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LEBRON JAMES SILENCES HIS CRITICS WITH SENSATIONAL PLAYOFF RUN

By Tony Farina

LeBron James takes flight... Wins first title

LeBron James finally has the championship that he’s been looking for since coming to the NBA out of high school in 2003 as his Miami Heat team completed a sensational run through the league playoffs with a 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was the fourth straight victory for the Heat over the Thunder, giving them the title in five games in the championship series and putting James where he belongs, at the very top of the NBA as its best player and recognition, finally, for his awesome skills that put him in a class of his own.

In the final game, James had a triple double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, and allowed him to silence his critics for now after failing to win the title for his first eight years, seven of them with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.
James has taken a lot of heat, no pun intended, when he left Cleveland to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach with the goal of winning a title that had eluded him in Cleveland. But now, with his terrific overall play and the help of a team put together by legendary basketball coach Pat Riley, James has vindicated his decision to leave Cleveland and won the title that his critics said was the only thing missing on his basketball resume.

I’ve watched a lot of great NBA players over the years, going back to the Big Dipper, Wilt Chamberlain, the 7-footer from Kansas who once averaged 50 points a game, and the others in that Hall-of-Fame category like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. James, at 6’ 8” and 260 pounds, ranks up there with all of them. Quick, strong, and incredibly athletic, James can score 40 plus if he needs to as he did against the Celtics and the Pacers in the playoffs, and is one of the greatest passers to ever take the court as he demonstrated in game 5 of the series with the Thunder when he beat the double team again and again with his pinpoint passes to open teammates.

No doubt there will be those who will still criticize James for something or other, because in their minds he’s some kind of bad guy because he left Cleveland for greener pastures and a chance to win a title. So be it. But even his critics will be hard-pressed to keep up their hate campaign against this remarkable athlete who is the consummate team player and a positive role model both on and off the court to the many young kids who follow the NBA and its stars.

Following last year’s finals’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks, James took a look in the mayor and decided he needed to get better, if that’s possible, and expand his game if he was going to win a championship. That’s just what he did, on both ends of the court, and it all culminated with an NBA championship where he won the finals’ MVP trophy to go along with his third regular season MVP award.

Now I suppose he’ll be required to win a few more rings to be recognized as one of the game’s all-time greats and my guess is that’s just what he will do. The Heat may need a little tweaking up front to stay on top, but as long as James is there they are a threat because he’s at the top of his game and is the best player now, and one of the best players ever, to take the hardwood.
My advice to fans of the game is to enjoy LeBron James while he’s here and appreciate his remarkable talent and work ethic on the floor because you may not see another like him for a very long time, if ever.

 

 

Niagara Falls Reporter www.niagarafallsreporter.com June 26 , 2012