade operating one-on-one waiting for his turn, and I blame James for this much more than Wade because I don't think he knows any other way to play.
Wade and James (and Bosh) may eventually figure things out in Miami, but I think the odds are a lot lower than people realize. It's likely the NBA will soon enter a lockout. This is different than the NFL lockout in that the NBA is not in a good financial situation - half the teams are losing money and the league lost approximately $300 million dollars this season. When basketball comes back there will be a new, more rigid salary structure in place, and it may be difficult for Miami to keep their three stars and/or impossible for the team to add players around them.
During the season there were thoughts in the media that trading Chris Bosh in order to acquire two more contributing role players would make sense. But after the Finals, with James now being the most hated athlete in America and the most hated athlete in Miami, there's already talk of trading LeBron James for a star who can play with Wade and contribute in important games - perhaps Orlando's Dwight Howard or New Orleans' Chris Paul.
The thing is, if I'm the Orlando or New Orleans GM, and I know I'm likely to my star to free agency if I don't make a move, I'm still not parting with either of those guys for LeBron James.
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