LeBron James Already Past Poor Homecoming Effort, Looking Dominant

By Cody Williams @TheSizzle20 on October 31, 2014

LeBron James put on a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey for the first time since 2010 on Thursday night in front of his hometown once again, this time as a hero once again. However, in the biggest opening-night game that the NBA had to offer in terms of narrative, LeBron was rattled by the pressure and had a poor performance in a losing effort.

He had a quick turnaround and chance at redemption in a game that might be of more importance in the long run against the Chicago Bulls, a team that will likely compete with the Cavaliers atop the Eastern Conference. It’s safe to say that he didn’t let the poor performance shake him and that he was done feeling the pressure that was weighing him down during his homecoming.

In a winning overtime effort from the Cavaliers, LeBron led the way in a large manner. The prodigal son of Cleveland put up 36 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block on the night, though his 14-30 shooting still left a little to be desired.

The critics of James were obviously jumping on his performance in his return to Cleveland on Thursday night. The idea of him choking under the pressure was being brought back up and the overreactions like “see, they can’t win together in Cleveland” began. After Friday night, it’s okay to stop with that kind of yammering again.

This is a player who seemingly shed all of his demons while he was with the Miami Heat and now comes back to the Cavaliers at the height of his basketball powers and as the best player in the world. Even the best player in the world is subject to getting too much adrenaline during moments like the one of Thursday night. But the best player in the world is also capable of collecting himself and submitting a masterful performance just one night later.

LeBron and the Cavaliers are going to be just fine.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.