LeBron James Blows a Chance to Win Game 3 of the NBA Finals
June 13th 2007 12:20
Cleveland is going…going…gone? In what turned out to be an ugly,
grind-it-out contest saw San Antonio fall over the finish line to win an all important Game 3, 75-72. The Cavs are now 0-3 down and no team in the history of the NBA have overcome such a deep deficit. Cleveland, NBALOUD can assure you are not the team to change the tune of this song.
LeBron James once again had the chance to be the hero in his own house and on the biggest stage in pro-hoops – instead he passed off the opportunity literally and metaphorically. With 13 seconds left on the clock and the with the contest up for grabs James passed the ball off to teammate Anderson Varejao instead of taking it strong to the hoop. In fairness to Bron-Bron he expected to get the ball back, but the big Brazilian with the Sideshow Bob hairdo decided to take the shot himself and failed miserably. Should have made the shot yourself Bron-Bron.
There was one more chance left for the Cavs to take the game into overtime but LeBron’s 3-point heave missed with Bruce Bowen fouling King James on the shot attempt. However, the refs let the play go, which was a travesty in itself because you’d expect the man to get a call in his palace, during the finals, and because he is a superstar, especially when it was a legitimate foul! But it wasn’t to be.
San Antonio can thank their lucky stars that they got out of jail and this space would urge the Spurs players to buy a lottery ticket because it is their day of fortune but the reality is all of these guys make more money than the prize money given out!
Tony Parker wasn’t as dominant as he had been in the series but still managed to torch the Cavs with 17, including a key 3-point basket with a minute to go, while Tim Duncan was even more muted scoring 14 and getting a lot of bench time due to fouls. Manu Ginobili the final piece of the star Spurs star puzzle had a dreadful performance scoring only three points with all of them coming from the free-throw line and with 10 seconds to play.
Cavs fans and the players will be rueing a golden opportunity to steal a win.
Daniel Gibson the rookie Cleveland point guard who has been mesmerising during the finals so far got his first start in a postseason game, replacing the injured Larry Hughes and what did the young fella do with his promotion? He proceeded to stink up the building, going 1-for-10 and scoring only two points. Gibson whose nickname is ‘Boobie’ played like a boob.
The Cavs can lament all they want about lost opportunities but it begins and ends with LeBron James, who once again showed to the world that he hasn’t quite mastered the art of taking the proverbial bull by the horns and bitch slapping the opposition. James has been lauded as a superstar and at times he has displayed his wares to the universe, but when the moment demands he steps up and win the game for the team, LeBron has looked like a little kid lost.
History and the moment have demanded that LeBron James take the mantle as the anointed one in the NBA. So, far he has failed to heed the call.
After spending this post bemoaning the clutch abilities of LeBron James it is only fair today’s video is something cool in regards to the King. An artist with too much time on his hand made an Etch-A-Sketch portrait of James and it is rather impressive.
LeBron James gets testy at the end of Game 3 over the non-call during his 3-point attempt. (Photo by Chris Graythen/NBAE via Getty Images)
LeBron James once again had the chance to be the hero in his own house and on the biggest stage in pro-hoops – instead he passed off the opportunity literally and metaphorically. With 13 seconds left on the clock and the with the contest up for grabs James passed the ball off to teammate Anderson Varejao instead of taking it strong to the hoop. In fairness to Bron-Bron he expected to get the ball back, but the big Brazilian with the Sideshow Bob hairdo decided to take the shot himself and failed miserably. Should have made the shot yourself Bron-Bron.
There was one more chance left for the Cavs to take the game into overtime but LeBron’s 3-point heave missed with Bruce Bowen fouling King James on the shot attempt. However, the refs let the play go, which was a travesty in itself because you’d expect the man to get a call in his palace, during the finals, and because he is a superstar, especially when it was a legitimate foul! But it wasn’t to be.
San Antonio can thank their lucky stars that they got out of jail and this space would urge the Spurs players to buy a lottery ticket because it is their day of fortune but the reality is all of these guys make more money than the prize money given out!
Tony Parker wasn’t as dominant as he had been in the series but still managed to torch the Cavs with 17, including a key 3-point basket with a minute to go, while Tim Duncan was even more muted scoring 14 and getting a lot of bench time due to fouls. Manu Ginobili the final piece of the star Spurs star puzzle had a dreadful performance scoring only three points with all of them coming from the free-throw line and with 10 seconds to play.
If you ever get the chance take a look at pictures of LeBron James in the finals, because Bruce Bowen is always in the same frame. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Cavs fans and the players will be rueing a golden opportunity to steal a win.
Daniel Gibson the rookie Cleveland point guard who has been mesmerising during the finals so far got his first start in a postseason game, replacing the injured Larry Hughes and what did the young fella do with his promotion? He proceeded to stink up the building, going 1-for-10 and scoring only two points. Gibson whose nickname is ‘Boobie’ played like a boob.
The Cavs can lament all they want about lost opportunities but it begins and ends with LeBron James, who once again showed to the world that he hasn’t quite mastered the art of taking the proverbial bull by the horns and bitch slapping the opposition. James has been lauded as a superstar and at times he has displayed his wares to the universe, but when the moment demands he steps up and win the game for the team, LeBron has looked like a little kid lost.
History and the moment have demanded that LeBron James take the mantle as the anointed one in the NBA. So, far he has failed to heed the call.
After spending this post bemoaning the clutch abilities of LeBron James it is only fair today’s video is something cool in regards to the King. An artist with too much time on his hand made an Etch-A-Sketch portrait of James and it is rather impressive.
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Comment by Deorre
Stress Alive
Man Lessons
Great post, again. I am going to show my son, who is interested in sports journaoism, your writing.
Comment by charles
ZCars
Ponderous
Any chance of a white-wash for the Spurs?
Charles.
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Stanley
oh, also thanks for ignoring that little error in the middle of the post too i only caught it just now hahaha.
charles - yes, my boys live to procreate some time in the future with an unfortunate lady with low standards.
in answer to your question, yes, the spurs will clean up because they already have and i have the joy of hindsight! hahaha
cibby - i don't think he has that killer instinct just yet. in due time.
kylie - agreed. he is still developing and that mentality comes naturally for some (kobe, gilbert arenas) while for others it takes time. it'll click for him but the spurs defence deserves much credit as well.
anon - as mentioned earlier to kylie a big reason why lebron has been more muted is because the spurs and bruce bowen played awesome 'd' on the king. you can't really do much when the opposition is making life miserable for you on court.
and you are right. shaq did get swept in his first finals appearance but you can give a lot of blame towards nick anderson though who famously choked in game 1. poor nick, he was never the same after that debacle.