Written by Chris Cromie
4:32 left. A raucous American Airlines arena is on its feet with a mixture of urgency and terror. Their beloved Miami Heat are down by 7 points with ball in hand. The Heat have struggled to penetrate Dallas’ exemplary perimeter defence so far with LeBron James limited to just four points in the fourth quarter. The ball swings around the outside of the key as they look for the extra pass and a mismatch. It lands in the hands of James, his 6ft 8” frame towering over the diminutive but calculating J.J. Barea. In any other game, James would have spun by him into the lane and attacked the rim, but when it mattered most, he passed. The resulting play ended in a turnover and helped crown the Dallas Mavericks as the 2011 NBA Champions. James finished the game with his head in his hands, surrounded by a cacophony of criticism. The “next Jordan” had failed in the clutch. There was no “next Jordan” about it. At this stage, he’d be lucky to be the “next Paul Pierce.”
