Hyde: LeBron flaunts his talent
Lakers’ star scores 51 points against the Heat in 113-97 victory.
MIAMI – That shot. That final shot. That’s all you needed to see, what everyone came to see. All night long in his return to AmericanAirlines Arena with his new Los Angeles Lakers team, LeBron James reminded everyone about his rare talent by making shot after crazy shot as the Lakers buried the Heat 113-97.
He scored 19 points in the first quarter alone. He put on a dunk contest of three thunderous entries. But now he was about to remind everyone of something more, something rarer still, as he stood with the ball in the final minute having scored 48 points.
“I bet you won’t go for the [3-point shot],” new Lakers teammate Lance Stephenson had told him a few seconds earlier.
That’s right, that Lance Stephenson. The one who infamously blew in LeBron’s ear during that playoff series against Indiana. That’s how much the
world has changed these past four years.
“That’s my guy now. We’re on the same side,” LeBron said afterward, smiling, even laughing at how this idea sounds in South Florida.
Back to the shot: LeBron stood so far outside the 3-point line the Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. didn’t even guard him. Even on this night, even with the game over, it seemed a crazy attempt.
“I just took it,” James said.
Swish.
He pointed at Stephenson. He laughed. The crowd went wild. Fifty-one points? Sure, why not? And there, in that moment, everything that was on display for those four golden years with the Heat crystallized again on this court.
See, it wasn’t just the championships that makes LeBron great. It’s the small picture too. It’s an otherwise meaningless night in November with two mediocre teams like this when he shows that you never know what will play out. What surprise awaits.
For four years, there were nights like this, and now LeBron created another
in his first 50-point night as a Laker. This was the ticket everyone wanted when the schedule was set. He reminded everyone why, even in showing how uninteresting the Heat remain.
“He’s timeless,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I throw on their games from time to time when I can’t sleep. I just think you can book it every year: 27 [points], eight [rebounds] and seven [assists]. It doesn’t matter what uniform, doesn’t matter what year, doesn’t matter how old.
“Consistency is as much of a talent as any physical or mental talent. He’s five-star
in all of those.”
Los Angeles coach Luke Walton called Spoelstra for advice after LeBron signed with the Lakers. They talked for two hours, Walton said. That’s a long time to say: You just became a lot smarter as a coach.
“What was said will remain between us,” Walton said.
He understands the main point.
“He’s expected to be the best player on the floor,” Walton said.
LeBron grabbed Sunday from the opening tip and and spun the game on his finger in a manner no one on the Heat roster has the talent to do. One minute in,
he delivered a breakaway dunk that made the arena buzz like it was 2014 again.
His full basketball arsenal followed. A step-back turnaround. A 3-point shot. A baseline floater, another 3-pointer, yet another 3-pointer, a driving layin while getting fouled (he missed the free throw) and a mid-range jumper.
Nineteen points. That was his first quarter.
It was enough to make a Heat fan mist up with tears of nostalgia. And that’s the emotion you reach for by now, right? It seems so long ago LeBron celebrated on this court, doesn’t it?
There were all sorts of numbers after this one.
He’s the third player to score 50 points for three teams. He scored the most by a Laker against the Heat, topping Kobe Bryant’s 42. It was his first win in five tries in Miami since leaving the Heat.
As he stood in a hallway in the arena he has ruled, there even was a greatestplayer-debate question with the hint of Michael Jordan. LeBron answered in a way that told he knew what he’d done this night.
“I’ve always been someone who says let games speak for itself, who lets the body of work do the talking,” he said. “If there’s ever a discussion, games like this let you figure it out.”