MIAMI — So it’s come to this…
Miami Heat forward LeBron James passes out of a double-team at the end of the All-Star game — the freakin’ All-Star game! — and he gets ripped nationwide because he didn’t take the shot. Really?
Isn’t this the James haters coming out? Of course it is. It’s pure LeBron hatred for a guy who was in a potential no-win situation.
Here’s a scenario: James hits the game-winning shot in Sunday’s All-Star game, which would be interpreted as him being on his way to vanquishing the late-game demons that have plagued him during several recent seasons.
James would have been ripped.
“Hey, LeBron,” the haters would have yelled. “It’s the freakin’ All-Star game! Do it in the Finals.”
I would have agreed with the haters on their latter point.
But here’s where I disagree with the haters: Somehow, probably because it’s negative, James’ performance at the end of Sunday’s All-Star game – the freakin’ All-Star game! – is comparable to the late-game struggles he’s had in his career, both regular season and playoffs.
Come on. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
Yeah, we all saw Lakers guard Kobe Bryant chirping in James’ ear at the end of the East’s 152-149 loss to the West at the All-Star game in Orlando. This is a big deal? Players got intense and competitive and serious at the end of the game. They wanted to win. But in the big picture, the All-Star game, and everything that happened during the game, is meaningless.
The All-Star game is not the regular season. It’s not the playoffs. It’s not the 2011 Finals against Dallas. This is the most meaningless game James will play all season, preseason included.
This whole LeBron hater thing is probably part of the reason James doesn’t want to enter the slam dunk contest. Imagine if he didn’t win. He’d be ripped and ridiculed for that. There are very few limits on LeBron hatred nowadays.
And, look, I’m no LeBron James apologist. He’s done enough things to earn legitimate criticism – The Decision, counting out the titles (“not one, not two, not three…”) during the ill-conceived Welcome Celebration, sending the tweet saying he’d remember those who criticized him, not coming through late in meaningful games, etc…
I’ll be the first to argue James has a habit of not being there late in games.
It’s the sole reason when I consider the candidates for best player on the planet – only Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and James are in the conversation – and I rank James No. 3, behind Bryant and Wade. They come through in the clutch. James doesn’t. We all know that.
But let’s be fair.
This was the freakin’ All-Star game!
If James would have made the game-winning or game-tying shot, so what?
Now, if James hits the game-winning or game-tying shot Wednesday at Portland, or Thursday at Utah, what would that really mean?
It won’t end the conversation.
The only thing that’s going to get James off the hook when it comes to his reputation of not being a closer is winning playoff games, and more importantly, Finals games.
That’s it.
Everything else is window dressing.
And the freakin’ All-Star game is the worst of the worst when it comes to proving something.
Who was the last player who proved anything meaningful during the All-Star game? I’s say it was Magic Johnson showing he could play after being diagnosed with HIV in 1992. And before that?
The All-Star game is meaningless, whether the resulting storyline is good or bad. It’s not the real world. It doesn’t mean anything outside of All-Star weekend.
Did Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks show he could win a big game by coaching the West on Sunday? Do you now feel better about the Thunder’s chances of advancing to the NBA Finals? Are you discouraged that Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau couldn’t find a way to get his East squad a late-game basket with Wade and James on the court together? Does that mean bad things for the Bulls?
Is Wade a choker because he fumbled a pass out of bounds in the final seconds? Is New Jersey’s Deron Williams a choker because he almost air-balled an open 3-pointer?
So why is James being singled out?
Take it easy on LeBron on this one. Let’s wait until the games mean something, and adjust our judgments accordingly.
It’s just the freakin’ All-Star game.
Chris Perkins is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com, covering the NBA and the Miami Heat. His columns regularly appear every Tuesday. Follow him on Twitter.
Lebron hatred comes from a hatred of seeing a black man do things on his own terms, and not fitting into the athlete mold of a guy who shuts up and is “humble.” He has consistently done things his way, and this scares much of white america (mostly in a subconscious way)
The last 5 minutes of the All Star game is VERY competitive.
You’re fooling yourself if you don’t think the players try at the end of that game.
with all due respect, if you’re ranking lebron as the no.3 player in the planet maybe you should think about changing job! stop feeding this “clutch” frenzy. the last minute of a game is just that, the last minute out of 48. the team where lebron plays (the cavaliers, the heat, the east all star) would not even BE in the situation to tie or win the game if it wasn’t for lebron. he is the best player in the planet by a wide margin, his plays say that, his stats say that. and don’t even bring that “ring” argument crap… if that was a valid argument Tom Heinsohn and Sam Jones would be the 3d and 2nd best nba players of all time, respectively. and by the way kobe would be nothing without shaq or the massive frontcourt of odom/gasol/bynum. finally, please stop saying that kobe is “clutch”: wanting to take the last shot doesn’t mean you’re “clutch” if the ball doesn’t go in, and most of the times it doesn’t, as simple numbers and stats show you (kobe has one of the lowest fg% “in the clutch” between superstars and less-star players).
you’re just one more person victim of the availability heuristic, a well-known psychological bias.
it’s just the all-star game…so why did wade have to foul kobe like a jealous b*tch? he had an open lane to the rim and you give him a hard foul? it’s just the all-star game…