LeBron James subs himself out before the ref allows it, Cavs get a tech
LeBron James has an unprecedented level of power for an NBA player, to the point where he can call plays and override his coach’s decisions without causing him too much controversy. Yes, that approach can sometimes lead to a lot of criticism, but it also ends up with pretty darn good results on the court. The Cleveland Cavaliers certainly don’t seem to mind putting up with him.
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Unfortunately, LeBron’s decision-making got the Cavs into some brief trouble during the third quarter of Saturday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks. With roughly 6:15 remaining in the period, James failed to get to an entry pass from Matthew Dellavedova while holding very deep post position. Upset with either the pass, himself, or maybe both, he subbed himself out and walked towards the bench.
The problem with that move was that the referees hadn’t called for the substitution. The Cavs therefore had only four players on the court and were assessed a technical foul. Take a look:
Congratulations to the few, but loud, remaining LeBron haters. They now have more circumstantial evidence that he is not a team player.
He explained himself after the game. From Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:
“I blew a gasket. You know what that mean?” James said after the game. “I apologized to my teammates for it.”
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Incidentally, James was two assists shy of a triple-double with 19 points (8-of-15 FG), 11 rebounds, and two blocks in the Cavs’ comfortable 109-97 win. Kevin Love added 25 points (9-of-15 FG) and 11 boards.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
