LeBron's Legacy Can't Stack Up With Other Greats

When it comes to gut-check time in sports, there are certain superstars in history that show they want to be "the guy" (or "the girl" in ladies sports).  There are names that come to mind: Michael Jordan, Curt Schilling, Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady to name a few.  One name that won't appear on that list is LeBron James.  His lackluster performance in the NBA Finals thus far has many asking questions about his heart and about his drive.  With the Dallas Mavericks taking a 3-2 series lead on Thursday night, it appears that LeBron is exhibiting neither.

This NBA Finals was supposed to be LeBron's coming-out party.  He made his bed by "taking his talents to South Beach," and this was the time he was supposed to sleep in that bed.  Unfortunately for Heat fans, LeBron is showing why his Cavaliers teams of the past always came up short at the end.  When you look back at championship teams led by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, what you saw was an unwillingness to accept defeat.  Their drive and their heart carried their teams to multiple championships, not just one.  And, aside from Kobe's first three titles with the help of Shaquille O'Neal at his side, neither Jordan or Kobe had multiple superstars to play with.  LeBron has two in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.  And what we're seeing from LeBron is more of a stance of "I'll take a back seat to let you two be the stars."  That's not the attitude of a champion.

Yes, champions are unselfish.  Champions know when to delegate.  But champions also know when it's time to take over and ensure victory.  With all the scrutiny placed on LeBron this season, this was his time to squash all of his "haters" and critics.  Instead, he's gained more of each, and in some cases, deservedly so.  Scoring 8 points in Game Four showed a complete lack of heart.  That performance was his first single-digit scoring performance in over four years, and it came at a time when he should've been having his best performance in four years.  When questioned after both Game Three and Game Four, LeBron insinuated that he was allowing Dwyane Wade to be "the guy."  This was a convenient reason given the results of each game.  But, had that game plan been one that was discussed before the series started, it's probably one that we all could've bought as legit.  Instead, we got the performances, followed by the "reason" for the performances.  Put two and two together here.

Thursday morning, a rumor began circulating that LeBron's Game Four performance came because of a lack of focus.  That lack of focus was apparently caused by something off the court.  Regardless of what this may have been, it shows his inability to compartmentalize outside situations and take control of things on the court, as a true leader would do.  Instead, he decided to defer to the other stars on his team...not in the way of delegation, but moreso in the way of pacification.  He chose to take himself out of the mix, and it cost his team a game.  After the game, as a result of his passive approach, he chose to put much more undue pressure on himself for Game Five, tweeting that "It's now or never."  What the Heat got was a slightly better version than the Game Four LeBron, but still a shell of what a leader should be.

And the result?  A long flight back to Miami with the likelihood of being sent home as the 2011 NBA Finals Runners-Up after Game 6, and an off-season to contemplate what you actually want your legacy to be.  The question is whether or not LeBron has the heart to change that legacy.  At this point, that doesn't appear likely.

NBA Lottery...If It Looks Like A Rat And Smells Like A Rat...

Yea...I'm going there.

I've lost a lot of interest in basketball over the last few years, and the NBA hasn't helped their cause with me at all.  Granted, living here in Minnesota and having to put up with the Timberwolves may be at the heart of my disdain for the sport, but a lot of it is strictly rooted in the NBA as a business/company/product.  Tuesday's Draft Lottery didn't help matters, either!

The Timberwolves have had little to no luck in the Draft Lottery, having never landed the number one overall pick in the draft, despite having the worst record in basketball two separate times, including this past season.  Back in the 1993 Draft Lottery, the Wolves had the second worst record in the NBA and were given 10 ping-pong balls in the hopper, (Dallas had the worst record, and was given 11 balls).  The number one overall pick that year was awarded to the Orlando Magic, a team that had only one ball in the lottery, and subsequently took that pick and drafted Shaquille O'Neal.  For the Wolves, and the Mavericks alike, that was some of the worst "luck."

The issue I have with the NBA Lottery is that it's done behind closed doors.  The balls are plucked from the little bingo hopper where the public can't see it, and the results are announced in a prime-time event during an NBA Playoff game.  So, why is the NBA upset when people start to scream conspiracy?  If you have nothing to hide, then let us see the balls get selected.  Hell, that would be the whole fun of the event, wouldn't it?  Waiting to see if your team's ping-pong ball came up would create incredible drama.

Instead, you have the type of controversial results you had on Tuesday night.  The Cleveland Cavaliers, who just lost LeBron James to South Beach during this past off-season's free agent campaign, landed the first overall pick in the draft, causing the Timberwolves to select second.  Now, Cleveland finished this season with the second worst record behind Minnesota, so for them to get the lucky #1 pick wasn't entirely unlikely.  But, is it wrong to have the conspiracy thought run through your mind?

On December 2nd, 2010, when Miami traveled to Cleveland to play the Cavs, the NBA saw one of it's highest rated games in years.  The LeBron drama pulled people in, but the result of the game made people yawn.  The ill feelings towards James by the Cleveland fans made for very intriguing television, which is something the NBA absolutely loves!  However, that was about all the game could offer.  When the Cavs and Heat met for the second time, the ratings had already taken a huge dip from the first game.  Couple that with the promise of Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert that his Cavaliers team would win an NBA Championship before LeBron James, and you start to see why having Cleveland "win" the first overall pick in the draft to help boost their talent becomes a little more intriguing for the league.  I'm not saying...I'm just saying.

For the record, I've never been a fan of NBA Commissioner David Stern.  Compared to the heads of the other three major professional sports in this country, his actions have created more conversation and skepticism than one would like.  Perhaps that is what he's looking for, because it creates a "buzz" around his product.  Some believe it's a good thing that only seven different teams have won NBA Championships in the last 23 years.  Others, like myself, believe this is bad for the sport.  Some believe it's a good thing for seven or eight teams to bring in two or three "superstar" players to create mega-teams.  Others, like myself, think this isn't interesting.  Some believe that the Draft Lottery is a good system to prevent teams from "throwing" their seasons in an attempt to get the first pick in the draft.  Others, like myself, believe this is a way to possibly control the results when you feel you need to, because the public will never know.  It's like the ace up Stern's sleeve.  He doesn't always need to use it, but when the time is right, because the system is in place, it can possibly be manipulated to bring a needed result.

Not saying that's what happened...but, it's got you thinking a little bit now, doesn't it?