LeBron James showed up the Toronto Raptors in more ways than one on Wednesday night. James scored 39 points on 14 shots in a clowning that put the Cleveland Cavaliers up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On Wednesday night, LeBron James spun the ball on one hand twice in front of Serge Ibaka before casually draining a three, one of his four on the night. It looked a lot like what James does before shooting free throws.
LeBron making it look easy… 👌 pic.twitter.com/gMksZvGLzY
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 4, 2017
Video of the clip caused a bit of controversy in the days that followed. Some say James was showing up the Raptors with the move, and other former NBA players like Chauncy Billups said he wouldn’t let that happen if he were playing LeBron.
Chauncey Billups calls LeBron spinning ball twice before making three-pointer disrespectful: "That would've been a Flagrant 1." pic.twitter.com/vR8vOJ1m4v
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) May 5, 2017
James spoke to officials on Friday and said it wasn’t a move that had any significance attached to it.
“It’s bait,” James said to ESPN at Cavs shootaround on Friday. “It was a mental thing. Everything I do is mental.”
James said if Ibaka would have reached for the ball, he would have “put it on the floor.” Instead, he used a quick ball fake to get some space and hit a three.
“I was just basically in my zone, in my comfort zone, and after I spun the ball and I jabbed him, I seen what I needed to see from the defender to be able to get that shot off,” James told reporters. “If I didn’t see it, I would have drove it, and if I didn’t have the drive, I would have gave it up and let one of my teammates attack.”
James told ESPN the amount of attention the play has received comes with the territory for a player of his stature, but he scoffed at any added significance attached to the moment.
“What if I missed the shot? What if he stole the ball? We wouldn’t be talking about it,” James said.
But James didn’t miss, which is entirely the point. He’s been playing great, and when great players get into a zone during #PETTYSZN it’s always seen as a slight to everyone else. Bait or not, the Raptors weren’t too happy about it.
“I was pretty upset, not that he did it,” Lowry said. “He should spin the ball. He’s comfortable. We can’t let him be comfortable. We have to make him uncomfortable. He’s in a situation right now where he’s playing very comfortably and the things he’s doing is comfortable. If I was comfortable, I would do the same thing.”
Toronto seemed more upset that James felt like he could do that than anything, which is the right perspective to have. If they didn’t trail by 20 for what felt like the entire game, James probably wouldn’t be so comfortable.
