NBA Finals 2013: LeBron James Deserves Our Salute
All it took was an all-time-best sequence, but LeBron James is back in the fickle basketball world’s good graces. After the Miami Heat’s demolition of the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, fans and critics alike were reacquainted with a LeBron James who is capable of overtaking a game by himself in ways never seen before.
The sequence from Game 2 came with a little more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, as the Heat were pulling away with a 86-67 lead. The Spurs’ Tiago Splitter went up for his own demonstrative moment, a big one-handed dunk, and was met by James at the rim, who forcefully rejected Splitter like he had personally done something to his family.
James trailed back down the court (due to some excessive post-dunk posing for the crowd), but made up for it by firing a laser pass to Ray Allen for a corner three-pointer.
Now up 22 points, James decided it was time to step on the jugular. He forced a steal on the Spurs’ next possession, then took the lead pass from Mike Miller for the timeout-inducing slam. The entire sequence, lasting less than a minute, was one giant Jim Ross call remix waiting to happen.
The Spurs were absolutely obliterated beyond recognition, and it was because LeBron James decided he would give all of us an on-the-court sermon. When he wants to be, he is a religious awakening, and it is spectacular.
Even the most hardcore James detractors have to admit that Sunday night’s Game 2 was something to behold, even if he didn’t have extraordinary James-like numbers (though great for anyone else): 17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
Despite the generally accepted notion that, without James, the Miami Heat would be a bottom-feeder, he often receives undue criticism for not posting video game stats every night. While he is sometimes admonished for the right reasons, his ability to dominate a game should never be taken into question.
If James is facilitating and going Neo-in-the-Matrix on everybody throughout the rest of the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs have plenty to be worried about.