Raining on LeBron's Parade

Despite his amazing performance last night I do have a few slightly negative things to say about LeBron and his team. I didn't want to mention them in the previous post because I wanted it to stand for all eternity as a testament to his greatness.

1) LeBron didn't arrive in one game, he'd been knocking on the door for a few years, but now for the first time he kicked the door in and screamed "I'm here mother fuckers." I don't think anyone will ever question whether he has the marbles to perform in late game clutch situations again.

2) This series is not over. The Pistons have a tendency to coast until their opponent wakes them up, at which point they return to a superior level of play. This is what they did against the Bulls, whom they should have swept.

3) If they beat the Pistons I don't think the Cavs have any chance against the Spurs. And no NBA player can truly be great until he wins a title. That said, if they make it, the Finals are a no-lose for LeBron. If he wins he becomes exalted unimaginably for beating two great teams by himself. If he loses, but plays well, he'll be hailed as a hero and his teammates will be blamed.

4) Despite what the announcers were saying LeBron's game was not the best playoff performance in NBA history. Where it ranks can be argued but it will not be any better than third. Tied for first place is Walt "Clyde" Frazier in the 7th Game of the 1970 NBA Finals when he scored 36 points, had 19 assists and 7 rebounds after Willis Reed got hurt and limped onto the court. On that great game Clyde said, in typical Clyde fashion "he provided the motivation, I provided the devastation." Tied for first is Magic in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals when as a rookie, Magic replaced an injured Kareem and center and scored 42 points while grabbing 15 rebounds. He also had 7 assists. Some other great performances: Jordan's flu game, Jordan's 63 points, Barkley's 44 and 24, plus 25+ point quarters by Isiah Thomas, Reggie Miller and Sleepy Floyd.