We are all witness

Before you detect this article as being pure sour grapes, let me first establish some things that even a diehard Pistons fan like myself has to admit:

- The Pistons played as well as they’ve played since games 1 and 2 against Chicago…..and James still had enough to beat them…..not a good sign going into game 6 if you root for Detroit

-  Lebron James has taken his game to a new level during these past few games.  After having a ho-hum regular season and unremarkable playoff, King James is playing at a level that hasn’t been seen since……well Dwayne Wade last year.

-  Lebron beat the Pistons by himself yesterday.  We had absolutely no answer for him, and when he’s hitting his jumper, he can’t be stopped.  Not by the Pistons, not by the Spurs, not by ANYONE.

-  That performance last night was Jordanesque……and unfortunately image conscious Lebron James knew it.

And with that last point lies the problem.  Lebron James refusal to become his own superstar….deciding instead to follow the Kobe Bryants’ of the world and try to mimic everything about his Airness. 

First I have to deal with the “Lebrons” commercials which at first I was pretty excited about.  Not since Little Penny have I been this impressed with a NBA player’s gimmick.  But then all last night I have to listen to the commercial where the older Lebron says “Jordan went through Detroit, now you have to go through Detroit.”  Even if you’re thinking that this guy might be the best player we’ve seen since Michael Jordan, do you really need to hear it from Lebron?

And the attempt to mimic MJ has gotten out of hand as his play has risen.  After he scores the go-ahead lay-up, he goes back to his bench and buries his head into one of his nameless teammates (ala Sick Jordan Game against Utah). 
           
Lebron has also become a “leader” on the Cavs the past few nights.  Which of course means taking over huddles (ala Jordan) with wisdom like “Don’t foul any shooters” to Drew Gooden with his team up 4 in Game 4 (Gooden decided to flail at Rasheed Wallace anyways….did I mention how bad the Cavs are without Lebron?)  Jordan took over huddles because that’s what he did….Lebron taking over huddles looks forced, like he’s trying to emulate a man that people shouldn’t try to emulate.  And then, I swear to God he was trying to sound just like Jordan in the post game softball question/make out session with Craig “My thing will be to dress like I’m colorblind to get noticed” Sager.  Not just the answers, but his actual voice.  If someone has Lebrons interview and a Jordan interview (preferably with a sideline reporter after the game) on YouTube, please send it to me, because I swear their voices are very similar.

Side note: TNT clowns have been bashing Lebron for not being a leader for the entire season……trust me, they threw him under the bus.  The past two games i’ve listened to these same clowns (stop dying your hair) talk about how he’s evolving into a leader.  I wish I could cut out these inept bastards’ tongues sometimes.  It’s easy to act like you’re a macho leader when you can do no wrong on the court!  When you score at will against one of the top defenses in the league, it’s easy to “become a leader”.  Take a look at the entire season when James struggled…..if leading was biting your fingernails, then Lebron James is fucking Winston Churchill. 

Lebron, you don’t have to act just like Jordan, people who have tried have failed time and time again.  Do I think LB could be the new MJ?  Yeah, I really do, I think he’s physically more gifted then Jordan, and I think he really hasn’t scratched the surface with his defense yet.  The problem is, he’s been compared to MJ, studied MJ, wears MJ’s number,  and flat out wanted to be MJ his whole life.  But we’ve already had Jordan, loved Jordan, Idolized Jordan, and frankly I don’t want another one.  So do us a favor King James, Play like Jordan on the court, but act like Lebron off of it.

Violent J

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