NBA Finals | It’s time for LeBron to dominate like he never has before

LeBron James is averaging 28 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists through five games of the 2016 NBA Finals ... and now he really needs to take over.

by Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

Got no vibe, no juice, no gut feeling on this one.

Frankly, for all the support thrown LeBron James’ way from this direction throughout the years, the one, incontrovertible fact that cannot be ignored even here is that he does not instill confidence when it comes to matters such as these:

Game 6. NBA Finals. Tonight at 9. Either he and his fellow Cleveland Cavaliers win, or they go home for the summer.
Yay or nay to their chances … who the hell knows?

It’s not a question of whether James will be the best player on the floor. When you get beyond the ankle-snapping excitement sometimes provided by Kyrie Irving or the absolutely electric show of outside shooting turned in by Steph Curry or the comedy routine of crotch-attacking antics by Draymond Green, it’s pretty easy to see that he is, has been and will be.

He’ll play well, if not great. Put up strong, if not spectacular, numbers. Deliver the whole kit and caboodle, theoretically and statistically, if need be.

It’s just that, come crunch time, the ultimate crunch time when it means do-or-die, you don’t exactly think “oh, forget about it” – pro or con – when King James is attached to it.

He is an enigma like no other.

Capable of taking over any game, at any time, and winning it all by himself, regardless of opposition, due to possessing a physical skills and size combo that really had never existed in NBA circles before his arrival, he frequently becomes an infuriating, if not confounding, figure because instead of dominating down the stretch, he’ll opt to play a supporting role, a secondary, give-others-a-chance one that all too often implodes in his face.

Not for nothing, but as beautifully natural an understanding he seems to have with grasping how to play a team game the right way and gift for implementing such insight, James, really, truly, would do himself – and his teammates – a great favor and just shoulder the load, all of it if need be, when it matters.

Now and forevermore.

Excuses and rationales be damned. It’s time, once and for all, to become that selfish bastard that half the world hates because he single-handedly carries his team to the promised land and the other half admires the hell out of him for the same reason.

Hey, he’ll never be Michael Jordan. He’ll never be Kobe Bryant. Both of those guys were cold-blooded killers who lived to cut the hearts out of the opposition at the most critical junctures from the moment a basketball was first placed in their hands. Their tenacity, their “don’t give a rat’s ass, gonna kick your ass no matter what” attitude was fully developed by the time they even turned pro.

Didn’t matter if they failed or not. They were going for the jugular every damn time when the situation called for it.
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No doubt, they possessed an assassin’s mentality that, mostly, has escaped James’ persona.

But neither had more physical tools to do the job … in every possible way – on offense or defense.

Thing is, if James opted for such a task on a more routine basis, even if he weren’t quite as focused or experienced with it as Jordan or Bryant, would certainly have a better feel for the Cavs’ chances at extending the series tonight … or even winning the whole thing.
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Probably a positive one at that, too.

He is an enigma like no other. Capable of taking over any game, at any time, and winning it all by himself, regardless of opposition, due to possessing a physical skills and size combo that really had never existed in NBA circles before his arrival, he frequently becomes an infuriating, if not confounding, figure because instead of dominating down the stretch, he’ll opt to play a supporting role, a secondary, give-others-a-chance one that all too often implodes in his face. Not for nothing, but as beautifully natural an understanding he seems to have with grasping how to play a team game the right way and gift for implementing such insight, James, really, truly, would do himself – and his teammates – a great favor and just shoulder the load, all of it if need be, when it matters. Now and forevermore.