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.
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".
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.
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.
CLEVELAND, OH. Lebron's big return to Cleveland was marked by nothing more than a much needed "W" for the Miami Heat. Nothing more. DWade finally shot a respectable percentage from the field, and the Miami Heat were able to get a big lead in the first quarter and cruised.
The two major stories of the game hardly concerned the actual basketball that was played.
Signs of the times: this is no longer 2003 for Queen James.
Cleveland fans were empassioned at the start of the game, and they did their fair share of "booing" before being quieted by the Heat's big first quarter.
All the bogus threat of violence perceived by Lebron's caretakers and the ESPN news machine was nothing more than making a news story out of a molehill.
The atmosphere created by the fans in support of their underdog team exceeded the effort that was given on the night by Cavs players.
Despite the magnitude of the game, Cavs players joked and laughed with Lebron, putting him at ease in the hostile environment. All that we learned on Thursday night was that Cleveland fans are classy but still upset, the current Cavaliers team still has the "warm fuzzies" for Lebron, and Lebron is still a LeBiatch.
Lebron tosses chalk in the air because he can't juggle.
Lebron is a LeBiatch because he did his Chalk Toss routine, in front of a chorus of "booing" Cleveland Cavaliers fans at the Q. In spite of numerous questions about it and suggestions that not doing the chalk toss would go a long way towards repairing the bitterness felt in Cleveland about "The Decision" show and other displays of disrespect towards the fans that loyally followed Lebron, Lebron goaded the packed stadium who rained "boos" down upon the villainous traitor. The Cleveland Cavaliers fans showed up in force to "unwelcome" Lebron, and to be present for the event. But there was no apology, no show of grace, no show of respect from Lebron that would have to be returned in kind.
However, the packed stadium was enough to prove a point to the self-appointed "king". Here was a basketball fan base that knows and appreciates sports and sports history. They filled the stadium for all those seven years that Lebron played for their Cavs. Now, Lebron joins Wade, playing before fans who can hardly show up for the first half of the game and have no sense of history. I suppose it is fitting that a player whose legacy is ruined would want to play in front of fans who don't care and won't remember. Being the best player to not achieve his potential and the best player to be completely forgotten will be Lebron's legacy.
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.
With the losses piling up and the Miami Heat's inability to beat playoff caliber teams, it seems that everyone in the Miami Heat organization and ESPN have already begun to build the case for why the most overrated team in NBA history will not meet their own expectations of winning the NBA Championship this season. That case will star Coach Spoelstra in the role of scapegoat.
Erik Spoelstra's days as the head coach are numbered.
While greater NBA legends create moments , it may just be Lebron's legacy to be know more for moments like "The Decision", "The Vegas Weekend", "The Mental List Tweet", "The Song", and now, "The Shoulder Bump".
In yet another classic Lebron moment, during the loss against the Dallas Mavericks on November 27th, Coach Erik Spoelstra was frustrated by a breakdown by the Miami Heat on the defensive end, and he called a time out. With plenty of room to walk anywhere else, Lebron walks straight towards Spoelstra. Spoelstra is not really seeing Lebron, but despite seeing Spoelstra, Lebron leans his shoulder into own his coach. You will also see that Lebron also follows through afterwards, clearly indicating that he expected and initiated the contact.
"The Shoulder Bump" is just the latest example of Lebron's lack of maturity and leadership. After losing 3 of their last 4 games, Lebron and the Miami Heat have obviously had to explain why, after only 17 games, they already have nearly as many losses as Michael Jordan's 72-Win Chicago Bulls team and why they will have to go 63 wins and only 2 losses in order to match what the all-time winningest team was able to accomplish.
No, the 2010-11 Miami Heat are no where near the 72-Win Chicago Bulls team. Jordan did the dominating. Jordan did the leading. Jordan wanted the ball in his hands and the responsibility on his shoulders.
Lebron is the anti-hero for a new generation. Lebron wants loyalty, but he has already forgotten the fans that supported him for his first 7 years as a pro. Lebron has already had a game-winning shot busted in his face. Lebron joined a player who is a real, proven leader, Dwayne Wade. And he is grateful to give him the ball at the end of the game. As for the responsibility, Lebron is one of the best passers in the league.
More than a few people predicted that Erik Spoelstra's head coaching seat in Miami would be hot, but few imagined that Miami would struggle as much as they have in the first 17 games of the 82 game regular season. And with the way it seems that Wade, Bosh, and Lebron seem to talk to each other to the exclusion of the coach and the team, "The Shoulder Bump", the team meeting after the loss to Dallas, and the seemingly growing rift between team and coach, Erik Spoelstra is being painted and characterized as the scapegoat.
SHHH! Don't divulge my diabolical plan!
The most recent round of speculation of whether Pat Riley, who currently mans the Miami Heat front office, would dump Coach Spoelstra and return to coaching (as he did in 2005 after dumping then Head Coach Stan Van Gundy) began with a statement made by Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson during an interview. Recent events and the on-court actions of Lebron and other Miami Heat players seem to support the insights of Jackson.
However, Pat Riley made a public statement defending Coach Spoelstra saying that he was not looking to fire his coach. The most logical reason is not that he specifically supports Coach Spoelstra, but that Riley knows that the Miami Heat, with the present set of players, is not complete enough to contend for an NBA Championship with the likes of Boston and Los Angeles. Erik Spoelstra will help him buy time to get the players the team needs, either at the trade deadline or during next off season, and then, Riles may suddenly find that his support for Coach Spoelstra was unwarranted.
YOU MAKE THE CALL! INTENTIONAL OR NOT?
Whether it really was intentional or not, it is yet another shining moment for Lebron James.
Lebron is a LeBiatch.
