duncan228
05-22-2009, 01:05 AM
LeBron yet to live up to hype (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/LeBron_yet_to_live_up_to_hype.html)
Mike Finger - Express-News
Almost 1,500 miles from Cleveland, in a gym a mere fraction of the size of Quicken Loans Arena, a local college student walks onto the floor for a pickup game.
This is as good of a place as any to start talking about LeBron James.
The kid isn't without ability — he has a decent shooting stroke, and he can get up and down the floor — but his significant feature is his calf. There, spelled out vertically from just below his knee to just above his ankle, is the burned-in-ink identity he's chosen for himself.
“WITNESS.”
The very existence of such a tattoo is a testament not only to the magnetism of an NBA superstar, but also to the power of modern corporate marketing. As catchy as the advertising slogans of the 1980s were, there's no record of any frantic mother ever having “Calgon, take me away,” etched across her shoulder blades.
But deeper than the influence of Nike, the company that spearheaded the ubiquitous “Witness” campaign, is the idolatry of James, whose greatness almost seems preordained. It is almost like his legacy already has been written — permanently, subject only to painful laser removal — before he's had a chance to win a championship and live up to all of the expectations.
Or maybe even to fall short of them.
Yes, Wednesday was only one game, and if it was a failure, it was about as impressive as failure gets. James scored 49 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds in the Cavaliers' 107-106 loss to Orlando in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, and that came after a nine-day layoff.
So Cleveland has reason not to panic after its first loss of the postseason, and chances are, they'll escape the rest of the series unscathed. But if they don't? If Stan Van Gundy keeps pushing the right buttons, and Rashard Lewis stays hot, and Dwight Howard keeps James away from the rim, and another season ends without a crown for King James?
How long will it be before all of the hype — and the ink — seems out of place?
For now, few see that ever becoming an issue. Jerry West, the NBA icon who brought Kobe Bryant to Los Angeles, said this week “LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player,” and said James “has a chance to be arguably the greatest player ever to play the game.”
But ever since his high school days, when he made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was proclaimed as the next big thing before he could even vote, something about the James mystique has always struck the casual observer as a bit forced. That continued last summer, when on more than one occasion, James talked about a group of Olympians that also included Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd and said, “I'm the leader of this team.”
That might have been true. But isn't that something you shouldn't have to say out loud?
James' admirers say he's still growing into his role, the same way Michael Jordan once did. Jordan, as has often been pointed out, didn't win his first title until he was 27, but he also never had the opportunity James does at his age.
Not only were the Cavaliers the league's best team during the regular season, earlier this week they were listed by Las Vegas oddsmakers as overwhelming 1-2 favorites to win the NBA championship. Jordan never even came close to experiencing the kind of disappointment James would if Cleveland doesn't advance.
So, facing pressure he's never seen before, James considers all of this, knowing the ink is here to stay.
But the image might not be.
Mike Finger - Express-News
Almost 1,500 miles from Cleveland, in a gym a mere fraction of the size of Quicken Loans Arena, a local college student walks onto the floor for a pickup game.
This is as good of a place as any to start talking about LeBron James.
The kid isn't without ability — he has a decent shooting stroke, and he can get up and down the floor — but his significant feature is his calf. There, spelled out vertically from just below his knee to just above his ankle, is the burned-in-ink identity he's chosen for himself.
“WITNESS.”
The very existence of such a tattoo is a testament not only to the magnetism of an NBA superstar, but also to the power of modern corporate marketing. As catchy as the advertising slogans of the 1980s were, there's no record of any frantic mother ever having “Calgon, take me away,” etched across her shoulder blades.
But deeper than the influence of Nike, the company that spearheaded the ubiquitous “Witness” campaign, is the idolatry of James, whose greatness almost seems preordained. It is almost like his legacy already has been written — permanently, subject only to painful laser removal — before he's had a chance to win a championship and live up to all of the expectations.
Or maybe even to fall short of them.
Yes, Wednesday was only one game, and if it was a failure, it was about as impressive as failure gets. James scored 49 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds in the Cavaliers' 107-106 loss to Orlando in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, and that came after a nine-day layoff.
So Cleveland has reason not to panic after its first loss of the postseason, and chances are, they'll escape the rest of the series unscathed. But if they don't? If Stan Van Gundy keeps pushing the right buttons, and Rashard Lewis stays hot, and Dwight Howard keeps James away from the rim, and another season ends without a crown for King James?
How long will it be before all of the hype — and the ink — seems out of place?
For now, few see that ever becoming an issue. Jerry West, the NBA icon who brought Kobe Bryant to Los Angeles, said this week “LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player,” and said James “has a chance to be arguably the greatest player ever to play the game.”
But ever since his high school days, when he made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was proclaimed as the next big thing before he could even vote, something about the James mystique has always struck the casual observer as a bit forced. That continued last summer, when on more than one occasion, James talked about a group of Olympians that also included Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd and said, “I'm the leader of this team.”
That might have been true. But isn't that something you shouldn't have to say out loud?
James' admirers say he's still growing into his role, the same way Michael Jordan once did. Jordan, as has often been pointed out, didn't win his first title until he was 27, but he also never had the opportunity James does at his age.
Not only were the Cavaliers the league's best team during the regular season, earlier this week they were listed by Las Vegas oddsmakers as overwhelming 1-2 favorites to win the NBA championship. Jordan never even came close to experiencing the kind of disappointment James would if Cleveland doesn't advance.
So, facing pressure he's never seen before, James considers all of this, knowing the ink is here to stay.
But the image might not be.