When Game 4 was winding down and LeBron was doing his typical heavy breathing-teeth grimacing-yelling at the air routine after making a layup, I thought he reached the point where he was the clear-cut most annoying player on the planet. Annoying, but not hated. Well, now he's hated. What changed? During his post game on-floor press conference there were some remarks that caused me to think, "Wait a sec, did he just say that? and if so, did he really mean what it appeared to mean?"
LeBron James is now mocking Derrick Rose. Unbelievable. Making it clear to anyone who will listen that Derrick Rose is the MVP and his team, the team he created with Wade and Bosh has defeated him. How petty can he be? It would be one thing if LeBron was in arch-rival mode with a contemporary who had the same amount of sidekicks at his disposal. This is more like a schoolyard bully who was put in his place deciding to come back to the playground with two other "tough guys" and under the cover of their umbrella calling out the pipsqueak. Of course, Derrick Rose is no pipsqueak but the fact that LeBaby has shrunk to the point of mocking a 22 year old who is being asked to lead his team every game and playing his ass off is pretty darn telling of his personality. As I've said before, commonly you can learn more about a person with how they handle success than from how they handle failure.
LeBaby has lived in such a bubble his entire life that he can't even appreciate a fellow player's effort that might perhaps take the spotlight off of him. Has Derrick Rose ever said one non-laudatory thing about James? Did he ever say that James wasn't deserving of the MVP? No and No. Rather, perhaps James is jealous of Rose for things that go far beyond the MVP trophy. Anyone who saw Rose's heartfelt, emotional, humble MVP acceptance speech can appreciate what a genuinely good guy he is. Anyone that is, except Queen James who clearly simply can't fathom how anyone could love another player more than him. So he tries to tear Rose down. Some of LeBron's annoying qualities are more subtle than others, but just as telling. It's no coincidence that James is most confident when his team is rolling along, everyone's shots are falling, and they have all the momentum. See if you notice his demeanor the next the Heat is in a tough situation when things aren't going so well. He's belittling his teammates, screaming at the ref, and ramming his 280lb frame into his dweeby coach. Contrast that to Rose -- cold-blooded. Face of a champion. LeBron wishes he carried himself like Rose, but it's just not in him. Lastly, whenever James does something on the court that he believes is amazing, if not expected, he makes sure to draw full attention to himself. When he flops from a Luol Deng shrug and draws an offensive foul, James sits on the floor, tongue out, head nodding, and refusing to get up until he's successfully drawn the lens of every camera in the arena. Rose? Not so much. Business as usual.
LeBron believes that with a win over the Bulls his Decision will have been validated. What he doesn't, or refuses to realiaze is that with every over-dramatic pose and with every cheap swipe at Rose he is merely reinforcing how weak he can make a 6'8" 275 lb frame appear to be.
...and to steal a line from Taylor Swift: Why you gotta be so mean?
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