Today, May 12, has unofficially been dubbed “Bash LeBron James” day. After his bewildering performance in last night’s critical Game 5 against the Celtics, it seems the Internet is teeing off on the guy. (Most notably, here and here).
Are We Writing Off LeBron James Too Quickly? Yes And No
↵All of this is with good reason. LeBron is the best player in the NBA, and he doesn’t exactly hide from that. When the best player fails in such a big spot like this, it merits extreme scrutiny, especially when said player is a free agent and could leave the Cavaliers. At the same time, does LeBron really deserve to be torn down like this?
↵NBA Fanhouse’s Tom Ziller says no.
↵↵It’s as if LeBron James has never had a bad game in the playoffs. He has, plenty of times. In comments after Cleveland’s disastrous Game 5 loss to Boston, one which placed the Cavaliers on the brink of elimination in the second round, LeBron implied his performance looked worse because he so rarely plays this poorly. That’s a bit of a cop-out -- by any standard, he played badly on Tuesday night. But that’s just the point: sometimes, great players suck.
[...]↵Completely putting the blame on LeBron here ... masks very real issues. The Celtics play absurdly good defense and match up particularly well against James. [Mo] Williams can’t guard a single person on the Boston roster. Jamison, O’Neal, Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas still aren’t comfortable with each other on offense or defense, and the Celtics’ scorers are hitting some tough shots in this series. It’s not like LeBron is shooting 3-14 against folding chairs. Boston had the league’s No. 5 defense this season, despite a year filled with injuries to key cogs. And with so few Cavaliers scoring with any efficiency, the Celtics have been able to send two good defenders at LeBron as soon as he makes his move.(Despite that, James had 12 free throws and seven assists Tuesday.)
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Ziller makes a good point - Boston's defense deserves a lot of credit, and it's not like LeBron's teammates stepped up either. These are factors that have to be considered.
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At the same time, LeBron really was out of it in a way that should be sharply criticized. Just watch this video by ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz.
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↵It’s not just that LeBron had a bad game, it’s that his focus was so off in arguably the most important game of Cleveland’s season. People go over the top when things like this happen, but that’s just how it goes sometimes when the consensus best player in the league comes up short like this.
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