James is a Pauper Pretending to be a King by Reggie Williams

The obvious storyline birthed from the Chicago Bulls’ recent defeat of the Miami Heat was the inspired play of guard John Lucas III.

Lucas scored a team-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting – converting three of five from the arc. Lucas, playing a backup role to teammate C.J. Watson (playing in place of the injured Derrick Rose), converted big shot after big shot; he sealed the 106-102 victory by converting two free-throws with .06 remaining in the game.

While Lucas played the leading man in the defeat of the Heat, the subplot to the main storyline was the disappearing act of Heat forward LeBron James. Isn’t he supposed to be the leading man?

Lucas, a journeyman by NBA standards, took and converted huge shots; his biggest arguably arrived with four minutes and 16 seconds remaining when the 5’11″, 165-pound guard hit a step-back jumper over the 6’8″, 270-pound James. In contrast James, scheduled to be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame five years after his retirement, wanted no part of taking big shots. Scoring 35 points on 14-of-25 shooting, James entered the final stanza having scored 33 points. Throughout the game James possessed the hot hand, but in the final quarter he timidly deferred to fellow forward DeWayne Wade, who finished with a game high of 36 points. Wade’s 19 fourth-quarter points led the Heat’s comeback. In the final 12 minutes James took just three shots; making one. More important than James’ lack of fourth-quarter shots was his lack of desire to engage in being a difference in the game. On a number of occasions the “Chosen One” chose to pass the ball immediately upon entering the front court – absolutely no aggression from James.

Vanishing is a staple in James’ game. He has been touted as the “Chosen One” and is now referred to as “King James.” NBA Hall of Famer and TNT basketball analyst Charles Barkley professes James to be the best basketball player in the world…

NOT!

If the basketball world is going to continue to be in awe of James’ awesome talent and persist in believing that he is a king, then I think it is about time that he stop playing like a pauper at the most crucial junctions of games.