LeBron James (especially recently) is often compared to the great Michael Jordan. In game 5 of the Cavs' first round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls LeBron's elbow injury became public. It's important to note that his injury was diagnosed not as a tear or even a sprain, but as only a mild strain.
Great players play better when faced with these types of challenges. This is where we're going to find out if LeBron deserves to be in that elite class with Magic, Jordan and Bird.
In game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals Jordan battled a vicious flu to torch the Jazz in their own building. "I felt partially paralyzed," Jordan would later say. This guy played through partial paralyzation and LeBron has to deal with the discomfort of a strain. There's a big difference between not being able to see straight (Jordan) and having no physical limitations whatsoever (LeBron).
"The way he looked, there's no way I thought he could even put on his uniform, I'd never seen him like that. He looked bad -- I mean really bad." Those are the words of teammate and friend Scottie Pippen after the game.
With the flu Jordan scored 38 points, had 5 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds. LeBron on the other hand, with a strained elbow, had 24 points, 4 assists, and 7 rebounds. Jordan's handicap was much more serious than LeBron's is and he still put up big numbers on the game's biggest stage.
LeBron is a great player and the scary thing is that he probably hasn't even hit his ceiling yet. My guess is that when it's all said in done LeBron will have numbers that will make our heads spin. But to compare these two players right now is borderline insulting. Jordan was barely able to breath when LeBron felt slight discomfort and Jordan still played much better. That right there is the distinction between being an All-Time Great and being a Basketball Immortal.
If James complains about his elbow after this game, in my mind at least, he's admitting that he's not tough enough or good enough to not make excuses and play. It would also show me that he's scared of the Celtics having lost home court advantage.
I don't know, maybe if LeBron was in the same circumstance as Jordan he would have played just as well. But what I do know is that I saw LeBron grabbing his elbow a ton in his last three playoff games. He's not just grabbing it for a second either, he's craddling it like it has serious damage done to it, basically saying, "Look at me, I'm playing through an injury aren't I special".
No doubt, a strained elbow is extremely uncomfortable and it makes sense that it would effect him to a certain extent. But it's surely not debilitating enough to be considered legitimate excuse for when he shoots poorly.
If James likes to be compared to the greatest player ever he better shut up and play. That's what the great ones do, and if he wants to go down in history as one of the best ever then he has no choice but to win a championship this year with that aggravated elbow.
