Sorry, great debaters, LeBron was no Michael on Sunday night.

After the Lakers crushed the Heat in the first two games of the NBA Finals, I thought it was a sweep. LA had to be that good because Miami was very good in the Eastern finals against Boston, and the Heat had starters Adebayo and Dragic out for game three.

You don’t expect Jimmy Butler to have a true career night with 40 points as part of his triple-double. But even when they lost the lead, the Lakers were close enough to come back and keep the sweep alive.

That’s when LeBron James took over the game, or at least tried, and he was pretty terrible down the stretch. He missed open three-pointers and threw the ball away three times to kill important possessions for his team.

Sure, the debate still rages on over who is the real GOAT of the NBA. I’ve said for years that until James wins, or comes close to, six world championships, Michael is still the man. And why? Because when the game was on the line, Jordan rarely failed to make a play.

Honestly, I don’t remember him having a stretch anywhere near LeBron’s mess at the end of game three. Did Michael ever miss a shot, sure? Did he turn the ball over, of course? But never when an NBA Finals game was on the line like LeBron did.

Is James the same player he was for most of his career? At 35, I don’t think so, but he’s still the superstar who can make the Lakers better by just being out on the court and attracting attention from the opposing defense. Maybe he was tired and maybe he figured Jimmy Buckets would never replicate his performance in game four.

That may be true, but LeBron looked like he gave up with four minutes to play. He almost matched his double-double points and rebounds averages for the series and had eight assists. But he went 1 for 5 from outside with 8 turnovers. And Tar Heel Danny Green was certainly no help, going 0-6 in 17 sorry minutes.

Sure, I’m prejudiced when it comes to the kid from Wilmington who wore his Carolina blue shorts under his Bulls uniform. But I was half-hoping that LeBron would be LeBron down the stretch. And he wasn’t.

Featured image via AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

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