Facing a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, not many are expecting the Miami Heat to put up much of a fight against the San Antonio Spurs in their quest for another NBA title. The Western Conference champions aren’t only winning the series against the defending champions, but making it look rather easily with blowout wins in the past two games.
Despite trailing in the series, Heat star LeBron James has done his job. Through four games, the forward is averaging more points (27.5) and rebounds (7.5) than he did in the regular season. He’s also shooting a blistering 60 percent from the field and cleaning up on the defensive end with 2.5 steals per game. James hasn’t been perfect and he fell under some criticism for missing a significant amount of time in Game 1 with cramps, but overall, he’s played remarkably well.
James is regarded by many as the NBA’s best player and, even if Kevin Durant deserves a slight edge, James is certainly the league’s marquee attraction. With two NBA titles and four Most Valuable Player trophies, he already is going to be viewed as one of the NBA’s greatest players when he retires. James, however, has a chance to garner even more prestige.
Winning a third consecutive title would be a tremendous feat, but if James can somehow find a way to pull it off at the bottom of a 3-1 hole, he suddenly becomes legendary.
As things currently stand, it’s difficult to consider James in the same class as players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Magic Johnson. Magic and Kobe had leading roles on five championship teams and Jordan did for six. Even with four Most Valuable Player awards, James’ two NBA titles are well short of those achievements.
If James wins a third, he will still have some work to do to catch those three players in terms of rings. However, a third title would demand even more respect.
Winning three in a row is something Magic never did with the Showtime Lakers. In addition, while Jordan and Kobe both have done that (Jordan twice), neither would have done it facing the 3-1 hole in which James and his Heat find themselves. Winning three consecutive games against a team playing as well as the Spurs is a nearly impossible feat and if the team can pull it off, James’ profile has to go through the roof. He won’t have accomplished as much as those three even with a third title, but leading his team from behind after being left for dead would be an enormous feat.
James also sees it as an immense opportunity:
“Why not us? History is broken all the time,” James said Saturday after the Heat practiced. “And obviously we know we’re against the greatest of odds. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals, but there was a point where no team came back from a 2-0. There was a point where no team came back from a 3-0. There was a point where no team came back from a 3-1 or 3-0 deficit in the ALCS, and then the Red Sox did it against the Yankees.
“So history is made to be broken, and why not me be a part of it? That would be great. That would be a great storyline, right? But we’ll see what happens. I’ve got to live in the moment, though, before we even get to that point.”
For the record, a Heat comeback isn’t likely. No team has recovered trailing 3-1 and San Antonio is playing unreal basketball right now. However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Miami was competitive in the series’ first two games on the road, even winning one. A Game 5 win in San Antonio wouldn’t be unheard of and if that happens, the Heat suddenly find themselves back home with a chance to tie things up. Miami hasn’t played well there against the Spurs, but they were unbeatable there heading into the finals with a perfect 8-0 record at home.
Let’s face it – the Heat don’t stand much of a chance to win the Finals. If they do, however, the comparisons to MJ and Kobe suddenly have a lot more merit.
