More Thoughts From Egypt: LeBron’s Behavior in Question
December 11, 2009 by Salma Mahmoud
After the recent back to back losses by the Cavaliers, for the second time this season, I was totally frustrated and disappointed. And as I suffer from low blood pressure, I decided to calm myself down by staying in bed and trying to remember the good memories of the team, just to feel happy, even for a while.
Brown directed the Cavaliers to an NBA and franchise-best 66-16 (.805) record. With the 66 victories, Cleveland became just the 12th team in NBA history to win 66 or more games in a season. The Cavaliers also posted a 39-2 (.951) record at The Q, which tied for the second-best home record in league history. Their 27-14 (.659) road record tied for the second-best road record in the league this season.
Remembering all that made me recognize why Lebron announced he will participate in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest, when said to Cheryl Miller: “Right now I am preminilarily putting my name in the 2010 contest Saturday night.”
In 2008-09, The Cavs were a locomotive at full steam until put to a screeching halt by Superman and the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.
To the surprise of the media and fans, the Cavs wheels of fortune turned around and it was thwarting. Unfortunately,for the Cavaliers, the season ended with a dunk in the face, a defensive collapse and a total breakdown of what made them the league’s best team in the regular season. In game six, the Cavs’ will was broken, it’s confidence slammed by Dwight Howard scoring inside and the perimeter play of the Magic proved to be too much for the Cavs.
After they were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James left the court without the ritualistic hand shake following a hard fought series. He also refused to speak to reporters after the game. Not surprisingly, several sports columnists lost their minds, saying that LeBron was unsportsmanlike.
“LeBron should be better than that. He said he e-mailed Dwight Howard after the game. Howard deserved better than that, Orlando deserved better and next time, LeBron James should do better.”
(Courtesy of msn.foxsports.com )
Another controversy soon erupted around the “Chosen One” for what, by some accounts, can be considered more childish behavior, this time after a college player dunked on LeBron at his skills camp. Nike quickly swooshed in to seize the video footage of the slam down. It was assumed that the evidence was seized at James’ request. However, a spokesman for the shoe behemoth said Nike confiscated the tapes only because the cameramen violated the camp’s policy by filming after hours.
And the LeBron Beat Marches On…
The calamity of the Cavs and Lebron have carried over to this season. They are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference 15-7 standings, including two losses at home and five on road. It seemes that, until now, coach Brown hadn’t figured out the team’s player rotations.
In addition to the Cavs mediocre play, Lebron’s self imposed controversies are again rising to the forefront.
The first James’ misstep came when he announced his internal dilemma regarding his jersey number. Out of respect to Michael Jordan. James said he is considering switching his number after this season from No. 23 to No. 6. It was a comment, obviously not thought out by LeBron as he seemed to just blurt it out.
The second PR stumble came when, after promising to participate in the dunk contest, he announced he is now having second shots only giving it a 50/50 chance that he will compete in the dunk contest. As he said, ” When I said it I was excited about doing it. I was there at the event and you get caught up in it a little bit.”
Now LeBron is receiving more scrutiny from the media and his opponents for his dancing abilities. It began during their game against the Bulls. Lebron was celebrating their good performance by dancing during the game. Of course he was criticized by the media for not respecting his opponents. His response was that they were just having fun, the same thing they had done the previous year along with the imaginary camera show. Never the less, having fun or not, it is impious behaviour to dance while you are on court during an official game.
Regarding the second controversy, I tried to figure out whether Lebron’s doubt to participate in the dunk contest is a right one or not. If Lebron entered the contest and won, sure it will be a happy day for all his fans. But I don’t believe this contest is a big deal right now for James, regarding what he is dealing with at that moment with the team’s record and ADJUSTMENT period. On the other hand, I guess that James is afraid that if he decided to participate in the contest and lost, that would contribute to the adversity of the team and of course would damage the spirits of his beloved fans.
Not to mention, his suddenly fragile image in the media.
I tried to think deeply about the right decision, but I couldn’t figure it out. Consequently, I am going to leave it to you and I’m asking for help. What side are you on?
What should we do next?
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December 12, 2009 at 7:41 pm | salma mahmoud
just want to say that I’m a Cavs fan because of Lebron,I love the way he plays.
just wish they will start playing the way they did last year.
December 12, 2009 at 9:20 pm | VK
?? if anyone thinks that dancing is improper towards the other team, they have lost their minds. last time i checked, dancing shows your having fun, and was done by other greats such as Jordan, Johnson, Bird. Everyone dances when they win, and i think lebron dancing is great for his team to see and get a bit of confidence this year. as the biggest LJ fan out there, i regret to inform the world what i have been saying for years. he will NEVER win at cleveland, and the curse of the Browns in nfl will haunt the cavs forever. HOWEVER … look at LA Lakers. Kobe is spoilt with choices on the field, everyone on that team performs 100%. This is the only reason why they win championships. Honestly, wait till next year, Lebron leaves, and i put my life on the line that he will score 82+ point per game performance EASILY with wade. NEXT YEAR … Lebron is going to win a championship wherever he goes, will be better than the cavs
December 12, 2009 at 9:22 pm | VK
so stop blaming lebron !! and fire the entire roster !!
Equation: NBA Championship = Lebron (-) cavs (+) any other team with at least 1 big star already.
December 12, 2009 at 9:43 pm | Nick Gelso
How many “big stars” do we have to surround LeBron with? He needed a supporting role player/all-star last year, they went out and got Mo. Not good enough to beat the Magic.
Now add one of the best big men ever to play the game (past his prime or not) to the Mo/LeBron combo and what do you get?
All summer I had to hear about Cavs fans saying “SHAQ IS THE ANSWER!.” Bragging, “The Cavs will be unbeatable”!
When are we going to stop blaming everyone surrounding LeBron and starting looking at the man himself?
He has created more drama and controversy through his refusal to squelch the trade rumors, he declares the league should retire #23, he flip-flops on the dunk contest… I mean come on man! Shut up and play ball! Stop wearing Yankee’s hats! That’s like me working for TGIFriday’s and going to work with an Olive Garden hat on!
Jordan, Magic and Bird may have danced but it was when they won an NBA title. In my eyes, beating the Bulls does not constitute a celebratory dance-off.
December 12, 2009 at 9:51 pm | Nick Gelso
One more thing…
Shaq has only scored 20 points once this season! That’s sad.
December 12, 2009 at 10:34 pm | salma mahmoud
to VK, I’m with u that Lebron will defenetly win with Wade.
I’m not saying that he has to stop dancing, i just said ON COURT, so if he danced during the time out, its not gonna be bad,I enjoyed every show they performed last year.
but the media is hunting him especially after not talking to them after losing against Orlando, so he should be more careful regarding his actions as everything he does will influent his team and they don’t need any distraction at that moment.
I hope he will find the way to hold his team up the way he always does.
I’m not attacking The King,I’m just trying to analyze some of the incidents and their impact over the results of the team.
Remember KG was suffering in The Wolves even with players like Marbury and he needed to go to a top team as Celtics to win a championship.So i think if The Cavs continue in playing in the same way they are playing so far, I believe King James will have to go to another team in order to win.Even Magic Johnson said that he believes LBJ will leave The Cavs.
so, we just have to wait and see
December 12, 2009 at 10:15 pm | Nick Gelso
Salma,
Don’t forget that Garnett played 12 TOUGH years for the Wolves, gave his all every night, was the PERFECT team mate, always put his ball club before himself and never demanded to be traded.
Unlike LeBron…
KG never eluded to or teased his teammates about the possibility of a trade. He never let his own ambitions get in the way of his pursuit of winning.
KG tried and tried and tried to win to no avail in Sota. The trade was negotiated by (my boyy) Kevin McHale and I feel no comparisons should be drawn between KG and LeBron.
December 12, 2009 at 10:42 pm | salma mahmoud
Lebron teased his teammates of being traded…..when did that happen?
he said he never said anything that indicated he will leave…..his mother said he is a hometown boy(she was even chriticized for that)
as for the Yankee’s hats, its another game and its a free country I believe so,do you have to be a fan of each team of your own state?
D Wade told the officials of Heat that if they want him to continue in being a heat’s player they should add better players,,so is he guilty in saying that? I don’t think so.
don’t forget the Cavs failed in closing many trades that would have helped them,its not just about Shaq.
the coincidence of being a free agent in 2010 with Wade and Bosh is the thing that increases the contraversies around him and keeps him always under the microscope.I believe if Lebron didn’t start talking about his free agency, the media wouldn’t have stopped talking about it, come on they started talking about it since their loss against Orlando.
December 13, 2009 at 1:38 am | Shawn McGrath
In the whole of his tenure with Minnesota, KG never played with a supporting cast as good as LeBron’s last year or this year. Yes, he played with Starbury… for two seasons, Marbury’s first and second in the league.
Also, he was not traded to a “top team,” he turned the Celtics into a top team by virtue of his presence. There’s a huge difference there.
Despite Shaq’s decline, he’s still better than anything KG had with him on those T-Wolves teams. If you want to compare KG’s plight to someone (other than Pierce and Allen), it’s Allen Iverson. Considering how long LeBron has been in the league (relatively short, compared to how long the aforementioned players struggled), he hasn’t had it all that bad.
Shaq was a terrible signing for the Cavs, the absolute opposite of the kind of player the team needed. It’s shocking that people find their struggles surprising. Just wait until the Big Diesel goes down with his first injury…
December 13, 2009 at 2:16 am | Shaun
As a basketball player, I’d give LeBron an A. As a sportsman/representative of the game, I’d give him a B-. The jersey # was no big deal, neither was the dunk contest waffling, Those things are going to happen to any human being who has a mic in his face everyday.
THe dancing howeer, has to go. He knows how and when to celebrate. He also should have congratulated the Magic last season, though I for one, was glad to see a pro athlete show some disappointment with losing. The hugging and laughing after a loss drives me nuts.
However, if he would have talked to the press he would have got less flack for not shaking hands. Cry baby reporters wanted the guy THEY helped build up to come and give them a story. He didn’t feel like it and went home. Big deal. He didnt go to the bar with his homies or to a nightclub with his revolver. He went home. Get over it.
It is true that LeBron did seem to show more maturity as a 20 year old than now, but he does the right thing more often than not. He’ll learn. He’s still better behaved than 70% of other superstar athletes.
December 13, 2009 at 7:50 am | Nick Gelso
LeBron’s Team Record…
2007– NBA Finals
2008– Eastern Conference Semi’s
2009– Eastern Conference Finals
I would say the last three year’s LeBron has had the team mates to get pretty deep into the playoffs. HE has not been able to get his team over the hump. He danced his way to a 66-16 record last season. He was VERY THRILLED when they were beating up on team’s in the regular season. Once the EC Final’s came and they got over-powered by the Orlando Magic, LeBron transferred bak into the poor sportsman big baby.
Shawn, I know you like the “no hand-shake move” by LeBron and, though I disagree, I can give that a pass for competitive fire. What I will never forget was LeBron’s disappearing act, leaving Mo Williams to face the wolves (media) alone. That was so cowardly. I will never forget the shocked look on Mo’s face. What a nightmare.