Last night in Game 5 LeBron James put up 17 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists joining a list of names that includes Jason Kidd, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as the only players to put up a triple double in a finals game in a losing effort in the last 25 years. That part right there sounds pretty impressive, and let's be honest, he's in pretty good company right there. A triple double is a huge accomplishment and it's no small task to achieve one. In all of the NBA games I've been to, I think I've seen exactly one, and ironically enough, it was James who had it back in 2006 on a snowy night in Boston. I remember it well because it was one of the best basketball games I've ever witnessed in person. LeBron's Cavaliers versus Paul Pierce's Celtics. Pierce sent the game into overtime with a pair of free throws with 0.2 seconds left in regulation and then converted a 3-point play with 24 seconds left to send the game into double overtime before LeBron and the Cavs finally triumphed after Pierce fouled out of the game. Final score 113-109. Pierce finished with 50 points in 54 minutes while LeBron James had 43 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to along with 4 blocks and putting Delonte West on a poster. It was an incredible, memorable performance. LeBron was everywhere, doing everything and I'll never forget that game. Fast forward 5 1/2 years into the future to last night's game and it was the total opposite. People aren't going to remember anything about LeBron James' triple double in Game 5. It looks great on the stat sheet, but let's go beyond that. In the 4th quarter last night, LeBron scored only two points, and those came on an uncontested layup with 29 seconds left. His last rebound came with 7:13 to play in the game, and his last assist came at the midway point of the 4th quarter. So for the final six minutes, 1 layup, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 free throws. So when it came down to crunch time (the game was tied 100-100 with 3:23 to play) James was nowhere to be found (AGAIN) and Dallas ran away with it outscoring Miami 12-3 over the final 3:23. It's funny because for 99.99% of the league, that line would be an A+ game. Not for LeBron James though. Well, let me amend that. It wasn't the line that was the problem, it was the way he got it. If LeBron goes for 17, 10 and 10 and scored half those points in the 4th quarter, sets up the winning basket, seals the game with a huge rebound in traffic, we'll be singing his praises. But this was just... weird. Consider Dwyane Wade got hurt in the first quarter and played only 34 minutes - to give you an idea of why that's significant, Wade hasn't played that little in a game since a 21 point win over the 76ers in Game 2 of the first round. So with a gimpy Wade, this was LeBron's chance to be the star. He didn't do it. Sure, he wasn't the same guy who only scored 8 points in a dubious Game 4 performance, but this isn't the same guy that scored 30 a game in exorcising his Celtic demons either. It has to be infuriating as a Heat fan. This was one of the situations that LeBron James was brought in for. This is why he gets paid the big bucks. Instead, we're listening to jokes like this on the radio about the player who is arguably the most gifted in the world today:
So I gave LeBron James a dollar but he only gave me 75 cents back because he forgot the 4th quarter.
So now we head back to Miami for Game 6 with the Heat needing to win out to avoid becoming one of the biggest disappointments in NBA Finals history. They've blown a 4th quarter lead in all 3 of their losses to this point, and they have one superstar injured, one superstar with apparently has no confidence in his scoring ability (how does a guy who's 6'8" 250+ pounds with a career scoring average of 27.7 points a game not just steamroll the 38 year old 6'4" 210 pounds Jason Kidd who has been assigned at times to guard him), and Chris Bosh who despite winning Game 3 does not have the ability to take games over. The only things in Miami's favor right now are the fact that they have 2 days off before Game 6 and the fact that they have home court advantage so both Game 6 and if necessary Game 7 will be at home in Miami. Other than that, this is a team in trouble. LeBron James is going to need to do more than just post big numbers if Miami's going to win a title. He's going to need to be the LeBron James who people grew accustomed to watching in Cleveland.
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