Remember when the internet blew up because it appeared as if LeBron James, member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, set a pick for Norris Cole, member of the Miami Heat? Of course you do. It dominated NBA talk for what seemed like a solid 24 hours. As we initially predicted and reported, though, James and Matthew Dellavedova simply miscommunicated on the play – or at least that’s the story to which LeBron is sticking.
The ballyhooed play in question is below:
See how James runs directly into Dellavedova with his arms down? He’s obviously setting a pick for the wrong team! He thinks he still plays for the Heat! Hilarious! Tweet, Vine, Facebook, Instagram, and e-mail the link to all of your friends!
Except that’s not what happened. Here’s James explaining the coincidental mishap via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
“For non-basketball people,” James began with a smirk when asked about the apparent blooper before the Cavs played the Indiana Pacers in Cincinnati on Wednesday, “our coverage is for me to show and for Delly (Dellavedova) to go under me and we just didn’t get the call right at the time. Delly was supposed to slide under me and we kind of ran into each other.
And for the many who remain undoubtedly skeptical, Dellavedova confirmed The King’s assessment:
“My family sent me the link of it,” Dellavedova told ESPN.com. “He just showed out (on the ball handler) and I just needed to go under. So, it wasn’t really anything. I mean, you know how the media can get, right? It’s obviously more crazy with anything involving LeBron.”
Apologies for the snark, but James and Dellavedova are right: This hubbub was just the latest indication that LeBron is still unfairly maligned. And while some portion of the group who misunderstood the play surely did so innocently, others obviously let their bias show. A similar sequence will occur in most every NBA game played this season; it never even should have been discussed.
What do you think?
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