Maybe it's time to just appreciate greatness

In a shocking development, decided to stretch out the sleep to four hours from three last night, hope you don’t mind this being a little bit late.

Tough noogies if you do.

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There is no doubt LeBron James is a polarizing figure, a lot of the great athletes of our era are, and he has surely given enough fodder for people on both sides of the fence.

Yes, The Decision was an ill-conceived moment of narcissism and the inaugural celebration of the Big Three was premature and over the top and garbage but that’s all it was, really, but the stench has stuck to him for almost two years now.

And yes, we look at that body and see those skills and feel somehow cheated that he isn’t like he was last night more often but that is simply asking too much.

I have been highly critical of James for years, I’m more appreciative of grace than raw power in this game and I would think there are several of you out there who feel the same.

But, really, if this isn’t a redemptive NBA Finals, it should be; what James is doing is simply stunning on so many levels that we really should marvel at it.

No, it will not change everyone’s opinion of him by any stretch, many people who dislike him for whatever reason still will but that, frankly, is their loss.

All he’s done is whatever it takes. He has attacked the basket, he has defended, he has made passes and grabbed rebounds and he has been astonishing to watch.

It has provided a glimpse into an athlete at the absolute peak of his abilities and if you can’t put aside whatever lingering jealousy or whatever it is for a little while, that’s on you.

The three-point shot that snapped a late tie last night – with a body betraying him and a season in the balance – was, as Erik Spoelstra said, a simple matter of will and determination winning the moment.

It was one of those “wow” moments without being athletic, it was a great shot under trying circumstances with so much on the line; it was a career-moment and I’m glad I was there to experience it.

Now, those who know me know that I cannot comprehend at any level the pain he must have been feeling; he said “it’s basically like your body just shuts down, your legs shut down on you, there’s nothing really you can do about it” and who among us knows that feeling like he does?

But it gives you an appreciation of mental toughness, and should give you an appreciation for athletic ability and, you know what, that should probably make up for whatever past feelings still linger.

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Man, how did I miss this?

Super Son and I once spent a fine weekend afternoon in a theatre chortling through the Three Stooges movie – it was pretty good and Larry David as Nun has to be seen to be believed – and now it’s time to pay homage to one of the originals.

It was Moe’s birthday yesterday.

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Mighty Red Tigers got drilled Tuesday night.

Just in case you were wondering.

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Things are a tad jumbled around here, I’m going somewhere Friday but I’m not sure where or when but I know there’ll be time for mail.

You know the drill.

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Some brain cramp, Russ.

Yeah, the foul with 13.8 seconds left by Westbrook with his team down three and only 4.2 seconds left on the shot clock was a brain cramp but why?

Well, it all has to do with a tiny tweak by an old-time competition committee that we’re even talking about it and the next time they go through the esoteric rule changes they make, you might want to take notice.

There was 8-10ths of a second left on the shot clock when Harden tied up Haslem for a jump ball. Not too many years ago – and we couldn’t pin down precisely when the changed was made but we think it was five or six years ago – the shot clock would have been reset to 14 if the Heat had gained possession off the tip (it would have gone to 24 if the Thunder get the ball) and the Westbrook foul would have been far more necessary.

The change was actually made, according to league officials, to reward the defensive team for a good possession while still giving the offensive team a fair amount of time to get off a shot.

Still, everyone in the arena knew how much time was on the shot clock, Westbrook was reminded by the OKC bench; it was a mental lapse and the next time you roll your eyes when you hear a coach yammering on about the importance of knowing time and score, think of last night’s moment.

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A quick Canada moment?

The junior men’s team had its run of wins at the worlds qualifier end Tuesday night, beaten by Brazil in the semifinals, denied a chance to play the Americans for gold.

Not all that big a deal, actually. They did what they had to do down there and that was to qualify for next year’s worlds and that was accomplished on the weekend.

It’s never good to lose, never fun but it’s hard to beat any host team in one of these events and full measure to the lads for taking care of business early.

It’s a good young group and this tournament will be an excellent experience they can take with them to the worlds next summer.

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Okay, now I have to go find out what kind of flight options exist for Friday for a couple of cities. A lot of me wants to be sitting on my couch on Friday evening getting re-acquainted with the family but, you know what? This series has been so compelling and so fascinating, I wouldn’t mind another few days on the road just so I can see more.

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Comments

[AT]

Right on the money about Lebron, this was definitely a win by
LBJ with the help of supporting cast rather than the big 3. It has got to drive a coach nuts when guys have slumped all game (Harden 2-10, 4 Turnovers) and they try and FORCE they way through it and yes at anytime anyone can do anything they have done in the past, but you gotta know yourself and how things have gone all game for you and if you are not feeling it, give the ball at those crucial times during the game to someone that is hot (KD, RW)!!
The Heat are starting to show some signs of the Celtics in their ability to grind out wins. I hope the series is not over on Thurs. it's been too good to end after just 5 games!

[Mike D.]

Who among us knows the feeling of "“it’s basically like your body just shuts down, your legs shut down on you, there’s nothing really you can do about it”???

I take it you mean AFTER the first coffee of the morning? Or was the question rhetorical?

[Moshigh]

Where should I start with Lebron or Bosh or Miami team in general. OK its not over yet, but its looking bleak for OKC.

Bosh all these so called Raptors fans who booo him for playing out 2 contracts then deciding to leave. Why because he didnt stay on a team that was going into rebuilding and he is at the prime of his career? Im tired of hearing darn foolishness. Raptors should have traded him then. This is a cut throat business, teams trade guys all the time when they say they arent. Why shouldnt players be the same way!! Why put all your cards on the table when owners never do!

Lebron, people still crying about the "decision" when he raised millions for boys and girls club. Yes the opening with not 4,5,6 but hey its just hype. Im sure if we were in MIA we would of loved that. What I like about Lebron in this finals, he isnt smiling,laughing or taking this for a joke. Its is all business. 1 game away from shutting up all the people who attack his character and really dont even know him. They must close out.

Okc is dead, I seen Durant hug his mom last night and it look like a defeated person, this is done next game.
All now we cant find Harden. Its big 2.5 not a big 3 on OKC.

Its early but all of you who said big 3 cant work and supply the hate, keep it coming. Wheels have fallen off the OKC bandwagon!!!

[chris]

It's not his fault, but Lebron would be far more likeable if the refs stopped sending him to the line every time someone comes within 12 inches of him. It's sad how bad calls give OKC a 10 point deficit to overcome every game.

Blogger's note: Yeah, those fewer than 10 FTs he's getting a game despite getting into the paint on nearly every possession is the difference; as opposed to the 7 FTs a game for Durant; those 2 1-2 per game shows the fix is in

[nate]

As big of a game that Lebron had, I was blown away by some of the HUGE defensive stops Wade came up with late in the game. Couple blocks, a steal or two, not to mention some key buckets on the other end.

And Westbrook, despite the careless foul at the end, had a huge game. He was unstoppable driving to the net. He made the exact same play more than 10 times and was too quick and athletic for anyone to get in his way.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug (and Irregulars):

Some info about a possible NBL franchise in Windsor:

http://www.windsorstar.com/Windsor+makes+hoops+team/6809859/story.html

[Steve]

Westbrook and Durant just looked broken in the post-game press conference. I still believe if they can win the next game and take it back to OKC they are a chance*. Scott Brooks has his work cut out for him turning them around mentally for this next game though, and I will be perfectly happy to finally see Lebron get his ring if that is what ends up happening.

* Yes, yes, I know - nobody's ever come back from 3-1 down, a meaningless statistic if ever there was one, sooner or later somebody will and ESPN will have to talk about something else.

[Dave B]

Maybe there is something to having to experience the big stage before being successful. This is LeBron's third trip to the finals and he is very focused this time. LeBron is playing extremely well.

Maybe Durant and Westbrook are too young and inexperienced to be successful at this level. It is obvious that Harden is. There have been a lot of critical mistakes by yhe players and the coach that may have led to to OKC losses. Perkins and the bench have bee ineffective this series. I assume they will learn and get better next year.

I expect there will only be one more game and aren't we all a little disappointed not to see what would have happened if the Heat had lost again this year? Would the coach survive? Would Wade be traded for better pieces? Now we will never know.

I don't think the angst against LeBron, Wade and Bosh is still due to the decision and the twitter BS from Bosh. I think it was the arrogance displayed every time they spoke to the media, especially last year. However, they have really toned it down lately and I assume the "handlers" and advisers are finally getting through to them. Maybe Tim Grover is getting through to Wade. Although Bosh is still a lot more about "me" and "I" than the team.

Have a safe flight home on Friday.

[jb]

Definitely a brain fart by Westbrook to foul after the jump ball. But I am surprise that no one has jumped all over Harden for this...
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"There was 8-10ths of a second left on the shot clock when Harden tied up Haslem for a jump ball."
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Harden tied up the ball with 8-10ths of a second left. As I recall Udonis Haslem was on the floor with the ball when Harden tied him up. Had Harden been more aware, he should have left Udonis alone and the shot clock would have expired, change of possession. No Westbrook foul and they would have plenty of time for a game tying shot - overtime without Lebron would have been a fun thing to see.

Blogger's note: What if he doesn't tie him up and Haslem hits a 5-footer?

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
Yes, an amazing series indeed; I've got nothing insightful to add - other than in order to fulfill my own personal wish to see many more great plays by great players in these Finals - here's hoping the Thunder regroup, recalibrate and reintroduce Harden to ahh - his game - to ensure there's at least another two games. Anyone else have trouble sleeping after they're over? I was still buzzing hours later!

And @Tim H.: Welcome to the NBL! At least to the very initial stage of belonging. It's been such a great experience to have our team here in London. And what a great rivalry our two cities could have! Like the our Knights and your Spitfires. But just one little thing. Before we can be friendly rivals and all that, it's not "Lightening" as your reporter wrote in his story. Sniff. Ahem. Spelling counts. Please let your people know. Franchises aren't usually denied for spelling reasons, but when people speak of crossing the T's and dotting the I's you might want to incorporate dropping the unwanted "E"s. :)

Cheers! And Go 7-Game Series!

[Tim H.]

@Lorie - I weep for the death of grammar and spelling in our society. The unfortunate problem here is that, since 'lightening' is actually a word, spell check would not catch. I apologize for the local paper - I am often not impressed with it.

[Rob.V]

Man, do the playoffs really expose teams or what. Going into this series I thought Ibaka/Perkins and Collison were simply too much for the Heat however Miami won the glass again last night.
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Right now, the starting bigs for OKC are non existent. Last night?
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Ibaka/Perkins - 10 rebounds - 8 points
LBJ - 9 Rebounds... and a million other points and assists
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Again, I know it's easier said than done however OKC cannot allow Lebron to be Magic Johnson AND Tim Duncan. OKC is going to have to live with the 3 point attempts from everyone else or they're going to have to shut down Miami's role players and let LBJ try to score 50... but they cant let Lebron do both. What's left, Ibaka on James? Me?, I might be inclined to play more Collison to spread the floor on the offensive end.
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Having said this, how good was Dwayne Casey's zone defense from last years finals?. Seriously, we've seen it first hand this year with us. Yes, James is posting up more this year however our system does a good job of clogging the lane which is very promising for T.O going forward.
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Also, how good do our bigs look right now? Andrea/JV/Amir/Davis/Sullinger? (with trade back). If the Thunder get bounced in 5 they are going to have to look long and hard at their big men because it is very clear that they need some low post scoring.
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Presti: Hello Byan?.
Colangelo: Oh, hi Sam how are.
Presti: I'm good, did you watch the finals
Colangelo: Of course! You have a great young team there.
Presti: Yes, although we need some scoring from a 4/5... any thoughts on moving Andrea
Colangelo: Well, it would seem that there is a new appreciation for the big Roman around the league (after watching your bigs plod along aimlessly for 5 games). Haha, I'm just kidding Sam. Okay, on the serious... let's talk... but what else are you going to give me with James Harden. Collison?

[Tim]

My opinion of James has certainly softened. Even before the Decision, I never really cared for him. He always seemed like an entitled drama queen to me -- remember the dancing on the sidelines? The Decision was just Lebron James writ large. And while he had every right to go to Miami, I still didn't like it. He did seem to be trying to win a championship the easy way, like he thought teaming up with Wade and Bosh would mean he could just party and have fun and let the trophies rain down upon him. That to me is the opposite of striving for greatness.

But since then, he's had to battle through some adversity. After being idolized as a Messiah-like figure for years, he spent, what, 2 years as one of the most hated figures in sports? And it's not like his time in Miami has always been easy. Last year they lost the finals in a heartbreaker, and he's certainly battled through the playoffs this year. The Heat had to come from behind against Indiana, Boston, and OKC. He's had to grow his game and really battle hard to win this year, so he's at least grown as a basketball player, and probably as a man, too.

Sure the guy seems like a bit of a jerk, but it's not like he's ever done anything really wrong. It also seems like lately James and the rest of the Heat have really toned down the arrogance and the juvenile antics and instead focused on being professional and winning. James has battled through some tough times and come out on top, and you have to respect that. He's even a regular reader now, which I think is great and shows a certain depth. I might even be starting to like the guy.

That said, I think I'd like him a lot better if they blew the lead in this series, and he had to spend a few more years learning humility and battling through adversity on the court. Go OKC! Their time will come -- if nothing else, this finals appearance will have been a real learning experience.

[jb]

"Blogger's note: What if he doesn't tie him up and Haslem hits a 5-footer?"
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Unless I am wrong, there was a second or two left when Udonis got the ball and was falling to the ground. That's when Harden tied him up. There was no way Udonis could have gotten a shot off at the time. I think Van Gundy even said, he shouldn't have bother tying him up - it would have been a 24 second violation.

Blogger's note: Who knows

[TLI]

@nate -- props for acknowledging defensive contribution last night.
He was a blocking machine in the 4th... crushing!

[Ren]

Argue all you want about it - this is certain: experience, as always, will win it in the end.

[chris]

Doug - watch the game on tv. Wade and Lebron were sent to the line 5 times last night on non-fouls.

[LeeZ]

Sorry for bringing up the whole charging thing from yesterday, but there were a couple of late posts from @Doug and @Steve and I just wanted to add my last two cents on the matter, and since this blog is all about me...(oh crap, just remembered, it's all about Doug! Goshdarnit!)
If anyone ever watches some of those games from the 70s and 80s, do you know what you WON'T see? Purposedly-induced charging calls (i.e. defensive player purposely jumps into ball-handler's path, making no attempt to actually cover the guy, but solely to draw a charge. Usually accompanied by a flop. It just never happened. Ever. Somewere along the way, some coach (maybe it was Reilly, but I have no idea) started teaching his guys to draw charges. And the sport is the worse for it, imho. @Doug: it's not parting the Red Sea, it CAN be done, and relatively easily: just call a foul every time someone does it. And in so doing, you'll get rid of a good 50% of the flopping. Sorry Doug for beating a dead horse. Wouldn't mind hearing your view on this, if you'd care to share.

[Peter]

Thanks for the blog, Doug!

I think people forget how Michael Jordan was kind of a jerk (until he reminded everyone at his hall of fame induction) because he won so much.

Winning erases all that other stuff.

If the Heat win the finals this year, it will silence a lot of the criticisms of Lebron.

Look at Dirk as a comparison. Even those who criticized him as a soft Euro-player stopped after he won a championship.

It all comes back to winning. People remember winning.

[james]

As Lorie notes, the only problem with this final may be its length. I would love to see another two or three games. I like Rob. V's insight about Casey's defense.

[jb]

@Rob V
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I think Presti's answer would be -"How about a big NO and stop over valuing your players"
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Sullinger? - He's been red flagged by the medical staff(back issues)
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http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story/_/id/8069495/2012-nba-draft-docs-medically-red-flag-jared-sullinger-sources-say

[Moshigh]

I really cant understand why now that Heat are close to winning a title the silly ish like "the easy way" by signing with 2 other all stars.

First of all the season is a GRIND!!
second...Imagine 3 mega personalities (then other ego's from surrounding players) and think how hard it is for people to take the back seat when they arent used to it.

Lets see these so called big 3 before merging.
Wade won a title, then carried team thru some rough years making playoffs in some but early oustings

Bosh carried to team playoffs with minimal help and no other top A or B tier players

Lebron carried team to a finals, multiple division titles and playoffs with NO A or B tier players.

All 3 of those teams, were going the wrong way.

If all these guys came to Toronto none of us complain or may 1%.

Players should run the ship sometime, how is Carmelo, Stoudamire and Chandler doing ?

Nothing is automatic.

DOWN GO THE THUNDER!!! Nice team but not ready yet.
Where is all this talk that Harden is more useful of a big 3 then Bosh now!!! Ha where is the talk that Bosh cant block or Rebound. Again its not done yet, but when it is then I will be the Jerk for you guys to hate!!!

[Angelo]

What a performance by Westbrook, and a disappearing act by Harden. Having experienced leg cramping those 2 possessions with Lebron scoring after the cramp seem superhuman..
Here's hoping Harden gets it together and this series goes to a 7th game.

[james]

I did want to make a contribution to the flopping debate but I had to think about it. I suppose flopping is a form of cheating but cheating is an integral part of all team sports, just as it is of all forms of human endeavour. It requires the cooperation, at least subconsciously, of game officials and comes in many forms. It can be literally "in your face" as when Brad Marchand's glove meets Daniel Sedin's nose or as subtle as a surreptitious tug of a jersey. Performance enhancing drugs are a category all their own and not what I'm talking about. I actually think there is an art to it (see: Ginobli, Manu) and as such I quite enjoy it, even though it is infuriating when your team is the victim. There is an inherent complexity to it. One of the best is Glen Davis, who often doesn't get the call because of his, er, body type. I guess you can try to legislate it away, and a King Canute would no doubt try, but I'd miss it and an individual decision is almost never definitive. There will always be room for an argument.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Impressive yardball last night by the TOD. Offence o' plenty. If Jays ownership is serious about being competitive without resorting to making injuries the excuse to trot out that stale old "we're a year away" theme song again, they'll give Boy Wonder AA a green light to buy some pitching. Fill 'er up! 6.5 back at the end of June is a fork in the road, not in the season.
Cheers. Go Sixth Man! Better late than never.