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Will a Championship End the LeBron Hate?
LeBron James and the Miami Heat lead the NBA Finals 2-1 over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Through those three games James is averaging 30 points per game, 10 rebounds, four assists and almost two steals per game on 46% shooting. James has been great defensively and shut down Durant in the fourth quarter of game three. The demons that haunted James in last year’s finals against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks seem to have been exercised. James persistence to get to the basket has also put Durant in foul trouble the past two games and Dwyane Wade seems to have found his stride again. However, despite James’ performance in clutch situations throughout the 2012 NBA playoffs, the haters continue to hate. This begs the question; will the LeBron haters continue their attack on the King if he finally wins a championship this season?
The LeBron haters have even found flaws in his performance throughout the first three games of these finals series. The loudest argument came after game two when he came in contact with Durant on his last second shot attempt. The LeBron haters blamed the referees for the Thunder loss instead of the Thunder’s seven missed free throws and bad interior defense. In the mind of a LeBron hater, when the Thunder won game one it was because of the stellar play. However, when the Heat won games two and three it because of the preferential treatment they received from the officials.
But the LeBron hate goes way beyond this finals series. For some reason adults have a hard time understanding why someone would leave Cleveland for Miami. The geographical factors are reason alone. James played his heart out for the Cleveland Cavaliers every night for seven seasons and even took them to the NBA finals while leading a team full of Tito Jacksons. The large mistake James made during his move to South Beach was having an hour-long ESPN special to make the announcement. Even though the event’s proceeds went to charity, it was an arrogant, self centered and self-serving move that disappointed NBA fans around the world. However, I have always wondered if New Yorkers would feel different about the special if James would have chosen to be a Knick, or if Cleveland fans would have felt different if he had announced he was staying with the Cavs.
It seems as if LeBron Haters might be as selfish as they accuse James of being. Unlike a lot of our favorite athletes and celebrities, James has kept his name of the tabloids and off of TMZ. James has been charitable, a seemingly model family man and has never thrown his teammates under the bus (I’m looking at you Kobe & Shaq). I could even understand LeBron hate if he was a ball hog or engaged in unsportsmanlike conduct, but neither has ever occurred. The most laughable product of LeBron hate is the way haters have painted the James vs. Durant battle as a battle between good and evil. Instead of what is really is, the two best players in the world fighting for the biggest prize in basketball.
Real NBA fans acknowledge the fact that this is a series featuring a great veteran NBA warrior who has suffered numerous playoff failures against an up and coming team with a great core on the biggest stage for the first time. My money is on the vet, but I am sure the LeBron Haters will have an excuse when he lifts the Larry O’Brien trophy (66 game season, refs, etc.).
Bosh Will Play In Game 3
Bosh returns home to be with expectant wife
Heat forward Chris Bosh may miss Game 3 of Miami’s Eastern Conference first-round series in New York on Thursday after being summoned home because his wife was preparing to give birth.
The Heat were told late Wednesday that Bosh had to return home. Bosh left from New York on a private plane, and his wife, Adrienne, posted a photo on a social media account saying “hurry home.”
The Heat have not ruled Bosh out for Game 3. The team will hold a morning shootaround practice at Madison Square Garden.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Short-handed Knicks brace for Heat in New York
Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert are sidelined. Jeremy Lin isn’t back yet.
The New York Knicks are short-handed, and Carmelo Anthony says he doesn’t know where the offense is going to come from in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Miami Heat.
“Nobody never said it was going to be easy,” Anthony says.
And if the Knicks are hoping to get an advantage from playing at home, well, they can probably forget that. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade thrive at Madison Square Garden and will be extra fired up to try and move the Heat within one victory of the second round.
Stoudemire is out for Game 3 after cutting his left hand while punching the case around a fire extinguisher following Miami’s Game 2 victory Monday. He hopes to return in Game 4.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Knicks will evaluate Lin further later this week
Jeremy Lin took part in another practice with the New York Knicks on Monday, and the team says it hopes to know more later this week about when the guard might be able to return to the lineup.
Lin participated in the team’s gameday shootaround before its playoff matchup with the Heat, the fourth straight day that Lin did some on-court work in Miami.
The guard who was the biggest story in the NBA after putting up big numbers in February had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee four weeks ago.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson says the team will “have a better feel” about Lin’s recovery when it returns to New York for practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game 3 of the Knicks-Heat series is Thursday night.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Stoudemire hurt postgame, Heat beat NY, 104-94
Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire is apologizing “to the fans and my team” for an incident after New York’s 104-94 loss to Miami in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night that left him with a cut on his left hand.
At least one of Stoudemire’s teammates says the cut is bad enough to keep him out of at least Game 3 of the series in New York on Thursday night.
Stoudemire posted a message on Twitter saying he is “so mad at myself” and that he is “not proud of my actions.”
The Knicks did not say exactly what happened, though a fire-extinguisher case near the locker room was damaged and drops of blood stained the carpet.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Dwyane Wade writing book on fatherhood
Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat is becoming an author.
William Morrow announced plans Wednesday to publish “A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger than Basketball,” to be released in September. The book talks in part about Wade’s struggles growing up in Chicago and how he’s incorporating some of the lessons he learned into raising his own family.
Wade tells The Associated Press that it was “therapeutic” to open up about certain elements of his life.
Wade was awarded sole custody of his two sons in March 2011 after a long court battle with his ex-wife, who remains in the boys’ lives. The 2006 NBA finals MVP and eight-time All-Star says he hopes the book shows his fans a side of him they haven’t already seen.
Morrow is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Dunk of the Night: Morris is everywhere!
Volvo signs Lin to promote its cars worldwide
New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin has signed a two-year contract with automaker Volvo to promote the company’s cars around the world — especially in Asia.
The Chinese-owned company said in statement Tuesday that Lin, a guard who shot to stardom this season, will participate in Volvo’s worldwide corporate and marketing activities as a brand ambassador.
China is a major market for the NBA. Earlier this month, the Miami Heat’s Lebron James agreed to promote Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream in Asia.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Nightly Notable: King James Dominates
Miami Heat forward LeBron James had every facet of his game on display last night against the Portland Trailblazers. James dominated on offense with 38 points 6 assists and 0 turnovers. James also shined on defense with 10 rebounds, 3 steals and one spectacular chase down block on Trailblazers guard Raymond Felton.
James seems to be the front-runner for MVP this season and has his team in first place on the Eastern Conference. However, James is not showing us anything new. The real test for James and the Heat will come during the playoffs and if James implodes in crunch time as he is known to do, these highlights will be forgotten real fast.
