Basketball Statistics Blog

Friday Press Clippings:
LeBron James Asks, "What Should I Do?"

From 20 Second Timeout
By David Friedman
Download source here: ' LeBron James Asks, "What Should I Do?" ' by David Friedman

"... In his newest TV commercial, LeBron James asks, "What should I do?" Instead of being interviewed by a real journalist who would ask serious questions, James prefers to either deal with a shill like Jim Gray or else have his message condensed into a 90 second propaganda video created by his shoe company's marketers--but here are some answers to James' rhetorical question. ..."

"... Looking forward, what James should do now is make sure that he has his priorities in order. James has boldly declared that he joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh not to win just one championship but to capture multiple titles.

That means that, based on his own publicly stated standard, any season in which the Heat do not win a championship is a failure. Championships are won by defensive-minded teams that understand the importance of selflessness. James is the Heat's best player, so he must set the tone for the Heat to be a defensive-minded, unselfish team. ..."

"... Phil Jackson's teams have won 11 of the last 20 NBA championships. Think about that for a moment--one coach has captured more than half of the titles over a span of two decades!

Jackson has been blessed to coach arguably the two greatest shooting guards in NBA history plus a host of other talented greats including Shaquille O'Neal, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman but one of the main reasons for Jackson's unprecedented success is that he is not afraid to challenge his superstars.

Part of the way that Jackson challenges great players is by insisting that they play within what Jordan derided as an "equal opportunity" system, namely the Triangle Offense. ... "

"... While the Magic Johnson-LeBron James comparison is bogus, it is valid to compare LeBron James to Oscar Robertson. Many people may not realize that during Robertson's prime he was criticized in some quarters for dominating the ball; Robertson did not make it to the NBA Finals, let alone win a championship, until he teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) and accepted a less dominant role. ..."

"... The question for James is whether his legacy is going to consist of successfully emulating the championship substance of Jordan and Bryant or if it is going to consist of flashy highlights, regrettable soundbites and some carefully crafted commercials. ..."

Read more articles in 20 Second Timeout.

To read today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' Aranzana y su teoría de la evolución ' by Gustavo Aranzana .

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