James' trust paying off in wins for Cavs
Star's belief in teammates leads to last-second wins
By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
<!-- begin body-content -->ORLANDO, FLA. - LeBron James doesn't usually listen to his critics. But he certainly always hears them.
Going back to his rookie season with the Cavaliers, from the reporter who suggested the ``hype'' around him stood for ``hey, you practice enough'' to the chorus who ripped his shooting ability, James has used it as a resource for motivation. The flavor this season has been his late-game performance in tight spots, from his decision-making to his moxie.
It peaked in January, when the Cavs lost three games by two points or less in a week on a rough western trip. Magnified because two of the games were on national television, James was dissected for missed shots and what were thought to be ill-advised passes to lesser teammates in the clutch.
Don't look now, but James has reversed that trend and done it on his own terms.
In four of the last five games in which he's had the ball in his hands with the Cavs tied or behind in the closing seconds, he has delivered a play that led to victory. The time he missed -- a jumper at the horn in Boston last month -- he ended up leading the Cavs to victory in overtime anyway.
Wednesday was the latest case. He drew a triple team on the right block while driving to the basket with less than three seconds to play and the Cavs down two points to the Toronto Raptors. He passed the ball to Damon Jones in the corner. Jones then sank a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Last week in Chicago, where the Cavs started a four-game win streak they'll look to continue tonight against the Orlando Magic at TD Waterhouse Centre, James also carried the Cavs with a shrewd dish.
After getting a rebound off a missed free throw, James raced to the other end and drew traffic on the right block. He passed the ball to Flip Murray, who made a winning 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.
``I keep saying that I'm going to pass if my teammate is open,'' James said. ``It is a team sport; I trust in my teammates and I'm going to make that pass 10 out of 10 times.''
James has been questioned for his methods, especially when being compared to Michael Jordan or his star contemporary, Kobe Bryant, and their famous late-game shotmaking. Of course, Jordan and Bryant have passed off to teammates for winning shots -- just ask John Paxson. But James has been questioned for being too apt to look to that route.
In losses in Portland and Denver this season, James was hammered for passing to the likes of Eric Snow and Sasha Pavlovic when he was in position to perhaps take the final shot to win. Murray and Jones don't have great clutch resumes either, but they delivered when their defenders left them to respect James.
``Everyone says he's got to take the last shot, he's got to do this, he's got to do that,'' Cavs coach Mike Brown said. ``He knows how to play the game, he trusts his teammates.''
James hasn't always passed. Last month, he made driving layups to secure victories over the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves. Against the Bucks, it was a fake pass to Donyell Marshall in the corner that sucked rookie Andrew Bogut into giving up the lane. Against the Timberwolves, James wheeled to the hoop from a high pick faster than Kevin Garnett could get over to help to secure a come-from-behind road win.
``In those situations I'm going to put the ball in his hands,'' Brown said. ``I'll live with his decision every day of the week.''
