LeBron James Pulls A Michael Jordan

Okay, seeing that the one measly shot (or pass rather) has created shock-waves in discussions, I think we should tackle the issue. Here's what everyone is crying about: With the Cavs down 78-76 and under 10 seconds to go, LeBron drove to the lane and kicked the ball out to Donyell Marshall for a wide-open 3-pointer. He missed.

My apologies to Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson, but I have to disagree with you guys about this. Yes, it's the Eastern Conference Finals and LeBron is the best player in the building, but no, he should not have taken the shot. And he didn't, I think that was the right play.

LeBron James made the right play.

Come on, if the shot had come in, everyone would be comparing that play exactly to the dish Michael Jordan gave Jim Paxson to win clinch the championship against Phoenix, who was coincidentally led by Charles Barkley himself. It's okay Charles, we are all bitter about something. What about Steve Kerr's shot against the Utah Jazz? Someone argue against that please. However, if LeBron had indeed taken that shot and missed, I'm sure everyone would persecute LeBron for going 1 on 12 in the lane when there was a wide-open Donyell Marshall behind the arc and compare unselfishness between him and Michael Jordan.

Get over it everybody, it was the right play. If you can't go on living without placing the blame on someone, put it on Donyell Marshall for missing the game-winner. Heck, it wasn't just a right play, it was a GREAT play. A million dollar play and a two dollar shot, dang. What better shot could you have asked for aside from a wide-open three? The same shot Stephen Jackson took when Baron Davis kicked it out to him for a wide-open three, but also missed it.


Come on, decide what shot you'd rather take: LeBron James going 1 on 500 in the lane or a wide-open Donyell Marshall for the win? If this question was brought up even before the play happened, majority of everyone would choose the latter. The only reason everyone is so grumpy about James passing up the shot is because it missed; but before the play even happened, I'm sure everyone would take the wide-open 3 especially after Marshall dropped 6 3-pointers the last game. Even LeBron.

If you think about it, the aspect that seperates LeBron James and the wanna-be Michael Jordans is the so called superstar mentality. Michael Jordan never had superstar mentality, he just had superstar skills, but developed a team mentality. A player can't win the game all by himself, he needs his teammates in no matter what situation. He doesn't go and try to do everything himself and acts blind as if there are no other players on court wearing the same color of jersey he is. LeBron plays with a team mentality, not a superstar mentality. Don't expect him to force up that shot if it isn't there. That would be dumb. What makes Jordan so great is because even if he has team mentality, he still has enough skill to drop on the opposing team. Imagine what he would have done if he had a superstar mentality, he would have the capability to drop 50 points a night; the sad part is: he won't win as much titles. He trusts his teammates enough to let them take the title-clinching shot. In a team, you trust.

Now we are on the verge of seeing what LeBron James is really capable of. Come on everybody, he has the killer instinct to go for the win. Something we haven't seen from anybody of the players in the NBA right now, except for Gilbert Arenas pulling up 3-pointers to win a tied game, since Reggie Miller retired. He has trust, and he has will. Too bad he is surrounded by mediocre underachievers. Maybe we'll have to wait a few more years then. The good news is: we caught a glimpse of Michael Jordan in tonight's game.

Even if they lost.