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.

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?

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.

Lebron Returns to Cleveland: To Chalk Toss or Not To Chalk Toss

CLEVELAND, OH.  Without a doubt, there will be a lot of emotion for everyone involved in Lebron's first game back in Quicken Loans Arena, the stadium he called home when he won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award just last year, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a league-best 61 - 21 record.

Now, after his antics during the "Summer of Lebron", he is the enemy, in more ways than simply returning as an opposing team's player.


Lebron was supposed to be "The Chosen One" to bring a sports championship to a city that has not won a major sports championship since 1964 and has had worse sports fortune than arguably any other city in the world. Cleveland is the punchline of sports joke after sports joke because of heartbreaking and infamous sports moments as "The Drive", "The Fumble, and "The Shot" where they snatched defeat from the jaws of almost certain victory.

Part of Cleveland's heartbreaking sports history has to do with losing more sports talent than any other city, culminating in losing an entire team when Art Modell decided to move the Cleveland Browns football team, earning him the honor of most hated sports figure in Cleveland. Until this past summer. Until "The Decision". And that brings us back to Lebron James.

In a move as classless and heartbreaking to the city of Cleveland, Lebron announced his plan to "take his talents to South Beach" and play for Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat during a one-hour special called "The Decision" which aired on ESPN. It was a forgettable public spectacle to most, but to the loyal fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was a public humiliation. The hometown kid who had promised to bring a championship to the city, had tried and failed, and was now going to quit on the city of Cleveland and get a ring for himself in an easier situation.

Tonight marks Lebron's first game back to face the Cleveland Cavaliers. As hurt as they are, Cleveland fans have too much pride and class to avenge Lebron's actions with physical violence. Several creative solutions are trying to garner social media support.

However, will we see Lebron humble himself enough to regain the respect of the fans of Cleveland?

Will Lebron do the Chalk Toss before the Cleveland crowd as an opposing player?

TO CHALK TOSS OR NOT TO CHALK TOSS?

Lebron copied and evolved a well-known Michael Jordan pre-game routine into his own pre-game ritual known as the Chalk Toss (pictured at right), a ritual that he used to pump up and engage the hometown fans in Cleveland.

And although he has every right to do his ritual in NBA arenas all over America, it would be a great show of respect and honor to the city of Cleveland that had been loyal until they were betrayed. Lebron knows that in this simple gesture, there may be salvation for his legacy in Cleveland.

"What Should He Do?": Skip the Chalk Toss tonight in Cleveland.
What Will He Do?": ...Be a LeBiatch, and do the Chalk Toss, cementing his legacy of being the Most Hated Sports Figure in Cleveland.

Rudy Gay "LeBiatches" Lebron: Grizzlies Hand Heat Another Loss on Gay's Buzzer Beater

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. Lebron finally was involved in a "Jordan-moment", however it was Rudy Gay that hit "The Shot" while Lebron played the role of Craig Ehlo.

In dramatic fashion, it was Rudy Gay, the Memphis Grizzlies' big signing of the "Summer of Lebron", who measured and connected on a fade away jumper over a fully extended Lebron James, to sink the Miami Heat as the clock ran out in regulation.

Rudy Gay had been shooting just 4 for 12 on the night and had just turned the ball over on the previous play, resulting in an easy dunk for Lebron James on the other end to tie the game. However, when it came time to draw up the final play, Gay wanted the ball in his hands.

And with the ball in his hand and 5.5 secs beginning to tick away, Gay was not going to defer the shot to anyone else. Even with Lebron picking him up as he turned the corner, Gay got just enough space over the fully outstretched arm of the most coveted free agent of the summer, Lebron James, and buried the shot.

Here is a video of the play: 



Following the shot, the hometown crowd at the FedEx Forum erupted. It was an emotional victory for a Memphis Grizzlies team that was expected to challenge in the Western Conference but has been struggling in the early going of this season. O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph had been demoted to the bench in favor of Darrell Arthur and rookie Xavier Henry in hopes of sparking the team. It seems to have worked, at least on this night.

The list of teams handing a piece of humble pie to the Miami Heat has gotten one more team longer. Joining the Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, and New Orleans Hornets was a 5 win and 9 loss underachieving Memphis Grizzlies team. After obtaining the top 3 free agents available during the "Summer of Lebron" and then bragging about forming a basketball dynasty, the Miami Heat have stumbled out of the gate, with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses in the first 13 games of the season. They are on pace to finish the season with a record of  51 - 31.

A special slice of humble pie is reserved for Lebron James, who was the most coveted free agent of the summer. With every team in the league dreaming about adding his talent and several solid, "win a championship now", choices available, such as staying with a Cleveland Cavaliers talent base that put together back to back 61 win seasons, Lebron continues to be haunted by the worst "Decision" ever made by a sports superstar. He questions "what to do now?" in his latest commercial for Nike.

Rudy Gay's Jordanesque Game-Winning Shot Over Lebron James.

The Rudy Gay shot over Lebron had the "Air" of "The Shot", Michael Jordan's incredible floating shot on Craig Ehlo to propel the Chicago Bulls to victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 NBA Playoffs. The way he floated just a little longer and jumped a little higher than the defender who, despite great defensive position and full extension to bother the shot, was helpless to stop him."The Shot" remains one of the defining moments of Michael Jordan's career because it illustrates the difference between Jordan and every other basketball player in the world; Jordan wanted to win more than any other player, and it fueled him to float a little longer, jump a little higher, practice a little harder, and make one more play.

The irony of the situation is that Lebron, this very summer, could have been the Air Apparent and the Chosen One to follow in Michael Jordan's footsteps in Chicago and as the icon of the NBA. Chicago was believed by the most knowledgeable basketball people, including Michael Jordan himself, to be the best destination for Lebron from the point of view of joining a team that would win multiple NBA Championships. The combination of Derrick Rose, Lebron James, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah would have been amazing; Derrick Rose is currently 4th in the league in scoring, and Joakim Noah is currently 2nd in the league in rebounding. Lebron would have been an ideal complement to the two superstars, and with talented role players like Taj Gibson, the Bulls (currently 7 - 4 on the season) would have been one of the most talented, deep, and complete teams in the league.

Then came "The Decision". And the landscape of the NBA has been forever altered, but two things have not changed. Michael Jordan's legacy is still that of the greatest of all time, and Lebron James will not be winning an NBA Championship this year.

Lebron Deserves Time Magazine's Person of the Year For Being a Shining Example of What Not To Do With Your Public Esteem

Does Lebron James deserve to be listed among the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Mohandas Gadhi? The answer is clearly a resounding "no".

Does Lebron James deserve to be listed among the likes of Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, George W. Bush, and Benedict Arnold (if Time Magazine had existed back in 1780)? Suddenly, the "no" is less resounding...

Barack Obama, President of the United States, is also a finalist for Time's Person of the Year along with James.

Time Magazine's Person of the Year article profiles a person, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that "for better or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year." By this criteria, Lebron certainly qualifies to be in the discussion.

In fact, what better way to cement Lebron's "legacy" than a Time Magazine article that details the events of the so called "Summer of Lebron", what was to be Lebron's finest hour, to show how selfishness, hubris, and conceit can truly cost you in the fame game. However, when the adoration of your fans are the only source of your power, influence, and income, it is probably a good idea not to humilate those same fans on public television.

Lebron's actions, and the pride that continues to keep him from admitting the utter stupidity of "The Decision", have kept his name in the news much longer than any sensible decision possibly could, and it is for that that he deserves Time's Person of the Year.

At the very least, the continuous chatter on ESPN, the television network that agreed to participate in Lebron James' ill-conceived 1-hour Decision special, about what Lebron tweeted about today and his opinion of the dismal Dallas Cowboys, for example, is evidence that the sports world has changed. Now rather than reporting sports news, ESPN has crossed the line of journalistic integrity, following in the footsteps of the Fox News' of the world, to now, creating and fabricating news.

A clear bias exists when ESPN crams Lebron James' opinions down our throats and calls it news. There is a clear bias when there is a special page chronicling the Miami Heat, called the Heat Index, when there are 29 other teams in the league, several of which are more likely than Miami to win the NBA Championship, and one of them has already proven that fact twice (Boston Celtics).

The Miami Herald has reported that Lebron, in a calculated PR move, responded to his nomination by saying that it was "crazy". Lebron said this about his vote for the honor, the Chilean Miners, "That's just crazy. What those guys did, the courage and what they stood for, I should be nowhere near that list. Nowhere near it."

If Lebron had made a sensible decision, he would not be anywhere near the list. He would just be the best player in the league, winning and leading a team, and showing his fans everywhere what it is to be a sports hero. Instead, we are forced to watch Miami Heat basketball to witness the inevitability of karma.

Best Award Winning Videos from the Summer of Lebron is a LeBiatch, the Documentary Edition

So, the much anticipated 2010 NBA Free Agency period (the so called "Summer of Lebron") has come and gone. It was a soap opera beyond imagination which finally ended with the most awkward debacle of an announcement of a bad decision ever made in the history of modern sports.

Lebron decided to take his talents (and for his sake, enough lube) to South Beach to join Dwayne Wade and new Heat teammate, Chris Bosh. And that was when Lebron revealed himself to be a fraud and less than the Chosen One he had claimed to be. The hearts of those who had once supported him were broken, as they have been so many times before in Cleveland. And beyond Cleveland, those who believed that he could step into the Air Jordans of the Greatest of All Time and those who hoped that pride could be restored for a team that plays in the Mecca of Basketball were also disappointed.

However, none of this may compare with the irreparable damage that "the Decision" has done to Lebron's own legacy. The championships that he may have believed would cement his legacy, gotten this way by joining a champion in DWade, will forever cast him as a sidekick. And despite what anyone has said, this incarnation of the Miami Heat have yet to win a single game.

With all the free agent dominoes having fallen and the teams geared up to start the regular season, this usually proves to be the longest month for hardcore hoops fans. Therefore, we wish to bring you the Best Videos of the Summer of Lebron is a LeBiatch. In this edition, we examine the Best Documentary Videos of the summer.

BEST AMATEUR FILM CLIP
Lebron James gets booed at Cedar Point
by Nikkie0212

Current Number of Views: 401,214

August 9, 2010 About a month after announcing "the Decision", Lebron returns to Cedar Point, the legendary amusement park in northern Ohio. However, despite the solid month of anti Lebron sentiment coming out of the Cleveland Cavaliers fanbase, Lebron must not have been convinced that his decision could have been so poorly received.

On this day, an amateur camera-person captures Lebron James at the basketball hoops getting jeered by park-goers and missing every shot he takes. He must have been having flashbacks to Game 5 of the Boston Celtics playoff series this year where he shot 3 of 14.

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Raw Video: Cavs Fans React to LeBron's Decision (Associated Press)

Current Number of Views: 328,158

July 9, 2010 This will be a date that will live in infamy in the minds of Cleveland sports fans as the unthinkable and unimaginable happened in a public act of humiliation that garnered an audience of 9.95 million to TV screens. In a classless display of self-aggrandizement, Lebron took an hour of national TV airtime on ESPN (and the dignity of one Jim Gray, who presided over the charade) to make his long awaited announcement.

Lebron James, a homegrown, hometown basketball phenom from nearby Akron, OH, eventually became the #1 overall selection of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was christened The Chosen One because he was believed to be the one to return Cleveland sports to respectability, and during his 7 years playing for the Cavs, James won two MVP awards, lead his team to the best regular season record twice, and made one NBA Finals appearance.

Lebron's decision to join a loaded team in Miami was viewed as not only selfish and quitting, but it was also an act of betrayal greater than any other because he was the local guy who should understand the pain and the plight of the city in terms of sports history. After being likened to Benedict Arnold, Lebron is giving Art Modell a run for his money for the mantel of most hated Cleveland sports demigod.