Jordan Wouldn’t Have Done That

LeBron James is no Michael Jordan. He doesn't understand what a superstar is supposed to do in crunch time.

Michael Jordan wouldn't have scored just 21 points facing elimination. He wouldn't have averaged just 17.8 ppg in the NBA Finals, which is pathetic. Michael Jordan averaged 27.3 ppg in his 'worst' finals series. In his best one, he averaged 41. But most of all, Jordan wouldn't perform terribly in the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter is where it's at. Dirk Nowitzki knew that. In the final game, he shot 1 of 12 in the first half. Still, when four quarter rolled around, he kept on shooting, scored 10 points, and closed out the Heat. In fact, it was him who scored the last field goal for the Mavericks.

James, on the other hand, disappeared when it mattered the most. In the fourth quarter, he shot 3 of 5 and had one turnover.

In Game 5, he did even worse. He scored just 17 points the entire game, notched a lame triple-double, and scored just 1 bucket in the fourth quarter.

James defenders like to say he was sharing the ball. But that's bogus because it's clearly not the way you play the NBA finals as a superstar.

In the first 42 minutes of the game, your goal is to get your teammates involved and pick your spot. Hopefully, your team sails ahead and all you'd have to do in the last 6 minutes is protect your lead. But if that doesn't happen, you demand the ball as a superstar and shoot it yourself.

There is no playing unselfishly or sharing the ball. None of that. Instead, your team runs isolation plays for you and you dominate the game because no defender can stop you.

Michael Jordan did it countless times in his career, especially when it mattered the most. Larry Bird did it. Dirk did it in 2011. Tim Duncan, a low post big man, did it. Magic Johnson, one of the best passers in the game, did it.

The fact is that Lebron James isn't even close to Michael Jordan when it comes to crunch time. Now would be a good time for Scottie Pippen to eat his words.