LeBron Has the Sniffles

Added on May 18, 2011 by Scott in

NBA

Time to check the Heat Index. It looks like King James has a viable excuse as to why he posted a painfully average performance in Miami’s Game 1 loss to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. Sprained ankle? No. Back spasms? Nah. Pulled hammy? Nope. Head cold? Ding, ding, ding! That’s right, Bron has been “fighting” a cold for the last few days. Don’t fret, though. A regimen of tissues and naps should have him ready for tonight’s key Game 2.

James netted a mere 15 points on 5-15 from the field in Game 1. Runny nose aside, his subpar play doesn’t explain the lousy Heat bench, which was outscored 28-15. Or the awful perimeter defense that yielded ten three-pointers. Or the rebounding battle that they lost 45-33.

Now, LeBron didn’t go so far as to blame his shoddy shooting and lack of hustle on a case of the sniffles, but bringing it up at all won’t do much to quiet the dedicated haters quick to jump on any and all signs of prima donna behavior.

Let’s face it, a head cold isn’t exactly comparable to a one-legged Willis Reed bravely limping onto the court during Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. A congested nose isn’t on the same level of a violently ill Michael Jordan vomiting into a bucket during timeouts of Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals versus the Jazz.

Then again, LeBron could drop 40 points with a broken hand or torn ACL and still be labeled the Darth Vader of the NBA. After all, this is the same guy who pretty much gave up in last season’s playoff series defeat to Boston, which ultimately precipitated his exodus to South Beach with his talents in tow.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals tips tonight at 8:30pm in the United Center. There will be plenty of aspirin on hand should LeBron have a headache.

Source: ESPN.com