Does Lebron James need a sports psychologist? Well, the experts are saying he does. Can you imagine that? You’re one of the best players ever in a team game and people blame you for not winning. Yes, I understand the build up, the ego and the predictions he made. Still, he is getting a bum rap here and needs a little defense, unlike what he provided in the series final game.
Let’s look at a few things:
The quote – After the game Lebron said the following when asked if he had anything to say to those who wanted to see him fail:
They have to wake up and have the same life that they had before they woke up today, the same personal problems. I’m going to continue to live the way that I want to live … But they have to get back to the real world at some point.
Millions of dollars a year and he cannot afford a competent PR person. You have to chuckle. Still, the quote is being seized upon by pundits to show how out of touch he is, that he is saying, “I am rich and you are poor.”
I didn’t take it like that at all. I took it as him saying that other people will find other distractions to keep their attention.
The fourth quarter meltdown – Much has been made of his lack of production in the fourth quarter. It is a valid point, but it isn’t the main reason the Heat lost the finals. Lebron’s inability to make action happen at the end of the game isn’t all his fault, but you would think it was given the reaction from the press.
Basketball is a team sport and as such there is more than one man responsible for the success or failure of the team.
This is the post game press conference with Lebron and Dwyane: