<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">With expectations increasing yearly, LeBron James might have become his own worst enemy. As a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003-04, James played like a wily veteran after entering the NBA directly from high school. But now in his fourth season, his numbers are down across the board from last season and he doesn't seem to be as dynamic. Has the player dubbed "King James" hit a wall, or is he just encountering growing pains for the first time in his career? "What I see him doing is just taking that next step as a leader for his team," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "He's trying to get all those guys involved, and he's not trying to dominate the ball as much as he has in past years. "He still has the ability to take over games, and he does from time to time. But he's trying to gauge those times when he needs to take over and when he needs to get his teammates involved." Last season James averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists, and shot 73.8 percent from the free-throw line. This season he's averaging 26.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists, while shooting 67.8 percent from the free-throw line. While James' stats are still impressive, he isn't exactly making anyone forget about Michael Jordan. Or even Dwyane Wade, for that matter. "Whenever you come out with those great expectations and are putting up those great numbers right away, the natural progression is that you're just going to get better and better and better, and people are expecting unattainable goals for him," Mavs swingman Jerry Stackhouse said. "But if you're averaging 25 points and five rebounds and five assists, that's a [heck of a] year for anybody."</div> Source
Expectations are whats wrong with professional Basketball these days, instead of letting LeBron just play the game, and let his career pan out how it should, he had it planned out for him by the Media, and unrealistic expectations thrown on his shoulders. We're already starting to see him take a back seat to the likes of Dwyane Wade. I feel sorry for LeBron, I really do.
^ I find it hard to feel sorry for a guy who signed a 90 million dollar contract before he even stepped on the court. He is filthy rich and still a great player, I don't feel sorry for him at all.
