LeBron Could At Least Be A Good Sport
on May 31st, 2009
The NBA survives and thrives in spite of David Stern; some people believe that Stern is the ultimate puppet master pulling the strings and molding the season to his liking. Stern was probably all too happy to have King James anointed this season as the Cavaliers had the best record in the league, Mike Brown was voted Coach of the Year and LeBron won MVP. We were headed to a story book finish and some would say Stern was behind the scenes directing a finale that would have LeBron winning the title over that bad, bad man named Kobe Bryant. It just wasn’t meant to be.
The Lakers will be playing for the title starting Thursday and LeBron & company are free to make those reservations to Cancun or wherever their preferred vacation spot may be. What makes this whole turn of events sweeter (to me at least) is the fact that the Cavaliers went into the Western Conference Finals undefeated in the playoffs and the Lakers beat the Nuggets who many believed were playing the best basketball in the playoffs.
Losing With Grace
When Detroit beat the Lakers for the championship I heard all kinds of people talking about Kobe on the bench crying because he was being denied his fourth ring. I mean I really got the business and when you think about it Kobe was showing what sports should be about. He still drove home in style to his mansion and his bank about was still ultra-fat, but that wasn’t enough. He was hurt because of the game. Isn’t that some unscripted emotion that we want or at least respect since it shows that a player was in it for more than the money.
Fast forward to tonight and how “King” James went out. After the Cavaliers lost – by 13 which doesn’t really express how bad the Cavaliers lost – James bolted. He did two things that showed a lack of class and sportsmanship: he didn’t shake the winning team’s hands and he didn’t meet with the media. He showered, put on some headphones and went to the team bus.
This is the player who is supposed to be the new face of the NBA, partly because so many people do not care for the best player in the league: Kobe. Is this how the NBA’s premiere star and MVP acts after being eliminated? This is the type stuff that will prevent any kid from getting the post-game cookie and juicy! But we are watching this from someone who is allegedly at the top of the best league in basketball. Amazing.
I will hold off on final judgment where the media is concerned because they may prove me wrong. But they should jump on this one with two feet. James needs to be called out for what he did or should I say didn’t do. He needs to seek out the media and apologize for his actions – the media doesn’t need to go to him. If Kobe, TO or Barry Bonds did something like this they would be negatively criticized. We will wait and see how the “King” is treated.
Orlando Is Tough
As a Lakers fan I have no problem saying the Orlando Magic worry me. Their brand of offense has the potential to cause the Lakers all kinds of problems. The formula is simple, give the ball to Howard or pass the ball effectively enough to have someone shoot open shots from the outside. The Lakers could live with Howard playing well, but those threes start to add up and could cause all sorts of problems. Hey, defense and focus are the only things keeping the Lakers from winning the championship because when they are focused and play D nobody will beat them. But they don’t always stay focused and play good D so this series may be tough.
I just hope the loser is man, or “King”, enough to shake hands and talk to reporters after the series is over.
