LeBron In Cleveland: Take Two

So... this is still awkward.

I’ve flip-flopped on LeBron James more times than an Obama on unilateral military action. Guilty. I pretend to know where this young man’s career points – presumably to championships and a place in the pantheon, with an eternal footnote attached to both.

But night’s like Tuesday inevitably dissuade me from matter-of-fact assertions.

Night’s like Tuesday, in which the prodigal son returned home to a den of abject hatred and promptly went down, this time, in metaphorical flames, happen staggeringly frequently to a player called “King.”

“Happen” being the operative word. For one reason or another (read “his supporting cast or another”), LeBron cannot consistently corral his world-beating talents with the kind of dictatorial command exerted – with habit – by the men whose company he aspires to keep.

Michael Jordan was not a product of circumstance. And lest we aim our comparisons too high, neither was Kobe or Larry or Allen Iverson for that matter.

LeBron’s first trip back to Cleveland culminated in a cold-blooded thrashing: 24 points in the third quarter en route to an effortless 38-coulda-been-50; a blowout victory for Miami; the stepping closer of an entire abandoned city to the ledge. James exuded the kind of heartless determination one assumed he’d need for this whole hero-gone-villain turn to succeed.

And succeed, briefly, it did. The Heat ripped off a great number of consecutive wins on the momentum of that civic gutting, while Cleveland – the team and the town – crawled into the closest hole it could find (Indians’ spring training?).

A lot, as you know, has changed since December 2. The Heat has not gelled like the foregone champion misguided experts exulted. LeBron’s team runs its opponent out of the gym on some nights, dismantling the likes of San Antonio and L.A. only to suffer startling demise to… well, Cleveland.

This is the NBA. Each team can, theoretically, beat every other team on any given night. And, to again remind where I stand on this collection of men (3) and boys (9), the Heat doesn’t have the one-through-eight talent to compete for the title that justifies all this wind-bagging overanalysis in the first place.

Still, 50-win teams helmed by LeBron James should not lose to 15-win teams helmed by Dan Gilbert – ever really, but especially not in the final throes of a heated playoff race… Not when presented the opportunity to pass a former champion (Boston) and pace a future champion (L.A).

Discussions as these shouldn’t always come back to Kobe. But they do – because the Mamba has a hand of jewlry, and when his team faces real or imagined adversity, he’s always quick to insist either A) this is not a valid reason for concern or B) it is… and he will fix it. Nothing ever happens to Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant happens to the rest of the NBA.

If and when LeBron wins a championship – and these days, maybe the “if” is a legitimate question - it won’t be because he simply stumbled onto one. LeBron James will have to happen. In the meantime, there are Tuesday nights in Cleveland.

- Robbie