Is Lebron's Finals performance the most disappointing ever?

[Brown Mamba]

I think it might be. Given the talent level of Lebron and the expectations surrounding his performance, his complete disappearance during almost this entire series may be one of the great disappointments in NBA history. Thoughts?

[Milhouse]

What I couldn't understand was how he scored 9 points in the first 4 minutes and then basically disappeared the rest of the game. The disappointment is even greater I think when you consider how well he played against the Bulls and Celtics.

[mindarson]

In terms of the gap between what was and what could have been, I would have to say yes, LBJ's was the most disappointing individual finals performance I can think of. I'll never be able to shake the feeling that he could have owned that series, along with Wade. It was like he just didn't really want it.

However, as a Heat fan, I am much more disappointed in the team's defensive breakdown, especially in the final 2 games. I can live with LeBron not scoring a whole lot, as long as stops are made at the other end. The Heat played lock-down defense nearly all season; it's what got them to the Finals in the first place. Suddenly Dallas is scoring 112! 105! What happened? Maybe it was just the Dallas offense. Their crazy 3-ball shooting didn't help, that's sure. Also, the Heat turned the ball over way too much, missed way too many free throws, and did not use Bosh as much as they should have when he had it going.

All that's to say that the blame belongs to the entire Heat team and organization for losing their defensive grip on this series, not just LeBron. (Wade didn't exactly have a marvelous Game 6, either.) But if he had stepped up, they probably would all have done the same.

[alex]

I cant believe how poorly this guy played, but then again, what REAL high pressure situations had he faced like this before? they were the hated "scheme team" up against dirk, that loveable german dude. Lebron was the nba's voldemort, everyone, from cleveland to chicago to dallas, was out to get him. i doubt any player could stand up under these expectations, let alone play to a level at which they can be called the GOAT. now lebron is being called a bum by everyone, and thats probably deserved, because when you scheme, the end isnt always the dream

[Brown Mamba]

One other note, I believe Lebron had the highest scoring differential (in a negative way) between regular season average and NBA Finals average of any player in history who averaged at least 25ppg in the Finals.

[The NBA Realist]

Most disappointing? Probably yes since disappointment is really predicated on expectations, valid or not. Independent of expectations, there are far worse Finals performances by an Alpha Dog such as Patrick Ewing in 1994.

[TheBXSavage]

It is definitely the most disappointing. Case In Point. According to ESPN at least LeBron James had the biggest PPG drop from regular season play to Finals play....IN NBA HISTORY....Ever....So thinking about that, there's really no doubt about it. If you are supposed to be the best player in the world in some people's estimation there is no way that this can happen. It wasn't as if he didn't perform spectacularly. The biggest points per game difference from his regular season average. Average..... Just a ho-hum run of the mill average LeBron everynight game. He couldn't even approach that.

[TheBXSavage]

@ Mindarson I'm a Lakers fan so I can absolutely attest to what you are talking about. When you say your defense broke down, it immediately makes me think of the way Dallas was able to move the ball against us. Not even the athleticism of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James can keep up with passes zipping around the three-point arc. The reason their scoring exploded from the 80's/90's to the 100's is because they simply started hitting all the open shots they were getting. When they played us (the Lakers) in that closeout game Terry went 90% from the 3PT line 9/10 I believe. Peja went like 6/7. Barea, Kidd, Nowitzki, Stevenson, even Cardinal etc...they just have too many good 3PT shooters and such great ball movement and penetration-kick outs (Barea and Nowitzki) that the three is almost impossible to stop when it's falling.

[coolsig5]

I would say it's the most disappointing performance in recent memory but I find it hard pressed without due research to label this the most disappointing performance in final's history.

He did make me leave scratching my head though. We all knew this was going to be d-wade's series with the matchup's but still very unlike lebron to not just have a bad game but dissappear through an entire series

[Brown Mamba]

Coolsig -- you're right, would be an interesting research point, but I'd venture to say that the odds are very much against finding a more disappointing performance. Here's what you had going in:

* the best player in the NBA, and arguably a guy on track to be the greatest ever (at least his first 8 years have suggested he was on a pace for at least top 5)

* a player coming off yet another MVP caliber season and some HUGE playoff performances against the Celtics and the Bulls

* not just were his performances not clutch, he didn't even seem engaged for 1/2 the series. He could be forgiven if it was just that shots were not falling, but he literally seemed to quit on his team