James scored 51 points, basically canceled out Steph Curry and Kevin Durant's combined contributions all by himself. And he still lost (in part) because J.R. Smith grabbed a rebound, then either forgot the score, or tried put some plan into motion there wasn't time for.
I appreciate how well LeBron played, it's really impressive. But it's still funny to see it all go for nothing. LeBron's attempt to impose his order thwarted by the universe's constant march towards total entropy, acting through its servant, J.R. Smith. That's a bit much.
Basketball, more than other team sports, is one where a single great player can have a huge impact. Mike Trout's an insanely good baseball player, but he's only made the playoffs once in his career, because so many of his teammates have been awful. LeBron is so good he's made the Finals 8 years in a row.
I know LeBron didn't do that alone, and isn't winning single-handedly now, either. His teammates must be doing something useful. Grabbing rebounds, making shots, playing defense. OK, not that last one. No one on Cleveland plays any defense (must be taking pointers from the Browns), but it isn't only LeBron. It just feels that way, and I don't enjoy watching it, so I can't root for it to work.
I didn't like it last year when it felt like Russell Westbrook was doing the same for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Taking every shot, grabbing every rebound, doing everything. His teammates might as well have been cardboard cutouts. It's still a team game, right? Even Michael Jordan, that guy LeBron is so often compared to, didn't win championships until he had teammates that could actually do things, and who he trusted to do those things. He may not have needed Horace Grant, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, etc., in the sense of needing those specific guys, but he needed someone who could do what they did.
(I feel like Scottie Pippen was such a great and unique player it'd be hard to just replace him with somebody else, so Jordan probably did need him specifically).
That's what I enjoy about the Warriors. When they're on, when they actually play like they give a shit (which is about one quarter a game most of the time these days), it's great to watch. Everyone moving, sharing the ball, feeding off each other's energy, it's very entertaining. They can hit a level where everyone is moving so in sync with each other they just steamroll the opponent. It's not the best if you're wanting a competitive game, but like LeBron, it's impressive for the sheer level of skill involved.
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