For fifteen minutes last night in Orlando, the two-time defending NBA MVP was unstoppable. He was reviled far and wide for his decision to leave his hometown and hometown team, for the wording he used to express that he was doing so ("I am taking my talents to South Beach.."), and for the fact that he did it on a one-hour ESPN special called "The Decision", but the reason "The Decision" was even made possible is that the man at the center of last NBA off-season's free-agent frenzy, LeBron James, is quite a basketball player. That, no one disputes.
While working to become more of a team player with his new team, the Miami Heat, what with aiding fellow superstar Dwayne Wade with alley-oop tosses and recently handing win-the-game-with-a-key-shot honors to teammate Eddie House with passes in big moments, James has handled the pressure well, and often played his game. Last night, his game meant something a lot different.
Playing Eastern Conference rival Orlando in their home court, LeBron erupted in the first quarter, setting a personal record by sinking his first 11 shots, and just missing another personal record with 23 points, in the same quarter. Miami would win the game 104-100.
"I was definitely in a zone," James said after the game. "I felt like everything I put up was going to go in and the first eleven did."
After that, six more did (he made 17 of 25 shots on the night, including three 3-pointers). He also had 11 rebounds and 6 assists. But the 51 points, which marked the ninth time in his career he's topped 50 in a game, and was the first time by anyone this season, were the real highlight.
Partner-in-crime D-Wade got hurt during a spectacular fall on his back while going for a lay-up in the second quarter, and his teammates often struggled against big Dwight Howard and the other Orlando players, so LeBron's effort was needed.
Mostly out of interest, yes, in the Miami Heat Big Three, I've watched more NBA basketball this season, and, my watching has gotten my dad watching, which led him to say once "LeBron's got to be the best I've ever seen." Seriously. And this is a guy who saw Dr. J., saw Kareem, saw Karl Malone, saw Magic, saw Bird, saw Jordan, and has seen Kobe, and he nodded to LeBron. That's impressive. Personally, I think he's a very exciting player, with his ability to make any kind of shot, his increasingly selfless ball-handling, and his aggressiveness. Even with Wade on the floor, LeBron cannot, and should not, be ignored. I can tell you now that all the off-season hype, while maybe a little out of proportion, was warranted by the man's skills. People can question his motives and his loyalty to his hometown (if they really want to), but they can't question his skills or his competitiveness.
LeBron, Wade, teammate Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat just started their newest game against the hot Chicago Bulls and their All-Star, Derrick Rose.
Speaking of NBA All-Stars
The votes have been cashed in, and this is what we've got:
Eastern Conference
Starters:
LeBron James, Miami
Dwayne Wade, Miami
Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
Derrick Rose, Chicago
Dwight Howard, Orlando
Reserves:
Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics (appearing in his record-tying 14th-straight All-Star game)
Paul Pierce, Boston
Ray Allen, Boston
Rajon Rondo, Boston
Chris Bosh, Miami Heat
Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
Al Horford, Atlanta
Western Conference
Starters:
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
Yao Ming, Houston Rockets (Ming is out for the season with a foot injury; his replacement will be selected by NBA Commissioner David Stern)
Reserves:
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Manu Ginobli, San Antonio Spurs
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
>>>As you can see, there's a lot more diversity in the western conference, where the Lakers are the big-name team but it's a lot more competitively disparate (the Spurs and Mavericks are currently the best teams in the conference). Meanwhile, in the East, where it's way too easy to name the best teams (Heat, Celtics, Magic), you've got rather fewer different teams being honored. In any case, I don't follow the NBA that much, but I knew almost all of these names at first glance. You've got the classy veterans (Kobe, LeBron, Duncan, Stoudemire, the Celtics' players), the high-rising hotshots (Durant, Howard, Griffin), and a couple of less-familiar names (Westbrook, Williams, Horford). The East has to be the favorite for the game, considering the star power it's wielding, but any Kobe-led team that also has Durant, the NBA's leading scorer, can never be counted out.
Pettite Steps Down
After 16 years, five World Series championships, three All-Star games, 240 career wins and a place as part of one of the most cherished eras in the most cherished franchise in sports, left-handed pitcher Andy Pettite, 38, is walking into the sunset to spend more time with his family.
The New York Yankees, his employer for 13 of his 16 seasons (he spent 2004-2006 with the Houston Astros), had waited patiently but eagerly to hear his decision all winter after he pitched well for half of 2010 (making the All-Star team in the process), got hurt in the second half, then pitched well enough in the playoffs to excite the Yankees for the prospect of 2011. But, instead, Pettite, who was reportedly not harrassed or pressured by Yankees' management at all during his decision-making process, has decided to call it quits.
First, there's the fact that this hurts the Yankees. It hurts them emotionally, yes, as Pettite, whose best feats were all in pinstripes, was a member of the Core Four (the other Three being Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada) who was around for all five of the most recent Yankee championships, and had stuck with the team through thick and thin. As a Yankee, Pettite piled up 203 wins (third-most all time for New York), and a 19-10 postseason record (those 19 wins are a Major League Baseball postseason record). But it also hurts the Yankees because, once they were spurned by left-handed ace Cliff Lee (who pitched against them in the playoffs and listened to their offers before joining an already-legendary Philadelphia Phillies' pitching staff), they hung their hopes on Pettite, because, other than ace lefty C.C. Sabathia, their rotation has a lot unproven or uneven talent, and Pettite was a stalwart.
Pettite had been working out and staying in shape, but he reportedly said it's not his body or age that's holding him back; it's his spirit. He just doesn't believe he has the competitive fire anymore. He's not yearning to pitch, and that is a sign.
Growing up an Orioles fan and more recently being a fan of the Red Sox and Rays (see: teams that beat Yankees), I've viewed Pettite often as a villain. I've have heard that he's a family man, a great teammate, a true Christian. He did confess to using Human Growth Hormone to recover from an injury after his name appeared in the Mitchell Report of 2007.
One of my main memories of Pettite, though, for better or worse, is seeing him spit blood on the mound after taking a Cal Ripken Jr. line drive to the face back in 1997 or 98 (I'm not sure which it was). I remember he had to leave the game, and the Orioles eventually won (surprising, isn't it?). But he was a fierce competitor, and a major reason why the Yankees have been so successful for fifteen years (and a major reason why the Astros have made a World Series; the '05 Fall Classic). He was also a good guy, and he's someone I'll always identify with the Yankees.
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