Miami Heat: Only Thing Standing Between LeBron James & His First Ring Is Himself
All LeBron James has done this year is prove that he is, hands down, the most dominant and the most complete player in the NBA today.
Throughout the Heat’s first 18 games, LeBron has averaged 29.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, with a league-leading PER of 33.05.
In addition to that incredible production, LeBron is shooting a career high from the field with a 54.7 field goal percentage and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc.
LeBron is playing at the most efficient level in his nine-year career, which has helped the Heat earn the Eastern Conference’s best overall record at 15-6.
Say what you want about LeBron’s ability to show up in the clutch, but there is absolutely no doubting his dominant play this season is the main reason why the Heat are considered the best team in the Eastern Conference.
While LeBron is having one of the best years of his NBA career, there is still one thing that he’s missing. One thing that has eluded him his an entire career thus far. That one thing is an NBA Championship ring.
LeBron’s inability to win a championship in Cleveland could be chalked up to the lack of talent the Cavaliers had, and his failure last year in the NBA Finals could blamed on a lack of team chemistry in the Heatles’ first year.
The only excuse LeBron has this year, if he doesn’t hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy come June, is the man looking back at him when he looks in the mirror.
There isn’t another player in the NBA like LeBron James.
He’s a freakish athlete, measuring 6’8”, 260 pounds, while still being able to run the floor with the speed, agility and awareness of a 185-pound point guard, and he’s hands down the most complete player in the league, averaging the highest points/rebounds/assists combo.
With LeBron’s rare combination of size, intelligence and efficiency, there aren’t many players in the NBA that can compete on his level, and there aren’t many players that can stop him from winning the first NBA title of his career—aside from himself.
The biggest weakness that exists within LeBron’s game isn’t something tangible, it’s the mentality, rooted in a lack of confidence, that persists in the way he approaches the final minutes of games. What’s kept LeBron from winning his first ring is just that, a lack of confidence in himself and his ability to finish and close out games in the clutch.
It’s not that LeBron is incapable of hitting big shots, sinking late-game free throws and being the closer the Heat need him to be.
The problem is that while LeBron undoubtedly has the skill, ability and physicality to take over late in games, he lacks the confidence that it takes to do so, and that will ultimately be the only thing that ever keeps him from winning an NBA championship.
LeBron seems to be establishing confidence in himself this year more than other, as evidenced by the fact he controlled the ball on the Heat’s final two possessions against the Bulls in this past Sunday’s epic showdown.
While LeBron missed his two final jump shots and clanked two clutch free throws, the fact he held the ball and at least took those shots, instead of standing in the corner like he’s done the past few years of his career, shows progression in his belief himself as the leader of the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat don’t necessarily need LeBron to be the leader in South Beach, with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade being more than capable of playing that role. But LeBron undoubtedly needs to be the guy in Miami, because when LeBron feels he is the focal point of the team he plays in a more dominant, consistent and confident way.
That is why he led the Heat to an 7-1 record without Wade in the lineup, averaging 29.4 PPG and 7.8 APG, with an impressive field goal percentage of 52.7.
The kind of intensity and confidence that existed within LeBron’s game while Wade was out is something LeBron must integrate into the way he plays night in and night out.
If LeBron can manage to do that, there’s no one that can keep him from winning his first ring in 2012.
Once LeBron realizes there’s no one in the NBA that can keep him from the 2012 NBA title other than himself, LeBron will truly become unstoppable, which will be an absolutely frightening reality for the 29 other teams in the NBA.
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Should Anthony phase himself out?
Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who has led the Knicks to many points but few wins this year, got introspective over the weekend. He said maybe he should shoot less. Maybe he tries to do too much and doesn’t get the ball to fellow star Amar’e Stoudemire enough. Maybe the Knicks’ woeful start is his fault.
Or, maybe not, since Anthony backtracked on his comments Monday. But his long weekend of soul searching raised a pivotal question for the Knicks: Should Anthony phase himself out?
The case for Anthony is obvious. He is a four-time All-Star who is scoring 25.7 points per game this year, which ranked fourth in the NBA through Monday. He is a certified superstar, who last year was one of the most sought-after trade targets in league history.
The problem with Anthony is not his points, it’s with how he scores. Anthony’s production comes at a price: the relevance of his teammates. He’s taking 21 shots a game, six more than any other Knick.
On Tuesday in Charlotte, there was a little more evidence against him. He had his worst game as a Knick, hitting none of his seven shot attempts and scoring one point in a 111-78 victory over the Bobcats to break a six-game losing streak. Stoudemire had 18 points.
There’s a case to be made that Anthony should be playing like he has been this year. NBA basketball has a long history of superstars hogging shots, and Anthony’s on pace for just his third-highest shot total of his eight-year career.
But for now, it’s not paying off, and it’s because of Anthony’s peculiar playing style. His specialty, shooting from 16 to 23 feet, is a spectacular one. It’s also an inefficient one. He incorporates some of the best maneuvers in the game from that distance, with spins and jab-steps to leave defenders with broken ankles and hearts. Anthony takes 6.7 shots per game from beyond 23 feet, that’s third most in the NBA behind Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. The difference is that both of those players make more than 40 percent from that distance; Anthony makes just 34 percent, the worst of his career.
For now, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni seems unconcerned with Anthony’s style of play.
“I just think he has to play his game and he can’t think too much,” D’Antoni said.
Stoudemire, who scored 25.3 points per game last season, is down to 17.6 this year and his shots have dropped from 19 to 15. He and Anthony had a summit this week to discuss the problems in the offense.
Stoudemire said his message to Anthony was that the offense should get everyone involved.
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Kentucky Wildcats in the NBA: Josh Harrellson Making a Name for Himself
While John Wall has had some early struggles in his sophomore campaign, Josh Harrellson has surprised many NBA observers with his gritty play and solid fundamentals. Here’s a look at how the current class of Kentucky Wildcats in the NBA are faring during the first quarter of this lockout-shortened NBA season.
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Greg Stiemsma Making a Nickname (or Two) for Himself with the Boston Celtics
It’s the local joke. The Boston Celtics will always have a white player on the roster. No matter how good or bad he is.
The last white player of note was Brian Scalabrine. He was Boston’s victory cigar before Gino danced across the TD Garden scoreboard.
Little was expected out of Greg Stiemsma. Why would there be? He’s just The White Guy signed out of the National Basketball Developmental League.
The first look at Stiemsma briefly confirmed the punchline. He was a Celtic to reach the quota. Three points in his preseason debut didn’t change any opinions.
In the second preseason game, Stiemsma began swaying people. Seven points, five rebounds and two blocks had fans seeing the potential president of basketball operations Danny Ainge saw when Ainge signed the reigning D-League defensive player of the year.
Then Stiemsma opened everyone’s eyes with six blocks against the New Orleans Hornets. No one was joking anymore, Stiemsma can play.
The Celtics have a serious problem with depth at the center position. Jermaine O’Neal is the only returning center, but he gave Boston very little in an injury-shortened season last year and is off to a slow start. Free agent Chris Wilcox was signed to provide depth, but is far from the Dwight Howard dreams of Celtic Nation.
So there’s no harm in taking a chance on a minor league journeyman to develop for a season to see what Stiemsma can offer.
Stiemsma doesn’t need developing. The 26-year-old rookie is making the most of his opportunities.
So when Stiemsma opened eyes in his first start with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, this is what Stiemsma has been working towards in his career.
Stiemsma went undrafted out of Wisconsin in 2008 and then went the Lisa Stansfield route. Stiemsma has been around the world playing basketball in Turkey, South Korea and Sioux Falls, determined to make a player out of himself.
In three years, Stiemsma went from a Badger with career averages of 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and one block to nine points, 10 boards and an impressive 4.5 blocks per game, making Stiemsma the Skyforce’s sky enforcer.
He continues this role with the Celtics, as Stiemsma is seventh in the NBA with 2.2 blocks in very limited action.
Despite his statement game, Stiemsma hasn’t arrived yet. Following his game against Washington, Stiemsma was back to third in the center rotation for the next two games.
Because while Stiemsma was bringing the TD Garden crowd to their feet with every block and swished jumper, his Wizards counterpart, JaVale McGee, kept Washington in the game with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, 14 rebounds and three blocks, a lot of it coming at Stiemsma’s expense.
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, notoriously biased towards veterans over rookies, wants better one-on-one defense from Stiemsma before awarding him more playing time. It’s the ticket to more playing time on this defense-first Celtics team.
The Garden faithful are sold on Stiemsma, though. He gets applause just for entering the game. Every good play draws widespread cheer.
A few nicknames have already been offered to Stiemsma. Paul Pierce got it started, calling Stiemsma “The Steamroller.” More organically, “The Stiemah” has support as an affectionate reference to the indigenous Boston accent.
It makes Stiemsma one with the Celtics fans. They hope Stiemsma will be one of us for a while.
Question? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.
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Golden State Warriors: Monta Ellis Unable to Carry Team All by Himself
With the clock winding down in Saturday’s contest between the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz, the outcome was very much in the hands of Warriors guard Monta Ellis. The final minute of the game not only awarded the better team for that day, it also proved the Ellis is not quite capable of running a ballclub all on his own.
The game was tied at 87 with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Warriors had just seen their four-point fourth-quarter lead disappear, and the Jazz were on the verge of completely stealing the momentum.
But all of that could have been erased with another game-winning shot by Ellis, who had a few buzzer-beaters last season. With the absence of Stephen Curry, Golden State relied ever-so obviously on the playmaking ability of Ellis, the team’s leading scorer.
The problem is that having Ellis operate in an isolated situation is quite predictable and stale.
Without a true point guard guiding the offense, nor a legitimate second scoring option, Ellis was forced to improvise. This ultimately led to his inability to shake Raja Bell, a one-time All-Defensive First Teamer and Ellis’ former teammate.
Ellis drove the lane and was cut off without any other options. He dangled in the air with no chance at a shot at the rim and threw a desperate pass to the right wing, where a waiting Jazz defender, Devin Harris, was ready to deflect the ball away. The Warriors were forced to foul on the counter-fast break, and the Jazz sunk one free throw to move up 88-87 with 11 seconds left.
The good news was that there was still enough time on the clock for the Warriors to draw up a play, and they could actually win the game with a bucket. On the ensuing offensive series, it was déjà vu—a near repeat of what had just happened a mere 10 seconds prior.
Ellis exhaustedly dribbled the ball till it was out of air, threw up a difficult runner in the lane with Bell draped all over him—and missed. Since the shot was taken nanoseconds before the final buzzer, the Warriors had no second-chance opportunity.
The last minute of Saturday’s game demonstrated where Ellis stands as a star in this league. And without Curry, who has been sidelined indefinitely with another ankle injury, Ellis is called upon to shine even brighter as the Warriors’ main scoring option. This is the onus of being the only offensive force.
Though critics may state that the Warriors cannot function having Ellis and Curry in the same backcourt, Saturday’s performance showed that Ellis thrives better when Curry is in the lineup. As the distributor and ball-handler, Curry opens up the floor for Ellis, who doesn’t have to exert so much energy on the offensive side.
But with Curry out of the game, Ellis isn’t able to use any creativity in engineering original plays, and the defense collapses on the transparent shots he takes. Head coach Mark Jackson needs to figure out a way to have Ellis on the receiving end of passes for scores rather than forcing him to create shots all the time on his own. Though he is a skilled scorer, his (relative) lack of height, strength and length allow defenders to challenge shots with regularity.
Until Curry returns to action, Ellis will have to lug the majority of the offense for the hapless Warriors. The problem is, Ellis may not just be capable of doing so all by himself.
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Seton Hall Video: Watch Enthusiastic Benchwarmer Humiliate Himself
When you have played eight minutes in your entire college basketball career, finding ways to entertain yourself on the bench is a must.
Just ask Seton Hall senior guard Peter Gill.
Gill may be averaging one point and one rebound per game, but he leads the team in ridiculous celebrations.
ESPN took the liberty of providing us with a few of his high (or is it low?) lights:
First it was last year’s Big East tournament where Seton Hall drilled a three to tie up Rutgers as time was expiring. Gill leaped out of his seat and did the patented touchdown belt move that Aaron Rodgers coined and is now seen endless on that annoying State Farm commercial. It’s like he knew the three was going in and was ready for the move.
Then in last night 75-63 upset win over No. 8 UConn, Gill was acting a fool (literally).
It seemed like he had a different move for every made Seton Hall shot. He pretended to roll some dice, started doing some weird move where he looks to be dancing at the club and then the hammer plunge.
I actually think this one is hilarious, and by far the best of his moves. After a made bucket he leaps off the bench and cocks back his arm and pretends to throw the hammer down like he is trying to get hit 100 on the meter of a carnival event. Gill looks like he could chop some serious wood with that motion.
With the way he throws it down I think even Bill Walton may be jealous.
The guy clearly has a set of moves in his mind before every game and stays focused on the game purely to be able to execute his game plan.
When you have scored two career points in your career, this is the most important thing to worry about on game day.
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Mbah a Moute makes himself valuable as an NBA free agent
Restricted free-agent forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is anxious and excited to find out where he’ll play this NBA season.
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Marquette Men’s Basketball: Jamail Jones Ready to Make a Name for Himself
Watch out for Jamail Jones.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward could be in line for major minutes in coach Buzz Williams’ 2011-2012 season after averaging a mere 6.1 minutes per game last season and looking lost whenever he stepped foot onto the court.
After Marquette’s season-opening 91-37 victory over Mount St. Mary’s Friday evening, the evolution of Jones continues.
He notched the first double-digit point effort of his college career (10 points) on 5-of-10 shooting and showed a new level of confidence. He looked like he should be a Division I player. He looked like he was a former consensus top-60 recruit. He had a swagger about him. Maybe it is just the flat-top haircut.
But for those of us fortunate enough to cover the team in the preseason, the double-digit outburst wasn’t totally unexpected.
Jones showed signs of being a new player during the scrimmages at Marquette Madness (Marquette’s pep rally for the start of its season) and during Haunted Hoops (an inter-squad scrimmage on Halloween), when he scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-4 on 3-pointers.
And this is a vital time for Jones to make a statement.
As it stands now, Marquette’s starting lineup consists of junior Junior Cadougan (point guard), senior Darius Johnson-Odom (shooting guard), sophomore Vander Blue (small forward), senior Jae Crowder (power forward) and redshirt junior Chris Otule (center). A bit of a shocker.
Williams had announced on October 14 that Crowder, Otule and Johnson-Odom would be his starters. On November 9 he announced that Blue would start, which left one spot open.
It was presumed that redshirt sophomore Jamil Wilson would be Williams’ small forward on opening night and that Jones and freshman Juan Williams would battle for Wilson’s backup minutes. Instead, Blue started at small forward.
Anderson was suspended for three games shortly before Marquette’s opener on Friday, for accepting a box suite ticket to a Milwaukee Brewers game.
That means he’s in Williams’ dog house. Freshmen have a tough time breaking into Williams’ rotation as it is, so who knows where Anderson stands after this incident, which brings bad publicity to the program, but also gives Jones and Wilson a three-game head-start to make an impression.
And unlike Anderson, Jones and Wilson, both have bodies that are ready to handle the physical toll of Big East basketball.
Wilson showed extreme athleticism in the opener, but was tentative offensively, posting only two points. Jones showed an edge about him both on the offensive and defensive ends, although Wilson did outplay Jones defensively.
Jones showed that between Wilson and him, he is the superior offensive player at this point in the season.
If Jones shows more of what was on display during the preseason and through the opener, he’ll make himself a regular in Williams’ rotation.
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LeBron alley oops to himself in charity game
Lebron James is King of the charity basketball game!
At an exhibition game hosted by Rudy Gay in Memphis, Lebron Jame threw down this nasty off-the-backboard alley oop dunk to himself. In addition to the highlight plays, Lebron scored 43 points in his teams victory over Gay’s team. As great as all these charity game highlights have been, it would be great if we could see some real NBA action soon.
At the end of this clip, a woman tries to give Lebron a high-five for his effort, but he is visibly hesitant to oblige her. Rumor has it that he was jealous of her ring! It’s too easy.
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Lebron James Throws Alley Oop To Himself
Lebron James is King of the charity basketball game!
At an exhibition game hosted by Rudy Gay in Memphis, Lebron Jame threw down this nasty off-the-backboard alley oop dunk to himself. In addition to the highlight plays, Lebron scored 43 points in his teams victory over Gay’s team. As great as all these charity game highlights have been, it would be great if we could see some real NBA action soon.
At the end of this clip, a woman tries to give Lebron a high-five for his effort, but he is visibly hesitant to oblige her. Rumor has it that he was jealous of her ring! It’s too easy.
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