Never underestimate LeBron James… especially in the NBA playoffs

Making the ‘King’ angry can be an audacity from which very few come out free and can tell about it…

LeBron James, the player with several of the main records in the NBA, usually has his natural habitat in the playoffs or final games and there are few teams that presume to have surrendered it, since when it seems that everything is over, he rises from the ashes and achieve success.

There are many occasions on which James has carried out a tie or a decisive game in which his team seemed defeated.

The most recent sample occurred in the current playoffs with the Memphis Grizzlies or a couple of days ago in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal against the current champions, Golden State Warriors, against whom until before the end of the first half , Lakers came to be down by up to 16 points. James didn’t take a single shot attempt until nearly halfway through the second quarter, but he made the second half his own to finish the game with 21 points, as did De’Angelo Russell and three behind Anthony Davis who led the Los Angeles victory. 97-127 with 25 units.

Listing all the times that James has saved his team from a playoff would be impossible for the career of a player who has spent 20 years at the highest level in the NBA, who has played 10 finals and has four championship rings, but facing the Game 4 against Warriors and that could lead to the tie, some data on the magnitude reached by the ‘King’ in the playoffs are pertinent.

James’ teams, so far the Cleveland Cavaliers (x2), Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers have won 19 consecutive series after leaving Game 1 with their fists raised, as they did against the Grizzlies in the first round and against the Warriors in semifinals (although the series is not yet defined).

On an individual level, James is a ‘destruction machine’, because after his team loses a playoff game, he averages 30 points per game; an impressive average considering that the ‘King’ has played more than 270 games in the postseason.

It was precisely against the Warriors, on May 31, 2018, when James had 51 points; However, throughout his NBA career, in which he has not reached the playoffs in only four seasons, the Akron native has memorable moments that many prefer not to remember…

During the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, the ‘King’ began to write his legend in the playoffs. During Game 5, with the series tied 2-2, the Pistons led 88-81 at home. LeBron forced overtime until in the second of them, the Cavs won the victory. James finished with 48 points (55% shooting), nine boards and 7 assists.

Years later, already with the Big three of the Miami Heat, James faced some (now) old acquaintances: Boston Celtics.

It was the ninth year in the career of James who had not yet won a ring and it seemed that history would repeat itself as the Heat lost the tie with the Celtics 3-2 in the Eastern Finals playing at TD Garden… Then LeBron ‘put green’ and took care of Boston.

He finished the night with a double-double of 45 points, 15 boards, 5 assists and an almost unmatched 73% shooting efficiency.

2012 marked the consecration of the ‘King’ and showed that the playoffs are his natural environment.

In those finals, the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games with James as a legend. During that series he averaged 28 points, 10 boards and 7 assists.

A year later, his victims were the San Antonio Spurs.

Led by LeBron, Miami took the series to Game 7 with Ray Allen’s legendary shot. LeBron left with 37 points, 12 boards, 4 assists and 52% shooting to tie up the two-time championship (for now, the only one of his career).

Finally (or that remains to be seen as long as he does not retire), the series most remembered by NBA fans, that of the 2016 Finals against the Warriors.

Cavs were down 3-1 in the championship series; however, no one expected the performance of James, who in the remaining games averaged almost 30 points, 11 boards and nine assists carrying the team and spoiling the impressive regular season record of those from the ‘Golden State’ that had registered a 73-9 and couldn’t cap it off with the Larry O’Brien.

In the decisive Game 7, held at Oracle Arena, James recorded a triple-double of 27 points, 11 boards and the same number of assists, but perhaps the most remembered is the block against Andre Iguodala that moments later led to Kyrie’s shot Irving with which Cleveland won the title.

Today in Game 4 against the Warriors, LeBron will have the opportunity to make the series 3-1 for the yellow and purple, before he moves to San Francisco for Game 5; However, until the Warriors win the best-of-seven series, a “King” may be considered dead, leading his court and will not abdicate as long as the ball is in his hands.