LeBron and Miami Heat's Complaining Starts Early In Cheating For Another Championship

MIAMI, FL.  Not sure why ESPN.com bothers having a section on its site called "Heat Index" specifically covering Miami Heat stories when the entire NBA coverage by ESPN is a Miami Heat propaganda machine.

This used to be called a charge taken by a gutsy veteran with a high basketball IQ; in this league of superstar calls, its a foul and free throws for the Star, never a foul on LeBron James.

Anyway, in a stunt for the TV cameras and sports "journalists" in attendence during Miami Heat practice, the Heat coaching staff brought out football pads to "simulate" the physical play that the team would encounter against the Chicago Bulls on opening night.

As Miami Heat sports writers everywhere describe the odd sight, the not-so-subtle message is transmitted throughout the slanted ESPN universe: "Beware of the dirty play of the Chicago Bulls."

C'mon.

Tom Haberstroh, as the Miami Heat beat writer for ESPN, you are either slipping that in there to gain your team an advantage, or you are so stupid that you let the Miami Heat coaching staff use you to gain an officiating advantage. Either way, you are a pathetic excuse for a "journalist".

Meanwhile, wasn't it LeBron James himself that tauted flopping as an effective strategy after stating that he has never flopped in his entire career? And wasn't it the same LeBron James that got called and fined a few nights later for flopping?

And what about this Dwayne Wade Cheap Shot Montage (starting at 9:39)?

LeBron and the Heat must sense the sun setting on their time at the top, by default. The Heat won't get an automatic road to the Finals.

Their Eastern Conference Finals foes from last season, the Indiana Pacers have gotten even bigger up front and deeper.

The superteams in Boston and Brooklyn have consolidated into a single Eastern superpower based in Brooklyn.

And the Miami Heat's greatest rival, the Chicago Bulls have their MVP back in Derrick Rose. They are the team that have put fear into the hearts of LeBiatch and his bunch since they split the season series last season and took two games off of them in the playoffs without their best and second best players.

And so what does a aging and declining champion resort to when they feel vulnerable?

They cry foul. They complain about officiating. They stack the deck if they can.

They accuse the other team of being too physical.

They CHeat.

Miami Heat Lose Game 4; Lebron and Heat Complain About Officiating

INDIANAPOLIS, IN.  With 0:56 left in the 4th Quarter of the Eastern Conference Finals Game 4, Lebron James stood with his mouth agape. And it was not because he had crapped himself in fear and was about to FAIL in the closing seconds of yet another NBA Playoff game.

"I didn't do it! I'm just DWade's Sidekick! He told me to set that screen!"

No, this time, Lebron had his mouth agape in shock after he was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen for DWade. Despite all his protesting, unless he's new to the sport of basketball, Lebron James, being a veteran of the league, should know that throwing your hip out and tripping the other player while setting a screen is indeed a foul for any player in the NBA, despite the usual practice of "Superstar Calls", for which Lebron is a particularly frequent beneficiery.

In case you haven't seen the highlight of the play which earned Lebron an ejection, here it is:


It was ironic after a day when Lebron was quoted as condoning flopping as a good strategy, and laughing for several days about the 10-12 flops a game on which his Miami Heat teammate, Shane Battier is able to draw fouls that negate Indiana Pacers scoring plays, offensive rebounds, or just generally get David West or Paul George into foul trouble.

However, on this night, things would end differently.

Despite Battier again drawing flop fouls on nearly three consecutive trips down the floor and helping the Miami CHeat to build a 7-point lead early in the 4th Quarter, the Indiana Pacers would not go away, and they would not be discouraged by the biased officiating. With 0:56 seconds left in the game, the Pacers held a 4-point lead.

And that is when Miami went to their true alpha dog, DWade, while Sidekick set the screen.

Well, Lebron couldn't quite do that right, and he ended up getting tossed with 6 personal fouls and on the strength of a 99-92 victory, the Indiana Pacers pulled into a 2-2 series tie with the Miami CHeat.

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Today, the official network of the Miami Heat and online home of "The Heat Index", ESPN, finally remarked on the ridiculousness of the amount of flopping going on, mostly to say that the Indiana Pacers had joined in. It was not notable or ridiculous when the Miami CHeat were utilizing flopping as a strategy, but now that the Pacers were playing that game, now it is excessive and rampant, and must be stopped. HUH?

I guess the media must believe that since the Miami CHeat flop, Floppers Gon' Flop. Even if it has been made "illegal" by the NBA.