Miami cHeat vs. Chicago Bulls: LebronLeBiatch's Dirty Tactics On Display Again

CHICAGO, IL.  The Chicago Bulls went into the halftime intermission trailing 43-37. Not sure what was said in the locker room, but I can guarantee that one play was mentioned.

Shortly before the half, Lebron had leaked to cherry pick an easy basket, but Jimmy Butler was in position to strip the ball loose which was recovered by the Bulls.

"Hey Lebron! How's my dick taste?"

While on the floor after the play, Lebron purposefully pulled down Jimmy Butler to prevent the Bulls from having numbers while he wasn't hustling back.

As he pulled down Butler (in front of the NBA referee, mind you, without a foul call), Butler's feet ended up around Lebron's head area. Lebron continued to engage Butler, including swinging his own legs up toward Butler's head. Butler, without taking any swings or kicks at Lebron, made it clear that he wasn't going to give Lebron a single inch, and he emerged from the scrum smiling a confident smile.

Take a look at footage of the play and judge for yourself:

That play had to fire up Jimmy Butler. After going 0 for 5 with no points in the first half, he finished up with 16 pts, 11 reb, 4 stl, and 1 blk.

Meanwhile, Lebron, who had to have been frustrated and now embarassed by this unsportsmanlike play, went on to finish with only 17 pts on 8 of 23 shooting (38.2%), even below his season average against the Bulls (19.0 on 42.9% shooting).

Jimmy Butler added to his resume as the Lebron-stopper; while being defended by Butler, Lebron made only 2 field goals and had 3 turnovers.

The Bulls came back from an 11 point 4th quarter deficit to force OT. Then, led by Joakim Noah (20pts, 12reb, 7ast, 5blk), Chicago dominated Miami on the boards and suffocated the Heat offense, which only managed 2 meaningless points on a too little, to late layup by Lebron.

The Chicago Bulls sent the cHeat to their third straight loss in a week that began with Lebron piling on during a blowout of the lowly Bobcats with 61 points. Since then, Lebron has managed 58 points combined in the cHeat's three straight losses.


Beware of the Lebron Dick-Riders

Today, all the Lebron Dick-riders were all up in arms to say that Jimmy Butler kicked Lebron in the face, using very creative stills from the game footage to illustrate their opinionated articles.

We all know that at full speed, that was not a kick, and Lebron flinches like he's been shot in the head at any contact because he's used to getting something for all his acting.

But on the other hand, with video review, the NBA needs to start holding the players that instigate this type of contact accountable because players can and do get hurt from all the tangling of limbs that some players, particularly Miami Heat players, have initiated.

Case in point, a play from the 2011 NBA Playoffs that changed the entire dynamics of the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics series:

Enough with the acting. Enough with double technicals. Make these situations reviewable by replay and make the penalty meaningful.

Instigators should be ejected from the game with potential for suspension pending the result of the play. This kind of unsportsmanlike play is unacceptable in a professional sports league.

Lebron did not injure Jimmy Butler on that play, but he could have the way Rondo was injured. But the referees should have viewed a replay of the contact. They should have ejected Lebron from the game. And if there was an injury, as there was with Rajon Rondo, there should be the potential to suspend the involved player for the rest of the series.

As it stands, the David Stern-led NBA basically awarded the Miami Heat for causing this injury. Hopefully, new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is aware of this and many other flaws in NBA officiating and is actively working to rid his league of unsportsmanlike play such as this.

If you think Lebron's and the Miami Heat's unsportsmanlike contact should be banned from the NBA, please comment and share this article on your Facebook.

The "Second Round Champion" Miami Heat Fall Hard To Best Team in NBA in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals

CHICAGO, IL. WARNING! The geniuses at ESPN who were responsible for Lebron's infamous, hour-long "Decision" television special escaped from their cages over the weekend. The "Heat" rabies that infected them has been spreading like wildfire in the ESPN newsroom. as analyst after analyst is calling the Eastern Conference Finals in favor of the Miami Heat.

Apparently, the Miami Heat had somehow improved as a team when they defeated a tired, geriatric Boston Celtics team that everyone knew had sacrificed their main advantage over the Heat by trading Kendrick Perkins at the trade deadline.

Or maybe they figured that the ease of their 4 - 1 series victory over the same Celtics means that the Heat are now clicking on all cylinders, neglecting the obvious fact that Rajon Rondo, whom Doc Rivers has called the Celtics most important player, was injured and playing with one arm, as a result of a dirty play by Miami Heat guard, Dwayne Wade.

Anyway, ESPN, like the geniuses they are, called this Miami Heat team the favorite to win the Eastern Conference Finals.

In Chicago, they have a vastly different description for the Miami Heat and the Miami Superfriends, and they did not hesitate to share it with the world that was watching.

"Overrated!"

Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls defense allowed only 11 points for Wade and Lebron combined in the second half; Wade scored just 18 points and Lebron scored only 15 for the game.

NBA basketball fans have been unimpressed with the underachieving Miami Heat all year, as has most everyone outside of the Miami-Dade County area (save for a couple of self-proclaimed Lebron dick-riders), but as of the final day of the season, when the Chicago Bulls secured the best record in NBA this season, NBA fans were thoroughly impressed at how the Bulls have come together so quickly.

And the fact that the Chicago Bulls are the product of hard work, team effort, great coaching, and lead by a talented, yet humble homegrown superstar, just makes them a team everyone can root for. They are the anti-Heat.

Despite being the top seeded team in the playoffs, with homecourt advantage throughout, the Bulls have not acted entitled in the way that the Heat and Lebron have from the day they threw their party in South Beach talking about winning "not 5, not 6, not 7,...."

And after a Game 1 beatdown of the Heat, the Chicago Bulls certainly proved that Miami should be worried about them. Miami should be downright scared of the Chicago Bulls.

Anyone fantasizing about a 2006 NBA Finals rematch between Miami and Dallas has been out in the South Beach sun too long and is demonstrating symptoms of "heat" stroke.

Miami, with their "championship" celebration after eliminating the Celtics, are overlooking the real threat to their title aspirations. And not just this year. The Bulls are a much younger team, running the schemes that befuddled Wade and Lebron for the last two years and made the Boston Celtics the NBA Champions in 2008.

The Miami Heat have been dumbfounded for answers when it comes to getting a win against the Chicago Bulls.

Including Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Chicago Bulls have beat the Miami Heat four straight times, and in the most important of those games, the Bulls won by a margin of 21 points.

And after the game, the Miami Heat admitted that they were demoralized by the 19 offensive rebounds that the Bulls' frontline pulled in to help propel the Bulls to their Game 1 victory.

In the four games between Miami and Chicago, the Bulls have grabbed 44 more rebounds for an 11 rebound/game edge. That kind of dominance is not accidental; the Chicago Bulls were built to beat the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, specifically.

The Boston Celtics had interior toughness and rebounding, but they traded Kendrick Perkins away. Now, Oklahoma City, Perkins' new team, is playing in the conference finals while Boston sits at home.

Taj Gibson had the biggest plays in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for the Bulls, including this monsterous dunk on Dwayne Wade.

The Chicago Bulls had the "opportunity" to trade Omer Asik or Taj Gibson for a more offensive shooting guard, but they held on to their advantage. And after Game 1, no doubt Taj Gibson's trade value has gone up.

But with the Bulls retaining their great young frontcourt depth, Chicago held on to the advantage that will get them passed the Miami Heat and into the NBA Finals. And "not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4,..." because combined with their 22-year old NBA Most Valuable Player, the Chicago Bulls will potentially be dominant for as long as the Miami Heat window is open.

Don't believe me? Just watch.

HIGHLIGHTS of THE CHICAGO BULLS vs. MIAMI HEAT, 2011 NBA PLAYOFFS, EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, GAME 1:


With the Chicago Bulls up 1 - 0 in the best-of-seven series, what do you think will be the series outcome?

Dirty Miami Heat Get Lesson In Heroism From Rondo As Boston Celtics Hold Homecourt, Get First Win In Series

BOSTON, MA. Dwayne Wade used to be one of my favorite players. It was because he was a basketball hero.

What he did in the 2006 NBA Finals was incredible. He demonstrated the will to win that only a handful of players with his talent and skill ever demonstrate. And when he won the NBA title, I had a lot of respect for him.

Until tonight that is.

It really started the other night in Game 1 of the Miami Heat/ Boston Celtics series when he ran through Paul Pierce's legal screen, and somehow, Paul Pierce got ejected from the game. I forgave Dwayne Wade because it was truly on the referee to call it properly as an offensive foul and tech on Wade for being the aggressor.

But tonight, Wade pulled a clearly dirty play designed to draw the foul by dragging Rajon Rondo on top of him, but instead, it may have accomplished a whole lot more to gaining an advantage for the Miami Heat. On the play, Rondo tried to brace his fall and ended up dislocating his left elbow.

Rondo dislocated his left elbow on this dirty play by Dwayne Wade, but he would return to give his team a lift in a must-win game for Boston. 

It was a gruesome looking play and injury, and Rondo was taken off the floor with assistance for x-rays and treatment. After having the dislocation reset, Rondo chose to return to the game, a must-win for Boston.

The Boston faithful were probably as encouraged as they were skeptical at Rondo's return. With his left arm dangling lifelessly and uselessly at his side, Rondo was playing in a must-win playoff game. What could he possibly do with one arm when the Heat had built a 2 - 0 lead against a fully functional Rondo?

Well, Rondo answered with his presence and gutsy effort, including a big steal and dunk.

Along with a 28 point and 18 rebound effort from Kevin Garnett, Boston is sitting in a safer spot at 2 - 1 in the series. However, the Celtics will need Rondo to have use of both of his arms if they hope to even up the series and beat the heat at home, which they will need to do eventually.

Kevin Garnett dominated Chris Bosh and put up 28 points and 18 rebounds in Boston's Game 3 Victory over the Miami Heat.

In addition, the league needs to put a stop to such plays designed to "draw" foul calls by locking arms and legs with other players. In recent years, the practice has become more prevalent, and it must stop now. It does not add to the enjoyment of the game of basketball, and as we've seen tonight, it can lead to players being injured. And that makes the game less enjoyable for fans who want to see the games decided by the players on the court, not by the sneaky plays that result in injuries that keep players off the court.

Furthermore, the Heat should be penalized for Dwayne Wade's dirty play. How did that play not even garner Wade a personal foul? Wade should be suspended for a minimum of one game and possibly more if Rondo must miss games with his injury.

Even if the NBA fails to do the right thing, what Boston does have going in their favor is the devilish pact that resulted in Lebron and Bosh going to the Miami Heat and Pat Riley winning Executive of the Year.

The devil never keeps his promises, so although the Heat may be up for now with a 2 - 1 lead and Rondo injured, look for the Miami Heat to suffer the karmic repercussions of their deal with the devil.

HIGHLIGHTS OF BOSTON CELTICS vs MIAMI HEAT, 2011 NBA PLAYOFFS, GAME 3:


Boston needs Rondo to play big in order to beat the Heat. Can Rondo recover in time to put his mark on this series?

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 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.

Boston Wins To Take Top Spot In the Eastern Conference as Sidekick and the Heat Fail The Test Against Celtics Again

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. You could not have scheduled the NBA season any better. On day 3 as the top team in the Eastern Conference, Dwayne Wade's Sidekick took his talents to Boston for a meeting between the former top team in East, the Boston Celtics.

Wade, Bosh, and Sidekick suited up for the game, and there would not be the excuse that one of the superfriends was injured. And despite being a regular season game, there was indeed something on the line in this contest: first place in the Eastern Conference and, potentially, the tiebreaker for homecourt advantage in the East.

Rondo went for a triple double and locked down Sidekick when called on.

As a Sidekick once said, "Karma is a B*tch." Just when he thought hitting the "Easy Button" and joining DWade's team was finally getting him everything he'd dreamed of the easiest way possible, there were the Boston Celtics to snap him back to reality. Again.

The game went down to the wire after the Miami Heat were able to erase a 13-point 4th quarter deficit, but with the score at Heat 81, Celtics 83, and a chance to tie Boston in his hands with two free throws, Lebron managed to miss his first crucial free throw and made only the second, leaving his team still trailing by 1 point.

The Heat sent Glen Davis to the line for Boston, and he calmly hit both to keep his team up by three.

On the closing opportunity for Miami, Lebron dribbled around and passed off to Mike Miller for a last second 3-point attempt that skidded off the rim. It was later revealed that Miller had just been cleared before the game after suffering from a concussion.

Whenever the Heat have put a game in Sidekick's hands, they've come away with an "L".

After the game, Sidekick was inundated with question about his inability to beat the Celtics, the team that sent Lebron home from the playoffs last year (the infamous "Quitness" game) to contemplate where he would go as a free agent. With an 0 Win, 3 Loss record against Boston this year, it would seem that Lebron's decision was a wrong one.
With the win, the Boston Celtics reclaimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and with it, Boston now holds the tie-breaker over the Heat for home court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, without a loss to Miami this season, it doesn't seem to matter to the Celts where the games are played.

The final meeting of the season between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics is April 10th in Miami. Expect Miami to pump themselves up to win a meaningless moral victory heading into the playoffs.

Knicks Beat Heat at Madison Square Garden as Stoudemire and Gallinari Close, and Dwayne Wade and Sidekick Can't

NEW YORK CITY, NY.  Sidekick clanked shot after shot, and DWade cooled off in the 4th quarter as the New York Knicks pulled away and beat the Miami Heat tonight in front of a raukus crowd of pumped up Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Amare Stoudemire dunks on Joel Anthony and Sidekick, who just bends over and takes it.

It was a great game for the Knicks, who not only overcame a difficult loss to Miami in their previous meeting at Madison Square Garden and the continued speculation of trading for Carmelo Anthony, but also a hot shooting Dwayne Wade who powered the Miami Heat through the first three quarters on a scorching 14 of 15 shooting from the field.

The New York Knicks' MVP candidate, Amare Stoudemire, kept the Knicks close in spite of Wade's hot shooting, and Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, and Raymond Felton stepped up for the Knicks in the fourth quarter to secure the win for the hometown team.

New York was finally able to contain Wade (0 for 7 in the fourth quarter), and Sidekick, as he did in last year's playoffs against the Boston Celtics, joined the "Quitness Protection Program", missing shot after shot in the final quarter when his team needed him. Sidekick finished with 24 points, but only shot 7 for 24 for the game.

This was a huge win for the Knicks, not only to beat an Eastern Conference rival, but the victory clearly shows the potential of a team that could potentially add Carmelo Anthony this summer in free agency, without losing any significant parts.

The invitation to join a team that can already beat, arguably, the most talented team in the NBA, the Miami Heat, could prove too much to resist for Melo, a native New Yorker who won a National Championship at Syracuse University.

The only thing standing in the way of New York's return to the elite of the basketball world? A poor "decision" like Lebron's.

Celtics Beat Heat Again With Total Team Effort Despite Lebron's Near Triple-Double

MIAMI, FLORIDA.  Lebron James put up 35 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals. However, Boston left Miami with the only thing that mattered to them, and that was a convincing victory over the most overrated team in NBA history.

Boston beat down Miami for the second time in the early 2010-11 season.

The Boston Big Four dominated the game despite Lebron's nice statline. Ray Allen finished with 35 points and made 7 of 9 from 3-point land, and Kevin Garnett owned the paint to the tune of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 16 assists, and Paul Pierce pitched in with 25 points.

The biggest difference maker was the job the Celtics defense did on Dwayne Wade, holding the Heat star to 8 points on 2 of 12 shooting.

Once again, it was evident by Lebron's statline that he was being asked to shore up the inadequate rebounding of the Miami Heat starting frontcourt of Chris Bosh and Joel Anthony. Better teams have easily taken advantage of this Miami Heat weakness and will continue to do so. If Lebron leads the team in rebounding on a given night, the Heat will have lost.

FINAL THOUGHT:  With nearly 8 minutes remaining in the game, the standing-room-only, Miami Heat crowd at the American Airlines Arena began to filter out of the stadium. Did they get to watch Lebron flirt with a triple-double? Did they even care?

Millsap Dominates Bosh And Miami Heat For Utah Jazz Victory and Career-High 46 Points

Miami, Florida No, the chances of the Miami Heat going 82 - 0 for the season have long passed. However, at a record of 5 - 3 during this first month of the NBA season, the vaunted Miami "superteam" is on pace for a record of 51 - 31, not even matching the record of the Cleveland Cavalier team that won a league best 61 games and brought Lebron the honor of NBA MVP. Experts around the league doubt that even exceeding the Cavs win total from last season will bring another MVP Award to Lebron because he is not even the focal point or best player on this season's version of the Heat.

Chris Bosh has been exposed as a soft defender and weak rebounder.

The Utah Jazz took their talents to South Beach and handed the Miami Heat their first home loss of the season behind a career night for power forward Paul Millsap who scored 46 points in the overtime victory.  

Millsap was efficient; his career-high 46 points were scored on 19 for 28 shooting from the field, including shooting 3 for 3 from 3-point range. Millsap outscored the Miami Heat starting frontcourt, including Bosh (17 points), Lebron James (20 points), and rookie Joel Anthony (4 points).

In the first 8 games of the season, the Miami Heat's greatest weakness has been exposed. After having a roster that was completely gutted during the off season to make way for the Miami Thrice experiment, it seems that the filler players that were obtained to form the rest of the Miami Heat roster are not the only concern for the Heat.

For all their talent and skill, the Miami Heat front line, lead by Chris Bosh, is soft defensively and on the boards. Chris Bosh was the best player on a bad team with the Toronto Raptors, and he was able to accrue strong stats during mostly meaningless games. Bosh never led his Toronto Raptors team to the playoffs.

In the loss earlier in the week to the New Orleans Hornets, Bosh grabbed one rebound in 34 minutes of play. ONE REBOUND!

We saw in tonight's game that the Miami Heat plan to keep Lebron James back to help on the defensive boards. Lebron tallied a triple-double (20 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds) because of the strategy, but ultimately, the Heat lost the game. Going forward, we will see if other teams, especially teams that can dominate on the front line, continue to press the advantage to beat the Heat.

The teams that Miami is hoping to beat in the playoffs to play for the NBA Championship are teams that are powerful up front: Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando, New Orleans, and Chicago, to name a few. At this point, the Miami Heat are a fool's pick to win the NBA Championship.

Miami Heat Fall For Loss Number Two To Chris Paul and the Undefeated New Orleans Hornets

New Orleans, LA. Lebron may not have been able to do it alone in his seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but on this night, it was Chris Paul who played the role of a lonely David versus the Goliath of the Big Three of Miami.

Chris Paul finished the game with a modest 13 points, but made his teammates better to the tune of 19 assists.

CP3 keeps his Hornets undefeated against DWade, Lebron, and the Miami Heat.

Following a summer that was notable for an infamous Decision to go to South Beach, Chris Paul was very public about his discontent with the state of the New Orleans Hornets, fueling rumors of a potential "Big Three" scenario that might have landed himself, along with another disgruntled superstar, Carmelo Anthony, on the New York Knicks.

Following a fifth straight victory to start the season by New Orleans (a Hornets franchise-best record to start a season), trade talks have been silenced. The New Orleans Hornets front office has consistently gone on record saying that Chris Paul would not be traded; the franchise even traded talented back-up point guard Darren Collison, who played excellent during the significant minutes he played in Paul's absence, as a clear statement of commitment to Paul.

It seems that their clear commitment, along with other off-season moves, has paid off for the undefeated New Orleans Hornets.

On the other hand, Lebron's summer has been one of a lack of a clear commitment (other than to himself and his so-called advisory team), culminating in the self-aggrandizing and self-promoting, 1-hour Decision special on ESPN. We all know the subsequent backlash that has resulted from Lebron's decision to be Dwayne Wade's Miami Heat sidekick, along with Chris Bosh.

After much speculation and talk of breaking the 72 win record of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls team, the Miami Heat lost their season opener to the Boston Celtics, and they now fall to a record of 4-2 after this loss to the New Orleans Hornets. This would put them on pace to win 66 to 69 games this season.

Larry Bird Joins Legends in Denouncing Lebron's Decision

Larry Bird, or Larry Legend as he was known even during his playing days with the Boston Celtics during the 1980 and 1990's, is on record having voiced his disapproval of Lebron James' "Decision" to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, which is in line with the sentiment voiced recently by his Hall of Fame contemporaries, Michael Jordan and Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Although a decade and a half of fierce competition has given way to a great friendship built on mutual admiration and respect, Bird had this to say about the idea of playing alongside Johnson:

"I remember back in my days, I'd rather play against Earvin Johnson than play with him. He's a guy I always compared myself to. I'd rather stay in Boston and let him stay in L.A. and just compete every year in the Finals. That's what made me a better player."

Bird's statement follows closely on the heels of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson's statements criticizing Lebron James decision to join the Miami Heat. By doing so, James, the most coveted free-agent of the decade, joined with the next two most talented free-agents in arguably the greatest free-agent class ever in the NBA. Essentially, the joining of James, Wade, and Bosh, though not as epic as a Magic, Bird, and Jordan triumverate, is about the closest thing that has, in fact, come to pass.

The Legends (Bird, Magic, and Jordan), the first-ballot Hall of Famers who were responsible for the international explosion in popularity of the NBA and basketball, have voiced their displeasure with "The Decision" because of what it may mean to the future of NBA. The competition between Bird and Magic defined an era in the NBA, and the dominance of Jordan through the 1990's was a tribute to the will and perseverance of the greatest player of all time.

Old-school fans of the NBA were treated to epic battles between the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen, however the Lebron decision was an admission of surrender and an inexplicable act of submission to another star in Wade.

When asked about Lebron's decision following a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada, Michael Jordan's reply to NBC Sports was this:

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team, but that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. ... In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

And in sports, it is that competitive fire that athletes are measured by, and that is why Bird, Magic, and Jordan have the legacy and legend that they do.

HANG BANNERS Boston Celtics LeBiatch Design T-Shirt

The long-awaited Banner 17 was raised at the home of the Boston Celtics only after a championship drought of 22 years and two blockbuster trades in the summer of 2007.

The Celtics first acquired Ray Allen and a draft pick from Seattle for Wally Szerbiak, Delonte West, and Boston's 5th Overall pick in the NBA Draft. Then on July 31, 2007, the Celtics acquired former MVP and perennial All-Star Kevin Garnett for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first round draft pick (top three protected) and a return of Minnesota's conditional first round draft pick. Although the trades gutted the roster, Boston was able to assemble a "Big Three" in Garnett, Allen, and All-Star Paul Pierce.

The Boston Celtics would finish the 2007-08 season with the best record in the NBA, 66-16, and after a challenging first round series with the Atlanta Hawks, they advanced to the Eastern Conference crown and faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals.

Factoring in the Lakers strong playoff run to the Finals and the Celtics problems of even reaching the Finals with two 7-game series, the Lakers were favored to beat a seemingly tired Boston team, even with Boston holding homecourt advantage. The first games of the series started with the Celtics once again dominating at home. Game 1 saw Paul Pierce suffer a knee injury early in the game only to come back and make 70 percent of his attempted field goals, resulting in a 98–88 Celtics win. In Game 2, Boston nearly lost a 24-point lead only to win 108–102. The Lakers returned to Staples Center and won Game 3, 87–81. When Los Angeles took a 24-point lead in the second quarter of Game 4 the Celtics appeared to be losing control of the series. Led by a bench that outscored the Lakers bench by 20 points, the Celtics took over Game 4 with a victory, the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

Although the Los Angeles Lakers won Game 5, 103–98, the series went back to Boston for Game 6, and the Celtics finished off Los Angeles with a 131–92 victory, claiming the most lopsided win in a NBA Finals game since the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz by 42 points in the 1998 NBA Finals, and the all-time largest margin of victory in a deciding game. Paul Pierce was named NBA Finals MVP.

The Celtics had won their record 17th NBA championship, a championship 22 years in the making. Banner 17 would be the first new NBA Championship banner to be raised to the rafters in the new TD Banknorth Garden.

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