Turn of Phrase - Why LeBron Won't Win

LeBron James and Kevin Durant

"At the end of the day in this series I'm going to play my game and try to do whatever it takes on both ends and make plays. 

Whatever the results, I'm going to be satisfied with that. I'm going to be happy with it because I know I'm going to give it my all."

- From LeBron James, as he and his Miami Heat teammates prepare to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. 

LeBron James is arguably the most individually talented basketball player in the NBA. Sure, you can make a legit case for Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant, both of whom are serious game-changers, but LeBron is the guy we've all been measuring against Michael Jordan for the last decade. And yet, after his first eight years in the NBA, LeBron's giant hands sport no championship rings. 

Here's the problem. LeBron James is willing to put the championship hopes of an entire franchise squarely on his shoulders, because he genuinely believes his singular presence on the court makes that much difference. And truth be told, LeBron is a beast, a monster, an absolute stud, or whatever other cliched athletic superlative you can think of, but he is still just one guy. One of five starters, one of twelve guys on the roster. One guy.  

In the NBA, championships are won by those squads where the five starting players, and the half-dozen or so other guys who come off the bench to support them, work well together as a unit on offense and defense toward the shared goal of ensuring they score more points than the opposition. It's simple - teamwork wins titles.

I respect and believe in LeBron's commitment and work ethic, but in the two-sentence statement at the top of this post, he uses the words "I" and "my" seven times. Basketball is a "we" and "our" sport, and until LeBron genuinely believes that it will take not his personal best, but the collective and coordinated bests of five starters and a group of talented role players, he and his teammates are not likely to win a seven-game NBA Finals series.

Federer Wins Third Straight Title

Photo: UK/Reuters

Roger Federer prevailed over France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today in the ATP Tour Finals today in London. With the top three seeds failing to make the semi-finals, only Tsonga stood between Federer and his third title in as many weeks of play.

I hate to say I told you so (see last week's blog post - Federer Poised For End of Season Sweep), but I did.

The ATP Tour Finals tournament concludes the professional tennis "season," and now players will have six-eight weeks off before they have to kick it in gear again and head to Australia. Hopefully, the nearly two month break will allow the younger players to rest up and be prepared for next year. With three consecutive victories to close out the 2011 season and many of his younger challengers suffering various ailments and injuries of late, it seems the 30 year-old Federer may not be finished with his domination of the sport.