No Regard Recap: Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan

One Game We Watched Last Night: Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

I think LeBron James gets tired. Which is fine, I guess. He does spend all day either running around or thinking about exactly how he’s going to run around later or worrying that people who’ve never met him will say rude things about the ways in which he’s been running around recently. And then he lifts heavy weights until he’s ripped through most of his muscles—and there are so many muscles to rip through—so his body can rebuild those muscles better, bigger than before. He must have to consume so many calories each day just to stay awake, let alone perform at the absolute zenith of athletic capability for extended periods. So yes, I think LeBron James gets tired.

I’m not trying to make excuses for James’ occasional fourth quarter lapses, just looking for reasons. And I think this may be one of them. He tries to win the game early and sometimes this leaves him gassed in the fourth, leading to too many flat, dizzy Wade jumpers. LeBron has always looked most self-assured, most confident in every muscle twitch when his team’s up by like eight in the fourth. These situations are when he always seems to hit that dagger three—the same three that seems to elude him when the game is tied. Being the best player on the floor—on both sides of the ball—for three quarters is probably very draining. Obviously he’s not the first player forced to live with this burden, but he’s the player that I’m talking about right now. He’s also the player that looked a few breathes away from heaven after the 45-point master class that was game six against the Celtics. He gets tired is my point.

If this is really the problem—and there's a good chance it's not because what do I know—then what’s the solution? I say LeBron inverts his world view, stop worrying, and learn to value the fourth quarter more. If you asked him, I bet he'd say that all quarters are created equal. That's kind of true, but also, the fourth quarter is the last quarter, the only quarter where if you're winning at the end, you win the game. So it's a little more important.

The Thunder, during this playoff run at least, seem to have the opposite disposition. They are often slow to get going. But then they get going and it's a real problem for their opponent. They seem little concerned with double digit deficits, especially in that crazy building they play in. They're fine pacing themselves. Surely there will be a game in this series, perhaps even game two, in which the Heat carve out a differential that OKC is unable to scale. But for the first game at least, the Thunder's interpretation of the NBA's temporal construct was the better one. Let's see if LeBron can find the wrinkle in game two.