LeBron

I was going to post a blog not long ago about how I felt LeBron James had to grow as a leader, because there have been times when it seems he tries to carry too much of the load on his own shoulders. Kobe Bryant can play like that at times. Michael Jordan played like that at times when he just began in the league.

But, Saturday night's game against the Detroit Pistons was one of the most, if not THE most impressive performance I've seen out of LeBron James. This comes on a night when the kid had only six points through the first three quarters.

What were the trends in the opening two games against the Pistons (both losses)? James piled on his typical gaudy numbers, but Cleveland lost both contests. They were pounded in the first game and were down big in game two, before making a late comeback. It was James against the Pistons. I don't care how good a player is, if he tries to take on a team by himself, especially one the caliber of Detroit, he's going to get beat.

But, Saturday's game was different. James made it a point not to rush himself, to play under control, not to turn the ball over, and to get his teammates involved. He did this, finishing with a triple-double and not one of those triple-doubles that doesn't go for anything. Sometimes you'll see a team lose by thirty points and one player of theirs accumulated most of his numbers during scrub time, when the opposing teams' bench players were on the court. That wasn't the case here. James made every one of his assists count. He also hustled to the boards, made some big defensive plays by stealing the ball and going the other way, and last I heard, he had scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Today's game showed some James has matured some as a player. He got his teammates involved in the first three quarters, their confidence rose as the game progressed, and when the Cavs trailed by two going into the fourth, that's when James took over.

To play the way he did against a team and a defensive team at that, the caliber of the Pistons, in game three of the series, was really something to watch. It'll be interesting to see if LeBron and the Cavs can keep that momentum and team concept going into game four of the series or if he goes back to playing one-on-five. Hopefully, they'll play like they did on Saturday and make a series of it. I doubt Cleveland will take the series, but every victory or tightly contested game in this series will pay dividends in the long run.