Obviously, you all know who this is about... LeBron James. We all saw one of most mesmerizing games of an NBA MVP that we have ever seen. LeBron's line last night was 15 pts (3/14) 7 rebs 6 asst and for a superstar that is bad. Comparable to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's making a movie and naming it Gigli, LeBron was Gigli bad. In addition, I made an Entourage comparison about LBJ and here's another one, this is his Medellin. Obviously, Vinnie Chase is LBJ, Mo Williams is E (someone who cannot bail Vince out of this shitty movie), and Billy Walsh is Mike Brown (Hey Suit! Go fuck yer motha! Love Walsh, I hope he is back this year). Now it took awhile for Vince to respond until the end of season five where Ari rescues Vince and gets him a Scorsese movie... Is LeBron's new movie a relocation project? Who knows really.
I am almost mad that I defended him last week because like I said in years past I was a big time hater of LeBron. But I also know of thing called bias and I am not going to throw the blinders to discredit what he did in the regular season. But the playoffs? I mean wow, he just looked like he didn't care and didn't want to play for Cleveland anymore. LeBron wanted to be at home trying to figure out Lost instead of playing at the Q. B-Squared is the biggest LBJ fan and honestly, it was the first time he couldn't make one argument that made me think. Usually, he makes one good point that I will agree with but today, he couldn't say a single word. I feel like I should just stuck to my guns so I could be laughing at all of you LeBron fans but then again, I am trying to establish myself so I apologize.
Seriously, LeBron laid the biggest egg drawing memories of Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson in the playoffs. I tweeted he looked like the first three guys not Bird, Magic, Jordan, and Kobe. Now could LeBron come in hot with a 35 points 15 rbs 12 assts in Game 6 and lead them to victory? Absolutely, but do people still say, so this was just a mirage and we should never remember this? I think no one should ever forget this performance because it was that bad from a superstar. Read Simmons column where he points out some bad Kobe Bryant starts, but what I am doing is looking at critical Game 5s.
Now there are different kinds of Game 5s and they all have a certain level of Game 5... Desperation (1-3) High alert (2-2) Close out game (3-1)... The players involved Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. In addition, I am not including any games where the team (BOS/LA/CHI/CLEV) closed out in five of if the said team was up 3-1. So I decided to look from 1980 and here's what I have for you.
1980: Magic Johnson: I cannot find the box score to give you the official numbers but his team did win in Game 5 plus in a critical game 6 up 3-2 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out with injury, Magic dropped 42 7 6 and won Finals MVP. (1-0)
1981: Larry Bird: Sadly, Basketball Reference has let me down for now but Bird won two game 5’s that year where the series was at 3-1 Philly (desperation) and 2-2 (high alert) going on to win both. One against Philadelphia and the other against Houston in the Conference Finals (2-0)
1982: Larry Bird: One game five for Bird again down 3-1, his team blows out the Philadelphia 76ers and then gets the victory in game six as well before running out of gas in game seven (3-0)
1984: Larry Bird: In a critical game 5 against Bernard King and the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the C’s blow out the Knicks 121-99 and the Hick from French Lick still has a perfect record. (4-0)
Johnson vs. Bird: In the first of their classic match ups in the NBA Finals, after a heated Game 4 where punches flew in L.A., the Celtics go on to beat the Showtime Lakers in a redhead stepchild way 121-103. Also this was a high alert game for both of them. (4-0) (1-1) Also the Celtics would end up taking the series.
1985: Larry Bird: In the Eastern Semifinals young upstart Detroit Pistons teams come through and forces a game five with the series tied at 2-2. The Celtics win 130-123, keeping Bird record perfect in this little game we are playing (5-0)
Johnson vs. Bird: For the first time, the NBA converted to a 2-3-2 in the NBA Finals and it played to Magic’s advantage as the Lakers beat Bird and the C’s in a game five 120-111 and go on to win the title. (5-1) (2-1)
1986: Magic Johnson: The Lakers ended up bowing out the Western Conference Finals but once again in a high alert situation, Magic wins again over the Dallas Mavericks 116-113 and the Lakers close them out in the next game. (3-1)
1987: Larry Bird: High alert situation at its finest for Bird as they are playing hurt with a bunch other guys that are hurt, Kevin McHale had a broken foot for Christ Sakes. Anyways, the famous Dennis Johnson steals the ball and Bird hits the game-winner, the Celtics win 108-107, that my friends is clutch. (6-1)
1988: Magic Johnson: Another pivotal game 5 with the Utah Jazz and the upstart team of Malone/Stockton. The Lakers win another game 111-109 and Magic wins again. Magic continues to show his strength in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks as he blew out the Mavs in a key game five. Detroit Pistons is killing this theory right now as they beat the Lakers by 10 being up 2-2 and another thing killing this theory is the 2-3-2, can’t tell you how mad this makes me. One thing if you look at this closer, Magic did lose a lot of 3-1 games in his career but still when the chips were down, Magic did work.
Larry Bird: The Celtics were playing an upstart Atlanta Hawk team and the Celtics were starting to hit the down slopes so Bird’s team falls in defeat in the first 2-2 Game 5 that didn’t involve Magic. Also continuing with this theme as the Detroit Pistons beat them in Game 5 at the Garden and ended up beating them again in Game 6, my argument with Bird is he started fading right around this time. (6-3)
1989: Michael Jordan: For the first time, the Royal Airness makes an appearance in our little experiment and MJ once again gets ruined by the Bad Boys of Detroit. I already hate the city of Detroit and this is continuing the theme, my argument for MJ… the team wasn’t ready yet. (0-1)
1990: Michael Jordan: Detroit… Suck it. (0-2) Also may I say why can I get a random game from the Kings-Blazers but I cannot get a box score for a critical game like this one? CMONN MANNNN!
1991: Larry Bird: One of the last years of his career where his back is comparable to Abe Vigoda but once again, Detroit spoils the party but good news we finally have stats to back up our research! Beautiful day, Bird: 16 pts (7/18) 5 asst 5 rebs. Bird finishes 6-4 and all of the losses except for the one against Magic where in the twilight of his career, it’s unfair to put Bird under a microscope deep in his career.
1992: Michael Jordan: The Jordan experience had already begun with Jordan running through Bird, the Bad Boys, and Magic in 91 and then he had a critical game five with the Knicks where he goes off for 37 pts (11/23) 5 rbs 3 assts and they win 96-88 and then in a Cleveland-Chicago series in the Conference Finals, Jordan puts up nearly the same stat line in a win. Then in an incredible performance in the Finals against the Blazers, Jordan drops 46 (14/23) 5 5 and basically gives a lesson on what clutch is. (3-2)
1993: Michael Jordan: This one is a special one, down 2-0 to the Knicks and they end up coming all the way back including a game five victory where he goes 29 (11/24) 8 14 guiding his team to a 97-94 win (4-2)
1995: Michael Jordan: Jordan makes his return and this is an unfair look at him yet he still drops 39 4 4 when nobody else does anything. Honestly, if there is one game to look at a LeBron comparison it would be this one, no one helped Jordan in that one (4-3)
1997: Michael Jordan: What’s fascinating about MJ’s career in the playoffs is he rarely let a series get to the 2-2 and when he did, he TJ Lavin-style killed it. Game 5 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz and one of the toughest crowds in the NBA, they gut out 90-88 victory with Jordan going 37 (13/27) 7 5. (5-3)
1998: Michael Jordan: I believe this our last Jordan 2-2 game five situation and MJ drops 29 (12/20) 7 4 and it was a complete rout of Indiana Pacers as they win by 17. Jordan ends up finishing 6-3 and all of the losses can be defended; two he was young and the other was a half-assed comeback attempt. Other than that, Jordan dominated these games.
2000: Kobe Bryant: I am not giving out stats on this one but I will point out that Kobe’s team did lose a game five and took it all the way to seven games, doesn’t count against his record but good fodder for the Anti-Kobe.
2002: Kobe Bryant: Interesting that we haven’t seen a game like this because the Lakers were that damn good in those years and then the Lakeshow ended up losing in Game 5 to the Sacramento Kings on the road by one point. Kobe finishes with 30 (11/29) 5 3 (0-1)
2003: Kobe Bryant: The Lakers who were actually underdogs in the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves (let’s remember they move to seven games in first round) and the Lakers blew out the T’Wolves by 30. Kobe goes 30 (12/21) 8 5. The Lakers then face a far better San Antonio Spurs team in the next round and it goes to 2-2 where they lose to the Spurs by 2 on the road. Kobe ends up with 36 (15/31) 7 6 (1-2)
2004: Kobe Bryant: Could also be known as the “Derek Fisher Shot” as they beat the Spurs in an ugly game of 74-73 victory. Kobe 22 (11/27) 4 5, ugly performance but that was a great victory on the road. (2-2)
2006: Kobe Bryant: Another one that is worth noting that Kobe and his gang of idiots blew a 3-1 lead against the Phoenix Suns so he has that Magic thing of not closing it out at 3-1 when he can.
LeBron James: He makes a thunderous debut to this theory as they beat the Washington Wizards by one and I believe he made a game winner. LBJ finishes with 45 7 6. Also LeBron wins another 2-2 series against the defending champions Detroit Pistons as he goes for 32 5 5 and wins. But also worth noting, LBJ’s teams of idiots lose two straight and blows it. (2-0)
2007: LeBron James: This is actually the game that everybody says “Holy shit this guy is really effin good.” I remember watching some of this game at BW3’s and the LBJ experience started then. He dropped a mass amount of points and a victory 48 9 7 (3-0)
2008: Kobe Bryant: The Lakers are back into this mix and they were facing the Jazz. This victory is what we would call a team effort and something great to see as they win by seven. Just look at the Mamba’s numbers. 26 (6/10) 6 7 (3-2)
LeBron James: The Cavs ended up dropping the game to the Celtics and the Big 3 yet LBJ dropped a ton of points in the defeat but he doesn’t do much other than score buckets. 35 (12/25) 3 5 (3-1)
2009: Kobe Bryant: The Black Mamba had himself a crucial game against the Houston Rockets were they thrashed the team by 40 points. 26 (10/19) 4 3. There was another game that playoff game where they were knotted at 2-2, thinking this could be a series… and the Lakers shut the door without Kobe, I remember this game well because I wrote about Lamar Odom’s worth. 22 (6/13) 5 8 (5-2)
2010: Kobe Bryant: Another game five that Bryant didn’t real play that well but Kobe did the thing that LBJ couldn’t do, lock down Russell Westbrook and take control of the series, 13 (4/9) 3 7. So Kobe finishes up 6-2 for his career in these critical game fives plus the two he probably blew it but Kobe had three games that were awful in these games.
LeBron James: And here we are. 3-2 for his career in these games where he has had great success in these vital games, I couldn’t believe the numbers I saw from LeBron in these games but here we have the game against Boston. 15 (3/14) 6 7, who knows what we are going to see in tonight’s game.
I am beyond giddy for this game, I think people will know who the real LeBron James is. I am currently listening to Brian Windhorst, Cavs beat writer talking about how LeBron looked disinterested and there is a part of him that seems to not care anymore. I thought some of the same things with LeBron not attacking the lane or go into the post, getting cross-screens from Shaq. LeBron didn't once go into the post and try to do things near the basket, which in addition makes it that much more polarizing of the game. I think you will see a great performance with LBJ dropping near 30-35 pts, 10-12 rbs, and 8-12 assts. I have no idea if they will win this game but I do believe we will see a jaw-dropping performance from LeBron... And if we don't?
It will only get worse and people will then keep raising questions about what the hell happen in this series? And why can't LeBron win in the playoffs? It might be that Mike Brown is a corpse of a coach and wouldn't have a job if he didn't have LBJ every night. LeBron is really a player-coach out there and Brown is doing nothing to help his team.
The city of Cleveland is on pins and needles right now, probably sitting on their couch knocking back a few beers because if I were a fan? There is no way I could be stone-cold sober for this one because if there is a lost, questions will be raised all over the place and a city will be left for answers, something that might be better intoxicated tonight.
-Charlie.
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