Heat Losses Causing Friction: The Shoulder Bump and The Making of a Scapegoat

With the losses piling up and the Miami Heat's inability to beat playoff caliber teams, it seems that everyone in the Miami Heat organization and ESPN have already begun to build the case for why the most overrated team in NBA history will not meet their own expectations of winning the NBA Championship this season. That case will star Coach Spoelstra in the role of scapegoat.

Erik Spoelstra's days as the head coach are numbered.

While greater NBA legends create moments , it may just be Lebron's legacy to be know more for moments like "The Decision", "The Vegas Weekend", "The Mental List Tweet", "The Song", and now, "The Shoulder Bump".

In yet another classic Lebron moment, during the loss against the Dallas Mavericks on November 27th, Coach Erik Spoelstra was frustrated by a breakdown by the Miami Heat on the defensive end, and he called a time out. With plenty of room to walk anywhere else, Lebron walks straight towards Spoelstra. Spoelstra is not really seeing Lebron, but despite seeing Spoelstra, Lebron leans his shoulder into own his coach. You will also see that Lebron also follows through afterwards, clearly indicating that he expected and initiated the contact.

"The Shoulder Bump" is just the latest example of Lebron's lack of maturity and leadership. After losing 3 of their last 4 games, Lebron and the Miami Heat have obviously had to explain why, after only 17 games, they already have nearly as many losses as Michael Jordan's 72-Win Chicago Bulls team and why they will have to go 63 wins and only 2 losses in order to match what the all-time winningest team was able to accomplish.

No, the 2010-11 Miami Heat are no where near the 72-Win Chicago Bulls team. Jordan did the dominating. Jordan did the leading. Jordan wanted the ball in his hands and the responsibility on his shoulders.

Lebron is the anti-hero for a new generation. Lebron wants loyalty, but he has already forgotten the fans that supported him for his first 7 years as a pro. Lebron has already had a game-winning shot busted in his face. Lebron joined a player who is a real, proven leader, Dwayne Wade. And he is grateful to give him the ball at the end of the game. As for the responsibility, Lebron is one of the best passers in the league.

More than a few people predicted that Erik Spoelstra's head coaching seat in Miami would be hot, but few imagined that Miami would struggle as much as they have in the first 17 games of the 82 game regular season. And with the way it seems that Wade, Bosh, and Lebron seem to talk to each other to the exclusion of the coach and the team, "The Shoulder Bump", the team meeting after the loss to Dallas, and the seemingly growing rift between team and coach, Erik Spoelstra is being painted and characterized as the scapegoat.

SHHH! Don't divulge my diabolical plan!

The most recent round of speculation of whether Pat Riley, who currently mans the Miami Heat front office, would dump Coach Spoelstra and return to coaching (as he did in 2005 after dumping then Head Coach Stan Van Gundy) began with a statement made by Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson during an interview. Recent events and the on-court actions of Lebron and other Miami Heat players seem to support the insights of Jackson.

However, Pat Riley made a public statement defending Coach Spoelstra saying that he was not looking to fire his coach. The most logical reason is not that he specifically supports Coach Spoelstra, but that Riley knows that the Miami Heat, with the present set of players, is not complete enough to contend for an NBA Championship with the likes of Boston and Los Angeles. Erik Spoelstra will help him buy time to get the players the team needs, either at the trade deadline or during next off season, and then, Riles may suddenly find that his support for Coach Spoelstra was unwarranted.

YOU MAKE THE CALL! INTENTIONAL OR NOT?


Whether it really was intentional or not, it is yet another shining moment for Lebron James.
Lebron is a LeBiatch.

"Lebron James is a Bitch" Song by Mike Polk Soon To Send Anti-Lebron Sentiments Viral

Comedian Mike Polk may become the new voice and megaphone for the masses of disenchanted former-fans of Lebron James. Cleveland and fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have suffered many painful losses when it comes to the history of sports in the city of Cleveland. However, this latest loss especially hurts not only because of the freshness of it, but also because of the treasonous nature of Lebron James' betrayal of the Northeast Ohio-area where James grew up.

Following a summer of high hopes for several NBA team, an extended courtship of the top NBA free agents, and the emergence of a conspiracy, Cleveland was publicly spurned by their own native son, James, who had been embraced by the city with the moniker, "The Chosen One".

After numerous delays, Lebron announced his choice to join with fellow All Stars and Team USA teammates, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, on the Miami Heat, during an ill-conceived 1-hour special on ESPN called "The Decision". The show's name soon became synonymous with the latest betrayal born by the city of Cleveland.

Following "The Decision", there has been harsh backlash against James'. Prior to the infamous decision, James was a much admired sports figure, not only in Cleveland, but Lebron was respected globally to fans of the sport. However, perception of Lebron James has drastically shifted, and Mike Polk's tribute song is the latest emphatic statement of this.



The perception of Lebron James leaving his city, although not the course of champions of the echelon of Jordan, Bird, and Kobe, would not have been a career-killer if James had gone about it with more public-relations savvy. Shaquille O'Neal moved during his prime, much like Lebron James, from an NBA Finals team in the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers, however O'Neal was the main attraction on the Lakers, who won the NBA Championship with O'Neal because of the eventual development of Kobe Bryant.

However, with Lebron stringing along several NBA franchises, announcing his departure in such a self-aggrandizing and self-promotional forum, and leaving Cleveland to join two other established players, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, on a team that Wade has already won a championship with in Miami, many former Lebron fans feel deceived. There was nothing admirable or heroic about Lebron's actions from "The Decision" onward. By subjugating himself to Wade, he has made the admission that he cannot lead a team to victory, and he has revealed the fraud in the advertisements that taut his supremacy.

Sports super-stardom is driven by image and perception, and Lebron has managed to tarnish his well-polished image with quite possibly the worst PR summer of any great athlete in recent memory. A viral video would not help things for James, however the outrage is real and stands to grow with each game Lebron plays with Wade's team.

Postings like this one all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have fueled the popularity of Mike Polk's YouTube performance. The following update was posted to the Facebook group, Lebron is a LeBiatch:

This is my new favorite song! Thank you, Mike Polk! Lebron is a LeBiatch.

Within a matter of 2 hours, the hit count on the YouTube video rose by nearly 3500 views, and with the viral nature of social media, Lebron James could possibly be the first NBA star to become globally infamous because of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Nike and other brands don't bank on athletes with the image of being a Bitch.