LeBron James plays poorly in a big game? So did Jordan

By DAN LE BATARD
dlebatard@MiamiHerald.com

A very important player in a very important basketball game once went 3 for 18. He took eight three-pointers and missed every one. His team lost by 35 points. History does not remember him as a choker or afraid or not quite ready for the throne, even though he had this game on the largest stage -- in the NBA Finals. No, history remembers him as Michael Jordan.

Why did LeBron James miss 11 of his 14 shots in a Game 5 disaster against Boston Tuesday night?

I don't know.

That's a terrible answer, of course. It has no depth or wisdom. Humans, in general, are curious and want explanations. And sports fans and media members, specifically, really stink at accepting ``I don't know.'' The all-you-can-eat ESPN beast must be fed theories and analysis round-the-clock, and ``I don't know'' is hardly ever on the menu. It is easier to condemn James by saying that this kind of game would have never happened to an assassin like Jordan while ignoring that this kind of game did happen to an assassin like Jordan.

But there has to be a reason James stunk, right?

Well, no, there doesn't.

Fooled By Randomness, one of the smartest books ever written, explains how sometimes humans see patterns where there is just random noise. And rarely do you see it done more often and with more zealotry than in sports, where everything from an athlete's greatness to his strength to his character gets measured by the whims of good or bad bounces, good or bad days.

Combine this kind of James performance with the absence of a good explanation, and what gets unleashed like a thousand rodeo bulls are all the intangibles. You know, things that can't be seen or measured. If it can't be proven, it is hard to disprove, too, so James today lacks ``heart'' or ``will'' or ``clutch'' or ``killer instinct'' or ``leadership'' or whatever unseen else you'd like to place next to this result without a proper rebuttal from the scoreboard. You can also opine that James was terrible because the Celtics prayed to an evil leprechaun.

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