Not even M.J. could do what LeBron can

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James isn't Michael Jordan. Maybe you already knew that. Me, I'm coming late to this party. For years I've thought LeBron was another M.J., but now I see I'm wrong. LeBron is no Michael.

Because LeBron does things Michael could never do.

LeBron is the only player ever to average over 25 points, seven boards and six dimes in at least 20 playoff games. (Getty Images)

OK, that's not the only reason LeBron isn't Michael. There is that matter of Michael's six NBA championship rings. LeBron has zero, but then again, LeBron is only 22. He has time.

He also has skills and abilities Michael never had. Those skills, those abilities were on display Sunday night. Those skills, those abilities were the reason Cleveland beat Detroit 88-82 in Game 3 to make a series of the Eastern Conference finals, which the Pistons now lead by a thin 2-1 margin.

Michael Jordan ended his career as the greatest player in NBA history, but LeBron James could, and should, pass him. What he needs are championship rings, lots of them, and to a certain extent that will be out of his hands. Jordan couldn't win a ring without future Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. Shaquille O'Neal needed Kobe Bryant, then Dwyane Wade. Magic had Kareem.

LeBron has Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Larry Bird had Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

LeBron has Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden.

We could do this all night long, or until we run out of names on the Cleveland roster. Pick a name. Other than "LeBron James," every name on this roster is irrelevant, replaceable -- an organ no more vital than your appendix. Donyell Marshall is as useful as my tonsils. And my tonsils decomposed in a dentist's garbage bin 30 years ago.

So stop this nonsensical discussion about LeBron James being overrated or under-aggressive or whatever negative phraseology people have been using to discuss him during these 2007 NBA playoffs. If anyone still doesn't understand how good James is, they should try to understand how bad the rest of his team is. The Cavaliers, minus James, are awful. The Cavs front office, led first by Jim Paxson and now by Danny Ferry, has done an abysmal job of putting talent around James.

James is so good it might not matter. At least not in the Eastern Conference, where the basketball is so bad that a one-man team is in the conference finals and is a legitimate contender to get to the NBA Finals. Cleveland can't beat San Antonio or Utah, but neither can Detroit. That's not the point.

The point is, until the Cavs front office can surround James with decent NBA talent, his greatness will have to be measured by how far he can lead an otherwise terrible team. Terrible -- not mediocre. The Cavs, with another star in the place of James, wouldn't win 40 or 45 games and get into the playoffs. Put another star on this team, and the Cavaliers are in the draft lottery. There isn't another star who scores like LeBron, creates like LeBron, shares like LeBron.

James had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on Sunday night. His 32 points were twice as many as anyone else on the floor, and 32 in a game like this one is like 40 points most nights. That wasn't hardwood the Cavs and Pistons were playing on. It was sand.