

Then-Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey devised a defensive scheme predicated on mixing and matching zone looks to flummox James and it worked to excellent effect, a lesson James took to heart for the rest of his career.
LEBRON STATS 2011 FINALS SERIES
However, as James has found out, more often than not making a Finals and actually winning it are completely different things and this 2011 series is a good example of that.Īs you can see from his statistical line, this wasn’t James’ best series. In the first season after James shockingly announced he was departing from Cleveland to Miami on national television to team up with buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, he managed to successfully reach the NBA Finals, beginning this remarkable run of eight straight. Series outcome: Miami loses to Dallas 4-2 So, with that said, here’s a look at James’ eight NBA Finals, in terms of how he performed individually, ranked. But apparently, it’s more than enough for House.Given the sheer number of Finals appearances James has at this point – his nine is only matched and surpassed by six players in NBA history – it’s fair to say that not all of those trips can be measured equally. James has put up monster playoff numbers over the course of his 15-year career, so it would be pretty unfair to completely shame him for one bad series. But while House retired following that season, the Heat won back-to-back titles after falling to Dallas and James added another championship to his résumé with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 campaign. He only was the fifth-highest scorer in the series, which the Mavericks won in six games.

The 2011 Finals certainly was not James’ best postseason showing. I can’t buy it for that reason right there.” ‘Oh no, he ain’t as good as he is,’ but you going to say somebody who quit in the Finals, at the end of everything, when all the marbles are on the table, that he’s the greatest of all time? I can’t buy it. People killed James Harden for having a bad series last year, right. “Not only because I was on the team, but the fact he was the best player and everybody was dependent on him to show up and do what he does, and he was M.I.A.

“I can’t get over the fact he didn’t show up in Dallas,” House said, as transcribed by UPROXX. While one might expect House to side with James considering the two played together with the Miami Heat, the former sharpshooter is siding with MJ for one specific reason.Īs part of a lengthy diatribe, House expressed his belief that James quit on the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, a thought he simply cannot get over. Michael Jordan debate is becoming increasingly tighter, but one of James’ former teammates believes it’s a no-brainer.ĭuring a Thursday appearance on FOX Sports 1’s “Undisputed,” 13-year NBA veteran Eddie House was asked to weigh in on arguably the most tired basketball discussion of all time.
LEBRON STATS 2011 FINALS FREE
