By now, if you haven't seen it, you're under a rock. Let's face it, there's nothing more fun in today's society than pooping all over LeBron James. In this case, he's given us tons to poop on, as
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog would say.
Let's give the poor guy some credit. He's going around the world on a "goodwill" tour to entertain people in foreign lands. Very nice of him. And yet, given the large percentage of the U.S. population waiting to pounce on him at any misstep (does he deserve to be called basketball's Tiger Woods?), he's in one of those situations he just can't win. If he plays at full speed and effort against the Taiwanese players, he's a bully. If he plays them at half-speed, as he was, he risks getting jammed on by one of the amped-up little dudes, which is exactly what happened.
In defense of LeBron, he was fine up to a point. Yeah, he probably shouldn't have done the slow, repetitive, metronome dribble that allowed his defender to time a steal, but maybe he underestimated his opponent (sound familiar, 2011 Finals?).
And yeah, maybe he should have run harder to chase down the fast break, so he could give himself a better chance to block the shot, but maybe he was still underestimating his opponent (hello again, 2011 Finals).
Maybe he shouldn't have done those things, but honestly, that's all more than exusable, and perhaps even expected. He's in a foreign country trying to give some folks a thrill, and dominating their little team all night wouldn't be the most gracious behavior. So he relaxes here and there, and lets them have their fun.
But not TOO much fun.
The most revealing part of this video is not what happens before this dunk, but what happens after it. Not sure if LeBron expected to get dunked on, but after it happened, and the crowd went berzerk, LeBron went into...not sure what to call it...maybe we can have a contest to name it...for now, let's call it "LeBron mode." This is what LeBron does in response to big moments. Oh sure, he put on a 38-point clinic when he made that regular season return to Cleveland and got booed incessantly, but he was playing a LeBron-less Cleveland Cavaliers team, and he had a long time to emotionally prepare himself for that game.
But in big
moments, when something happens and you instantly need to react, LeBron shrinks. Take the simple few seconds after the dunk in this video. LeBron goes through the
seven deadly sins in one trip down the floor (ok, maybe just five - not sure lust and gluttony were involved):
1.) (:19)
Envy - "That little man just dunked on me. The crowd is going wild. I think they may like him better than I do. I wish I was him."
2.) (:22)
Greed - "Give me that ball."
3.) (:25)
Pride - "Watch me go behind my back, little man."
4.) (:27)
Sloth - "Ok, kinda lost control of the ball, so, ah hell, I'll just travel with it and..."
5.) (:29)
Wrath - "...toss it out bounds just to show you people I'm not really trying."
It is the reaction that damns LeBron in this video. It smacks of panic, an inability to process and handle the moment, and ego over logic (there you are again, 2011 Finals. Hi, how you been?).
And finally, to show that he is definitely, officially not trying, LeBron gives up an uncontested three after the turnover. So, even the Taiwanese version of LeBron quits when the going gets tough. Was the player shooting that three named Dirk?
P.S.: Notice how they put all the teeny, tiniest guys on LeBron's team to try to even things out. Don't the Taiwanese know that LeBron doesn't want to have to shoulder the load for the team? Where's D Wade?
Labels: dunked on, Lebron James, taiwan
Thus, lust and gluttony
Way back in the day, before Lebron won his multiple Nobel Prizes and served his 4 terms as President, I dunked on him! Yup, that was right before Nike lobbied the US government to pass a ban on humiliating him.
You mean those aren't children?!
PS Free Tibet.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/georgetown-in-china-fight-video/2011/08/18/gIQAtQQwNJ_blog.html
Now, granted, Lebron failed, but still.
I really hope he is working on his game with Hakeem, though if he really wanted a post-game and a ring, he would do what Dirk did last summer: Call up Kevin Mchale.
SO before making fun of him, put yourself into his shoes, maybe you are smarter maybe not but consider the big picture how he grew up, what kind of people he had around him knowing about his talents and that he could become a star. Those people cannot have a good influence on him and that clearly shows in his behavior and personality, full of disorders.
I am getting tired of the cheap sarcasm.
That may explain his behaviour, but does it excuse it?
(No.)
(obviously extreme example but following your logic here)
Maybe a pointless question, but I think that the corrupting forces that shape young celebrities are pretty fierce. After the euphoria of an excellent playoffs wore down, I started to think that maybe I should be doing more celebrating of those who resist such temptations, and less trashing of those who are basically average representatives of their profession. After all, as many have pointed out, LeBron hasn't raped anybody, waved a gun around in a nightclub, gotten a DUI, killed his chauffeur or any other of the true gems. He's just a raving egomaniac.
Of course, this is a site devoted to bawful, so trash on! I just wanted to examine my navel a bit.
Also, did you see the report on Dwade saying Lebron was a great teammate?
Dwade on Lebron: "He’s one of those guys that will bring everybody on the bus coffee in the morning, he’s one of those teammates."
I really can't see Lebron getting coffee for others.. Instead I see Lebron going, "HEY. GET THE KING SOME COFFEE." And then Chris Bosh goes to the nearest Starbucks...