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*Photo via AP
Since the beginning of competitive sports, it has been pretty clear the only way to win is with a little help along the way. Even the greats like Michael Jordan, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Larry Bird all had a supporting cast.
Jordan did not win those 72 games back in 96' by himself. Every year where Magic and Bird met in the finals, they both had their squad there with them.
I guess we can consider LeBron James in that category along with the greats. He could not even do it by himself in Cleveland the first go around. He won his two championships in Miami with the help of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Now he's back and he has something to prove.
Can he do it alone though? With the recent news of Kyrie Irving's season-ending knee surgery and the loss of Kevin Love, you can imagine now what he is faced with. Do not get me wrong, players like J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson and Timothy Mozgov have their roles on the team but are not All-Star caliber players like Irving and Love.
It is safe to say that LeBron has grown over the years and learned from his mistakes, but this Golden State Warriors team is just about as much a challenge as his 2007 NBA Finals encounter with the San Antonio Spurs. He was still in his rookie stages of a post-season run going up against veterans like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker but now he has the upper hand on this young Warriors team in terms of experience.
LeBron does not have to only keep at bay the duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson but his supporting cast and aggressive players off the bench. So if LeBron is going to pull this off, his workload is going to be greater than ever, not to mention he will be pissing off some haters on the way ! Who knows, there may just be an "I' in "team" after all.