Researchers at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, recently compiled a list of 128 characteristics of what makes a good athlete a winner. They divided the list of 128 traits into half psychological and half physical characteristics. Examples of psychological characteristics were: they perform well under pressure, they are teachable, etc. Examples of physical characteristics were items such as body size, natural physical strength, and general talent or athletic attributes.
They then asked 658 coaches from 43 different sports to choose five of these characteristics that they felt defined winners. The majority of these coaches chose psychological qualities over physical abilities for determining successful/winning athletes.
These researchers determined that the top five characteristics for success in sports to be:
1) That these athletes love to play their game or sport.
2) They have a positive attitude in general toward life.
3) They are teachable and coachable.
4) They are self-motivated.
5) They have the discipline and drive to take the necessary steps to improve their game.
The “natural physical athlete” characteristic ranked 19th out of 128 characteristics listed in this study. These finding support the belief of many sports psychologists that success in sports is as much as 90% mental.
12.11.2010
D-ROSE: OVERCOMING LA
It's not very often young players earn the praise of Kobe Bryant, which is why many in the pro basketball community seemed to notice last month when Bryant sought out Derrick Rose for a hug and some kinds words after the Bulls' 98-91 loss in Los Angeles.
"I can tell when a player truly wants to be better and does what it takes to improve," Bryant said Thursday, one night before the rematch in Chicago. "It was a quality I had when I was growing up. … I admire that about him. I could really see it from last year to this year."
Kobe is now one of the elder statesman in the league, at 32 years old and in his 15th season, his blessing now means every bit as much as Michael Jordan's did in the late 1990s, when Bryant was a young pup. And Rose has caught his eye. We've seen enough to know now, six weeks into the season, that D-Rose wasn't being presumptuous when he essentially asked in the preseason, "Why not me?" for MVP.
"He's got a long-range ball now," Bryant said. "He can pop behind the pick and shoot the jumper. He can pull up off the dribble and shoot it, and him getting to the rim goes unquestioned. He's putting the time in the gym, and I certainly respect that."
The best sign yet of how desperately Rose wants to win came after the Bulls' narrow victory over Cleveland on Wednesday, a game that could have gone either way, the kind of game the Bulls shouldn't be nearly squandering if they have serious aspirations about contending. Rose knows winning alone isn't enough. It is if you merely want to make the playoffs, but not for teams such as the Celtics and Magic, Spurs and Lakers, for whom that's the minimum required. Rose was too annoyed to eat the postgame spread, not easily satisfied -- in the tradition of Bryant and Jordan. Rose isn't blessed with their height, but increasingly he seems to have their hatred of losing. Friday's game with the Lakers is one of those chances to see to what lengths Rose will go to not lose because Kobe is wary of all comers now.
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Before Friday night's game, before he led the Bulls to their first win over the Los Angeles Lakers in four years, before he wowed a national crowd with 29 and 9, Derrick Rose told reporters with a straight face that he's not a star.
"He did?" Joakim Noah said. "When he plays on the court, you really believe he thinks that?"
No, of course not.
"Exactly," Noah said. "He might tell you guys that, but when he's dribbling that ball up the court, he knows what he's doing."
He knows what he's doing, all right. What he did Friday night was score 29 points, knock down three of five 3-pointers, dish out nine assists and, by force of will, lead the Bulls to their most impressive win of this young season, a wildly entertaining 88-84 victory over the defending champion Lakers.
"His swag is crazy right now," Noah said. "That's good. That's a good thing. We need that."
This wasn't just an early December win. The Bulls hadn't beaten Los Angeles since Dec. 19, 2006, and coming off disappointing losses to Orlando and Boston last week, this team needed to make a statement that it was really a player in the big picture.
Do the players feel the same way about one win?
"Of course," Rose said. "When you beat the champions, there's nothing you can say about that. We won this game fair and square."
Rose's pure desire, clichéd as it sounds, separates him from the pretenders and the second-tier players. And it's why he is a star.
"Derrick is somebody who wants to be great," Noah said. "I've never been around somebody who's so hard on himself. He really wants to be the best player he can be. He's special because, you know, he has a lot of abilities, but his mindset is what makes him so unique. I've never seen somebody with that much ability be so humble off the court, but on the court, his swag is unbelievable."
"What he's doing right now is unbelievable," Noah said.
In a game that defined the rising arc of his young career, Rose's most memorable move came with 5 minutes, 31 seconds to go and the Bulls up 74-67.
It was an accidental homage to the ghost he'll chase until the end of his career.
The move came on a catch-and-shoot play out of a timeout with 3 seconds on the shot clock. Rose caught the pass, faded back, off balance, into the Lakers bench. He uncorked his body and buried a 21-foot jumper.
Oh, and Rose hit another shot clock beater, a 15-foot fadeaway, with 25.2 seconds left to keep a dwindling lead at 85-80. He scored nine points in the fourth.
"I don't mean to bring my agent B.J. Armstrong in it, but he said that's when good players are supposed to take over a game," Rose said. "And that's all I was trying to do. And the shots, thank God, went in."
The fans were up for this one, with chants of "Beat L.A." and cheers of "MVP" for Rose.
Rose said the MVP chants feel good, but he's not going to let it go to his head.
"I'm not a star," Rose said before the game. "I'm just playing in the NBA, and trying to do anything to get my team a win, just passing the ball, doing whatever. But you can see the difference between a star and a superstar, especially in this league where superstars like Kobe and other players -- there's only a few of them -- they can take over games and do it on a consistent basis."
Like Noah said, he's always hard on himself.
"I can tell when a player truly wants to be better and does what it takes to improve," Bryant said Thursday, one night before the rematch in Chicago. "It was a quality I had when I was growing up. … I admire that about him. I could really see it from last year to this year."
Kobe is now one of the elder statesman in the league, at 32 years old and in his 15th season, his blessing now means every bit as much as Michael Jordan's did in the late 1990s, when Bryant was a young pup. And Rose has caught his eye. We've seen enough to know now, six weeks into the season, that D-Rose wasn't being presumptuous when he essentially asked in the preseason, "Why not me?" for MVP.
"He's got a long-range ball now," Bryant said. "He can pop behind the pick and shoot the jumper. He can pull up off the dribble and shoot it, and him getting to the rim goes unquestioned. He's putting the time in the gym, and I certainly respect that."
The best sign yet of how desperately Rose wants to win came after the Bulls' narrow victory over Cleveland on Wednesday, a game that could have gone either way, the kind of game the Bulls shouldn't be nearly squandering if they have serious aspirations about contending. Rose knows winning alone isn't enough. It is if you merely want to make the playoffs, but not for teams such as the Celtics and Magic, Spurs and Lakers, for whom that's the minimum required. Rose was too annoyed to eat the postgame spread, not easily satisfied -- in the tradition of Bryant and Jordan. Rose isn't blessed with their height, but increasingly he seems to have their hatred of losing. Friday's game with the Lakers is one of those chances to see to what lengths Rose will go to not lose because Kobe is wary of all comers now.
-----------------------------------------------
Before Friday night's game, before he led the Bulls to their first win over the Los Angeles Lakers in four years, before he wowed a national crowd with 29 and 9, Derrick Rose told reporters with a straight face that he's not a star.
"He did?" Joakim Noah said. "When he plays on the court, you really believe he thinks that?"
No, of course not.
"Exactly," Noah said. "He might tell you guys that, but when he's dribbling that ball up the court, he knows what he's doing."
He knows what he's doing, all right. What he did Friday night was score 29 points, knock down three of five 3-pointers, dish out nine assists and, by force of will, lead the Bulls to their most impressive win of this young season, a wildly entertaining 88-84 victory over the defending champion Lakers.
"His swag is crazy right now," Noah said. "That's good. That's a good thing. We need that."
This wasn't just an early December win. The Bulls hadn't beaten Los Angeles since Dec. 19, 2006, and coming off disappointing losses to Orlando and Boston last week, this team needed to make a statement that it was really a player in the big picture.
Do the players feel the same way about one win?
"Of course," Rose said. "When you beat the champions, there's nothing you can say about that. We won this game fair and square."
Rose's pure desire, clichéd as it sounds, separates him from the pretenders and the second-tier players. And it's why he is a star.
"Derrick is somebody who wants to be great," Noah said. "I've never been around somebody who's so hard on himself. He really wants to be the best player he can be. He's special because, you know, he has a lot of abilities, but his mindset is what makes him so unique. I've never seen somebody with that much ability be so humble off the court, but on the court, his swag is unbelievable."
"What he's doing right now is unbelievable," Noah said.
In a game that defined the rising arc of his young career, Rose's most memorable move came with 5 minutes, 31 seconds to go and the Bulls up 74-67.
It was an accidental homage to the ghost he'll chase until the end of his career.
The move came on a catch-and-shoot play out of a timeout with 3 seconds on the shot clock. Rose caught the pass, faded back, off balance, into the Lakers bench. He uncorked his body and buried a 21-foot jumper.
Oh, and Rose hit another shot clock beater, a 15-foot fadeaway, with 25.2 seconds left to keep a dwindling lead at 85-80. He scored nine points in the fourth.
"I don't mean to bring my agent B.J. Armstrong in it, but he said that's when good players are supposed to take over a game," Rose said. "And that's all I was trying to do. And the shots, thank God, went in."
The fans were up for this one, with chants of "Beat L.A." and cheers of "MVP" for Rose.
Rose said the MVP chants feel good, but he's not going to let it go to his head.
"I'm not a star," Rose said before the game. "I'm just playing in the NBA, and trying to do anything to get my team a win, just passing the ball, doing whatever. But you can see the difference between a star and a superstar, especially in this league where superstars like Kobe and other players -- there's only a few of them -- they can take over games and do it on a consistent basis."
Like Noah said, he's always hard on himself.
12.08.2010
PATTY MILLS - WAITING HIS TURN
With a horde of media members, bright lights, video cameras and microphones surrounding his stall in the Trail Blazers' locker room, Patty Mills sheepishly swiveled around in his chair and quipped:
"What, are you guys waiting for me?"
The Blazers had just defeated the Phoenix Suns 106-99 Tuesday night and Mills had played a significant, if not starring, role. His final statistical line was mostly modest -- nine points, seven assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes -- but perhaps teammate Wesley Matthews summed it up best when he said Mills had been the "player of the game."
The second-year point guard from Australia, who assumed a more prominent role because starting point guard Andre Miller had been suspended for the game, was a blur of energy, excitement and electricity at a time the reeling Blazers desperately needed such traits. It was only Mills' fourth game since joining the rotation as Miller's backup, and it was easily his most impressive and important performance in a Blazers uniform. The previous 17 games he has played a total of 6 mintues.
"He's earning the right to be out there and play more minutes," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "He has a high basketball IQ ... he's a very good passer, he sees the floor well and he's very crafty with the ball."
Mills turned in the highlight of the night -- a driving no-look pass through traffic that resulted in a three-point play for Rudy Fernandez. He also recorded six assists in the first half, swished two clutch pull-up jump shots in the third quarter and successful harassed All-Star point guard Steve Nash with his high-energy defense. And Mills did it all with exuberance and flash.
One week ago, before McMillan elevated Mills into the player rotation before the Blazers' game at the Boston Celtics, Mills' NBA career seemed destined to be defined by the upbeat antics and effervescent personality he revealed off the court.
But that personality has also surfaced on the court since Mills entered the rotation. The Blazers are just two games removed from a demoralizing string of six consecutive losses in which they fell to some of the NBA's cellar dwellers. Players admitted their confidence had wavered, and as the team returned to Portland from its worst trip in years, the Blazers were emotionally drained and depressed.
It might just turn out that Mills' upbeat personality has spread through the locker room at a time the Blazers desperately needed it.
"He's never sad," Nicolas Batum said after the Phoenix game. "He's always smiling. And now everybody has a smile on his face. We didn't see that the last two weeks. Everybody was thinking too much, feeling too much. Now we have two wins in a row. We need (Patty's) energy and I think everybody can grab onto that energy."
That Mills has reached this position is nothing short of astonishing. The Blazers' management group didn't expect him to show up for training camp in the fall because rookie Armon Johnson had earned the Blazers' 15th and final roster spot during summer league. And even after he showed up, Mills' odds of making the team featured the words, "slim," and "none." He's not even listed in the Blazers' media guide.
But Jeff Pendergraph tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, opening a door for Mills to be added to the roster just before opening night. The Blazers traded Jerryd Bayless before the regular season and Johnson assumed backup point guard duties. But after a strong start, Johnson struggled and McMillan went to Mills, who has registered 17 points and eight assists on 7-for-12 shooting the last two games -- both Blazers victories.
The recent success is a byproduct of Mills' patience and mental fortitude.
"It was hard," Mills said after practice Wednesday. "But I just knew this opportunity was going to come at some stage. I believed that, whether it was now or in a couple years, it was going to come one day. I've listened to the guys ... They've been telling me to be patient and just be ready because you never know when your time is going to come. You'd be an idiot not to listen to them and that was ringing inside my head the whole time."
Now Mills has a chance to be the catalyst behind what potentially can be a dynamic -- and much-needed -- second unit. Mills is effective in pick-and-roll sets and he's most dangerous in a fast-paced style that features fast breaks and transition offense. With Rudy Fernandez and Batum running the wings, the second unit -- which offered so little during the Blazers' losing streak -- can evolve into a legitimate and fun-to-watch weapon.
Mills has been given a chance. He hopes it's only the beginning.
"What, are you guys waiting for me?"
The Blazers had just defeated the Phoenix Suns 106-99 Tuesday night and Mills had played a significant, if not starring, role. His final statistical line was mostly modest -- nine points, seven assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes -- but perhaps teammate Wesley Matthews summed it up best when he said Mills had been the "player of the game."
The second-year point guard from Australia, who assumed a more prominent role because starting point guard Andre Miller had been suspended for the game, was a blur of energy, excitement and electricity at a time the reeling Blazers desperately needed such traits. It was only Mills' fourth game since joining the rotation as Miller's backup, and it was easily his most impressive and important performance in a Blazers uniform. The previous 17 games he has played a total of 6 mintues.
"He's earning the right to be out there and play more minutes," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "He has a high basketball IQ ... he's a very good passer, he sees the floor well and he's very crafty with the ball."
Mills turned in the highlight of the night -- a driving no-look pass through traffic that resulted in a three-point play for Rudy Fernandez. He also recorded six assists in the first half, swished two clutch pull-up jump shots in the third quarter and successful harassed All-Star point guard Steve Nash with his high-energy defense. And Mills did it all with exuberance and flash.
One week ago, before McMillan elevated Mills into the player rotation before the Blazers' game at the Boston Celtics, Mills' NBA career seemed destined to be defined by the upbeat antics and effervescent personality he revealed off the court.
But that personality has also surfaced on the court since Mills entered the rotation. The Blazers are just two games removed from a demoralizing string of six consecutive losses in which they fell to some of the NBA's cellar dwellers. Players admitted their confidence had wavered, and as the team returned to Portland from its worst trip in years, the Blazers were emotionally drained and depressed.
It might just turn out that Mills' upbeat personality has spread through the locker room at a time the Blazers desperately needed it.
"He's never sad," Nicolas Batum said after the Phoenix game. "He's always smiling. And now everybody has a smile on his face. We didn't see that the last two weeks. Everybody was thinking too much, feeling too much. Now we have two wins in a row. We need (Patty's) energy and I think everybody can grab onto that energy."
That Mills has reached this position is nothing short of astonishing. The Blazers' management group didn't expect him to show up for training camp in the fall because rookie Armon Johnson had earned the Blazers' 15th and final roster spot during summer league. And even after he showed up, Mills' odds of making the team featured the words, "slim," and "none." He's not even listed in the Blazers' media guide.
But Jeff Pendergraph tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, opening a door for Mills to be added to the roster just before opening night. The Blazers traded Jerryd Bayless before the regular season and Johnson assumed backup point guard duties. But after a strong start, Johnson struggled and McMillan went to Mills, who has registered 17 points and eight assists on 7-for-12 shooting the last two games -- both Blazers victories.
The recent success is a byproduct of Mills' patience and mental fortitude.
"It was hard," Mills said after practice Wednesday. "But I just knew this opportunity was going to come at some stage. I believed that, whether it was now or in a couple years, it was going to come one day. I've listened to the guys ... They've been telling me to be patient and just be ready because you never know when your time is going to come. You'd be an idiot not to listen to them and that was ringing inside my head the whole time."
Now Mills has a chance to be the catalyst behind what potentially can be a dynamic -- and much-needed -- second unit. Mills is effective in pick-and-roll sets and he's most dangerous in a fast-paced style that features fast breaks and transition offense. With Rudy Fernandez and Batum running the wings, the second unit -- which offered so little during the Blazers' losing streak -- can evolve into a legitimate and fun-to-watch weapon.
Mills has been given a chance. He hopes it's only the beginning.
12.03.2010
LEBRON RETURNS
I thought the snarky signs and chants would bother him. I thought he would be freaked out by the security guards ominously flanking the Heat bench, and maybe even by news that they were serving fans beverages in paper cups as a safety precaution. I thought Miami's lack of cohesion in its first 19 games would doom him over everything else. If you're walking into a potential ambush, you need to be strong, you need to trust each other, you need to know who you are.
Did I think the Cavaliers would win? Actually, yes. I thought the fans would push them to another level, that it would play out like a sports movie: the overachieving underdog taking down the big bully. When TNT's Kenny Smith said he had never felt such electricity in an arena before a regular-season game, I was convinced even more. The fans were ready for a war. As LeBron was warming up, an unmistakable "A--hole" chant reverberated through the building. A few seconds later, TNT showed us a fan wearing a "Lyin' King" T-shirt, another holding a "Quitness" sign, then eight fans standing in a row with T-shirts that spelled out "B-E-T-R-A-Y-E-D."
When the starting lineups were introduced, the booing for LeBron almost sounded like a beehive. He seemed to enjoy it.
Before the opening tap, LeBron let everybody know he was gonna bring it by whipping the powder defiantly into the air like he used to do for each home game when he was with Cleveland. Why not? They hated him, anyway. LeBron was making it clear: I am not backing down.
"I really love the looseness of LeBron James," Reggie Miller said.
The teams traded baskets as the fans either booed or yelled out indecipherable chants. At one point, we could clearly hear an "Akron hates you!" chant. Almost on cue, LeBron drew a foul and strode to the free throw line, accompanied by so many yells, boos and chants that it blended into one giant haterade.
And … freeze!
Stop it right there: 3:35 mark, first quarter, Cleveland leading by two. As LeBron (two points to that point) was making both free throws, Miller and Steve Kerr had this exchange:
Miller: "There's no way that you can possibly prepare for something like this, and knowing that all eyes have been on you since you made that decision … [you're] in that stationary position, with time not going off the clock, at that free throw line, everyone's looking at you. You wonder what's going on in that 26-year-old's mind."
Kerr: "I wouldn't wish it on anybody."
I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
Was that the tipping point? Those six words? That specific moment? Five months of vitriol cresting with LeBron at the line for the first time -- just him and the fans, their first chance to truly let him know how they felt -- and LeBron simply shrugging them off? It's a fascinating 15 seconds to rewatch. As he steps to the line, the noise begins to swell. TNT cuts to the crowd. We see someone booing LeBron and wearing a "VICTIM" T-shirt. We see a close-up of someone with a mustache angrily screaming "BOOOOOOO!" We see a wide shot of fans waiving "BENEDICT ARNOLD" and "MISS IT" signs. There's a close-up on LeBron, then a wide shot. He makes the first free throw. He turns to his bench and smiles, as if to say, "Wow, this is crazy."
Then, TNT cuts to the crowd. We see two "QUITNESS" signs, a sign with LeBron and Pat Riley that says "LeQuit and the Cheat," and a sign with Charles Barkley and the caption, "Punk Move, 'Bron." Panning back, we see another sign: "What should you do? BEG FOR MERCY." Everything bounces off him. Everything. His second free throw doesn't even touch the rim.
And we were off. On the next two possessions, LeBron scored on a gorgeous reverse layup and a long jumper. Miami by four. Timeout. Wade took a breather, and LeBron took over like he always does when Wade sits: setting up a James Jones 3, swishing a jumper over a double-team, then finding Juwan Howard for an open jumper. Just like that, Miami had ripped off a 16-0 run and grabbed a double-digit lead. The game was never the same. As Kerr pointed out later, it was like watching a March Madness underdog hanging with a 1-seed but being unable to overcome the talent disparity.
LeBron's confidence surged as the second quarter closed. He started yapping at his old buddy Boobie Gibson (sitting on Cleveland's bench), as everyone who grew up in the Rick Mahorn/Charles Oakley era waited for one of the Cavaliers to stand up and punch him in the face. Nope. Nothing. For the Cavaliers fans, this probably felt like the bastard brother of their team quitting in those final 90 seconds of Game 6 in Boston this past spring. Show some fight. Show some pride. Show something, for God's sake. It was a pathetic moment. LeBron punked them!
"It was impressive," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It takes a special player and a person to be able to respond to all of this scrutiny."
It continued in the third quarter, when LeBron exploded for 24 points and made a variety of outrageous shots. No Cavalier knocked him down, bumped him, shoved him, swore at him … they just took it on the chin. In retrospect, that was my big mistake with picking a Cleveland upset: thinking the Cavs cared about avenging their honor after their leader basically told them, "You guys suck, I'm leaving." How sad that the Celtics took LeBron's decision more personally than his former teammates did.
Lebron played some of the best basketball of his career, scoring 36 points in a devastating 27-minute stretch that re-established Miami as a contender. James sat on the bench for all of the fourth quarter, with dozens of security guards and police lining the team's entrance to the court and guarding against objects thrown at him.
This was the LeBron we had been missing all season: attacking LeBron, larger-than-life LeBron, ball-always-in-his-hands LeBron, force-of-nature LeBron, guy-who-could-absolutely-beat-you-in-a-playoff-series LeBron. For one night, he reinvented the Heat, assumed control and relegated Wade to sidekick status … which is how it should have been all along.
Full disclosure: I don't care about "The Decision" anymore. He handled it wrong. He got bad advice. He can't take it back. Whatever. Any people who say they handled their mid-20s perfectly are lying. But as a basketball fan, I thought watching his talents get wasted these first five weeks was somewhat tragic. He will never be Magic Johnson; Magic made everyone better and dominated games without necessarily scoring, whereas LeBron's scoring opens up the game for everyone else. Big difference. And he will never be happy awkwardly trading possessions with Wade.
On Thursday night, LeBron finally looked like LeBron again. Maybe he needed his old court. Maybe he needed to taste the bile of 20,000 passionate Cav fans. But I thought it was one of his greatest nights; instead of folding which a lot of people would of done, he rose to the occasion and even relished it. Of course, greatness usually has a casualty: in this case, Cleveland. The fans made their point (and then some), never disgraced themselves and were betrayed only by their own players. They deserved better in July; they deserved better Thursday night.
The King is gone. You buried him, and then, he buried you. If it's any consolation, you finally brought the best out of him.
Did I think the Cavaliers would win? Actually, yes. I thought the fans would push them to another level, that it would play out like a sports movie: the overachieving underdog taking down the big bully. When TNT's Kenny Smith said he had never felt such electricity in an arena before a regular-season game, I was convinced even more. The fans were ready for a war. As LeBron was warming up, an unmistakable "A--hole" chant reverberated through the building. A few seconds later, TNT showed us a fan wearing a "Lyin' King" T-shirt, another holding a "Quitness" sign, then eight fans standing in a row with T-shirts that spelled out "B-E-T-R-A-Y-E-D."
When the starting lineups were introduced, the booing for LeBron almost sounded like a beehive. He seemed to enjoy it.
Before the opening tap, LeBron let everybody know he was gonna bring it by whipping the powder defiantly into the air like he used to do for each home game when he was with Cleveland. Why not? They hated him, anyway. LeBron was making it clear: I am not backing down.
"I really love the looseness of LeBron James," Reggie Miller said.
The teams traded baskets as the fans either booed or yelled out indecipherable chants. At one point, we could clearly hear an "Akron hates you!" chant. Almost on cue, LeBron drew a foul and strode to the free throw line, accompanied by so many yells, boos and chants that it blended into one giant haterade.
And … freeze!
Stop it right there: 3:35 mark, first quarter, Cleveland leading by two. As LeBron (two points to that point) was making both free throws, Miller and Steve Kerr had this exchange:
Miller: "There's no way that you can possibly prepare for something like this, and knowing that all eyes have been on you since you made that decision … [you're] in that stationary position, with time not going off the clock, at that free throw line, everyone's looking at you. You wonder what's going on in that 26-year-old's mind."
Kerr: "I wouldn't wish it on anybody."
I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
Was that the tipping point? Those six words? That specific moment? Five months of vitriol cresting with LeBron at the line for the first time -- just him and the fans, their first chance to truly let him know how they felt -- and LeBron simply shrugging them off? It's a fascinating 15 seconds to rewatch. As he steps to the line, the noise begins to swell. TNT cuts to the crowd. We see someone booing LeBron and wearing a "VICTIM" T-shirt. We see a close-up of someone with a mustache angrily screaming "BOOOOOOO!" We see a wide shot of fans waiving "BENEDICT ARNOLD" and "MISS IT" signs. There's a close-up on LeBron, then a wide shot. He makes the first free throw. He turns to his bench and smiles, as if to say, "Wow, this is crazy."
Then, TNT cuts to the crowd. We see two "QUITNESS" signs, a sign with LeBron and Pat Riley that says "LeQuit and the Cheat," and a sign with Charles Barkley and the caption, "Punk Move, 'Bron." Panning back, we see another sign: "What should you do? BEG FOR MERCY." Everything bounces off him. Everything. His second free throw doesn't even touch the rim.
And we were off. On the next two possessions, LeBron scored on a gorgeous reverse layup and a long jumper. Miami by four. Timeout. Wade took a breather, and LeBron took over like he always does when Wade sits: setting up a James Jones 3, swishing a jumper over a double-team, then finding Juwan Howard for an open jumper. Just like that, Miami had ripped off a 16-0 run and grabbed a double-digit lead. The game was never the same. As Kerr pointed out later, it was like watching a March Madness underdog hanging with a 1-seed but being unable to overcome the talent disparity.
LeBron's confidence surged as the second quarter closed. He started yapping at his old buddy Boobie Gibson (sitting on Cleveland's bench), as everyone who grew up in the Rick Mahorn/Charles Oakley era waited for one of the Cavaliers to stand up and punch him in the face. Nope. Nothing. For the Cavaliers fans, this probably felt like the bastard brother of their team quitting in those final 90 seconds of Game 6 in Boston this past spring. Show some fight. Show some pride. Show something, for God's sake. It was a pathetic moment. LeBron punked them!
"It was impressive," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It takes a special player and a person to be able to respond to all of this scrutiny."
It continued in the third quarter, when LeBron exploded for 24 points and made a variety of outrageous shots. No Cavalier knocked him down, bumped him, shoved him, swore at him … they just took it on the chin. In retrospect, that was my big mistake with picking a Cleveland upset: thinking the Cavs cared about avenging their honor after their leader basically told them, "You guys suck, I'm leaving." How sad that the Celtics took LeBron's decision more personally than his former teammates did.
Lebron played some of the best basketball of his career, scoring 36 points in a devastating 27-minute stretch that re-established Miami as a contender. James sat on the bench for all of the fourth quarter, with dozens of security guards and police lining the team's entrance to the court and guarding against objects thrown at him.
This was the LeBron we had been missing all season: attacking LeBron, larger-than-life LeBron, ball-always-in-his-hands LeBron, force-of-nature LeBron, guy-who-could-absolutely-beat-you-in-a-playoff-series LeBron. For one night, he reinvented the Heat, assumed control and relegated Wade to sidekick status … which is how it should have been all along.
Full disclosure: I don't care about "The Decision" anymore. He handled it wrong. He got bad advice. He can't take it back. Whatever. Any people who say they handled their mid-20s perfectly are lying. But as a basketball fan, I thought watching his talents get wasted these first five weeks was somewhat tragic. He will never be Magic Johnson; Magic made everyone better and dominated games without necessarily scoring, whereas LeBron's scoring opens up the game for everyone else. Big difference. And he will never be happy awkwardly trading possessions with Wade.
On Thursday night, LeBron finally looked like LeBron again. Maybe he needed his old court. Maybe he needed to taste the bile of 20,000 passionate Cav fans. But I thought it was one of his greatest nights; instead of folding which a lot of people would of done, he rose to the occasion and even relished it. Of course, greatness usually has a casualty: in this case, Cleveland. The fans made their point (and then some), never disgraced themselves and were betrayed only by their own players. They deserved better in July; they deserved better Thursday night.
The King is gone. You buried him, and then, he buried you. If it's any consolation, you finally brought the best out of him.
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