Friday, March 2nd, 2012 at 9:50 am  |  57 responses

Erik Spoelstra: LeBron James Had a Magic Johnson-Like Performance


LeBron James had an incredible game against the Portland Trailblazers last night, as he was all over the court for the victorious Heat. Head coach Erik Spoelstra thought it was Magic Johnson-esque. From the Miami Herald: “Playing the best basketball in the NBA going into the All-Star break, Miami picked up where it left off on Thursday in Portland with a 107-93 victory against the Trail Blazers. The Heat (28-7) has won nine straight games, all by double-digits , and they did it at the Rose Garden without Chris Bosh, who missed the game to attend his grandmother’s funeral. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade more than picked up the slack, combining to score 71 points. Wade had 22 points in the first half, turning a close game into a bludgeoning in the blink of an eye. ‘We’re just playing basketball at an all-time high as far as us together,’ James said. The outcome was never in doubt but the Heat’s streak of consecutive victories by at least 10 points hung in the balance for a few minutes in the fourth quarter. That’s the mark of a team on a ridiculous winning streak — the only drama to be had is that of margin of victory. Portland cut the Heat’s lead to 10 points with about five minutes to play but James answered with a three-pointer and the Trail Blazers never got any closer. After leading the Eastern Conference All-Stars in points on Sunday, James’ remarkable regular season continued. He finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. With Bosh out, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra evoked the name of Magic Johnson when addressing James before the game, asking the Heat’s versatile star to play multiple positions. James started the game at power forward offensively but played man-to-man defense against Trail Blazers center Marcus Camby. ‘I don’t know of another player who can handle that mentally,’ Spoelstra said. ‘He was able to settle into his game and that settled us.’ It was the sixth time this season James has scored at least 30 points while also recording 10 rebounds and five assists.”

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  • IamYou

    @ Justin G I agree with you man.. no one has ever played by HIMself alone.. Lebron is great and might be next GOAt next to mj! It’s hard to admit for some and it’s very debatable but c’mon he needs someone great like wade to win a chip! like magic/kareem jordan/pippen, duncan/robinson, kobe/shaq so on and so forth.. And yeah sure when lebron was playing for the cavs I despise him(I was a miami (WADE) fan) I never acknowledge his “talents” but then he went to miami I was like I’m not sure about this.. but now I’m happy for both of them.

  • 23

    other than wades championship season, with shaq and many other very solid pieces, he has come up short every year! partly due to injuries, but still. without shaq and co. wade struggled mightily every postseason. lebron had more CONSISTENT team success than wade, before they joined forces. so i might get crucified, but i think that wade is ovverrated because of his ring. no doubt he is a baller. no doubt he is a scary opponent, and no doubt he has had tremendous individual and team success in his career. but i dont think i ever saw wade on lebrons level. and i dont think he ever will be. wade is a real good and smart dude. very marketable and likeable. which makes him the favorite over lebron to many fans

  • flash

    Dwade will be there when it counts, period.

  • Mega

    all these slamonline ‘regulars’ sure r high and mighty. They seem to always find a blatantly stupid post and proceed to attack the poster vehemently. They especially love it if the poster retaliates in a timely fashion. U guys dont need to post updated lists of the best players in the L, acording to SLAM, to prove a point. How about u just stfu and try to understand that any hoophead worth his weight in spaldings knows KD and rose aren’t better then Bron, yet. Although it is funny reading all these cats comments, everyone trying to show superior knowledge, while basically posting the same thing over and over.

  • IamYou

    ^ lol yeah so watch out what you say/type in the post, cause you don’t want to be “@” and be told that your comment is stupid or whatsoever..and of course Lebron is better than KD and rose everyone knows that but I don’t want to say it often cause it’s obvious and I don’t want to argue online cause it makes you weak and arrogant much, and yea I’m a big fan BUT NOT a nerdy “hey i’m not 13 year old I know it all screw the media” fan.

  • Just Sayin

    ^ what?

  • IamYou

    ^ yeah I stutter even in typing

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