The East All-Stars were down 88-69 at halftime with the West
seemingly doing whatever they wanted against their Eastern Conference opponents
during a marathon first half. After a playful game introduction that saw LeBron
James and Dwight Howard dancing for the crowd and a poor first half showing by
all but a few of the Eastern stars, the second half of the All-Star game took a
decidedly competitive turn.
And LeBron James was the catalyst. James has developed a
reputation over the past few years as a player that fails to deliver in the
clutch and while he wasn’t able to pull out the win in this game either, James
showed why he is so highly regarded by coaches and his peers around the league.
With seemingly nothing to lose, James starting shooting, and
posting up, and passing and rebounding, lifting the East on his broad shoulders
and bringing them within one point of the West in the final seconds of the
game. As he upped his intensity, his fellow East stars followed his lead
charging back against the West and played smart, physical basketball the rest
of the way.
Before the night was over, James had bullied his way to 36
points, six rebounds, and seven assists while shooting an uncharacteristic
six-of-eight from behind the three point line. Just a testament of how well
James can play when he is loose and focused. Doesn’t matter if he is playing
against All-Stars or scrubs when James gets in a comfort zone, he is truly the
best basketball player on the planet.
Although the fans didn’t receive the message James was
trying to send, rest assured that his All-Star brethren did. A big All-Star
game performance by James doesn’t necessarily set the tone for the second half
of the season but if you’re a James detractor then you might want to pay attention
to his play for the rest of the season.
Simply put, there will be more monster performances by James
in the second half of the season as he and the Miami Heat try to cement their
standing as the top team in the East. You can also expect him to play better in
this year’s playoffs than he played last year.
What makes me so sure? Because despite the antics and
questionable moves he makes away from basketball, when James is on the court
his total focus is on winning a championship. And that focus will only get
stronger as James gets closer and closer to the playoffs. James expects to get
a chance to revenge his poor performance from last year’s Finals and God help
anyone who gets in his way.
Roosevelt Hall is an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2 and also writes for Shatter The Backboard. He can be contacted at RHall@shatterthebackboard.com. Follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist and add him on Facebook Roosevelt Hall Thesportmentalist.
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