An Unfortunate Thing Happened On the Way to “My Crappy Life” Today

Just as LeBron James had predicted in his post game news conference for the large group of us out there that were rooting against the Miami Heat during the NBA Finals, I was still happy they had lost. There was even a spring in my step and a smile on my face while I managed to weed through the early part of my day. LeBron was wrong; my ordinary life didn’t seem so crappy after all. Then a horrible thing happened…Whitlock happened! Yep, Jason Whitlock happened and turned my great day into a crappy day. The unfortunate thing is he used LeBron James as the linchpin to make it happen.

When given a platform to make fools of ourselves, most will follow through. Don’t believe me? Turn on any reality show and watch the human experience unfold; Darwinism at it’s finest. Not enough? Watch LeBron James pout then stick his foot in his mouth during any post game press conference after a loss. Need more? You can always log on to Foxsports.com to read Jason Whitlock’s daily column.

Whitlock has become a shock jock sports journalist with dwindling credibility with each opinion piece he writes. His latest manifesto is titled “Heat should pull the plug on Big Three”. Whitlock writes that the Miami Heat’s season is a failure and the Heat organization should trade LeBron James as soon as possible, “before it dies of friendly fire. Now it’s time to move on before they inflict further damage on their reputations.”

REALLY???

This is when my day was turned upside down. This is when I was “Whitlocked”! My happy feelings from cheering against LeBron James and winning were turned to backing the Miami Heat and LeBron James because of Whitlock. I hate being Whitlocked!

Getting to Game 6 of the NBA Finals means the Heat has to blow up their roster because they lost? Because the Heat finished two games short of a NBA Championship they should trade off major parts of their roster and start over? What’s another way to ask this ridiculous question? They had a nice run but now it’s over because LeBron didn’t get number 1 of 7? They have their reputations to worry about so trade them off?!?! What street credibility garbage is this? Whitlock gives LeBron grief for quitting in the 4^th quarter and now advocates for him to quit the Miami Heat so his street cred can somehow stay intact? Because Whitlock decrees it, it must be so?

There were major flaws in the Miami Heat’s game during the NBA Finals but nothing that cannot be fixed. They were beaten by a better TEAM, that’s all. They were not beat by better raw talent or better highlight reel inducing players. They were beat because they are not able to play team ball yet and Dallas can.  No need to push the panic button and wholesale LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and/or Chris Bosh. Miami will have to learn how to play better team basketball. This year’s failure can be their springboard for future success. James, Wade, and Bosh will have to better define their roles within the offense and learn how to play within those roles.

NBA History Lesson

There is a history of “Big Three” combos having to learn to play together. Jordan, Pippen, and Horace Grant came together in the 1987-1988 season. It took the Bulls “Big Three” three years to beat the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Playoffs. When they finally beat the Pistons in the 1990-1991 Eastern Conference Finals, they went on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the NBA Finals and never looked back. It took the Bulls time to learn how to win. The same patience and approach is needed with the Miami Heat. There is no argument about the amount of talent the Heat has on their team. They just have to harness that talent and learn how to win together.

Just to Clarify, Dallas exposed Miami’s lack of a half court offense, Erik Spoelstra’s unwillingness to double team Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James uneasiness in the fourth quarter. This is the same Dallas Mavericks team that beat a younger and more athletic Portland Trailblazers team, a younger and more athletic Oklahoma City Thunder team, and a talented but instantly dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers team.

LeBron was in a win-win situation in Cleveland. He had less talent around him and his Cavaliers’ teams were not expected to win. So if the “team” lost but he put up good numbers he still won. With higher expectations placed upon him during his first season with the Miami Heat and no more excuses to hide behind, his real nature was exposed… He hasn’t learned how to play the game yet. You can call LeBron a quitter and it would be hard to argue against that point of view. The underlying theme is it seems like LeBron is learning how to play a different game than what he has been accustomed to playing in the past.

LeBron will be 27 years old in October. Jordan didn’t win his first NBA Championship until his 7^th year in the league at the ripe old age of 27 years old. LeBron’s time will come if he strives to develop his game and stop relying completely on his physical abilities. He has a lot of learning and work ahead of him. Hopefully, for the sake of his street cred and to see Jason Whitlock be proven wrong, LeBron will spend his summer learning the game and developing his basketball skills. He now knows what he needs to do to be a better player.

As for being Whitlocked. Whitlock is looking for attention and I can’t hold back giving it to him. In a shameless act of self promotion, he’s placing himself in a win-win situation. If Miami does not win the 2012 NBA Championship, he can say “I told you so”. If Miami does win, he can say “They learned from last year and put it all together, like they were supposed to do”. Bush league. 

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He’s no Jordan, he’s no Kobe maybe he’s a Dominique Wilkins?

He’s no Jordan, he’s no Kobe maybe he’s a Dominique Wilkins?

Much will be said about the abilities or lack thereof concerning LeBron James after his disappearing act in the 2011 NBA Championship. LeBron James and his Miami Heat teammates lost the NBA Championship in 6 games to the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night. Before the NBA Finals began, Hall of Fame basketball player and former Chicago Bulls teammate of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen said in an interview on ESPN radio show Mike and Mike that LeBron James was better than Michael Jordan. This statement sent the sports world in a tiff and Pippen has since back tracked from his original statement. Pippen has to be more than embarrassed with his statement after LeBron’s performance against the Dallas Mavericks.

There’s no questioning the physical abilities that LeBron possesses. He is as gifted as any athlete on the planet. He’s fast and strong with great jumping ability. He has yet to hone his physical skills into basketball skills, a reoccurring theme in the NBA since the NBA began bypassing college talent for high school talent. Watching 26 year old LeBron James play is more reminiscent of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins than the best of the best.

Comparing LeBron and Dominique

LeBron’s physical size is even on par with “The Human Highlight Film”. Wilkins was 6 foot 8 inches and played at 235 pounds. “King James” is listed at 6 foot 8 inches 250 pounds.

Dominique was the third pick of the 1982 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz out of the University of Georgia. LeBron was the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft out of St. Vincent High School in Akron, Ohio. Dominique was 23 years old when he entered the NBA, LeBron was 19 years old.

* Dominique was traded to the Atlanta Hawks before the beginning of the 1982-1983 NBA season.

Both men have won a NBA Scoring Title and are known more as scores and punishing dunkers than pure shooters. Wilkins averaged 30.3 points per game in 1985-1986 when he won his NBA Scoring Title, LeBron averaged 30.0 points per game in 2007-2008 to win his scoring title.

Wilkins is one of only six NBA players to average over 25 points per game in 10 consecutive years; Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson (Wilt Chamberlain went nine consecutive years). LeBron has averaged over 25 points per game in 7 consecutive years.

“Nique” was a nine time all-star.

LeBron is a seven time all-star.

Wilkins never developed a true consistent three-point shot; he wasn’t afraid to shoot a three but was never considered a good three point shooter. In Wilkins’ 10^th and 12^th seasons in the NBA he shot a higher 3 point percentage shooting .380 and .388. LeBron’s second season in the NBA, 2004-2005, he shot his highest percentage shooting .351. LeBron’s career average is .329. Kobe Bryant has four seasons shooting over .350 in his career.

Wilkins was a better free throw shooter than LeBron. Wilkins averaged .811 for his career. LeBron is averaging .759.

LeBron, to date, is a better rebounder than Wilkins. Analyzing the numbers both players averaged 7 rebounds per game. Wilkins rebounding numbers declined towards the end of his career. LeBron is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game to Wilkins career 6.7 rebounds per game.

LeBron is a better distributor of the ball. King James is averaging 7.0 assists per game through his career. Nique averaged 2.5.

Dominique averaged over 24 points per game in 11 NBA seasons. LeBron has averaged 24 or more points in 7 NBA seasons.

LeBron is a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player winner, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Nique never won a NBA MVP Award.

Perhaps the most important comparison between both players is neither player has won a NBA Championship.

Winning a NBA MVP does not guarantee a NBA Championship.

Recent NBA Most Valuable Players that have not won a NBA Championship

1997 and 1999 Karl Malone

2001 Allen Iverson

2005 and 2006 Steve Nash

2009 and 2010 LeBron James

2011 Derrick Rose

Just to Clarify, LeBron will be 27 years old when the 2011-2012 NBA season begins. He appears to have 10 good seasons left in his Hall of Fame career. Who knows how many titles he will win, if any? But his future is wide open and the possibilities are there for him.

Dominique played off and on in the NBA until he was 39 years old and never won a NBA Championship. Nique had the unfortunate timing of being in the NBA East when Larry Bird and Michael Jordan were dominating. Nique never had a complimentary player in his prime to help over come The Celtics, Pistons, or Bulls. LeBron hopes that the pairing of Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade will help him achieve his ultimate goal of winning a NBA Championship. Time will tell. Until then, “King James” seems more like “The Human Highlight Film” than Michael Jordan or even Kobe Bryant. 

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