Where was the King?

(Picture courtesy of nydailynews.com)

I can't sleep. I've been running through the possibilities of what is going to happen this off season for hours now. I can't stop. The speculation and suspense is killing me. I can't run away from it. Every T.V., every headline, every sports radio station are all focusing on LeBron James and what these next four months will bring. I've watched the replay all ready and have thoughts as usual (which I will get too), but what do NBA fans take away from one of the biggest "choke artist" moments in the leagues history (and yes even with a triple-double, LeBron choked. I'll get into that later)? What do fans of the Knicks, Clippers, Bulls, and Cavs take away from this performance? Was LeBron's body language enough evidence to show that he's leaving, or is he hurt beyond anyone's knowledge? Are the conspiracy theories right about LeBron in the sense that his pain medication was making him depressed/tired/lackadaisical/slow/careless? Just more questions I know, but let's break them down.

Starting with the first question: What do NBA fans take away from one of the biggest "choke artist" moments in the leagues history? Based on LeBron's unwillingness to take over that game and inability to demand that the offense goes through him, he's got to be leaving, right?  How can you come back to that team?  The best team in the regular season, once again ousted early in the playoffs.  LeBron and his team choked flat out, end of sentence.

I get LBJ had a triple double and that's fantastic, big ups to LBJ on that, but I guarantee if you watched that game with the volume off, you had no idea he had accomplished that feat. It was the quietest triple double I've ever seen. The other night when Rajon Rondo had his triple double, everyone knew when they were watching. He took over that game, facilitated the offense, and controlled the tempo.  He touched the ball for what it seemed, like every time down the court.  LBJ did none of that last night. Sure he had 10-assists, but he also had 9-turnovers.  He didn't have a dominating performance like so many superstars have done in crucial playoff games.  He was absent for minutes at a time during that game, especially in the fourth quarter.

If you recall LBJ hit two HUGE 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter that warranted the same reaction from everybody watching, "Finally! Here he comes". That was with 9:34 left in the game. Those two 3's put the Cavs down by four. FOUR!  Here come that performance we were all waiting for.

Then the opposite happened. LeBron let six minutes tick off the clock while only attempting one shot. ONE!

How does an MVP let six minutes tick off the clock while only attempting one shot? How does the best player in the world let his team get down by double digits and not score a point until there is 3:47 left in the game? His triple double means about as much as my 22-point game in high school where I shot 100% from the field (sure they were all layups, but that's still pretty impressive).  With the possibility of forcing a game seven back at his home court, why didn't we see one of those "Where Amazing Happens" performances? Why didn't we get a heroic fourth quarter effort like the greats of yester-years gave us?  Because LeBron choked (Don't get me wrong, I do like LBJ and he played a quality game last night, but in those types of games, guys that have been dubbed as the "greatest ever" kick quality in the ass.  They enter a different dimension.  They get in a zone that is unreachable for us average folks.  When they are backed against the hypothetical wall, they punch, pull, kick, bite, push, juke, waltz, electric slide, and cupid shuffle their way out of it.  LeBron did not do any of that.). 

LeBron could blame some of his teammates for the loss, sure.  He could blame Antawn Jamison for playing like that one guy at the Y who thinks his one post move is really, REALLY good; yet he always missed it. He could blame Delonte West for an amazing three point, three turnover performance. He could blame his coach for not playing Side Show Bob very much in the first five games.  But if he did blame them, that proves that he is not at the Larry Legend, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson level yet. Period.

I can't stress enough how annoying it was to see LeBron stand back for long stretches of time while his teammates looked battered and confused. Jonah and I must have yelled at the TV twenty some times because LBJ kept giving the ball to Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, and West during crucial parts of that game. Where was that "killer" instinct? Where was his inner Black Mamba? Where was the King?

The world may never know?

The second question is my favorite, what do fans of the Knicks, Clippers, Bulls, and Cavs take away from this performance?

The Knicks can keep dreaming.  It makes no sense for a guy that wants to win a championship to go to a team that cannot surround him with amazing talent.  That's it.  New York does not have enough money in the world to put a team around LeBron. Sure you have Jay-Z, New York style Pizza, and Dane Cook, but you will never don a James #6 jersey.  Not in this free agent cake walk.

Clippers, see above.

The Bulls and Cav's are a different story. Let's start with the Cav's. Two things can happen: 1. LeBron, being a homer and knowing the drastic pain your fan base has gone through, stays and tries to win a ring with a bad coach and a weaker bench than the 2009-2010 Iowa men's basketball team. 2. He realizes that the Cav's front office has no money to spend this off season, so building around him is a no go. He realizes that Antawn Jamison is garbage and Amare was always the better fit. He realizes that this team just does not have the players around him to compete for a championship, especially because the Magic are deep and the youth of the Bulls, Hawks, and Bobcats is scary good.

Bulls fans want number two to happen. The core players on the Bulls are way to appealing to not glance over. Being in a giant market, and coming to a stadium with a fan base that sells out every game adds to that appeal.

If I'm LeBron James, I have to think, in the coming years who in the league will contend for the MVP trophy with me? Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, and Derrick Rose. Which one of them can he play with?

D-Rose.

A match made in NBA heaven. Rose, going into his third year, is light years better than Mo Williams ever could be. Joakim Noah is the blacker, more athletic clown in the NBA (and I mean that with respect to Noah). Luol Deng can create off the dribble and knock down open looks from 15-17 feet when you feel the double team and Taj Gibson is a role player that shows a lot of promise. Oh, and the money that is flowing out of the Bulls pockets is the most intriguing player in this whole match up. Want Ray Allen? So does John Paxson. Want Rudy Gay? Gar Forman just spoke with him on the phone. Like how Joel Pryzbilla's name flows off your tongue? Hey so does all of Chicago.

The theories will continue to spread and I'm sure more will come out.  Was it his medicine that affected his performance?  Maybe.  Maybe we are all over reacting.  Maybe his body language and awful play was because of his elbow and medication.  If that is the case, Cleveland you'll be ok.  But does LeBron take that medication knowing it was win or go home tonight?  I don't think so.

I don't know where this off season will go, but it is going to be exciting. Even though LeBron was timid, fragile, and quiet last night, he is still the greatest player in the game and the cameras will be following him wherever he goes.  He is a freak of nature. He has what it takes to win in this league.  Yet the one question that only he can answer is, does the team he is on now have that same talent? 

Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah.
Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah.
Hey, Hey, Hey...
Goodbyeeeeeeeeeeeee!

See you on Madison!  LBJ #6