LeBron James, once the NBA’s golden child, has become its favorite punching bag.
The Cavaliers forward had a strong game offensively Monday night, scoring 33 points in a 100-96 win over the Pacers. But all anyone will be talking about is this play when James appeared to give up on defense after Paul George stole a pass intended for him, ran the half of the court and dunked it as James looked on, jogging.
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Minutes after the play transpired, blogs were already penning the pieces questioning his desire and his mood.
That’s been the story of this season so far, especially since David Blatt was fired as Cavs coach last month. James was widely believed to have been responsible. “Blame LeBron” may as well be one of the NBA’s slogans this season.
James was criticized for not wanting to come out of a game against the Raptors on Friday night. Maybe he was trying too hard. He took the day off Sunday in another loss to the Wizards and took more heat for that.
Now, he’s being criticized because he didn’t go all out on a play that didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
These days James just can’t win, get even, or get out of the game.
Now that Stephen Curry and the Warriors are the darlings of the league, it looks like James is back to full-time villain status.
Stud of the night
Jabari Parker and the Bucks had a breakout offensive night Monday against the Rockets. Parker's career-high 36 points led the Bucks to a 128-121 win. He got plenty of help from Kris Middleton (30 points) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (18 points, 17 rebounds).
Dud of the night
The Cavs didn’t get much of anything from Iman Shumpert in their win. Shumpert was scoreless, shooting 0 for 6 from the field.
Tweet of the night
Russell Westbrook nearly messed around and got a triple-double in the first half Monday against the Kings. He would finish the job, recording 20 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists in Oklahoma City's 131-116 win.
Another night. Another Russell Westbrook euro-step. #Thunder https://t.co/MSIZODJkjw
— Up The Thunder (@UpTheThunder) March 1, 2016
Looking ahead:
Bulls (30-28) at Heat (33-26), 7:30 p.m. ET: With less than two full months of the regular season remaining, the Eastern Conference playoff race is getting increasingly tight. The Heat are in fourth place, but the seventh-place Bulls are just three games behind them.