LeBron James and the Controversy

This post is in response to the recent event where LeBron James is accused of "quitting" on his team by leaving the court when there was still 10 seconds left on the clock during the loss to the Atlanta Hawks in OT.

The first thing that came to my mind was "Are you serious?". I can't believe the media is making such a big deal out of this incident. Also, I can't believe people continue to target LeBron for every move he makes, no matter if it has positive or negative repercussions. Give the guy a break! LeBron didn't quit on his team. If he did, he would have pulled what Kobe did several years ago and not shoot the ball after Phil Jackson complained that Kobe took too many shots (basically, Phil was saying that the offense needs to run through Shaq, not Kobe). LeBron played basically the entire game and the Cavs were leading with a cushion until Joe Johnson and Tyronne Lue took over.

From the video footage that I saw, after Lue rebounded the Cavs' last miss, everyone except LeBron ran back for defense and watched Lue dribble out the clock. LeBron just didn't care to do that and, from his words, just stood near the Cavs bench instead. The camera didn't pan out far enough for the viewers to confirm what LeBron did but I believe him. With 10 seconds left in overtime, there was no way the Cavs can win the game with Atlanta leading by 9. LeBron was probably frustrated that his team lost to the Hawks at home and want to get back into the locker room to get away from the media.

When the media compared LeBron's incident with what Randy Moss did in a Raider game last year, I got angry. I agree with Stephen A. Smith's commentary that although what LeBron did was not the smartest thing (knowing that all eyes are on LeBron at all times), the comparison to Moss is incomprehensible because LeBron is a leader with character and Moss is not. LeBron, at age 21, doesn't mind carrying his team on his shoulders to victory. Moss, on the other hand, is still trying to learn that. LeBron is mature beyond his years and his leadership is what the new NBA is under (along with Wade, Melo, Paul, etc.).

LeBron is a man of action and what he did in his next game (against the Bulls) spoke volumes. LeBron only scored 19 points, but he handed out 12 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in a win over Chicago. Also, LeBron had 34 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block in the loss against Atlanta. Do these stats sound like quitting to you?

If I'm the Hawks, I would be a little bit afraid of LeBron during the next encounter. #23 has extra motivation now to put the Hawks back to where he thinks they should be ... in the loss column.