Two things happened this week in the NBA that I didn't think we'd see this season: Someone stood up to LeBron, and Joakim Noah did something that wasn't really irritating.
Don't believe me? Here's video of Joakim Noah calling out LeBron James for dancing while he was at the free throw line.
Let's make one thing clear; I'm not a Joakim Noah guy. For as annoying as LeBron's dancing antics are, Joakim Noah's over-the-top theatrics are just as bad.
But in this case, Noah was absolutely right to call LeBron out. Someone needed to. It might as well be someone who knows a little something about bad dancing.
There's a fine line between being a fun-loving team and being disrespectful. This season, LeBron and the Cavs have really blurred the line between being entertaining and being obnoxious.
It you want to dance in the hallway before you take the floor to get yourself pumped up, or during the introductions of the starting lineups to get the crowd into a frenzy, I'm all for it.
If you want to celebrate after a good play, or cheer like Mark Madsen on the bench after your team scores, be my guest.
But there has to be has to be some common sense involved.
Come on, LeBron. You're at home, up 20 points against a struggling Bulls team, is it really necessary to dance on the sidelines and rub it in? Did you really need to shimmy before you took those dagger free throws?
I know, I know. There's a simple solution for the Bulls: don't suck. If the game had been close, LeBron would have had no reason to celebrate and everyone would have lived happily ever after. I get that.
But that still doesn't excuse LeBron for acting like a clown all game.
Ask yourself this: if the Cavs were up 20 on the Lakers, Celtics, or Magic, do you think LeBron would still be dancing like that? Absolutely not.
It's called Kevin Garnett Syndrome, or KGS.
In case you're not familiar with KGS, here's its entry on Dictionary.com:
Main Entry: Kevin Garnett Syndrome
Function: noun
: a condition that that effects NBA superstars in a way in which they feel that they need to assert their dominance over inferior, lesser, smaller, or weaker opponents by showboating and/or instigating a conflict during an NBA game.
As you can see, Kevin Garnett is at the forefront of NBA players with KGS. After all, since he went to Boston, he's become the biggest bully in the NBA. Look at some of his KGS episodes in the past few seasons.
There was the "finger wag at you because I've played in All-star Games and you haven't" move that he pulled on Jose Calderon last season.
Then there was the always classic "I'm going to push you because you're European, and I assume all Europeans are soft" move K.G. applied to ZaZa Pachulia.
As the second video demonstrates, there is a very easy way to tell if a player is just in the heat of the moment or if he suffers from KGS. A fiery player will need to be restrained because he has lost his cool.
A player with KGS makes sure that there are a large number of people (teammates, officials, coaches, ect.) between he and the victim before he continues his antics, as seen at the 0:23 second mark of LeBron vs. Noah and the 0:10 second mark of Garnett vs. Pachulia.
LeBron and Garnett may have the most severe cases of KGS in the league, but there are plenty of other suffers.
LeBron's new teammate, Shaq, was diagnosed with KGS earlier this decade, as seen here in his freestyle rap about the fourth-best player on the rival Sacramento Kings, Vlade Divac.
Sometimes, a player's emotions get the best of him, and the KGS doesn't kick in until it's too late, as seen here by Carmelo Anthony's punch/80-foot retreat on the great Mardy Collins.
By the time Melo's KGS kicked in, it was too late. It wasn't until after he sucker-punched Mardy Collins that Carmelo realized that there wasn't a large group of people (teammates, officials, coaches, ect.) to keep him out of harm's way. The result was a 15-game suspension for Carmelo.
Had his KGS kicked in in time, 'Melo could have saved himself 15 games and a whole lot of money.
Of course, much like there is a difference between having the flu and having flulike symptoms, there is a difference between having KGS and having KGS symptoms.
Michael Jordan has been involved in some epic trash talk battles in his day, and some of the most memorable have been against very worthy adversaries.
However, even the G.O.A.T. suffered from bouts of KGS in his career, and we need to look no further than his Hall of Fame induction speech as proof.
Back to LeBron. I never thought I'd say this, but Joakim Noah is right. LeBron's act is old.
LeBron is, and has been for a few years, the best player in the NBA; at worst, he ranks at 1B behind Kobe Bryant. His game more than speaks for itself. It's time to put the Brett Favre look-at-how-much-fun-I'm-having act out to pasture.
When you flirt with a triple-double every night, all eyes are going to be on you. There's no need to bring more attention to yourself by dancing and carrying on on the sidelines during a blowout.
No one is saying that LeBron should play a joyless brand of basketball. After all, it's a game; games are supposed to be fun.
But there's also an issue of sportsmanship, an issue LeBron is well aware of after "handshake-gate" that occurred at the conclusion of the Orlando series last season.
I have no problem with LeBron not shaking hands after a devastating loss. To me, that was no big deal.
But to kick a bad team while they are down 20 points on your own home floor, well, that just reeks of KGS.
It's time for LeBron to grow up. Or, at worst, pick on someone his own size.
Scott Shepherd writes about the NBA every Monday for Sports Central. His blog, Diary of an NBA Junkie, is updated several times a week.
December 7, 2009
Action:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009041205
This is nothing new, the Celtics complained last season after the Cavs blew them out of the building. Picking on someone his size? The Celtics aren’t big enough?
December 7, 2009
MIKE:
This is some kind of immaturity fo LBJ. As far as I can remember, he is the only player who got the MVP to act like one (being so immature).
December 8, 2009
Joel Bell:
I’m glad someone was willing to call out lebron and his childish antics. He upped the antics it the bulls games in the game against the bucks. He’s all fun and games until he gets booted out the playoffs. Let him dance then.
December 8, 2009
El Jefe:
You got to be kidding me. Clearly you took too many drawing classes and never played a sport. Garnett plays hard. Get over it. Is Odom big enough to be considering Garnett’s “own size”? Nerds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_5o-mxH4w&NR=1
December 8, 2009
Yatrix:
KGS was mis-defined. What KGS is is a test of an opponents toughness. If KG can get under your skin, he’s going to keep it up. If he can’t, he’ll leave it alone. It’s a respect thing. Watch him play Tim Duncan. Not jawing, none of those antics. He has respect for Duncan. Same thing with a Shaq or a ‘Sheed or a Kobe. He’s not trying to get under their skin because they are clutch and respected players. If you can take a player out of his game with some bumping and jawing, why wouldn’t you? Why let a fragile ego get bolstered by results?
So, maybe you should consider that before you rant on KGS, as you call it? He’s a great player and from what I can tell, his antics have worked out. If you man up, he’ll treat you like a man. If you play the part of a bitch, he’ll treat you like a bitch.
Now, back on topic: LeBron with his ridiculous name is a freaking clown. Stern either needs to talk to his boy or change the flagrant rules. Personally, I’d check in my 15th guy off the bench and clothesline the crap out of him the next time he pulled this garbage. If he did it after my 15th guy got tossed, I’d send in the 14th guy and so on. He’ll learn his lesson that way.
I think it’s funny his team of scrubs gets into it, like they’d even be a .350 team without him. If push came to shove, aside from LeBron’s ‘roided up melon, who scares you on that team in a brawl? Andy the Brazilian prostitute? His dad, Big Z? Can you imagine Z’s punch? It would come at you at about 2mph with all the impact of an 85 year old man (or Moe Williams impact on the league).
Seriously, though. LeBron has been swept in the finals. That’s his glory, thus far. He needs to show some more respect, especially seeing how little he’s accomplished. No one brags about trips to the conference finals or Finals. Quit acting like a clown and maybe your seasons will stop being a joke.
December 8, 2009
Nora:
Could not have said it better Yatrix. Not sure why this concept is so hard for others to understand they are just ‘haters’
December 8, 2009
sufipoet:
Yatrix… I appreciate your well-thought-through comments, but another Cav who I would never want to brawl is Delonte West - he has a bit of freak in him, which helps his game but sometimes bedevils him off the court.
And I just don’t agree about Lebron.
1) He’s one of the most unselfish team players in basketball (look at his assists, and his willingness to lose PPG to involve other teammates). And the fact that he has stayed in Cleveland out of loyalty to his region and fans.
And 2) I don’t think he was dancing in the Bucks game to taunt the Bucks. I think he was having fun and enjoying the good play of his team. There is a difference.
December 8, 2009
Hoops Fan:
Tim Duncan is the best player of the generation and has been the most successful and I don’t remember him ever taunting Jose Calderon or JJ Barrea to “gain an advantage”. Iverson played hard and got mixed up every now and then but it was always in the passion of the game not to try and make someone look bad. LeBron is so worried about marketing himself every minute he’s on camera he has to try and find new ways to get his act out there.
December 9, 2009
$$:
Yatrix,
to call KGS a test of someone’s toughness is ridiculous.
Next time we’re playing pick up (I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you play) I’ll get in your face, remind you of every time I score on you and wag my finger in your face, especially if you’re smaller than me. Don’t get upset, I’m just testing your toughness.
KG doesn’t do these things because he is trying to “get under your skin,” he does it because he is trying to intimidate and he thinks they won’t/can’t respond.
You don’t test your opponent’s toughness when you play; you test their ability to play basketball. You see if they can block your jump hook or box you out for a rebound.
You were right about one thing though, it is about respect. Whether you’re good or bad, winning or losing, you respect your opponent, until they disrespect you. In the videos provided in the article and from my memory of those games, I don’t recall how a guy named Zaza or a 6 footer named Jose really disrespected KG to deserve his “antics,” in return.
Oh, by the way, KG doesn’t do that stuff to Duncan?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pTiEkfQ6pk&feature=related
Also, please learn to write better before you post comments to a message board.
**”So, maybe you should consider that before you rant on KGS, as you call it?”**
That’s not proper use of a question mark. I’m hoping it was a typo, or maybe a misused Ron Burgundy reference.
To El Jefe, if you really watch the video you posted, it’s Odom that instigated that confrontation, not KG. Besides, 2 seconds of trash talk isn’t even worth bringing up in this discussion if you ask me. Watch this example. Just skip to the 03:50 mark. He pushes and throws the ball at McDyess, then backs up when McDyess cocks his fist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FASClJTnJ4I
To the original point, Lebron is the 2nd best basketball player in the world but he has some growing up to do. He has to learn how to be a better winner.
December 18, 2009
Davan S. Mani:
You guys are the whiners that the late Suzanne Pleshette complains about. Are you sure you aren’t related to Woody Allen or that girlfriend/wife didn’t cheat on him?