LeBron James and Goran Dragic: while no one was surprised to see the former single-handedly decimate the will of another team, the latter's flurry of points in the second half of last night's game was undoubtedly a shock to many (including the Spurs). What's even more amazing than the fact that these two explosive performances occurred on the same night is the contrasting ways in which each player went about dominating their opponents; while LeBron was methodical and deliberate in the unleashing of his destructive powers upon the hapless Celtics, Dragic was spontaneous and freewheeling, extracting his points out of the anarchic flow of a game which saw the Spurs take a commanding lead early. If Phoenix goes on to win this series (which, despite the 3-0 lead, is anything but a certainty, considering the history between these two teams), Dragic's (random) second-half heroics will be remembered as the turning point in a bout which appeared to be San Antonio's to lose after their dismantling of the Mavs in round 1.
As for LeBron: we've seen this sort of thing from him before. His 48 points against Detroit in Game 5 of the '07 Conference Finals, his duel with Paul Pierce in Game 7 of the '08 Semis, his entire oeuvre in last year's postseason; his ability to take over at the highest level should come as no surprise to anyone at this point. However, the steely-eyed determination with which he has approached this year's playoffs is something new to my eyes, and could be a terrifying glimpse of what the future holds for the rest of the league. If he's serious about being serious, and has dropped the goofy antics, then we could be seeing a player whose career, despite already being of legendary quality, is entering the territory of the transcendent.
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