Many will point to Lebron's game 1 layup against the Pacers as proof positive that he is now fully on another level and ready to win many championships for years to come. What I thought was far more important was how he handled the result of making that layup. His celebration, or lack thereof was, proof to me that Lebron may have turned the corner.
A few months ago in a close game Lebron made a jump shot to put the Heat over the top for the win. The opposing team called a timeout. As the network went to break they showed the replay of Lebron reacting to the made basket. He was doing this high step push down motion. It was some sort of dance move that I could never pull off or would try. It made me think to myself what is wrong with this guy. Why are you acting like you have never made a jump shot before. It was like an excuse to not like the Heat or Lebron. Like we needed anymore.
Yet last night Lebron handled himself as well as Barry Sanders used too. For those of you who don't know what I mean by that, Sanders was a fantastic running back for the Detroit Lions in the 90's. He would never celebrate big runs or touchdowns, because his ultimate goal was to win the Superbowl and only that was worth celebrating. When he scored even some of the most amazing touchdowns he would simply flip the ball to the referee and return to his sideline. This is clearly a lesson most NBA players need to learn. (See the Clippers over reaction to dunks from the 2012-13 season.)
Lebron didn't celebrate or even smile after making the game winning layup. Let's face it he really had every right too. With Wade fouled out of the game and only 2.2 seconds left Miami would probably do all they could to get Lebron the ball. Lebron was able to use his power and speed to get free and blow by a pretty good defender with ease to get himself an open layup at the rim with .5 seconds to spare. It was made all the more impressive considering he pulled this off in an overtime at the end of a very long and hard game.
Lebron had every right to catch D Wade in mid air and shake him like a rag doll. He had every right to jump into the air and shoulder bump Mike Miller. (Probably the most action Miller will see all playoffs.) He had every right to high five the entire front row and maybe even power press Norris Cole into the screaming crowd. I don't think anyone would have woken up today and been like Lebron shouldn't have done any of that.
Instead Lebron ignored D Wade who jumped into him like they had just won the title. He didn't pay any mind to Mike Miller who looked like a kid on Christmas morning. Instead he just walked casually walked over to Craig Saeger, gave a composed and positive post game interview, and headed into the locker room.
Maybe Lebron realized a few things and as I write this I want to believe he did. First that a Championship has not yet been won. Second that Miami are starting to show the signs of a team that is not playing it's best basketball. Third that there are still 7 more wins needed to get that title and this was one game that they should have won handily at home.
Imagine a world where the Heat lose in the Finals this year. For Miami it would be a massive failure and it would start to raise questions about their franchise that they are hoping to dodge. If Miami loses they will take a lot of HEAT for failing to win in a year where the competition was not at it's best. Kobe and the Lakers out in round one mainly because of Kobe's injury. Parker and Manu have both battled for fitness down the stretch for the Spurs. The Grizzles are without Rudy Gay. The Pacers are without Danny Granger. OKC traded Harden and the lost Westbrook to injury. All the while the worst injury news for the Heat has been the knee of D Wade, which he has always proven to get over in the end.
Miami must win the Championship and perhaps Lebron realizing this wanted his team to stay focused and not overreact to that one win and respect the fact that the Pacers almost stole game one in their building. Let me lavish you with a few likely scenarios should the Heat fail to win the title this season. Everyone will be calling for Spoelstra's head. I still can't determine if he is a good coach or not, but I'm leaning to just average. The Heat will have to consider what to do with some of the aging players sooner rather than later. D Wade will come under major scrutiny and Lebron will be the media target. The pressure on Miami will be again turned all the way up to 2011 standards.
Despite a bench of all-stars, a huge break at the end of the season to rest, and a lack of key injuries the Heat have played spotty basketball in their last few games. As a Bulls fan I was very proud of the effort the Bulls gave and I was ultra impressed with their performance, but should it have been that close? Games 1, 3, and 5 all could have gone either way and 2 of them were in Miami. The Heat got the job done, but no one can argue that they should have blow the Bulls out in probably all of those games and won handily. They did not do that and remember this Bulls team didn't have 3 major players including their two best scoring options.
I think the media and the pundits missed the fact that the Heat have been playing bad basketball since game 1 of the Bulls series. I notice a couple factors that are contributing to this. D Wade has not been himself lately. He's playing well in spurts, but it's almost like he's trying to save himself at times. Udonis Haslem is a shadow of himself. Age may have finally caught up to him, but thankfully the Birdman has filled the void he has left. Rashard Lewis is basically not playing very much or contributing all that much when he does. Mike Miller hasn't played in the last 5 games or made a three that I can even remember these playoffs. Maybe most important is Chalmers seems to be off his game and Norris Cole is seeing more of the court because of it. I think Super Mario does a little more than Cole on both ends of the floor, but I don't discount Cole's abilities.
Still the Heat have Chris Bosh and Lebron in their primes. When you have those two players you can will yourself over teams as they did against the Pacers in game 1. The Heat played from behind for 3 quarters and in winning time found themselves ahead. The Pacers made a three to send it into over time and when the chips were down with a minute to go Bosh made a huge rebound and layup where he was fouled. This tied the game and then Lebron scored the final two baskets by sheer force of will. You have to wonder if a healthy Granger would have made a difference last night against a Miami team with so many players not at their best. This Heat team is not playing well, but the competition is so soft they are still winning in spite of their short comings.
I also feel like Lebron has learned one thing from all those years of failure is that one game does not a championship make. If the Pacers win game 2 does it matter that the Heat won game 1? I say no because if the Pacers won game 1 there was no way they were winning game 2 for many reasons. The statistics dictate that rarely does a lower seed beat a higher seed 2 games in a row at home. The Heat would be on a mission in game 2 and would look to defuse the doubters who would be in full effect in the wake of a lose. Finally the NBA would never allow that to happen as they are already worried about an all small market finals. (Wait did I just write that?) If the Pacers win game 2 it's there best hope of somehow pulling out this series and I have no reason to believe they won't play better and the Heat will have to get a better performance from their "others."
I really want to hope that Lebron gets it and for good reasons he didn't act like a crazed fool after making a layup in overtime of game they should have won by many points. Let's just hope that he continues on this path and that he can endear himself as one of the all time greats by celebrating championships not dunks.
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