If the LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers want to once again reach the NBA Finals this year, ESPN analyst Jalen Rose says that James needs to drop the nice guy act and develop a “hatred” for other teams in his way.
In particular, if the Cavs end up meeting Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, Rose says James will have to put his close friendship aside and turn Wade from friend to foe.
“So besides the obvious Golden State and the Spurs, the individual intriguing series that I’m looking forward to will be that one, because the dynamic that’s going to have to play out is something we as fans really wanted to see every time the Cavs went back to Miami, and in particular the last time when they got blown out and LeBron was fraternizing with D‑Wade during the game, and we know from talking to Coach Blatt and talking to the general manager, he’s basically played great basketball since.
“So the great thing that’s going to have to happen for the Cavs to advance is there’s going to have to be a hatred, there’s going to have to be a dislike that LeBron is going to need to carry versus that former jersey that he hasn’t and against his brother Dwyane Wade and against his team that he won two championships with, and vice versa. I’m really fascinated to see how that’s going to play out because Wade, if they were losing by 25, if he was down there fraternizing with LeBron, I don’t know who would have go to him first between Pat (Riley) or Spo (Erik Spoelstra).”
Rose isn’t wrong in what he’s saying. There have been multiple occasions throughout the season where James has been seen fraternizing with the opponent, even when his team had been blown out. Whatever James wants to do off the court after the playoffs is his own business, but make no mistake about it, if the Cavs want to be repeat NBA finalists or even champions, James has to make an enemy of everyone he faces come playoff time.
