Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat Preview: Redemption For Lebron Is Not As Easy As A Series Win

MIAMI, FL. By virtue of taking his "talents" to South Beach and joining a greater talent in Dwayne Wade, Lebron has his best chance ever to win against the team that ended his career in Cleveland. However, even a series win will not be enough to erase the legacy of his past playoff failures.

The Boston Celtics continued to dominate Lebron (along with his new team, the Heat) during the regular season; will the playoffs be any different?

It was around this time last year that the Boston Celtics played and dominated Lebron's Cleveland Cavaliers to another disappointing early dismissal from the playoffs.

As he left the court following an overall unimpressive performance in the series, he ripped his Cavaliers jersey off with visible disdain before he reached the locker room; it was a moment that will replay in the minds of Cleveland fans as it began to fuel speculation that Lebron had quit in the Boston series.

The early end of the season for Lebron and the Cavs equated to an early start to a summer of speculation about where Lebron would go in free agency. The "Summer of Lebron" saw several franchises, who had gutted their lineups to create financial flexibility in the form of capspace, vy for the attention of the most talented free agent class in a generation, particularly the "No-Ring King", himself.

Lebron basked in the constant attention leading up to the July 1st threshold for the first day of signing. Lebron wanted more time in the limelight, so he extended his personal deadline for making up his mind to July 7th. Then that day came and went with only the statement that Lebron would make his announcement July 9th. Then ESPN began promoting "The Decision" show that would take place in primetime...

The rest is one of the biggest branding and marketing fiascoes of 2010.

And who can forget the aftermath?

Many a Cleveland home was warmed in the winter of 2010 using a Lebron jersey heating system.

Ultimately, his embarassment at the hands of Boston's Big Three may have been the catalyst for his joining fellow Superfriends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

The production of not only "The Decision" show on ESPN and the subsequent introduction of Miami's free agents at the American Airlines Arena proved to be as shameless and disrespectful of the game as the threesome's alleged conspiracy to join forces following the 2008 Olympic Games.

The attention given to such a talented player who has no team-oriented success in a team sport is astounding. However, to be fair, Lebron and his dickriders made the excuse that he did not have enough help in Cleveland. I think that we can all agree that with Wade and Bosh, Lebron has more than enough help.

After being eliminated from the 2011 NBA Playoffs by the Boston Celtics for the second year in a row, Lebron exclaims, "When I said enough help, I meant I don't have enough Kevin Durants and Dwight Howards on my team!"

And when Lebron faces Boston this time, there are no more excuses. The least he can do is exorcise the demons of last season's playoff failure.

However, it will take much more than that for Lebron to redeem himself in the basketball world. He became Wade's Sidekick to win championships. He mortgaged his legacy and status in the sport in order to claim "multiple championships" (in Lebron's own words).

Anything short of that can only be defined as failure.

Attention, Miami Heat fans. Please don't wet yourself in excitement, for as anyone in Cleveland can tell you, Lebron's promises and predictions are never as good as they sound.

Lebron Choke-King In Playoffs Again: Sixers Break Through With Win in Game 4 On Williams' Three and Lebron's Lebrick

PHILADELPHIA, PA. Trailing by six points with only 1:35 left from being eliminated from the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Sixers were a confident bunch. They were certain that they would be on a plane going back to Miami for another game.

The feisty Philadelphia 76ers fought back to take Game 4 with great defense and huge shots from Turner, Holiday, and Williams.

Their belief has them packing their bags for Miami and preparing for another game with the Miami Superfriends.

The Sixers' comeback was built on a 10-0 run to end the game. Evan Turner, the poised and talented rookie, scored on a runner to cut the lead to four. A long Jrue Holiday three with 0:46 left cut Miami's lead to one, and on the very next trip, Lou Williams confidently rose up at the top of the key, shot over Dwayne Wade, and hit on another huge clutch three for the Sixers to put the home team ahead by two.

With an opportunity to tie or win the game with 8.1 seconds left, the Miami Heat put the ball in the hands of the Choke-King, Lebron James. He took a few dribbles towards his defender, Andre Iguodala, drove to his right, and put up a contested runner that was blocked by Elton Brand.

Lebron "Choke-King" James adds to his legacy of playoff failure with another blocked runner in the closing seconds in Game 4 against the Sixers.

Off the deflection, Turner ended up with the ball and was fouled. The rookie sank his two free throws to seal the win for the Sixers, and he finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds off the bench for Coach Doug Collins.

This continues a Miami Heat trend of struggling to close competitive games, despite having three All-Star options.

Lebron "Choke-King" James has a long history of coming up short as a closer and has been criticized for his lack of killer instinct and closing ability. Having been called upon to take the final shot in several games for the Heat this season, Lebron has not converted a single play to tie or win the game for his team.

Most objective analysts of the game have suggested that Dwayne Wade should be the one with the ball in his hands in the final seconds, and it would be crazy to think that no one in the Miami Heat organization realizes that DWade is the superior closer to Lebron.

Why is Lebron still taking the last shot then? One must guess that Lebron, with his history of being coddled and spoiled by those around him and the sensitivity to public criticism that we have seen since his move to Miami, is demanding to be given the ball in order to disprove those who have labelled him "LeBrick", "Dwayne Wade's Sidekick", and "Choke-King".

However, with every LeBrick that he throws up in the final seconds, he proves the point that he needs Dwayne Wade, he can't get it done in the clutch, and history will recall him as a sidekick, if he is remembered at all.

To be remembered, you have to win Championships. And you have to be the best player on your Championship team...

With the rise of the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose, who is a bonafide closer and NBA MVP leader of a young Championship-caliber team, and other talented young challengers who hunger to be great, Lebron may never sniff the NBA Finals during the prime of his career.

It may just be Lebron's Karma.

Here are highlights of the MIAMI HEAT vs. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS NBA PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND GAME 4:


Look for the Heat to have a tough time closing out the confident and well-coached Sixers on Wednesday night. If the Sixers can steal pivotal Game 5 in Miami, look for the series to possibly go 7 games.

Lebron Fails To Lift His Team: DWade-less Heat Fall To Third Place In East With Loss To Milwaukee Bucks

MIAMI, FL. Dwayne Wade was in a dapper suit as he sat out the final meeting of the season between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat.

Once again, his faithful Sidekick got the numbers but did not step up to give his team the only stat that really matters, the Win.

The Bucks physical style was just a playoff preview. Can Sidekick and the Heat take the beatdown?

The Bucks, clinging to dwindling hopes of making the playoffs, came to play, and they took an early lead and built it to a 25 - 15 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Heat, with their go-to guy on the bench, had to rely on Lebron to get them back into the game. With his jumper working, the Heat got back into the contest and managed to pull to within 1 point of the Bucks at 41 -40 before the Bucks defense held them scoreless for the final 3:55 of the first half, and the teams went into halftime with the score reading Bucks 45 - Heat 41.

News of the Bucks official elimination from making the playoffs came sometime during the second half of the game, but even when Miami managed to pull into a tie entering the 4th quarter, the Bucks were not going to let their efforts be wasted. If they could not be playoff contenders, they would be spoilers.

And that they did.

Lebron re-entered the game with the score tied 69 - 69 with just under nine minutes left in the game. In the final quarter, Lebron shot 2 for 6 (0 for 3 from 3-point range). Suffice it to say, there weren't any chants of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" in his own building.

Carlos Delfino stepped up in a huge way for Milwaukee. After checking in with 3:15 left in the game, he shot 2 for 3, 2 for 2 from 3-point range, with the second 3-pointer being the nail in the coffin with 0:24 seconds left in the game.

Lebron's answer for three was no good, and Milwaukee was able to make their clutch free-throws to go home with the spoiling victory.

Here are the highlights:


With the loss, the Miami Heat fell from 2nd place in the Eastern Conference to 3rd. At this moment, they would have to play the New York Knicks, who retook 6th place with a victory tonight, in the opening round. By all accounts, the Knicks would prefer a matchup with the Heat rather than play the defensive-minded and disciplined Boston Celtics.

The loss also means that, if Miami advances to the second round, they likely would face the Boston Celtics, a team they have not beaten in three meetings this season. As the lower seeded team, the Heat would not hold home court advantage, and a potential 7th game would be played in Boston.