Fair or unfair, we judge LeBron James on what he does in the final seconds of fourth quarters. He passed the ball instead of shooting it at the end of the 2012 All-Star game, he failed on a spectacular scale against the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarters of the 2011 NBA Finals, and his three MVP awards sit on a shelf alongside zero championship rings.
So when the end of the fourth quarter arrived Sunday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics and James had the ball in his hands as the final seconds ticked down, everyone watching had their magic moment.
What would LeBron do?
The Celtics sent a second defender James’ way to cut him off as he made a move to his right, and James had a split-second to decide whether to keep going right, or to give up the rock.
He turned and passed to Udonis Haslem, who was 20 feet away from the basket and had to force up a shot that never had a chance.
So here we are the day after, and that’s what everyone is talking about — including myself and CineSports’s Tara Petrolino in the above video.
Like I said, fair or unfair, this is the life James has chosen to live.
We judge our superstars by their clutch shots and their titles. LeBron has too few of both.
@Mopi, the vast majority of times a play is run but the defense disrupts it very quickly. Look up the clip of Rick Carlisle on The Thundering Herd podcast. He discusses this very issue and the results from a study he did on last second situations.
What’s up with this “fair or unfair” cop-out? This is your website. You’re scrutinizing LeBron’s final possession (but not the one where he made a three to tie the game). If it’s fair to judge LeBron based on that last possession, tell us why it’s fair– “someone else did it” isn’t a reason. If it’s unfair, then say it’s unfair and stop doing it.
I just can’t understand why every team doesn’t run plays. Any type of gimmick.
It always comes down to “reading the defense” (iso)
I agree. And the Heat especially have to run plays in late-game situations because their best jump shooter is Bosh. Kobe and Durant always take the last shots because they are natural shooters. Wade and LeBron aren’t.