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2:45:00 PM EDT
Hearing the Dog Whisperer
King James' Flaw
In a series reminiscent of the classic duel between Bird and 'Nique, or at least Iverson and Vince, LeBron's Cavs put away Gilbert's Wiz in 6 entertaining games. I liked Queen James coming into these playoffs but mildly detest him heading into round two for a few frivolous reasons...
1. The whining. Complaining in the NBA isn't a big deal. Making the confused/angry/mystified LeBron face with arms extended every few minutes is. Nobody likes guys who cry all the time, especially when those guys get all the calls.
2. The nail biting. He gnaws on his nubs to no end. There's even a guy behind Cleveland's bench who hands LeBron clippers quite literally at the snap of his fingers.
3. The shorts tugging. He's not comfortable in his own uniform, pulling his trunks down a bit after each play and sometimes during mid-sequence. It's like Steve Nash's finger licking, except pointless.
Of course, he's only 21 and all of this stuff is vanity fare, but the Association is a league of style -- a theory put forth by Free Darko last year and thought by many for some time now. Plus, there's one more thing. What bothers me the most about LeBron, the biggest of King James' flaws, is that he doesn't seem to enjoy himself out there. As the Basketball Jones pointed out this week, there's more anger and seriousness about him than fun and weightlessness. He's more Kobe than Magic. We're not supposed to be witnessing the burden of great expectations, we're supposed to testify to the joy of an ascendant king. And maybe we are, but it sure doesn't seem like it. And that's with Jared Jeffries on him, not Tayshaun Prince. Best of luck against Detroit, Jesus Bron Bron.
More: Reactions to the game/series from NBAblogs... The Association says Arenas choked (that hurt me just to type that)... True Hoop really wanted a Game 7 (me too)... Free Darko says LeBron vs. the Pistons is the ultimate individual vs. society experiment.
Update: Michael Wilbon calls James "ruthless" and "cold-blooded" like MJ and Bird before him. He also includes this compelling tidbit...
"Arenas missed both free throws. James walked back to the bench, and hundreds of people sitting nearby saw him wave his hand in front of his throat and say to his teammates that Arenas was a "[bleeping] wimp."
Wow. I have a feeling the Arenas-Pierce competitive beef may pale in comparison to the Gilbert-Bron beef next year and beyond.
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Magic Johnson was an incredibly fierce competitor on the floor. His smiles were usually reserved for after the victories. Of course, James could lighten up a bit after the victories, but overcelebrating a first round playoff victory is silly also. They beat a lower seed, not the champs.
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"queen james" has alot of rick barry in him. every foul called on him he complains, just like rick. he is under the assumption that he never committs any type of foul. he just buffaloes his way thru the paint knocking over anything in his way, completely out of control and then throws his arms up in the air and gives us that you dont know what your talking about look to the refs. im sick and tired of the over saturation of cleveland games shown on national tv this year. comon guys give us a break, hes an unbeleivable player but i speak for many when i say we all have "witnessed" enough. the wizards play high school level defense and any of the nbas superstars would have a field day in a seven game series gilbert and his boys. the first taste of real playoff defense produces an embarassing game for queen james and for the first time we the fans "witness" the queen on the bench chewing and clipping his nails like a 7th grader in homeroom. i hope the pistons sweep the inept cavs and send the queen fishing for the summer with kenny and sir charles. ....max
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You'd think he just beat your hometown team or something...
7/29/06 4:00 PM