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.

Chicago Bulls Sweep Regular Season Series With Miami and Continue Heat Losing Streak; Rose Makes Strong Case For MVP

MIAMI, FL. With another victory over the Miami Heat, in another game that they clearly treated like a must win, the Bulls took the Heat's best shot and did what they have done to the Heat twice before, came back and won behind great team defense and leadership from Derrick Rose.

A week and a half since Derrick Rose helped carry the Chicago Bulls back from 18 points down to win against the Miami Heat in Chicago, he cemented his claim to the NBA MVP award with his play and leadership in bringing the Bulls back from a 12 point deficit to another victory over the Heat.

Check out this amazing play where Derrick Rose takes it in with Jordan-like killer instinct and scores on both Dwayne Wade and Dwayne Wade's Sidekick:


Despite the Bulls clawing way back and finally taking the lead from Miami about midway through the 4th quarter, the Miami Heat stayed close mostly because of Dwayne Wade's efforts. Wade had 9 of his 20 points in the fourth to keep the Heat close.

Rose put up 8 points of his own in the final quarter, and the Bulls went into the final possession with a 1 point lead.

It was deja vu for the Heat, who had lost 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5 games. Three of their losses were decided on the final possession of the game, where they were unable to come through with a score.

Lebron got the ball at the top of the key, defended by Joakim Noah. Lebron drove and put up a contested shot that hit high off the backboard. Wade came up with the rebound and put up a short jumper but also missed.

This has been an amazing weekend for the Bulls, who won a great game against Orlando two days ago. And recently, Hollinger put out his statistical analyses that not only supported the Bulls not making a move at the trade deadline (and keeping Omer Asik and Taj Gibson) but also revealing that the Bulls have the best statistical chance of reaching the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference.

Chicago fans are too down to earth for such things to get their hopes too high, but they are all united in the Derrick Rose for MVP sentiment.

With another victory over Sidekick and the Heat, Rose has the swagger of an MVP.

The evolution of Derrick Rose has been amazing. After a summer where he started for Team USA and helped them to win Gold at the 2010 World Championships, he stated in his usual modest tone that he wanted to be NBA Most Valuable Player.

He has now taken a team that was thought to be about the 4th or 5th best team in the Eastern Conference and has them in sole possession of the 2nd seed in the East behind Boston. And he has managed to do this with Carlos Boozer missing a month at the beginning of the season and Joakim Noah missing nearly two months for surgery, as well.

For all these reasons, most true fans of the game of basketball acknowledge that Derrick Rose is the most deserving of the NBA MVP, and at this point, he has another statistic in his favor against his closest competitor: a three game sweep of the regular season series over the Heat and coming through when his team needed him the most.

Kobe Bryant Increases His Lead Over Lebron With 4th Career All-Star Game MVP

LOS ANGELES, CA.  It was something that NBA Basketball fans of the world never really got to see: Micheal Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant when both were close to their primacy.

However, the 2011 NBA All Star Game was yet another chapter in Kobe vs Lebron (AKA Dwayne Wade's Sidekick, now), and despite having the support of his two superfriends teammates, DWade and Chris Bosh, Sidekick still missed out on the big prize of the night: All Star Game MVP.

Bryant, once again, was the star that burned brightest, on this occasion, in front of his home town, "Hollywood" crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. He put up 21 first-half points on his way to 37 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in leading the West to victory.


Kobe still soars higher than Lebron whenever there is a big prize on the line.

Sidekick once again settled for a distant second prize (possible foreshadowing to come?). Lebron put up a triple-double to become only the second player to do that in an NBA All Star Game.

Michael Jordan, of course, was the first, although the feat resulted in a victory for Jordan's East team in 1997. As we've come to know, Sidekick can put up gaudy numbers, but not to carry his team to a win when it counts.

The NBA All Star Game MVP Award was Kobe's 4th of his career, tying Bob Petit for most in NBA history. When it counted, Lebron couldn't stop Kobe from extending his lead in career accomplishments, and Sidekick falls further behind in the comparisons.

Kobe has won his championships and individual awards while Lebron has been an elite player in the league, which for all intents and purposes, remove Lebron from any conversations for Greatest of All Time... Only Greatest of All Time Disappointments given his talent and physical gifts.

The pivotal moment of the game that captures the careers of Kobe and Lebron in a single illustrative snapshot was when Kobe had a fast break and saw Lebron out of the corner of his eye pursuing. Without hesitation, Kobe accelerated, knowing Lebron would try to sneak in from behind and block the shot, and threw it down.

Kobe laid to rest any talk of Lebron is better than Kobe in just one great moment.

The play captures the Killer Instinct that Michael Jordan had and that Kobe has shown throughout his career; Lebron has always been criticized for not measuring up in this respect, and for all those who keep believing that some day he might develop a Killer Instinct, he won't--he joined DWade's team because he is not that type of player.

He's the guy that can sneak up on you when you're not conscious of him, but if it's the final play of the game and you key your defense on him, he can't get it done. That's what superstars do. That's what closers do.

That's what Kobe did tonight.

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.

Joe Johnson and J Smoove Close Out OT For Victory Over DWade and Sidekick In Miami; Lebron Should Stick To Sidekick Role

MIAMI, FLORIDA.  Huge plays by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith at the end of regulation and to close overtime helped to seal victory for the Atlanta Hawks over the Heat.

What might have been a blowout victory over the Bosh-less Miami Heat got a lot closer after the Hawks lost talented big-man, Al Horford, to a sprained right ankle in the 3rd quarter, however other Hawks were ready to step up.

J Smoove and the Atlanta Hawks soared to victory over the beaten and battered Heat.

With victory hanging in the balance, Johnson manned up and tied the game on a layup with 25.4 seconds left in regulation. The Heat chose not to call time-out, and instead, they ran the clock down and set up Sidekick for a 28-footer that banged off the side of the rim just before the buzzer.

As the clock began to run out on the overtime period, Josh Smith made a go-ahead layup with 34.7 seconds left in overtime. The Heat made the mistake of putting the game in Sidekick's hands once again, the result being a long missed three, and Joe Johnson hit two game-sealing free throws with 5.2 seconds remaining to send the Heat to a fourth straight loss.

Sidekick struggled in his return to the Heat lineup vs the Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks defense contained the Miami Heat, who shot 28 for 77 as a team, and DWade and DWade's Sidekick combined to shoot a dismal 19 for 50 as they were beaten by the Atlanta Hawks on their homecourt.

The poor performance follows yesterday's Miami Heat practice where Wade, Sidekick, and Bosh were unable to go because of injuries sustained against the physical Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers.

The game marked the return of Sidekick to the lineup for Miami after missing two games for a sprained ankle sustained in the beatdown at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers.

NBA fans caught a glimpse of Lebron as the Heat's game closer. Two chances to win the game, and two bad misses.

Lebron, better stick to your sidekick role.

Los Angeles Lakers Come Out Flat Versus DWade's Sidekick and the Miami Heat, Will Just Have To Win When It Really Counts

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.  Things got a bit testy approaching half-time of the game that was hyped as the potential 2011 NBA Finals matchup. The Los Angeles Lakers had fought back from a quick start by the Miami Heat, and Ron Artest and Lebron had just been called for double technicals.


Artest successfully exposed Dwayne Wade's Sidekick's messed up hairline.

It was looking as if the Lakers might use the halftime break to shrug off poor starts by both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol and compose themselves and make a game out of one of the most anticipated games of the season for NBA fans. Alas, it was not to be.

The Lakers could not reign in the Heat, and although they were able to cut the lead to under 10 points several times, they were unable to break through and take the lead. Finally, the Lakers simply ran out of time.

After the game, Kobe broke his week-long media silence with very candid words about the effort that has seen the Lakers suffer back-to-back bad losses to Milwaukee and Miami:


Despite their clear frustration at dropping an opportunity at making a statement to the Miami Heat and the entire league, Kobe and the Lakers have been here before. This was their second consecutive Christmas Day loss to a team with Dwayne Wade's Sidekick on the roster; last year, it was the Cleveland Cavaliers that took the Christmas Day match up in Los Angeles.

Despite the loss, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to gather themselves and won the NBA Championship. If there is something that Kobe has over Lebron, it is his ability to lead his team to a win when it counts. That is why the only stat that matters is the 5 NBA Championship rings that Kobe has versus zero for Sidekick.

Jason Terry Shows Lebron and Wade How to Close Out a Game, Scores 19 Points in Final 11 Minutes To End Miami's Winning Streak

MIAMI, FLORIDA.  Lebron went down to South Beach to play with a closer in Dwayne Wade, but it was Jason Terry who gave both a lesson in closing out a basketball game. Terry scored all 19 of his points in the final 11 minutes of the 4th quarter to add to great efforts by several Mavericks players including Dirk Nowitzki (26 points, 9 rebounds) and Shawn Marion (7 points, 13 rebounds), as the Dallas Mavericks ended the Miami Heat's winning streak at 12 games.

Dallas' Defense Held Dwayne Wade's Sidekick to zero points in the first half.

The most notable part of the win for Dallas was the defense on Lebron during the first half of the game. Lebron went to the locker room at half time without a single point.

Dallas' defensive effort this season has propelled them to streak-ending victories over two teams that had 12 game winning streaks, these Miami Heat and the resurrected San Antonio Spurs. The Dallas Mavericks stayed undefeated against Dwayne Wade and his new sidekicks this season with the victory.

Following his disappearing act in the first half, Dwayne Wade's sidekick managed to finish the game with 19 points on an inefficient, 6 of 17 shooting night and had 7 assists to 5 turnovers. He, of course, can blame Wade for the loss since his just the sidekick.

Chris Bosh chimed in (not that anyone really cares what he says), explaining what went wrong for the Heat. "Couple of crazy bounces... and [the Mavs] capitalized." Meanwhile, his frontcourt teammate, Lebron grabbed more rebounds off of those "crazy bounces" than he did once again. Funny how being soft on the boards is always a result of "crazy bounces".

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The Garden's Silent Prayer: Knicks Not Built To Beat Dwayne Wade's Sidekick Just Yet

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.  The "Mecca of Basketball" hosted the much anticipated match-up of the resurgent New York Knicks vs. the Miami Heat and Lebron James Dwayne Wade's Sidekick.
 

The Knicks needed more to complement Amare Stoudemire's 24 points, 14 rebounds

The Madison Square Garden crowd was ready and seething early in the game, exuding an energy at Dwayne Wade's Sidekick comparable only to that seen when Lebron faced his former club, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After 2 years of pursuit and a summer of free-agent seduction, the New York Knicks' front office was ultimately unsuccessful in landing the big fish of the "Summer of Lebron". After season ticket holders were promised the world, disappointment was inevitable.

"The Mecca" cheered loudly and jeered the visiting Heat even louder throughout the game's first half, and their emotions fueled the Knicks to a 57 - 57 tie at halftime.

However, it was a 33 to 17 Miami Heat third quarter advantage that gave the Heat enough of a cushion to cruise.

Lebron has been known to play well at the Garden, which helped to fuel speculation of Lebron playing all of his home games at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks. Instead, Dwayne Wade's Sidekick tallied his first triple-double at the Garden in a visitor's uniform.

Despite another great effort from Amare' Stoudemire, who has been an aboslute MVP for the Knicks this season and had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the game, the Knicks are still lacking two important building blocks necessary to beat the Heat: another reliable scorer and a defensive big man rebounder. Despite the frontcourt softness of the Miami Heat, the Knicks could not take advantage.

After the game was out of reach for the home team, the Madison Square Garden crowd fell into silence. A post-game interview with Chris Bosh indicated that he and the Heat believed that they were able to silence the Garden with their play.

The truth is that the silence was a collective silent prayer for Carmelo Anthony to come to the Big Apple.

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Lebron's Legacy and New Last Name: Dwayne Wade's Sidekick

After the anti-climactic conclusion to the "Summer of Lebron", it is clear that at age 26 and a half (and at an emotuional age of 15), Lebron has considered his legacy in basketball and in the world about as much as he considered the consequences of announcing his "Decision" in an hour long special on ESPN.

In case you were cowering under a rock until the events of the "Summer of Lebron" would blow over (like Jeff Van Gundy, who then emerged, disoriented, and proclaimed that the Miami Heat would win more games than the 72 - 10 Chicago Bulls team), you would know that, despite compelling presentations from several NBA teams, including one that would have put Lebron literally playing in Michael Jordan's shoes and along side MVP candidate, Derrick Rose, Lebron made the cowardly "Decision" to join Dwayne Wade on HIS Miami Heat team.

A bold offer to a man who lacks enough "bolds"; Lebron can't fill MJ's shoes.

When Lebron could have plugged into a perfect win-now situation with a complete and talented team, with the franchise that Michael Jordan exploded, in the stadium that Michael Jordan built, in the city that Michael Jordan made into a basketball town and that had been starving for a basketball hero, Lebron could have built a legacy in Chicago that would have written itself. Lebron brand would have elevated itself to a worldwide brand, strengthened by its organic association with the iconic Jordan.

And although it would have been difficult to see at the time, it is clear now that the New York proposal was also a powerful one, with Amare Stoudemire's continued MVP-like efforts for the New York Knicks this season. Amare has New York squarely in the playoff picture and is making the case as a legitimate destination for next year's most coveted free agent, Carmelo Anthony.

And, of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers, though hampered by salary cap restrictions, would have found a way to make the necessary upgrades to stay the class of the NBA, if Lebron had stayed. And if he had won even one NBA title with the Cavs, the city of Cleveland would have rejoiced with the pent up energy of all the years of frustration that came before. Lebron's legacy would have been Cleveland's Greatest Champion.

Lebron should just change his name to "Lebron James Dwayne Wade's Sidekick"

However, whether it had been planned since the 2008 Olympics or even earlier, Lebron chose to join Dwayne Wade, a player who has already gotten it done in the NBA Finals and already has his own NBA Championship and NBA Finals MVP legacy. No matter how many championships they hope to win together, DWade will always have one more; one that he won after being the underdog and trailing the favored Dallas Mavericks two games to none in the series. Wade was the one man wrecking crew carrying his Miami Heat to victory in the series in Jordanesque fashion. And that is why, by joining DWade's Miami Heat, Lebron's legacy can only be one thing:  Dwayne Wade's Sidekick.

At best this would mean being "Scottie Pippen" to Wade's Jordan, but Lebron will still have to win multiple championships in Wade's shadow to even be considered as great as Pippen really was. Wade and his sidekick have yet to show that they can play together with the same kind of chemistry that Jordan and Pippen had in winning 6 NBA Championships.

In this day and age of NBA Superstar branding, it is amazing that Lebron's PR people would have allowed Lebron to make such a collosal PR mistake, as they have continued to allow him to do since "The Decision" show. Whether Lebron can change his legacy is mostly a question of whether he is willing to change the PR team that got him here, for this much is clear; Lebron has decided not to be responsible for his legacy, just as he has decided not to be responsible for the failures of his teams in past and future playoffs.