LeBrown Out

On a night where the Miami Heat had the chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the 2011 NBA Finals, we witnessed the return of Quitness. The self-proclaimed "King" turned into nothing more than the Court Jester, the jokes being his game, or lack there of. His performance was so terrible that it has me thinking that Scottie Pippen was being held at gunpoint, forced to proclaim that LeBron may be a better player than Michael Jordan.

LeBron never got involved in the game. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, James seemed disinterested, disjointed, and any other "dis" one can think of. He took only 11 shots, missing eight of them, many of those shots being easy lay-ups and wide open three's. James didn't attack the basket as aggressively as he usually does, he was just 2-4 from the charity stripe. You can't blame the ref's either, Tim Donaghy wasn't out there; but you can blame LeBron for his lackluster attempts while slashing through the lane.

LeBron scored as many points as he had missed shots, eight. Eight points in game 4 of the NBA Finals! Never would you have seen Jordan or Kobe do that. You would see them go steal the ball from a teammate, and drive right into the teeth of the defense before they did what LeBron did last night.

What exactly did LeBron do last night?

In my eyes, he LeChoked, LeFroze, and LePunked out. I can go on for days with the "Le" jokes, so I will put it this way, he gave up.

His offense wasn't the only problem, either. His lock down defense Mavs' super-sub Jason Terry completely vanished. Terry ended up with 17 points, four of them on back-to-back fourth quarter baskets that helped spark another late Dallas comeback.

I have always questioned what is more important in James' life, basketball, or his "Brand". If we're gonna compare this guy to Jordan and Kobe, that question has to be asked. The answer was given last night, and with many of his previous disappearing acts. I question LeBron's heart because he has given me no reason not to. I laughed at Dan Gilbert's open letter after James left Cleveland for South Beach, in which Gilbert accused James of quitting in games 2, 4, 5, and 6 the Cavs' second round playoff series against the Celtics last season. Maybe my laughter was premature, because what I witnessed, or better yet, didn't witness last night was greatness from a player who is supposed to be great.

I respect how gifted of a basketball player, athlete and mind LeBron is, but what he has yet to adopt from the great players is killer instinct. When the ball doesn't bounce his way, or when the whistle is blown to his displeasure, he shrinks. James cannot continue to let little things like that effect his game. I hearken back to a quote that was made famous throughout the sports world by former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, "never underestimate the heart of a champion", and LeBron James doesn't have that, yet.