NBA Finals: Is this a must-win for LeBron James’ legacy?
By Reece Helms
Another NBA Finals for LeBron James but is this a must win?
“This fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach, and join the Miami Heat.”
Ever since LeBron James said those words, expectations for him every year have been “NBA championship or bust.”
Which is fair, since he promised “Not 1, Not 2, Not 3…” championships. Obviously you can’t win a championship every season, but LeBron has been in the position to do so for the last 6 years.
LeBron James has dominated the Eastern Conference the last six years. He’s had his fair share of struggles getting there though.
In 2012, the Boston Celtics had the Miami Heat on the ropes with a 3-2 series lead.
Then LeBron had maybe the best game of his career. In Game 6 against the Boston Celtics, LeBron finished with 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists. Click on this link for the highlights from that game.
At the time, it was the most important game of LeBron’s career. It was the ultimate must-win game for him.
If the Miami Heat had lost that game, it would’ve been 2 years in Miami for LeBron, and no ring to show for it.
In Game 7 the Heat closed out the series, and went on to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals. That was LeBron’s first ring.
Then in the next season, the Indiana Pacers gave LeBron and the Miami Heat a run for their money.
Indiana was led by Paul George, Lance Stephenson, David West, Roy Hibbert, and others. Frank Vogel coached them to 49 wins and the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference. They pushed Miami to a 7-game series.
LeBron and the Heat went on to win Game 7 at home easily. But other than the Boston Celtics series in 2012, it was probably the toughest series LeBron has had in the East during the “post-decision” era.
The San Antonio Spurs were waiting on LeBron James. They easily defeated James’ Cavs in the 2007 NBA Finals, but this time LeBron had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh by his side.
While Wade and Bosh were important to Miami’s success, Ray Allen was the one who came up clutch in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
For a minute, it looked like the San Antonio Spurs were on the verge of winning the 2013 NBA Finals.
Then everything changed.
Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard both missed crucial free throws down the stretch. Miami was down by 94-89 with 20 seconds left.
LeBron hits a clutch three pointer to make it 94-92.
Then Kawhi Leonard misses a free throw, giving Miami a possibility to tie the game. And that’s when Ray Allen hit one of the biggest shots in NBA Finals history.
People often joke that LeBron owes Ray Allen a thank-you note for his 2nd NBA Finals ring.
Yes, he should thank Ray Allen for that shot to win Game 6. But there was a winner-take-all Game 7 two days later.
LeBron James carried the Miami Heat to a Game 7 win, clinching his second championship ring. James finished that game with 37 points and 12 rebounds. How many points did Ray Allen finish with?
Zero.
Yes, Ray Allen did not make a single shot in Game 7. He played 20 minutes, shot four times, and didn’t make one.
You know who else didn’t score a single point in that Game 7?
Chris Bosh.
In fact, only five players for the Miami Heat scored. LeBron had 37, Wade with 23, Mario Chalmers with 14, Shane Battier had 18 (six three-pointers), and Birdman had 3 points.
Meanwhile for the Spurs, all 8 players who played significant minutes scored at least 2 points.
Next season’s NBA Finals included a rematch between the Heat and Spurs.
This time though, the Spurs had their way, defeating the Heat in 5 games.
After this series, LeBron was a free agent.
We all know what happened, he ended up taking his talents back to Cleveland. Instead of announcing his decision on national TV, he released an essay that was published to Sports Illustrated.
LeBron broke Cleveland’s heart in 2010 when he left for South Beach. And 4 years later he brings his talents back, and is once again loved by the people of Cleveland.
But enough of the drama. Once LeBron James put his Cavalier uniform on again, they were instantly title contenders. Although James stated in his letter that “It would be a long process” for them to become a team that can win a championship.
To the surprise of most people, LeBron’s Cavs were not the number 1 seed in an Eastern conference that was nationally known for being weak compared to the Western Conference. The Atlanta Hawks had an impressive regular season by winning 60 games, while the Cavaliers won 53.
Nonetheless the Cavaliers swept the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, even without Kevin Love. And Kyrie Irving was hobbled for most of the series.
But trying to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals without Irving and Love was too tall of an order.
Cleveland gave Golden State a fight for the first three games. After Game 3, Cleveland held a 2-1 series lead.
But after Game 3, it appeared as if the Cavaliers had ran out of gas.
LeBron James pretty much had to carry the load offensively for Cleveland since the Eastern Conference semis against the Bulls. It’s easy to understand why this Cavs team was so exhausted.
This year’s Cleveland Cavalier playoff run is a different story.
Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have stayed healthy throughout the playoff run, and LeBron James has not been forced to “take over” a game yet. It’s looked like he’s been in cruise control mode so far this post-season.
If Cleveland wants to have a chance to win this year’s NBA Finals, LeBron must get out of “cruise-control” mode. He must take over the series.
Which raises the question:
Is this a “Must-Win” NBA Finals for LeBron James?
Going into these finals, the Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites. Which they should be, they won an NBA record 73 games during the regular season.
With that being said, why should we expect LeBron to win this series?
Because he said himself during last year’s NBA Finals that he is the “greatest player in the world.”
At the time he said that, Stephen Curry didn’t officially have a ring yet, he was just that season’s MVP.
Now Curry has that championship ring, and another MVP. A win in this series would obviously give him his second, which would tie LeBron’s total.
If LeBron James wants to remain “the greatest player in the world,” then yes, this NBA Finals is a must-win for him.
A loss in this year’s NBA Finals will give LeBron a 2-5 record, and he would be the first NBA MVP to lose five NBA Finals series in his career.
Will losing this NBA Finals tarnish LeBron James’ legacy?
It depends.
As I stated earlier, the Warriors are heavy favorites to win this series.
Most experts aren’t giving the Cavaliers much of a chance to win.
So why would it tarnish LeBron’s legacy?
Because LeBron James finally has everything in place.
Last year the Cleveland Cavaliers were a disaster heading into the finals. Kevin Love injured his shoulder in the first round, and Kyrie Irving was hobbled when the series began. Then in Game 1 Kyrie injured his knee and was out for the remainder of the playoffs.
David Blatt was the “head coach” for the Cavaliers at the time, but he did not have the chemistry with his players, specifically LeBron James.
With the injuries to Love and Irving, the Cavaliers didn’t have much depth off the bench. By Game 4, they look physically and mentally exhausted.
This year is different though.
This year’s Cavaliers team has remained healthy during the playoff run.
Not only are Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving healthy, but they have been sensational. Kyrie Irving has been averaging 24 points per game this post-season, while LeBron is also averaging 24.
This Cavalier team has added some depth too. Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye both have been great in the playoffs, both shooting tremendously from three-point land.
Frye is shooting 57% on threes…..fifty-seven percent!
Richard Jefferson is shooting 45%, which is still great, but not as ridiculous as Frye.
And…LeBron finally has the coach he wanted. Tyronn Lue.
Cleveland started off the post-season winning their first 10 games, so Lue didn’t face any adversity until later in the Toronto series. But after losing Games 3 and 4 to the Raptors, Lue’s team responded well by winning Games 5 and 6 to clinch the series.
There are no more excuses for LeBron. He has everything in place to win a championship.
You could make an argument this is LeBron’s best supporting cast heading into an NBA Finals. I would still give the slight edge to his 2013 Miami Heat team that featured championship pedigree such as Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen.
No one on this Cleveland team has won a championship other than LeBron James and James Jones.
James Jones doesn’t play any significant minutes for this Cavs team, and the only rings he has are because of LeBron. He was a role player during the LeBron James era in Miami.
Not taking a shot at James Jones, just saying he doesn’t play any significant minutes. So his experience will only matter in an off-the-court scenario.
Even if this isn’t the “greatest supporting cast” LBJ has had, it’s still a team that is capable of winning.
Here is another thing to keep in mind:
Out of the 7 NBA Finals appearances for LeBron James (including this year) his team has been favored to win only twice out of the seven appearances.
Which means that LeBron’s team has been the inferior opponent five out of his seven trips to the NBA Finals. The two times that his team was favored to win, he won the series.
Do we give LeBron a pass, considering this Warriors team might be the greatest team of all-time?
Again, it depends.
If LeBron comes out and dominates the game like he did during last year’s finals, but doesn’t get much help from his teammates, does he get a pass then if the Warriors win?
To a certain extent, yes.
I’m not saying we just pretend it never happened, but the blame wouldn’t be placed on LeBron.
It would be the Cleveland Cavaliers.
For the first time since LeBron came back home in 2014, the Cavaliers have a healthy roster in the NBA playoffs. Everything is in place for LeBron James to succeed.
If they are unable to beat the Warriors at full strength with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, it might be time to look at making a few changes. Because Steph Curry and the Warriors aren’t going anywhere.
Last year LeBron James almost averaged a triple-double during the Finals. He finished with 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Anyone who blames the Cavaliers losing in the NBA Finals last year on LeBron James doesn’t know anything about basketball.
Let’s say the Warriors beat the Cavaliers in 6 games like they did last season.
Steph Curry is playing like the MVP he is, and LeBron struggles. Should LeBron take the blame then?
Absolutely.
But if LeBron plays out of his mind, they take the Warriors to 7-games, but in Game 7 at home, the Warriors win comfortably en-route to their 2nd championship in a row. There’s nothing James can do about that.
I mean, the Warriors are this generation’s 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls, they’re even 1 win better than them.
Despite all of the success LeBron has had, if he leads the Cavaliers to win the 2016 NBA Finals, I think it will be his greatest accomplishment.
Some argue that him taking the not-very-talented 2007 Cavaliers team to the NBA Finals will always be his greatest accomplishment. But I think a win in this finals against the Warriors would surpass that.
Ever since LeBron James has come out of high school, everyone has compared him to Michael Jordan. And LeBron has embraced that by wearing number 23 like MJ.
If LeBron is still trying to be like MJ, then yes this NBA Finals is a must-win for him. If James can’t win this year, he would be 2-5 in the finals, with 3 losses in a row. That is very un-Jordan like.
In conclusion, is this a must-win NBA Finals for LeBron James’ legacy?
Yes, if he still wants to be considered the greatest basketball player in the world. In some people’s eyes Steph Curry is already the best, but it will be official if Curry beats LeBron when the Cavaliers are at full strength.
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There is a lot of pressure on LeBron. Not only is he playing for his 3rd championship ring, but he’s carrying the whole city of Cleveland on his back.
The city of Cleveland is starving for a championship. It has been since 1964 a pro sports team has won a championship.
Although the Warriors are a tough team, this might be LeBron’s best chance to win a ring in Cleveland.
This is the healthiest his Cavaliers team can be. He finally has everything in place to succeed, it’s on him now to deliver that championship to Cleveland.
Get your popcorn ready, it’s going to be a great NBA Finals.