SAN ANTONIO — Once again Wednesday, LeBron James heaping all the blame and the pressure on himself. His mood was better, his defiance was not manufactured, and he made a lot of good points while making a guarantee that he would play better.
Not that the Heat would win Game 4, but that he’d play better.
As guarantees go, it is certainly not the boldest one ever made.
So what does it mean? For starters, he has to keep Kawhi Leonard off the offensive boards. As James pointed out, the Spurs were the second-worst rebounding team in the NBA this season, yet Leonard has grabbed 13 offensive boards — tied with Tim Duncan for the most in the series.
One thing that was left unsaid was whether James need to “go Cleveland” again and take over the game by being aggressive offensively — even if that means taking a bunch of 3-pointers if that is all the Spurs’ defense is going to allow him.
Right now the Heat are packing the paint, cutting off James’ driving and dishing lanes and daring them to beat him them from outside. Leonard is playing a couple feet off of James, and James seems too determined to make the right pass and get his teammates involved rather than take over single-handedly.
Will that continue in Game 4?
I think not.
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In fact, it would not surprise me to see him take at least four 3-point shots in the first quarter alone. There comes a time when a superstar needs to put his team on his back, and that time is now for LBJ. As noted in this interview with Bickley and MJ of FIX Sports 910 KGME in Phoenix, Michael Jordan never had slumps during the finals quite as pronounced as the one LeBron is currently going through.