Friday night LeBron James moved a chapter closer to basketball immortality with a game-winning three-pointer that rocked Cleveland, shocked Orlando and evened the series at 1-1. With one second remaining on the NBA Game 2 Eastern Conference Finals timepiece, James waged hand-to-hand combat versus the Turkish Michael Jordan, Hedo Turkoglu, and managed to briefly get free for a three-pointer at the top of the circle. With Turkoglu's outstretched hands in his face, James received Mo Williams pass and launched his perfect parabola to stake a claim to be the rightful heir to Michael Jordan.
Was this LeBron's Craig Ehlo moment? Let's not go so far as to write that, since Michael's series-winning basket in the face of Cleveland's Craig Ehlo was delivered in the final seconds of a decisive Game 5 in 1989 (Jordan's Bulls had been 0-6 against the Cavaliers in the regular season.), but LeBron proved that he was more than capable of making a gargantuan shot when Cleveland was desperate for playoff salvation.
Eventually, what will be forgotten in the murky passage of time is that LeBron was struggling at the end of the fourth quarter. James appeared to be doing too much; he recklessly crashed his way into a charge, he traveled, he suffered the ignominy of a blocked shot and he had the looks of a mere mortal pressing. One shot completely erased that performance.
Basketball scribes will trumpet LeBron's big shot heroics, but few will choose to remember his fourth quarter struggles. To place his shot in its proper perspective, it is all the more impressive that he was struggling. LeBron fought through his struggles, stepped up when needed and did not shirk his responsibilities as the man who has laid a claim to the Jordan legacy.
If you're a sports fan, you live for these moments. You live to witness moments when an athlete's hard work and dedication lead to brilliance. According to TNT's studio analyst, Reggie Miller, LeBron James was the first person on the court before Game 2 at 5:30 pm. Three hours before game time, James was working on his shot in a darkened Quicken Loans Arena. Three years ago, LeBron did not have the ability to nail that shot over Turkoglu, but he has added the three-point shot to his ever-expanding offensive arsenal under the guidance of assistant coach Chris Jent (Shout out to Sparta, NJ.) .
Superstardom isn't born - it's earned.
Stan Van Gundy
To defend LeBron's game-winning shot, Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy decided to put Hedo Turkoglu on LeBron. Surprisingly, Van Gundy did not opt for Mickael Pietrus to guard James on the final possession. Pietrus had given LeBron fits in the fourth quarter, has proven to be the Magic's best defender versus LeBron and seemed the logical choice.
After listening to Van Gundy in the post-game press conference, ostensibly he was concerned about the lob to James near the rim. As Van Gundy explained, during the regular season, Cleveland had successfully pulled off LeBron going to the rim on a backdoor cut versus the Indiana Pacers for a game-winning shot. Moments before LeBron's game-winner against the Pacers, Danny Granger had pulled the same move on Cleveland to put his team in the lead.
Van Gundy must have been thinking he wanted the 6'10" Turkoglu to defend against a lob pass to LeBron James near the basket. I can wrap my head around that, but I definitely would have liked to have seen Van Gundy put more pressure on the ball. Mo Williams had an open look to James, which might have been prevented, if Rashard Lewis had been exerting more pressure on Williams' inbound pass.
Hedo Turkoglu
The Turkish Michael Jordan has become Mr. 4th Quarter for the Orlando Magic. Unfortunately, Hedo's late-game heroics will fade under the weight of the LeBron legend, but Turkoglu is rapidly moving to Big Shot Bob Horry territory. Unlike Big Shot Bob, Turkoglu can create his own shot.
The Turkish Michael Jordan
Deja Vu
The Turkoglu-James last shot one-upmanship evoked memories of the Spurs' Tim Duncan versus the Lakers' Derek Fisher in their second-round playoff series in 2004. Duncan's shot was even more unbelievable than Fisher's, as Duncan was moving to his left and fell to the floor after releasing the ball, but hoops history more fondly remembers the 18-footer by Fisher with 0.4 seconds on the clock. Fisher's dagger snapped San Antonio's 17-game home winning streak.
