The King VS. MJ

The NBA Finals resume Tuesday evening in Cleveland, with the Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors tied at one game apiece in the best-of-seven series.

The developing subplot to this battle concerns LeBron James, who, in the two overtime games so far, has scored 83 points. The 44 he netted in the opener were the most ever by one player in a losing game in the Finals.

Without the injured Kevin Love (shoulder) since the end of April and with Kyrie Irving (knee) KO’d in Game 1 of the Finals, James has put this depleted team on his back and carried it with distinction. And so the argument fires up again: Where does he stand in comparison with Michael Jordan, winner of six career championships to James’ two?

Don’t become a championship counter. One player doesn’t win a title – not by himself (though LeBron might actually do that). The great Wilt Chamberlain (look him up, kids) won two championships and was always compared with Bill Russell, who won 11. Chamberlain’s career statistics tower over Russell’s, but they don’t fully explain the value of either player. Russell’s Boston Celtics had better supporting players (and other stars). Big Russ didn’t do it by himself and Chamberlain couldn’t do it by himself.

The Cavaliers went from nothing to NBA contenders by adding LeBron back to their mix and he keeps stirring that pot. His 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists were remarkable – only one other player in the Finals has had a triple-double with as many as 39 points (Jerry West, 1969).

If you need one player to make one clutch shot, you may want Michael Jordan. If you want one player to carry a damaged roster forward with class in the NBA Finals, LeBron James should be your guy.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .