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LeBron James a certified superstar
By Tom Withers
Associated Press
CLEVELAND — As confetti danced in the electrified air
around him and a feverish hometown crowd rocked and rolled the night away,
LeBron James was handed a new baseball cap and T-shirt.
Perhaps a tasseled cap and gown would have been more appropriate.
Four years after skipping college to play in the pros,
James earned his NBA degree in superstardom.
On Saturday, with a ravenous city placing its hopes for a championship in
his able hands, the Cavaliers’ seemingly unguardable forward delivered his
fourth straight clutch performance as Cleveland eliminated the Detroit
Pistons 98-82 in Game 6 and advanced to the finals for the first time in
its 37-year history.
“This is the first step to greatness,” a dazed James said during a quiet
moment sitting in front of his locker. “It feels like a fantasy.”
But Sunday dawned with a startling reality: Cleveland, where kids learn at
an early age that rooting for the local sports teams can lead to a
lifetime of pain and suffering, is finally on top.
At least until Thursday, when the Cavaliers will face the San Antonio
Spurs in Game 1 of the finals.
For now, James has given Cleveland a moment to savor just as he promised
he would when the Akron high school prodigy was drafted by the Cavaliers
with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft.
“I said I was going to light it up like Las Vegas in Cleveland,” James
recalled following Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.
There are no casinos or dancing water fountains dotting Ontario Street,
which will never be mistaken for the Vegas Strip. But the wild scene of
delirium — strangers high-fiving strangers and sidewalks overflowing with
joyful Clevelanders — outside Quicken Loans Arena could rival almost any
happening on a Saturday night in the Nevada desert.
Four years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine the Cavs, a
17-win team the season before James’ hyped arrival, playing for a title.
But the 22-year-old, whose multimillion dollar endorsement deals and
rising celebrity have made him a dribbling, dunking American Idol, decided
it was time to begin fulfilling his destiny by taking his teammates to new
heights.
The Cavaliers became just the third team to overcome an 0-2 deficit to win
the conference finals, a stunning turn-around after what happened in Games
1 and 2 at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.
The opener ended with James deferring to teammate Donyell Marshall for the
final shot, a wide-open 3-pointer that rimmed out and gave Detroit a 79-76
win. The Pistons won Game 2 by the identical score after James, criticized
for not shooting after Game 1, failed to get a call or get off a clean
shot in the closing seconds.
But in the final three games, James, who dropped 48 on the Pistons in a
transcendent Game 5 performance, show-cased his diverse and abundant
skills, averaging 33.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists as the
Cavaliers closed out their Central Division rivals one year after losing a
seven-game series.
Did he just grow up?
“I don’t know why people say that,” he said. “I’m still the same player.
If I get double-teamed and the game is close, I’m going to pass it again.
If we make the shot, I’m on top of the world. If not, then I’m under a lot
of trees and leaves. It’s fine with me. I’ll take the criticism that comes
with it.
“I’m the leader of this team.”
Unlike in Game 5 when he took over and carved up the Pistons by scoring
Cleveland’s final 25 points, James was patient in the series clincher. He
attempted just two shots in the first half, but had five assists, seven
rebounds and made 9-of-11 free throws.
After halftime, James seemed to toy with the Pistons. They sent one, two
and three defenders to try and stop him, and James made them pay by
feeding rookie Daniel Gibson, who made 5-of-5 3-pointers and scored a
season-high 31 points — 22 of them in a 27-10 spurt.
“I told Daniel before the game, ‘Detroit is going to double-team me,
triple-team me before I cross halfcourt, so get that gun and get it locked
and loaded and just shoot it,” said James, who had 20 points, 14 rebounds
and eight assists. “Don’t second-guess yourself. Just shoot it.’ And when
they closed out on him, he drove the ball to the rim and made free
throws.”
Gibson finished 12-of-15 from the line, and his emergence as a dependable
scorer will give the heavily favored Spurs more to consider as they plan
for James.
“LeBron told me to step into my shot and shoot it with confidence,” Gibson
said.
When the King orders, you obey.
In James’ second trip to the playoffs, he came of age.
In the biggest games of his life, he dominated.
In a city without a major sports championship since 1964, he has given
hope.
If he had been like any other teenager and enrolled at Ohio State or North
Carolina after getting his diploma from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School,
James would be winding down his final semester of college.
It’s a time for 21and 22-year-olds to let loose, a final blowout before
beginning careers and the rest of their lives.
James seems to have his mapped out nicely.
“It’s another chapter in my book, I guess,” he said. |
