2011 NBA Champion and Dirk Nowitzki’s teammate Caron Butler joined the recent episode of Knuckleheads Podcast on 28th September and talked about LeBron James’ prowess in the game. Butler and LeBron James faced each other during the 2011 NBA Finals, wherein the Dallas Mavericks overwhelmed the star-studded Miami Heat squad to win their first championship. Speaking highly of LeBron James, Butler considered LBJ as an elite and highly skilled athlete who could deal with anything the offense threw at him.
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Winning against the Big 3 of LBJ, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals was indeed a great achievement that the Dallas Mavericks can forever cherish. Much to the dismay of James, the Mavs won the series 4-2, thus denying LeBron James his NBA first title that year.
Caron Butler talks about LeBron James’ on-court intelligence and prowess during the 2011 NBA Finals
Caron Butler was impressed by LeBron James’ IQ and full-court vision during any game. Butler was particularly awed by how James could overcome any or all adversaries and had a way through everything the opponents had in store for him. Speaking highly of James, here is what Butler was quoted saying on the podcast.
“Like we have a game, but we have a lot of moving pieces. It was a lot bro. But LeBron was a problem. I’m gonna tell you, blitz,zone, shows, he dissected everything. He could see over the coverages, he [LeBron James] killed everything we threw at him. Respectfully, he killed.”
Just a year before the 2011 Finals, LeBron James had made the ‘decision’ to move his talents to the South Beach. Teaming up with D-Wade, and Chris Bosh was definitely a way to climb further for a championship.
Though he was close in 2011, the 4-2 defeat did give James and the star-studded Heat squad a wake-up call. In the next 2012 Finals, the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 with LeBron James finally lifting the first chip of his career.
Shaq was surprised when LBJ and the Heat stars fell short against Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks
The 2011 NBA Finals is definitely a chapter that helped in the growth and maturing of LeBron James as a player. Though the loss was imminent, Shaquille O’Neal was baffled by how Bron failed to perform and succumbed to the pressure during that time. In his book Shaq Uncut, he wrote,
““I like the pressure. I feed off it. But if you are going to put pressure on yourself like that, you can’t have a bad game when it’s on the line. That’s what really puzzles me about LeBron. I’ve never seen a guy with that kind of ability come up that short. [LeBron James] looked completely out of sync to me against the Mavericks.“
Though LeBron James walked home without any rings, this loss was an important predicament in determining future events. LeBron eventually defeated the OKC Thunder the following Finals and went on to win two consecutive Finals with the Heat, one with Cleveland, and one with the LA Lakers.
