HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Quantum physics has a term known as “entanglement” which was widely popularized by the theoretical experiment “Schrodinger’s cat.”

In 1935, Erwin Schrodinger reasoned that if a cat is placed inside of a sealed box with a Geiger counter set to release poison (by a random amount of radiation), a paradox would develop.

Schrodinger concluded that prior to the experimenter opening the box to see the result, the cat is both dead AND alive simultaneously.

It’s not until the results are physically checked that the cat becomes dead OR alive.

So how does this apply at HOOPSWORLD.com?

LeBron James is the cat.

We are all Schrodinger and the remaining five-game series between the Miami HEAT and Dallas Mavericks is the unchecked box (and/or deathtrap, whatever is most suitable).

James, currently in his eighth season, has been considered by many to be the best basketball player in the world.

Even non-fans will struggle to deny LeBron his awesome talent as a player both statistically and to the naked-eye with his raw power.  He’s a willing play-maker and has grown into a top-notch defender.

James’ teams have now been to the NBA Finals twice and he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a personal best 66 wins in 2008/9.

LeBron closed out the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals with his scoring in Game 5 and took over in Game 1 against the Mavericks to seal the victory.

Nonetheless, LeBron James has never won an NBA title.

To elevate to the upper echelon of all-time greats, James needs to blend his individual brilliance with the team game.

Fair or not, titles are a crucial part of the résumé when a player wants to climb to the topmost section of the list.

Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 titles.  Michael Jordan was a perfect six-for-six with the Chicago Bulls.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar notched six, five with Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers and one with Oscar Robertson and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Lakers Kobe Bryant and George Mikan stand at five; Shaquille O’Neal at four.

Before O’Neal starting collecting rings, he was on par with Chris Webber – a special player who couldn’t get it done in key moments.

Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs won four as well, eclipsing Karl Malone (zero rings) as arguably the best power forward of all-time.

Somehow one of the league’s most dominant players in Wilt Chamberlain finished with just two.

Why is it that Russell won year after year, while Chamberlain loaded up with stats beyond modern-day comprehension (50.4 points per game in a single season)?

Is it because Russell had better teammates?  Or (as great as Sam Jones, John Havlicek, K.C. Jones were) did Bill’s teammates earn their reputations and rings because they played alongside arguably the best defensive player of all time?

Recently Scottie Pippen noted that James “may be the greatest player to ever play the game.”

Of course this inspired Abdul-Jabbar, who is in the argument as the league’s career scoring leader with the ring count to match Michael, to write an open letter offering Russell and Chamberlain as better alternatives.

Russell the greatest in the team concept – Wilt on an individual level.

Malone was another player with a tremendous career who never earned a title.

Did Jordan finish off the Utah Jazz in 1998 because he had Pippen and Dennis Rodman?

Did Malone fall short because he played with just one Hall-of-Famer in John Stockton, one of the top point guards in history?

The ball was in Karl’s hands with the opportunity to close out the game with a one-point lead and 20 seconds left on the game clock?  It was Jordan who stripped him which led to MJ’s game and series-winner.

History is filled with tiniest, individual moments in time that define legacies.

During Game 1 of the current series, James took over late and displayed the type of heroics that make a champion.

In Game 2, when the Mavericks came storming back, LeBron couldn’t find a way to get his team back on track (scoring just two points individually in the final period).

Is James alive in his pursuit to join Larry Bird (three titles), Jordan, Bryant, and Magic as one of the best perimeter players to ever play the game?

Yes.

Is LeBron’s legacy on par with the spectacular but ring-less careers of Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Malone, Stockton and current foes Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki (special but a tier-below the best of the best)?

Yes.

Today, LeBron is the guy who can and can’t close out the series against the Mavericks.

Now James and champion/teammate Dwyane Wade (along with the rest of the HEAT) will need to win at least one game in Dallas over the next three.

In the box, Miami will both succeed and fail to do so.

Eventually James OR Nowitzki with Kidd will emerge and ascend . . .

Sounds from Game 2

Up 15, Wade said, “We didn’t have to score another point to win the game.  Our defense was what we lay our heads on.  We didn’t play it the way we normally play.  They deserved it and we didn’t.”

“There was no celebration,” said Wade about his and James’ celebration after establishing a 15-point lead.

“It hurts now, but we’ll be fine, “said James.  “I don’t feel like our confidence will be down going into Game 3.”

{AUTHOR_BOX}On Nowitzki’s game winning lay-up:  “We knew coming out we had a foul to give,” said Wade.  “Sometimes when you’re in the moment, Dirk made a great move to get a little step on Chris [Bosh].  Obviously, if we can go back and do it, we would have grabbed him before he could get up but we didn’t do that.  We did know about it.  Just a mental breakdown.”

“I actually drove a little earlier than I would have, knowing they had a foul to give,” said Nowitzki.  “And made a move and the foul never came.  So I was able to get to the basket and lay it in.”

Dirk credited his team’s effort defensively, scrambling to cover the HEAT.  He also cited luck as part of why his team won.

“That was definitely a little hole we got ourselves in,” said Dirk.  “But we kept believing, kept playing off each other, and that was big.”

“The key thing is to understand that there’s no six point plays,” said Coach Rick Carlisle.  “You’re going to have to do it one step at a time with a stop, and then a good shot and then hopefully a score and then a stop. You know, we were able to do that in a championship series, you have to have some good fortune along with playing hard and giving yourself a chance.”

Along with Nowitzki, the Mavs got a lot out of Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler.  Jason Kidd’s defense against elite guards like Bryant and Wade is underrated (even though Dwyane had a monster night with 36 points on 13-20 shooting).

Mike Bibby had a throwback game with 14 points with four made threes.  Chris Bosh struggled to score 12 points on 4-16 shooting.

James ended with 20 points and just four assists against five turnovers.

Coach Erik Spoelstra’s game-plan probably didn’t include his two stars shooting a combined 14 times from three-point range (making just four).

Game 3 is in Dallas on Sunday night . . .