LeBron James and the number two. “Two” represents the maximum number of points that LeBron has been able to score in the fourth quarter. It is why he will awaken to a hangover of horror from his seeming late-game impotence against the Dallas Mavs.
“Two” represents the pecking order that he appears to have on the Miami Heat team. And, most heartbreaking for Heat fans, the number “two” might also represent the number of years it will take for him to win a title if he doesn’t do a reversal of his horrid fourth quarter performances.
James stared at the stats sheet for a long time during the post-game interview. It was as if he was trying desperately, by force of will, to magically change the final numbers from a 112-103 loss to the Mavericks.
Despite depositing a triple double, James could not will himself to a powerful performance with the game on the line. Subsequently, and to the deafening and delirious delight of millions of b-ball fans who make up the anti-Miami Heat brigade, the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki are one win away from securing their first NBA Title. The Mavs fourth quarters in the last two games have helped them climb back from a two-games-to-one deficit at home to a commanding, and seemingly insurmountable 3-2 advantage.
King James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat will face a unbearably hot summer if they lose one more game and crank the engines to start the victory floats in Dallas instead of South Beach. Unbearably hot because James upset the balance of power in the NBA when he took his talents to “South Beach” — where no NBA franchise exists, by the way. Unbearably hot from the glares of disgust he will receive from Miami Heat fans who bought in to the LeBron James hype, literally and figuratively. Unbearably hot from the gust of heat that will hit him from the euphoric energy created from Cleveland celebrations if James and the Heat lose Game 6 on Sunday.
For any other player, 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists are very respectable numbers. But they are very mediocre for a man who anointed himself “King James” and created unprecedented hype by conspiring with D-Wade and Bosh to form a triumvirate of superstars in “South Beach,” provoking a nationwide backlash.
–terry shropshire
