LeBron Book, Part 4: “Not One …”

LeBron James is back in Cleveland’s court, and a new book The Redemption of the King just hit the shelves. Author Vince McKee covers James’s entire journey in every detail both on and off the court — from the start of his career with the Cavaliers in Cleveland to his departure to Miami, his time with the Heat, and finally, the highly anticipated return of the “King.”

The Redemption of the King is a story that revolves more around hometown pride and character than money or celebrity. Over the next five days SheridanHoops.com exclusively will bring you excerpts of the new book, published by Clerisy Press. Click here to purchase.

Chapter 7: “Not One”

On the opening night of the Celtics versus the Miami Heat with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh had the stadium filled. The game was nationally televised, and the ratings were extremely high—many sports fans in general wanted to see just how dynamic this incredible dream team would be. The game was the most-watched NBA contest ever on cable television, earning a 4.6 rating and delivering to 7.4 million total viewers and 5.3 million households.

The game itself, however, was not the coming-out party for a Miami dynasty, because the expected offensive explosion never happened. The stingy Boston defense held the high-powered Miami attack to only 80 total points, and the Heat lost, 88–80. LeBron did his part with an impressive showing of 31 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. The problem was a familiar one for LeBron: His supporting cast failed to show up. Wade was held to 13 points and scored only 8. As for the other two starters, Carlos Arroyo scored only 3 points, and Joel Anthony had just 2. No one coming off the bench that night was able
to score in double digits.

The Miami Heat bounced back f rom the disappointing opening night loss with a four game winning streak, beating the Philadelphia 76ers, the Orlando Magic, the New Jersey Nets, and the Minnesota Timberwolves by double-digit margins. The team was 4–1 before things again took a wrong turn, and the Heat went on to lose 8 of their next 13 games, lowering their record to a mediocre 9–8. Many in the media didn’t have them losing 8 games all season, let alone in the first month.

This slow start was attributed to many factors, one of which was the lack of cohesiveness. The team also suffered from injuries to key role players Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. The team called a players- only meeting with the intention of encouraging the players to communicate better with each other. It was widely rumored that Spoelstra could lose his job and that Pat Riley would return as head coach. There had already been a well publicized incident when LeBron “bumped” into Spoelstra during a time-out. The Heat rebounded through this time, however, and got things back on track with a 12-game winning streak, of which 10 came by double-digit margins as the team was finally beginning to hit their full stride. The Heat also played great defense during that stretch, limiting their opponents to fewer than 100 points each game.

LeBron returned to Cleveland on December 2, 2010, to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of a hostile crowd. It didn’t faze the Chosen One, however, and he led the Heat to defeat his former team by scoring 38 points, dishing out 8 assists, and pulling down 5 rebounds. In the process, he tied a Heat record for points scored in a quarter with 24 points in the third. The crowd was irate all game long, and it proved to be one of the most violent crowd reactions in the history of professional sports—several fights broke out during the course of the game as LeBron exploded in scoring and the Cavaliers started to
get crushed. The game drew nearly 7.1 million television viewers and earned a 25.4 rating in Miami.

The Heat was red-hot, setting a franchise record of 15 wins that December and also setting an NBA record for consecutive on-the-road victories of 10 wins in a calendar month. The game on Christmas Day wasn’t even close: The Heat crushed two-time defending NBA Champions the Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat was rolling along and racking up the victories.

LeBron’s popularity didn’t seem to take a hit around the rest of the league, as he was once again voted to start in the All-Star Game. His teammates Wade and Bosh would be joining him, Wade in the starting lineup and Bosh as a reserve off the bench. Despite all the bitterness hanging in the air in Cleveland, the popularity of the “Big Three” didn’t seem to be hurting LeBron anywhere else.

The Heat finished the regular season with a 58–24 record, good enough for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and behind only the Chicago Bulls and league MVP Derrick Rose. It was an impressive season, but it didn’t come without some drama and very rough patches. The Heat lost the season series to the defending Eastern Conference champion the Boston Celtics, 3–1; was swept by the Chicago Bulls, 3–0; and also lost both times to the Dallas Mavericks. The team also hit a dry spell after the All-Star break when, on March 3, 2011, the Heat was leading the Magic by 24 points in the
third quarter before being outscored 40–9, losing 99–96. The following night against the Spurs, who held the NBA’s best record (51–11), the Heat lost 125–95, their most lopsided loss of the year and their fourth loss in five games.

In their next game against the Bulls, the Heat had a 12-point lead in the first half but ended up losing 87–86 after two failed shots by both LeBron and Wade in the last 6 seconds of the game—the Heat’s 12th and 13th consecutive missed shots with a chance to tie or lead a game in the final 10 seconds of regulation or overtime. LeBron had missed four shots in the four-game losing streak. It was the Heat’s fourth straight loss and the fourth time since February 24 that year that the team had lost after a double-digit lead. The Heat was 2–5 since the All-Star break, 5–13 in games decided by five or fewer points, and 14–18 against teams with winning records. Things went from bad to worse when, after the game against the Spurs, there were reports of players crying in the locker room.

Despite all the setbacks, the Heat did have many bright spots as well. On March 27, 2010, LeBron, Wade, and Bosh became the second trio in NBA history to achieve at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the same non-overtime game. The Heat’s 58-win total was the third highest in the team’s history.

© Clerisy Press

Click here to order your copy of “Redemption of the King” for $18.95.

PART III: Taking his talents to South Beach
PART II: Beating the Pistons
PART I: Introduction
PODCAST: Vince McKee discusses his new book on Cleveland’s TheSportsFix.

Vince McKee is a growing force in the world of sports literature. His first four books, Hero, Cleveland’s Finest, Jacobs Field, and The Cleveland Cavaliers: A History of the Wine and Gold, all helped build his credibility as a top-notch chronicler of the impact of Ohio sports. He currently travels the country meeting with the public to spread the message of Hero. Vince is an avid Cleveland sports fan who enjoys spending time with his wife, Emily, and their daughter, Maggie. He is always willing to speak with his fans and critics and can be contacted by e-mail ([email protected]) or followed on Twitter (@vincetheauthor).