IM YOUR HUCKLEBERRY

I started out being a huge fan of Lebron. Who wasn't ? His athleticism, his natural ability, his hard nosed defense....It all seemed to fit together so well for him when he started out. Over the years he has been kind of a letdown. I'm not saying he's not a great player. I'm not saying he wont win MVP (again) this year, or the next, or the year after. The problem is, at this point in his career, if he doesn't get a ring soon I doubt he ever will.

I, like most people, watched the Lakers take down the Heat on national TV this past Sunday. Metta WP (Ron Artest) played him very tough and the only things Lebron got easy the whole night were layups and dunks. There were some things about the game that disturbed me and they center around the 4th quarter.

At some point towards the end the Heat were down 10 or 11, the game still very much in their grasp as far as I was concerned, Lebron came up off the bench after resting for a few minutes, and the guy was laughing. He was actually smiling and joking.

THIS is what they mean by NO KILLER INSTINCT.

Time and time again when the Heat were close to catching up at the end he deferred. They say that makes him a good team mate. They say that makes him a playmaker. They say that Lebron does this because he trusts in his team mates. I think they're wrong. I think he does this because he's scared. Scared of having the game in his hands and losing. Scared of being the guy who turns the ball over when the game is on the line. Scared of the game being in his hands and him failing. If he's scared of the moment, the way I saw that Lebron was scared during that game, the all star game, and others, then he has a long way to go before he gets a ring.

Lebron James =  Charles Barkley / Karl Malone / Dominique Wilkins