The worst kept secret amongst NBA Players...

Gilbert Arenas, Hibachi himself, said this about LeBron James in an interview with a Washington Post reporter this week:


"The guy LeBron needs is Sam Cassell," says Arenas, "He needs someone who wants to take the big shots at the end of the game." I interject that LeBron would never stand for that -- it would kill his ego. "LeBron would much rather have Cassell take the final shot," says Arenas. "People don't realize that LeBron doesn't want it.

Hibachi is right in that LeBron doesn't want that big shot at the end of the game, but he's wrong in saying people don't realize it. People know it, and not just his fellow players but the fans are well. I just had an e-mail exchange with several friends about this exact point last week, and the fact of the matter is, LeBron does not have (yet?) that killer instinct that Kobe, McGrady, Wade and Melo do.

And will he ever? He's still young, he has time to develop it. But the chances of a team ever wining a championship without their best player wanting that ball at crunch time is pretty low. So until LeBron wants that rock when it counts, the Cavs will just be contenders.