1. LeBron James's attitude problem (HK). In case you have not heard, here is the shot LBJ took at all of us haters:
"All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life they had before...They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want with me and my family and be happy with that...They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy that not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal...But they’ll have to get back to the real world at some point.”
I saw LBJ up close with fellow blogger David Schaffner when the Heat visited the Timberwolves. I expected him to strut. I expected him to bob his head up and down, skip a little bit (only NBA players can skip and look cool), and I expected him to be cocky and insufferable. In short, I expected this LeBron (any excuse to include this video):
Instead, LeBron kept his head down and jogged to the floor like he was the third guy off the bench. He disappeared to the locker room when his name was announced in introductions. He jogged by us two more times. Both times the same routine: eyes down, no swagger, kept to himself.
Sidenote: there was plenty of swagger once the game started. He and Dwayne Wade ran the Timberwolves out of the building. Their plays in transition were some of the most incredible athletic feats I've ever seen in person. And remember - I really, really do not like the Heat.
For me, seeing LBJ before that game confirmed that he did not want to be a villain. It confirmed that he liked his status on the Cavaliers, where his identity was part team leader, part class clown, and part good guy for whom it was easy to root. I thought he experienced some type of identity crisis when he made himself the bad guy in Miami, because he was not quite ready to embrace his role as a villain and not quite ready to let go of being the good guy.
Apparently playing poorly pushed LeBron over the hump. Is his defense mechanism a transformation into a full villain that belittles fans? It will be interesting to see how he handles himself next season, because perhaps fans can mark this as the moment when he dug in as the bad guy.
1.B. LeBron James's preposition problem (HK). When I cease celebrating the demise of the Heat and return to my crappy life, I am an English major. So I cannot help but notice LBJ's confusing reliance on the word "on." All the people that was rooting on me to fail. Not to be confused with rooting me on to fail. I can't decide if rooting on him sounds like something that's more assertive or slightly dirty (or both?). Then LBJ said I can get a few months "on" being happy the Heat failed. Huh?
Petty? Yes. Do I feel better now? Much, thank you for asking.
2. Why people should back off Chris Bosh...for now (HK). He played steady throughout the playoffs, minus the one game against the Boston Celtics where he said that he was nervous. He was also the only player on the Heat to consistently give gracious and classy responses in his press conferences. There are still numerous reasons to pile on Bosh, especially some of his baffling comments during the regular season and his insistent woofing and shouting on the court, but when it mattered most he showed up just fine. He deserves credit for that.
P.S. - the one reason it's a shame that Chris Bosh left the Raptors? Because he looks like a raptor. He was headed for a prominent place in the "looks like the mascot" club. In case you're wondering, the president of that club is Coach K.
3. Why Dwyane Wade followed LBJ to the less likable club (MRM). Not sure what the password is to get into this elite club, but I bet it involves a fake cough and insulting the livelihood of fans of the NBA. It seems strange to me that two of the more likable superstars in the league get together and this idea of the "villain" becomes so much more apparent. While I understand some of the dislike for LeBron with "The Decision", especially with people in Cleveland, I think his self-appointed villain title really brought his teammate and one of his closest friends D Wade down with him. D Wade used to be a fun guy and LeBron used to be a fun guy. D Wade had great commercials and the "Band-Wade" and "Miami-Wade County". LeBron has the chalk toss which has been entirely overblown, but also had all those choreographed dances and crazy pregame shots with a Cleveland team that appeared to one of the closest knit groups in the association. They get together and what happens? They become demonstrative on the court. They become one of the whiniest teams in the league(An NBA legend confirmed this), and D Wade(or now D Whistle) started running up games and dunking balls at the end of blowouts. Just because you should be the best team in the league doesn't mean you have to change the way you act. Both of you were plenty cool before this deal went down, and even though people don't want you to win they still enjoy watching you, so go back to your roots and start having real fun again.
Links to interesting day-after pieces about the Heat
A must read by Jay Caspian Kang http://www.grantland.com/
A really balanced take from HEAT INDEX! writer Brian Windhorst http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoopmiamiheat/post/_/id/8869/another-season-without-acquittal-for-lebron
A completely unbalanced, but nevertheless interesting column from Jason Whitlock http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/
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