Why It's Okay to Root for the Heat

…or at least, why I’m pulling for LeBron James

The only thing that matched the intensity of last night’s dramatic game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and the Spurs was the vitriol on my Boston-sports heavy Twitter feed for all things Heat. People were more than happy to label LeBron James a choker and crucify Ray Allen for being a traitor. I was on an island though… I was rooting for LeBron.



Why? Well, it isn’t easy. The Heat’s “fans,” of the white shirts and early exits from the arena, make me sick. I also thought The Decision was despicable. But there’s four reasons to root for LeBron.
  1. Talking About My Generation – LeBron is two weeks older than me. Along with Mark Zuckerberg he is one of the two most notable members of our generation. His game is powerful, fast and unselfish. Except for maybe Tiger Woods, he is the most talented athlete I have witnessed in person, and it may be self-serving, but I hope his legacy will stand up over time. The only way to do that is by accumulating titles and iconic moments. (*)
  2. Rooting against the Super Team? – One of the problems people have with the Heat is this notion that they are a collection of superstars, and since they didn’t come together organically, they are fake. Well there’s two problems with this argument. First, screw how they came together. Cleveland just won the lottery for the second time in three years – does that make their team more “real” then the Heat? Or how about the Celtics being put together via trades just 9 months before a title, did it count less? I would say no. And second, a collection of superstars does not a team make. Just look at the Lakers, who we (me included) fawned over last summer. Finally, for all the shit LeBron took for joining up with other stars, last night showed how much he needs them. The biggest shot: Ray Allen (**). The biggest block: Chris Bosh (twice!). Just as when Wade took over game 4 showed, the NBA Finals is too big a task for any one man, and it’s hard to blame LeBron for putting together a crew to go at it with him.
  3. Jordan. For better or worse, everything that LeBron (and Kobe before him) accomplishes will be held against what Jordan did in the 1990s (like this). And everytime LeBron makes a misstep (either for passing) or for missing a shot (like this). Let’s just move on. The game is different now – defense and scouting have jumped leaps and bounds. The quality of the league may be deeper than it was in the 1990s. Jordan set the bar with six titles, let’s not fawn over the minor details on the way to that record. And on the point of the Super Team, for many of those titles, Scottie Pippen was the second best player on the floor (he certainly was against the Jazz) – so it’s not like it was just Jordan vs. the World.
  4. Narrative. Owing to the superb Men in Blazers, sports are just better when there’s narrative. No American professional sport creates the same narrative as the NBA.  Which does not mean it’s the most entertaining (NFL) or suspenseful (NHL playoffs) but the combination of superstars, how visible the players and drama are, strategy and 7-game series makes the NBA unique. And LeBron’s quest to chase down Jordan’s record is as good a narrative as there is right now, this side of Tiger’s push for 18 majors.

So there you go – license to root for LeBron. You can’t go wrong if you choose to root the Patriots of the NBA(***) and know that I won’t be wearing white, but we can take solace if El Heat pull this off.

--


(*) – HEADBAND GAME. Although it made LeBron’s head look weird.

(**) – I didn’t come down as hard on Ray Allen for leaving Boston as some (maybe because I have left myself?), but watching him hit that shot last night brought back some fond memories. I for one am happy for him. And for all the drama regarding Doc, KG and possibly Pierce leaving this week, can we really blame Ray Allen for bailing on that ship? Loyalty is fickle in the NBA.

(***) A topic for another blog is how the Patriots parallel with the Spurs. I love the similarities between Belichick and Popovich. That being said, Popovich over-coached some last night. Notably taking Duncan out when a rebound would have won the game and pulling Parker for offense-defense at the end of OT and not having him in for the most important possession of the game. 

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