LeBron Forgets His Crown. Misses Shot At Game 1

Will LeBron remember the error of past Final series?

Game one is over and we've learned a whole lot even though we're left with several new questions that we hadn't really thought about.  First question is, did we all forget about the dominating point guard named Kyrie Irving during the phenomenal run that Steph Curry has been on?  He may be out for the rest of the series, which will only add to the question of whether or not the point guard who blocked Steph's shot twice- to start the game and when the game was on the line- is actually equal or better to the league MVP?

The potential loss of Irving seems to be enough  for the prognosticators to declare that the series is all but over for Cleveland, who miraculously made it to the finals without the impact of Kyrie along the way.  Of course, J.R. Smith and others were living up to their potential, but even they were the beneficiaries of  timely passes from the best player in the universe who is almost averaging a triple double in the playoffs.

What Happened To The King?

While I would love to ask the question, "What happened to the best player in the universe", I already know the answer to the question long before I ask it.  Social media happens to LeBron, and it will define him or destroy him in the end as he continues to try to write a narrative for his career in response to the criticism of social media and the Michael Jordan effect.  In the Jordan era, turning off a television was a lot easier than turning off the internet is today, and whether he's behind the interview camera or stepping on the court, LeBron continues to try to prove that he is a different player than Jordan, yet worthy of his early coronation as King.

Before we let the outcome of the game confuse the story too much, the splash brothers were just normal pieces to the Warrior puzzle that Steve Kerr manipulated into a victory.  He probably should be creditted for outwitting player coach LeBron James, who even calls timeouts at the end of the game after a key second chance rebound, whether the real coach (whatever his name is) wants it or not.  Bill Russell has done similar things in this league, so it shouldn't be terribly odd- except the NBA hasn't seen a player coach since the 70's, and never an undeclared coach. Coach James had been forcing J.R. Smith to shoot and make big time shots at the end of the game in order to get his team to the finals- even when J.R. had missed earlier shots.

Last night, LeBron wanted that shot for himself.  Coach James, the Cavalier King, would have shared the ball and enjoyed the benefits of a game he probably deserved to win.  LeBron, the social media dude, wanted the fade away 3 point shot to help write a story that he and Kyrie narrated rather nicely until the final missed shots of regulation.  Everything in OT was the result of one deflated team and another who had clearly dodged a major bullet on their home court. The Cavaliers with Kyrie at 100% might have swept this series.  Without him, LeBron will be forced to return to the basketball doctrine of King James, the benevolent passer, instead of LeBron the petulant social media star hungry to be accepted as King.

Behind the decisions that drive LeBron seems to remain the shadow of the only player anybody thinks he has yet to surpass.  Kobe has slowly fallen from the conversation, and Jordan remains as the last man standing for LeBron to surpass.  What that means to some people is LeBron surpassing Jordan's championship victory totals.  He's already matching Jordan in championship experience and surpassing him in other playoff statistics, but he has lost more than he's won.   Would it have been better for LeBron to have never played the game at all?

Maybe.

Maybe it would have helped LeBron's image to lose in the eastern conference finals each time that his team couldn't close the deal instead of taking two inferior Cavalier squads to the dance in addition to a manufactured Miami Heat team that played for the crown every year that he stayed in South Beach?
But I doubt it.

I would be great for LeBron to remember who he is and what he has done to be succesful in his career instead of declaring himself the same unstoppable player that Steph Curry is during press conferences because whenever you say things of the sort, you then are forced to prove it on the court.  LeBron is an incredible player- but he doesn't transform into a King until he thinks like royalty.  Every time LeBron shows up, the King goes away.

Inside of Mr. James is the capacity for royalty, the ability to bring a team that didn't have Kyrie to the finals, and the experience to close the deal as long as he realizes the method of kingdom building along the way.  In reality, the loss of Kyrie is likely just another opportunity to add an additional spice to the narrative that Curry alone might not give anymore.  For important segments of last nights game, I barely noticed Curry on the court, and he was essentially outplayed by an 80% Kyrie Irving.  Shumpert was also able to quiet Curry, but using Shumpert on Curry is a major interior sacrifice for perimeter defense alone.  This series should take on an entirely new complexion without Irving in the lineup, which could be exactly what the doctor ordered for Cleveland who foolishly tried to close out game 1 with isolation plays, abandoning the style that helped them win the east.

Ball movement and defense got them to the dance and it will help them find their footing as they recover from losing the first game of the championship series.  70% of the time, the winner of game 1 goes on to win the series, however, if the losing team does come back 30% of the time, one with a King could get it done.

Respecting The King

Although Steph Curry won this years MVP award, LeBron James was the only player in game one who was treated with the superstar approach.  What is the superstar approach?  Let the star score most of the points (under pressure) while shutting down the supporting cast entirely.  Some pundits anticipated the Cavs would employ the same approach towards the Warriors.  Instead, Cleveland pressured Curry, who got a big boost from supporting players like Mo Speights who hit big shot after big shot when the game could have gotten away from Golden State.

Cleveland's supporting cast offered no such support and the Cavaliers still had two shots at the end of the game to steal one in Oakland.  If they can watch film on the defensive domination that started the game, in which Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mosgov erased any hopes of second chance rebounds, the Cavaliers could easily steal game two and complete the mission of any visiting team- win one game. Outside of that style of play, they'll be swept themselves.

Matchups will be key throughout this series because no team shoots 3's consistently or the percentages from that distance wouldn't be what they are, and both teams launch a fair amount of them.  What that means is that the Cavs will get their shooters activated eventually- which should uncover the physical dominance of Mosgov and Thompson over Bogut and Green.

So long as triple double King James can make that social media dude LeBron pass the damn ball.