His Majesty’s Kingdom of Clutch Bricks

The naked eye sees a player with talent that is without a doubt off the charts. No one in today’s game can check him. If you can’t beat him to the spot, you might as well just have the usher ask for your ticket as you pop off a few kernels court-side. If you do beat him to the spot, he has the guile to contort around you, without being called for charging, and is able to execute an array of acrobatic shots like no other. Sometimes he might even just pull up and hit a jumper because he gets bored with the whole drawn-out process of going to the hole. All of this recognized, for whatever talent LeBron James possesses on the court, the well-trained eye sees something missing. What is unseen is something the greatest of the greatest have, and it is becoming more and more evident by the day that LeBron James simply doesn’t possess the “clutch” gene.

Go ahead, compare him with Charles Barkley. He was a unique talent that could also do things no one else in the league could for his particular sub-era. Charles, also like LeBron, after not being able to win a championship as a centerpiece, sought out another all-time great to try and fancy his finger with the ultimate shine. D-Wade, giving Hakeem a call at this point in time, might behoove you greatly.

Be my guest, compare him with Karl Malone. He also revolutionized a particular skill-set for his time and place. Try as they might, the greatest assisted connection of Malone and John Stockton could not reach the pinnacle. Karl, also like LeBron, “took his talents to a Beach,” this time Venice Beach, after his failure in the hopes of confetti and champagne in Utah.

The angle of these comparisons is simple: you can group James with a group of all-time greats if you so choose. Just make sure that group of all-time greats you are grouping him with is the one filled with the all-time greats that either never achieved championship immortality at all, or never won a ring as the heads-and-shoulders “best” player on their team.  Make sure to separate that group from guys that had the ultimate, the ring and the clutch gene that looks the penultimate in the face and laughs. To group James beyond this elite group is myopic, is in some way bias, and simply beyond a stretch of reality. He can sit at the Barkley and Malone table no problem; just don’t place him at the head table with Jordan and Bryant.

But hey, anyone can reveal “what is,” right? I’d like to burrow into “why.” What is below the surface? Why are his elite talents ostensibly devoid when it matters most?

I believe it is a culmination of many factors. It starts with a lack of humility. LeBron already thought he was much better than he actually was at a very young age. He was the guinea pig, the Neal Armstrong of today’s phenom basketball player that is coddled like a movie star from a junior high age. We are just now seeing the full tsunami of this generation come through the league, and LeBron was the Pioneer. Just search Sports Illustrated’s archives, and in February of 2002 you will find a barely 17-year old “Chosen One” in his St. Vincent – St. Mary Irish #23, trying to emulate some kind of Magic Johnson Showtime dime.

However, it goes beyond that. It stretches further than just a preconceived throne in all its majesty. His constant lapse in judgment seems to be an ever-progressing monster with James. He just can’t help himself. And even with the factor of the scrutiny of a microscope following him, he has exposed himself time and time again by saying or doing the worst possible thing at the worst possible time. How can this be explained?  Some people just have the virus of absolute obliviousness?

It has nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with character. Be it on-camera during post-game interviews, he and Jim Gray wrapping uncomfortably for supposed production value before “The Decision,” or his constant spamming of ignorance on his Twitter feed.  There is, at its core, something missing with LeBron.

Most recently on Twitter, for LeBron it’s now “war,” he is a “soldier” and it’s time for “battle?” Does James even vaguely remember how Kellen Winslow, Jr. was vilified for the very same inconsiderate and insensitive statements no more than five years ago? You are supposedly a grown-ass man, LeBron. When will you start acting like one and not like a juvenile?  Champions don’t behave like this, do they?

I believe the road to making it right or at least respectable in the department of public relations starts with James cutting the fat of some of his supposed “advisors.” With LeBron, this is mostly a collection of his childhood friends.  I know if I had the friends of my youth helping advise me in my career, I’d end up selling hot dogs at Costco.

Advisors are supposed to give advice in the best interest of their “client,” right? What James could really use are less people to telling him what he wants to hear, and more people telling him what he needs to hear.   He needs less childhood friends and more of the industry’s best PR-geniuses. You have the money? The underlying fact of the matter simply is: surrounding yourself with gravy-training “yes” men has never ended up taking anyone anywhere close to their full potential.

All the analysis of this social ineptitude be as it may, let’s return to the bottom line of “on-the-court.” Recent examples relating to the overall theme being presented are becoming more and more prevalent. Just checking in with your favorite media outlet over the past two weeks will reveal as much. We don’t even have to begin to list the history of buzzer-beating failures from past seasons.

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On Thursday versus their heated inter-state and Atlantic Division rival, the Orlando Magic, the ever-present issue reared its ugly head again. This time it capped off an implosion of epic proportions. With the Heat up 24 in the 3rd quarter, Orlando went on a 40-9 run, highlighted by Jason Richardson going 5-5 from behind the arc in the second half.

Despite the avalanche, the Heat had a chance to tie in the final possession. Chris Bosh badly missed on a 3-point attempt, and upon the Heat scrambling for the offensive rebound, Lebron had a wide-open 3-point attempt with only seconds remaining. The expected occurred once again.  These aren’t just insignificant regular season games that don’t matter anymore. This victory for Orlando pulled them to within 3.5 games of Miami in the Southeast division.

In the Heat’s last home game prior to this debacle, also they blew a lead in an eventual loss to the New York Knicks, this time of the 15-point variety. A clutch performance by Carmelo Anthony coupled with some stout New York defense lead to the Knicks taking the lead in the closing moments. With a chance to be the hero in the closing seconds once again, a James drive to the hole was thwarted by the shot-altering defense of Anthony and a greatly-timed blocked shot coming from the weak side by Amare Stoudamire. The “King” was again unable to rule.

On February 24th, The Chicago Bulls had their turn. What was different? The Heat didn’t blow a late-game lead this time, but rather were neck-and-neck with the vastly improving Bulls for the entire contest. What was the same? Lebron missing yet another clutch shot, this also an uncontested 3-pointer, down 3 with 15 seconds remaining. You are supposed to wear a crown? Maybe a court-jester cap is more suitable for right now.

These recent instances are obviously just part of a small sample size. That doesn’t make them any less relevant of a piece in the way the overall puzzle is being sculpted. Go ahead, put the pieces together yourself. It’s the same as what you see on the box cover – the “King” bricking another game-winning shot when it counts.

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1. - Fansmanship says:

   03/09/2011 at 7:19 am

   […] all you want. According to Andy Stevens on fansmanship.com, when you are wooing the King, you are wooing a “… Over the last week LeBron has wilted under the pressure. His Heat blew a twenty four point […]