I can't figure it out. I've seen him step up in big games. He's done it before. I get him being ineffective because of the shortcomings in his game and the fact that Dallas matches up well against him; it's the flat and listless play I don't get.
When your Finals scoring dips nearly 10 points below your regular season average--especially in a series as tightly contested as this--it's your fault. Not Spo's, not Wade or Bosh's (both of whom raised their regular season #'s in the Finals), and not the bench.
It is what it is.
I can't figure it out. I've seen him step up in big games. He's done it before. I get him being ineffective because of the shortcomings in his game and the fact that Dallas matches up well against him; it's the flat and listless play I don't get.
Bottom line the guy needs help and Spo didn't put him in positions to score, because when you're an all time great things have to go perfectly in order for you to be successful. The NBA has to do a better job of kneeling before him as well, this was his time and possibly the easiest path he might have to a ring in the coming years.
I don't get it either...dude is as physically gifted as they come, but he's a mental midget.
He's also never scored more than 25 points in a Finals game. Weak.
Like Pippen I was ready to make a case as potential GOAT ...but that case is closed. i was even more open to Lebron> Kobe ...but nope, not any more.
Kobe's put up some ty performances in the Finals before no doubt, but he NEVER would've sat idly by and watched a championship slip away w/o swingin' for the fences. It's not always right (game 7), but it's also what makes him great
He hasn't always been like this. He wasn't like this in 2006 and '07, or even as late as '09.
Something in him has gone missing. What and why is the question.
Dirk had Kobe numbers tonight, but he didn't give a flying and kept shooting anyway b/c he's the mother ing captain on that team. He made damn sure if he was going down, he was going down gunning
The biggest problem is that James and Wade are the same type of player. Both need the ball and James doesn't know how to play off the ball. This isn't gonna go away anytime soon.
In 2007 I thought that Detroit series was the start of league dominance. In 2008 he nearly beat a STACKED Celtics team all by his damn self, and lost with grace and humility.
JT...I think the answer is that he can't perform as a favorite, nor face the music of losing as a favorite.
Real talk, Bron looked scared out there in crunchtime. Looked like he was playing hot potatoe at times. The shots he did take were ones were the Mavs dared him to shoot and he shot them with no confidence. Hes clearly been exposed, he is by far the most physically gifted player ever but hes a pussy.
4th Qtr Points Going into Game 6
Dirk-52
Wade-40
James-11
Thats just pathetic.
Not a bad comparison, but A-Rod has something he doesn't
The refs hit him with a few travelling calls in Dallas and it messed the rest of his game up after that......half joking/half real talk. On a completely serious note, Marion did a nice job on him and the swarming defense when he had the ball and started his dribble reminded me of what the Heat did to Rose to wear him down going into the 4th.
steroids
Dallas deserves a lot of credit. LeBron didn't fare well against the Mavericks during the regular season either (11-of-36 from the field in the two games.)
LeBron will eventually get a ring, but he'll probably do it in the same way A-Rod got his.
The zone really shut off his driving lanes and he usually had either Marion, Kidd, or Stevenson on him (all great defenders).
Doesn't help he has no post/finesse game to speak of. Never worked on a midrange game apparently. Probably figured he never would need to. In 5 more years James will be so washed up it won't be funny. Well, on second thought, yes it will. The decline will probably start next year IMO.
Truth. Dallas played prison ball with him and the poor little diva couldn't handle it.
LeBron should have Stevenson and Marion's faces branded on each asscheek.
In Cleveland he never had to second guess himself. Even if he failed, he was still the best option to win or lose the game. I think he lost self confidence seeing that Wade not only could do what he could, but on the big stage, at times do it better. Now he's stuck with insecurity issues at the end of these close games not sure whether to be aggressive or defer. I think at some point after the first two games, he was just hoping to win the le just to get that monkey off his back even if it was riding Wade's coattails. Then he could try to be the man in future NBA Finals.
You know the worst part?
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