LeBron Bows Out From Leg Cramps. Should The Spurs Fix The A/C?

"Sugar" Ray Allen might have been thanking
 Jesus that he didn't miss this dunk. - CBS sports

One game down and the story line remains virtually unchanged.  The luck, or lack thereof, is becoming palpable in relation to these teams and this level of competition between them. I know it has been a while, but Ray Allen must have kept his Boston Celtic Irish luck with him when he drove the lane and completed a full court driving dunk that has the blogoshpere calling him Jesus Shuttlesworth once again. When you are a 6' 5" NBA player, you had better be able to still put one in the hole as needed.  The strain of completing it showed that his hops will go away a few years after he retires....which might be soon if LeBron can't take the Heat in San Antonio.  


Fan's of the NBA and HVAC repair men all over San Antonio, Texas are scrambling over the news that the A/C didn't work during last nights game in San Antonio.  As a result of the heat, the Heat took a Game 1 loss to the Spurs when the league's best player, LeBron James, went down with cramps, presumably from the heat of a Texas arena without AC.

Much like the humidor Colorado uses for baseball's, the Spur's have uncovered a competitive advantage that is not "technically" against any rule.  LeBron, who has had history of cramping up in the playoffs, was the only player taken out by the Heat as Spoelstra waved the white flag, refusing to give LeBron a second chance to play on expired limbs. Teammates had to help him off the court from the failed first attempt. While most expect the Spurs to correct the condition of the air, the repeated "heat" related songs that the Spurs organization chose to play in their blazing hot arena sounds like the kind of premeditation that could accidentally cause another A/C failure now that we all realize heat and Heat don't mix.

Here's where LeBron and Spoelstra are going to have to manage his minutes and his hydration better.  There are ways to avoid these things, but freakish genetics can be freakishly demanding on ones hydration level.  Skinny cats rule basketball because they are more capable of enduring the aerobic strain.  The thin player also has an easier ability to play a longer career since they put less strain on joints and ligaments throughout their careers.

Jesus might be blessed to play until he is 40 (even though he may never get another dunk), but Lebron will have to expand his understanding of the limited power of his massive physic versus the greater power of his brain. He may even want to become, and actually play at power forward to avoid the beating that he puts on his nearly 300 pound frame while squatting to defend smaller players.  If LeBron is a chiseled 270 now, age will easily see fit to add 10-30 lbs. of additional mass that comes with aging. At some point his desire to display perimeter domination has to give way to a style of game that provides better stamina.  270 pound guards can certainly force their will upon any basketball game, as long as they have the legs to avoid getting benched in the end of the NBA finals from leg cramps.  

You know why you can't remember the last time that you saw a Ray Allen dunk?  Because Ray is old school and old school realizes that the dunk still is only worth 2 points.  Until it becomes worth more, it comes with a physical price that you only sacrifice when situations demand.  When Allen decided to dunk the ball, he pushed off on the only player that had a chance to stop his attack of the rim.  Even with that push, he realized that an older, more mature player who expected such a push would have recovered enough to contest almost any shot........except a dunk.

Ray Allen dunked the ball for one reason and one reason only.  He had no other choice in the matter.  Until LeBron James understands this kind of basketball and stops dunking and wasting leg stamina just for the Michael Jordan of it (who was 54 lbs. lighter than King James), then he might never avoid late game cramping in the playoffs..especially in Texas, cuz everything is hot in Texas.  Even playoff basketball.