America is infatuated with LeBron James. Some people refuse to admit such a thing but it becomes more evident after instances like LeBron’s All Star Game performance in Orlando. The 2012 NBA All Star Game was turning uncompetitive until James, with the help of teammate Dwayne Wade, lead the East on a scoring run in the 4th quarter. LeBron hit huge back to back three pointers to bring them to within one under a minute to go. However, with the game on the line he elected not to take the potential game winning shot and instead turned the ball over attempting a wild pass to Wade.
Despite his costly error in a meaningless exhibition game, James still posted stellar numbers. He finished with 36 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. He was feeling the deep shot as well shooting 6 for 8 from downtown. Though the next day headlines seem to have forgotten his collective game performance and instead focused on his one mistake. His refusal to take that last shot left the door open for criticism. Fans on twitter questioned his already scrutinized clutch factor. Analysts such as Skip Bayless, from ESPN’s First Take morning show, ridiculed his lack of desire to be the hero. Even his peers like Lakers guard Kobe Bryant seemed to have had something to say to LeBron after passing up on the shot.
Everybody’s entitled to an opinion of LeBron but here we are criticizing him for something he did in an exhibition game. Some critics of James seem to look for anything the man does as evidence to hold against him. For example, fans still haven’t forgot that LeBron arrogantly claimed he could win 6, 7, or 8 championships. If your opinion of James is that he is arrogant than it is rightfully so to bring up past instances like this. However, most people, fans and critics alike, have only one problem with LeBron. It’s the fact that he’s been in the league for 9 years and still hasn’t won a championship. That’s a legitimate and justifiable reason to be critical of the man. His performance, or lack thereof, in the NBA Finals last year was pathetic. Fans and critics can both agree upon that. But until we let LeBron have a chance to prove himself again why are we still bringing it up?
We know James hasn’t been clutch in big moments. Anything he does in the regular season won’t matter to some people unless he shows up in the finals. If that’s the case then why don’t we just wait until the postseason to reevaluate his clutchness? If you are going to be critical of someone you need to base your argument on relevant evidence. If you don’t like the way a chef makes deep fried prawns then you should not bring up the fact that he sometimes burns his hot pockets at his home kitchen. It’s irrelevant to the argument. People are going to be critical of LeBron and that is 100% acceptable. However, using irrelevant evidence, such as his all star game performance, to argue that he’s not clutch is baseless.
The Miami Heat, at 27-7, are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for best record in the league. The Heat are one of the favorites to go to the NBA Finals and possibly win it this year. At this point we can pretty much guarantee that we will see James in the postseason. When he gets there we’ll have new reasons to love or hate the man. Until then let’s just sit tight and leave the Lebron skillet on the backburner.