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 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.

Clippers and Blake Griffin Celebrate His Rookie of the Month Award By Ending The Miami Heat's Road Winning Streak

LOS ANGELES, CA.  Staples Center was sold out, and the stars were out for L. A. versus Miami; however it was not the Lakers that played like a champion and held home court against the Heat. It was the Clippers.

Blake Griffin celebrated winning ROTM by ending the Heat's road winning streak at 13 games.

Before the contest, Blake Griffin received Rookie of the Month honors for the month of December. Then he and his Los Angeles Clippers exploded against the vaunted Miami Heat defense, putting up 44 points in the first quarter, and the Clippers cruised to an L. A. victory that people had expected to come three weeks ago on Christmas Day.

Griffin put up 24 points and 14 rebounds against the Heat frontline for his 30th double double of the season, and Baron Davis (20 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists) and Eric Gordon (26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) provided a balanced backcourt attack in the complete team victory. Dwayne Wade lead the Heat with 31 points.

The Clippers victory was a clinic on how to beat a team like the Miami Heat. It all starts with mindset. The Clippers, from the passionate Baron Davis, to the fearless Eric Gordon, to the stoic Blake Griffin, were fired up, and it was clear that the home team was into the game and were not in the least intimidated by the Heat. Their confidence fueled a first quarter 44 point uppercut to the Heat, and every attempt to comeback was met by a great effort play, including a big block on Lebron that sent him out of bounds and awkwardly onto his ankle. Unlike many teams, the Los Angeles Clippers did not allow the Heat to physically exert their will, and that was ultimately the key to victory.

Lebron, learn the meaning of Karma and God before you hurt yourself.

The crushing loss for Miami came just a day after Lebron took a cheap shot on the Cleveland Cavaliers organization via twitter, saying "Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!"; it certainly does seem that God sees everything and that includes your hypocracy, Lebron. The Miami loss ends their road winning streak at 13 games, 3 games short of the NBA record, and even more notable, Lebron sustained a sprained ankle in the loss. It is likely that Lebron will miss Miami's next game, at Denver, tomorrow night. A loss at Denver would be the Heat's 11th loss on the season, meaning that they will have to wait till next year to chase the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record 72 win season. Speaking of Karma...

Lebron likes to take shots at weaker opponents, but where was his twitter response, not to mention his balls, when Paul Pierce took a jab at him? Can't really say much when you have already lost twice to Boston with your "Heatles".

And even then, when it comes time to take responsibility for his statements, he claims that it was not even him. He doesn't know who it was, but it wasn't him. He can't be responsible for his own tweet, so how can he be the man to lead a championship team? The answer is that he can't, and that is why he joined DWade. Sidekick had to join a real alpha dog who could take over when it is "Jordan-time" because he can't handle it.

No, YOU'RE NOT JORDAN, Lebron. And you never will be. At the end of the day, Lebron is only a bully who will take shots at weaker opponents, and then not even take responsibility for the statements. As villains go, Reggie Miller took on the big boys (Jordan, The Knicks, Spike Lee, etc.)

Lebron, you're not Reggie Miller, either.

Eric Gordon, Baron Davis, and Blake Griffin could have been teamed with Lebron this season.

The Clippers were one of the teams vying for Lebron James' services as a free agent last summer during the "Summer of Lebron", however they were the long-shot. With Eric Gordon, Baron Davis, and Blake Griffin leading the Clippers to victory, Lebron was left looking pretty stupid last night.

Blake Griffin has been an absolute beast in this, his rookie season, and he looks to be a strong favorite for Rookie of the Year as he puts up double-double after double-double. He has quickly become a very popular player with his great athleticism and above the rim game, and one can easily see him, along with Eric Gordon, leading a renaissance of the Clippers with the young talent that the team has been accumulating over the years. Can Griffin be the Anti-Lebron that the NBA needs to regain respectability?

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?