TheLebronJame.com Latest Blog Posts

Kevin Durant, LeBron James All-Star duel may provide sneak peek of NBA Finals

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:45:56 GMT

ORLANDO—It’s an All-Star game, just an exhibition, and there aren’t many who would take the East’s 152-149 loss all that hard. LeBron James, though, did take it hard. Probably too hard. He had been brilliant in leading the Eastern Conference back from a 20-point deficit, finishing with 36 points and tying a record for 3-pointers made with six. But he made a critical turnover with the East down one and five seconds to play, and for that, James had a hard time forgiving himself—the last thing he needs to hear is more chatter about how he can’t come up with clutch plays in key moments. Just after that blunder, Lakers star Kobe Bryant approached James and, basically, told him to be more Kobe-like. That’s useful advice in general.

“He was telling me to shoot it,” James said. “I seen my teammate (Dwyane Wade) open for a split second, I told him I seen him open the first time and I didn’t release the ball. When I tried to throw it late, that’s what usually happens, and it results in a turnover. Definitely wish I could have that one back.”

That errant pass was intercepted by Blake Griffin and cost the East a chance to win. That cost James the MVP trophy, which instead went to Kevin Durant, who also scored 36 points, on 14-for-25 shooting, with seven rebounds.

If James isn’t feeling so great about the loss, though, he should not worry. The way things are shaping up, he and Durant probably have bigger pigs to roast down the road. They will, no doubt, battle in the second half for the MVP award, and more important, they could be on a collision course to meet again when the stakes are higher—in the NBA Finals in June.

At the midway point of the season, James and Durant are neck-and-neck for the league’s MVP trophy. They are 1-2 in the league in player efficiency. James ranks third in points per game, at 27.4, while Durant is second at 27.9. James averages 8.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists and is shooting 54.7 percent from the field. For Durant, it’s 8.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists, on 51.3 percent shooting.

And their teams are tied for the NBA’s best record, at 27-7. That’s not to count out the Bulls in the East, or the Spurs and Mavericks in the West, but the clear favorites to wind up in the Finals are Oklahoma City and Miami. That means there could be a lot of Durant vs. James in the near future for NBA fans.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to coach him,” said West coach Scott Brooks, who is also Durant’s coach with the Thunder. “The guy, he does a lot of things well. The thing I love about him, he comes in every day and gets his work in, whether he has a big night or a night that didn’t go so well. He just comes in and does his work. He’s a tremendous kid, as you all well know. Off the court, he’s classy, he’s a special teammate.”

At that, James must roll his eyes—just what he needs, another good-guy Finals opponent, a la Dirk Nowitzki, to make casual fans portray him as the villain. Should these two meet, that will surely be a storyline: Durant’s humility and willingness to commit long-term to the small-market Thunder against James and his black-hat move to Miami.

Durant was asked after the game whether he feels like a star. Keep in mind, he is the two-time defending scoring champ, and contrast his answer with James’ “Decision” debacle: “I wouldn’t say that yet. Hopefully soon I can say that. But just being here has been fun for me. I’m glad I got to be here with my coaches and my teammate, Russell (Westbrook). Once I grow old, I can tell my kids I got an All-Star Game trophy.”

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. While the prospect of a James-Durant rivalry is enticing, both players have some remaining hurdles to clear.

“We’ve got a lot of season to go,” James said. “I’m on the right path, back to playing basketball how I play, and that’s back to having fun at a high level. The best thing about this season so far is we’re playing good basketball.”

Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Praise Derrick Rose

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:27:55 GMT

The Miami Heat’s Lebron James and Dwyane Wade had nothing but good things to say about the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose during All-Star weekend. James launched right into praise for the defending MVP when asked about rose.

“It’s amazing, honestly… Derrick has definitely evolved the point guard position. He’s doing it; him and Russell [Westbrook] are two guys with speed, athleticism, can score, can pass, can jump, can do everything at the point guard position. I think D-Rose from end to end, is probably one of the fastest, quickest guys that we have with the ball in our game. It’s always exciting to get out there with him.”Wade also had good things to say about Rose, but the best Wade offered the Chicago Bull was to say that Rose reminded him of a young Dwyane Wade.

Wade said: “I see a lot of the things I did when I was younger, probably on a little bit more athletic of a level with him. But I do see the things that he does and I’ll be like, ‘Man, I used to do that.’ or ‘Man, I’ve done that before.’ But he does it at another notch up than even when I did it. He’s so athletic and he’s so fast. … We’re going to compete against each other. We’re going to play against each other, but from Chicago, in a sense I’m proud to say that we’re from the same place. And the person that he is as well. That kid right there, he’s going to be a star in this league for many years to come. He’s an unbelievable talent.”While Rose’s two biggest competitors offered him praise, the Chicago Bull said that he hasn’t been playing his best basketball this year. Rose said:

“I haven’t [done] anything this year yet to be MVP. One guy that’s ballin’ right now is Kevin Durant. He’s ballin’ right now. Putting up numbers. Playing great, shooting high percentage. He’s ballin’.”The Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat are the two best teams in the East this year and will likely face each other again in the playoffs. The last time the two teams played in the post-season the Heat took the series in five games. Do you think the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls will be playing each other again in the post-season?

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant join for All-Star event

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:21:43 GMT

ORLANDO --- Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are teaming up. No, no -- not in basketball terms; the two All-Stars will continue to be on separate NBA teams. But they're working in tandem as part of a new, global initiative that Sprite announced Friday, hours before the Sprint Celebrity Game.

The two players -- along with Andrea Bargnani, Al Horford, Omri Casspi and Serge Ibaka -- will scout out 24 amateur players from 27 countries across the world to play on one of two teams in the Sprite Uncontainable Game at the NBA All-Star 2013 in Houston.

How will they pick their players?

Based on the NBA player's own personal playing styles, of course. "Well, we're more of the chess players, I guess you could say," Bryant said of his team, Intense. "We're more of the thinkers, kinda analytical approach to the game; Xs and Os, you know, that kind of stuff."

James says he prefers a more feisty player for his team, Sudden: "Aggression. And a team player. You be aggressive, but you also play as a team," he said of his dream player for the containable game. "That's number one."

Bryant says that he thought the idea was a fun concept and jumped to get on board, given the worldwide appeal of hoops. "Basketball is such a global sport and it's a great opportunity for kids all over the world to showcase what they got," Bryant said. "So what better platform to do it than the Uncontainable Game?"

Lebron James Video: Watch King James Embarrass Knicks with Monster Jam (Enjoy Video)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:50:14 GMT

If you don’t think LeBron James isn’t the best athlete in the world than you must not be watching. Say what you will about his reputation in crunch time, but there is no question who is the scariest player to see coming at you in the open floor.

Case in point: Thursday night against the New York Knicks. With Jeremy Lin keeping the Heat on the back-burner, Miami was licking its chops waiting for this game…and it showed.

With around 2:40 remaining in the second quarter, Lin was on a fast break and was stripped of the ball. Shane Battier immediately flipped the ball to LeBron as he was falling down. It was an incredible hustle play that set the table for James.

He caught the ball 75 feet away from the rim and took four hard dribbles to the hoop knowing what his plan was. JR Smith gave a half-hearted swipe at the ball, and LeBron brushed him aside. He picked up his dribble and only Tyson Chandler stood in his way. I think you can guess how this one ends.

James dunks over Chandler with some serious authority and swings on the rim a bit before letting go. It was the perfect example of the way this game has been played: sloppy, frenetic…yet wildly entertaining.

At the half the Heat are up 51-47 in a game that has the intensity of a NBA Finals affair. James is on triple-double watch with eight points, four assists and five steals while Dwyane Wade has 12 points and three rebounds. Somehow the Knicks are only down four despite Lin and Amare Stoudemire combining for 12 turnovers.

LeBron James and a question of taste

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:25:32 GMT

On Tuesday, the blog Cleveland Frowns posted an interview with a server at XO, a Cleveland steakhouse regarding LeBron James. It described his eating behaviors, including the infamous stories about his tipping habits, among other things. There's the usual stuff about James acting like one of the most pampered people on earth, because, well, he's a guy who has "Chosen One" on his back, makes $16 million a year and calls himself King. You kind of have to prepare yourself for some stuff.

But this? I was not prepared for this (emphasis mine):
(S)he also told us that LeBron liked to drink apple martinis, which comes as no surprise because apple martinis are delicious, and if you had a job where you could take a four-hour nap every day to sleep off the sugar hangover, you would drink them, too. Relatedly, LeBron would ask his servers to have his steak (well done) already cut up for him, which corroborates a report by a (former?) server at Johnny’s who once told Grzegorek that LeBron would order his spaghetti cut up as well, and also of course enhances the credibility of our source. via “LeBron liked me because I didn’t put up with his crap” — Exclusive Interview with Former XO Steakhouse Server Who Frequently Waited on the NBA Superstar.

Wait, what?

Look, I can forgive the appletinis (easy on the tini). I'm not expecting everyone to drink whiskey, scotch or gin (I suppose technically you could make a gin appletini, but I don't consider that real gin). It's a little ridiculous, but the man dunks on Kevin Garnett, I'm willing to let that slide.

LeBron, warranted or not, continues to wear bull's-eye

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:51:40 GMT

The Knicks visit Miami on Thursday and everyone will see this is no fluke, that he's having a rare and epic season and maybe, despite the doubts, the best is yet to come for him and his team. Oh, wait. You thought this was another Jeremy Lin story?

No. It's LeBron James and how his steady all-around and all-encompassing performance is being buried by all the pixie dust blowing from New York. It's weird. James is ripping through the season and throwing up mad numbers and the basketball public just shrugs and points toward the 2012 NBA Finals, specifically the fourth quarters (assuming Miami is playing). Such is the life LeBron created for himself, and his critics created for him, here in a season in which he's taken for granted, a season shaping up as another MVP run which will be dismissed if the Heat don't win it all.

LeBron is bringing 28 points (second in the league), 8.2 rebounds (tied with Kevin Durant among small forwards; no one else is close), seven assists, 1.71 steals (ninth) and plenty of scorched earth from rim to rim on the fast break. If he spends the second half of the season crashing boards and passing more than shooting, he could average a triple-double for the year, or come close. Then you'd have to give him an Oscar (Robertson) in addition to the MVP.

Plus the Heat are steamrolling, losing only three times since January 14, showing no sign of slippage even when Dwyane Wade sat and ached for a spell. LeBron simply took over as a solo star, as he did for seven years in Cleveland, keeping Miami on pace to overtake the Bulls for the conference lead.

Of course, this being LeBron, even the good times couldn't last without a burp. LeBron gushed about a Blake Griffin dunk a few weeks back, never mentioning the victim by name, and still the hypersensitive Kendrick Perkins, the victim, pounced and said that as a great player, LeBron shouldn't spend his time Tweeting (ignoring that his own teammate, Durant, tweets, too). As expected, LeBron took heat from the media and fans for poking fun at a fellow player, rather than for praising Griffin, and it's a reflex reaction he has grudgingly come to accept.

"That's the way it is," said LeBron, his feet plunged in an ice bucket while his head smoldered. "I'm an easy target. If someone wants to get a point across, just throw LeBron's name in there," he said, before adding, half-joking, how everything wrong about the world is "LeBron's fault."

More recently, LeBron was accused of floating a trial balloon about returning to Cleveland someday when he answered a hypothetical question. Suddenly, he was plotting an exit strategy, or at worse, being traitorous to Miami, at least according to a segment of the public. Once again, LeBron was passionately debated on talk radio and TV shows and social media, everyone choosing sides regarding the self-proclaimed "easy target."

He said the "Decision" backlash is starting to weaken, and there may be some truth to that, judging strictly by the fainter boos in visiting arenas (Cleveland excepted). But there will always be the "Fourth Quarter" until he goes great lengths to silence that angle, too. And that can't happen without a ring which, fair or not, makes his regular season somewhat moot, remarkable as it is.

The table is set differently for LeBron, who in every way is the exact opposite of Lin. LeBron was raised in a dysfunctional home, was on a magazine cover before his 16th birthday, never went to college (much less Harvard), was ticketed for the Hall before he took his first NBA dribble, won MVPs and dragged a weak Cleveland team to the Finals and saw his popularity soar and crash almost overnight. He's had his own mania, LeSanity if you will, not all of it glowing and gushing.

That's understandable. Humble and educated and never spoiled by a sports-mad media as a teenager, Lin says all the right things while a brash and unapologetic (at least initially) LeBron made a silly "Decision" and was treated like a convict.

It'll be interesting to witness these two completely separate comets headed in the same direction when the Knicks play the Heat. This will hardly be a statement game for LeBron and the Heat; just as well, they can get an up-close look at what all the fuss is about.

And so, too, can all of us, when we see the season LeBron is putting together. There will be no fuss being made over a player who's doing the expected, at least until he covers new ground. Because, as captivating as he is right now, the Jeremy Lin moment for LeBron James must wait another four months, when a still-skeptical public sees how valuable he truly is. Or is not.

LeBron James makes two kids cry, kind of, sort of

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:15:44 GMT

If this had happened in Cleveland the crowd likely would have called for security to slap the handcuffs on LeBron James. But in the end no one was upset with LBJ after his crash into the stands left two kids crying during the Heat's victory against Orlando yesterday.

Check out the video, at about the 1:40 mark. LeBron's momentum carries him into the front row, he lands on two little kids and the tears start flowing. But LeBron made sure to come back and check on them later, by which time the kids were licking lollipops and the dad was saying no harm, no foul. LeBron also sent the Miami crowd home happy after nearly getting a triple-double (25 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) in the Heat's sixth consecutive victory.

Heat's 1-2 punch of Wade, LeBron flattens Magic 90-78

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:19:31 GMT

MIAMI— Forget the race for NBA Most Valuable Player. Right now bragging rights as best of the Miami Heat is emerging as basketball competition of the highest order. So in Sunday's 90-78 victory over the Orlando Magic, after Dwyane Wade scored 19 points in the first half, LeBron James came back with 10 of his own in the third quarter.

The Magic? They merely were props amid the Heat's continued domination, now with 17 victories in their last 20 games, including a six-game winning streak, all by double figures, since these teams last met.

The Heat even managed to minimize Dwight Howard, who dominated them for 25 points and 24 rebounds in the teams' previous meeting. This time, Howard's 12 points and 15 rebounds were mere afterthoughts.

Afterthoughts to Wade's 27 points in 31 minutes, afterthoughts to James' 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, again stopped short of a triple-double only by his team's dominance.

"We're not going in trying to premeditate opportunities or attacks," coach Erik Spoelstra said of James consistently finishing what Wade's has been starting with his early scoring dominance. "Dwyane just happens to be very aggressive early on in games and has been able to get to the rim."

Then James takes over in the third quarter. Again, Spoelstra said, not by design. "We're really trying to do the exact opposite," Spoelstra said. "It's open it up, and get the ball moving."

Wade, though, has been setting a remarkable tone, shooting 13 of 23 Sunday and now at 50 percent or better from the field in his last 10 games. "He's playing as efficiently offensively as he's played," Spoelstra said of Wade's nine-year career. "He's playing in terrific rhythm, playing in a context of what we're trying to do."

So who's better? Who's the Heat's best player?

"I'm not a huge fan of co-MVPs, but in this case it's perfect," reserve forward Shane Battier said, running away from the question as fast as he was in closing out Sunday on Orlando's 3-point shooters. "But the way they're doing it, Dwyane first every game and then LeBron, no, that's not be design.

"They're good and playing well. But I don't know if they're good enough to call which quarters they're going to be doing it."It just seems that way.

"I've got to keep the scoring going," James said of his consistent emergence after halftime, after Wade sets the scoring tone. "It's just a comfort level for both of us."For the Magic, Sunday's comfort level was minimal, with the Heat playing with a sizable lead the entire second half.

To Wade, the game and the ongoing success has been a product of the Heat's defense, a defense that Sunday limited the Magic to 36.5-percent shooting. "I think right now we're playing the defense we wanted to come into the season playing," Wade said.

LeBron James scores 28, Heat end impressive trip with 118-87 rout of Cavs

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:50:07 GMT

CLEVELAND - His latest homecoming over and the hatred subsided, LeBron James had more to do.
He greeted a fans standing behind the bench and personally delivered his headband to a young admirer before heading to the locker room. He left the floor he once owned, skipping down a carpeted runway and slapping outstretched hands with every step.

It was time to leave for his new home. It was time to go back to Miami and run down an NBA title. James scored 28 points in his third game back in Cleveland as a visitor, Dwyane Wade added 22 and the Heat concluded a six-game road trip with their fifth straight win, 111-87 over the Cavaliers, who seemed intimidated by Miami's mere presence. Booed loudly every time he touched the ball by fans who haven't forgiven him for leaving two years ago, James scored 16 in the third quarter when the Heat opened a 34-point lead. He added four dunks, three three-pointers, five rebounds, five assists and rested the entire fourth quarter.

Miami has won eight of nine, and went 5-1 on its trip, winning by an average of 18.8 points. "The way we won these last five games was very impressive," James said. "We went on the road and won by double digits in each of those games and in some hostile environments. It was definitely a big road trip for us, six games in 10 days. We took care of business."The Heat showed no mercy on the Cavs, who got 17 points from rookie Kyrie Irving and 15 from Ramon Sessions.

Cleveland coach Byron Scott was disturbed by a loss in which his team fell behind by 23 in the first quarter and never recovered. "We looked like we were frightened," Scott said. "I said at halftime, 'It boggles my mind that you are scared of another man.'"That would be James, who toyed with the Cavs and silenced a sell-out crowd that came to vent again at a player who thrilled them for seven seasons.
Other than pregame introductions, James was the one who made more noise.

"He's been playing at an MVP level all season," Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said. "He's arguably playing the best ball of his career. He's playing as well as anyone in the league."The Heat ended their trip with a devastating performance at both ends over the Cavs, who had played them tough in two previous losses this season. Miami led 11-0, 21-2, 29-8 and 35-14 in the first quarter.

The Cavaliers never had a chance. On the trip, the Heat also won three games in three nights, becoming the first team since the 1979-80 Phoenix Suns to accomplish that three-peat. And with Tuesday's 15-point win at Indiana, the Heat also became the first team since Milwaukee in 1970 to win three consecutive road games by 10 points or more.

The Bucks won the NBA title that year. The Heat could be on their way to one of their own. James had spent the past two days staying at his mansion in nearby Bath, Ohio, a perk he enjoyed and a stay that made him a little nostalgic. On Thursday, James expressed the possibility of returning to the Cavs before his career is over. That's years down the road. His immediate plans are to win championships with the Heat.

With Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert sitting courtside, James and the Heat wasted no time in opening their huge lead. Miami scored the game's first 11 points and pushed its lead to 25-5 when James grabbed a lob and delivered a vicious one-handed slam, an early punctuation mark. James and Mario Chalmers hit consecutive three-pointers later in the quarter as the Heat opened a 21-point lead after one.

This wasn't what Scott had in mind. One of his assistants had written on the dry-erase board in Cleveland's locker room the message: "Hit First."The Heat landed the initial shot and kept 'em coming. They pushed their lead to 27 on a three-pointer by Wade and Miami went 8 of 12 from long range in opening a 63-38 lead. In the third, James went on a personal 7-0 run he started with a pair of free throws. He followed that with a thunderous dunk and capped it with a three-pointer. After the ball swished through the net, James headed down court nodding to fans as if to say, "Remember me?"

"We took the crowd right out of it," James said. "That was big. It was a good way to start the game."This was James' third visit to Cleveland with the Heat, and as usual, it turned in to more than just a game.
James touched some nerves in Northeast Ohio and South Florida on Thursday when he said he could envision a return to the Cavs at some point. "I think it would be great," he said. "It would be fun to play in front of these fans again. ... And if I decide to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me."

Those remarks didn't sit well with some Miami fans, but James didn't back off his comments Friday. However, he did clarify that he is committed to the Heat. "I love the fans of Miami. I'm here," said James, who can opt out of his contract after the 2014 season. "The question was asked of me, could I see myself playing back here. I said yeah, in the sense of I don't know what my future holds and I don't want to take that out.

"I've got everything thing invested with this team. I'm looking forward to the years to come."But according to a report from Yahoo! Sports, James has been using messengers to relay to Gilbert that he wants to return to Cleveland in three years. James was asked to comment on the report. "Not true, not true at all," he said. That's all conjecture. This is fact: He and Heat look unstoppable.

Miami Heat bench finds groove in blowouts

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:58:21 GMT

CLEVELAND -- With his feet still soaking in ice water not long after the Heat completed Tuesday night’s back-to-back-to-back feat in Indiana, LeBron James was asked what his mind-set was going into Friday’s “return home” to Cleveland.

“Once I get to shootaround [Thursday], I’ll answer questions about that,” said James, who was bombarded by insults and plenty of hate the two times he played in front of the Cavaliers fans last season.

“Right now, I need a day off. [Wednesday] is going to be the best day of my life. I need it. As soon as we land, I’ll be heading home [to Akron].” James, playing arguably the best basketball of his career, poured in a combined 81 points, 30 rebounds and 16 assists for the Heat as it dispatched the Pacers, Bucks and Hawks. Quality work for sure. But hard work?

Perhaps the best news for the Heat coming out of its three games in three nights road stint is that its three All-Stars all got considerable rest at the end of each blowout. Dwyane Wade (19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists) played a season-low 24 minutes twice during the stretch. Chris Bosh (11.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists) averaged 29.3 minutes, more than six minutes less per game than his season average. James averaged 32 minutes — roughly five minutes shy of his season average.

The bench has put together a four-game stretch in which it provided at least 30 points or more. That’s the longest productive stretch the Heat bench has produced since 2010. Since the beginning of last season, the Heat is 24-5 when receiving at least 30 bench points.

“The year [Gary Payton], Shannon Anderson, James Posey, those guys were coming off the bench [in the Heat’s championship season of 2006] — that was a great bench as well. But this is one of those kind of benches right here,” Wade said. “With Norris [Cole], Shane [Battier], Mike [Miller] and [Udonis Haslem], and we have more, [James Jones], [Dexter Pittman] we have a very deep bench.

“It’s something that enables us as starters, allows us to go out and play a certain way because we know we have those guys who are going to come in and relieve us.”Miller, who returned from a sports hernia Jan. 17, is the second-leading three-point shooter in the league. Haslem is the leading rebounder off the bench in the NBA.

Battier, signed in the offseason to provide solid perimeter defense, has started to find his shooting touch. He connected on 18 of 27 shots (.667) since the six-game road trip began at Orlando a week ago. He was 28 of 97 (.289) prior to that for the season.

Cole, meanwhile, has scored in double digits in three consecutive games. “[He’s] a nice luxury we have, and we don’t take it for granted,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Cole.

“[Our bench play] is a residual [effect] of a couple things. Those guys have proven themselves as competent NBA players and contributors on winning teams. ... The second part of it is the purity of the way the ball is moving. Those guys are recipients. They need the ball to move. They need execution to be able to line up open shots and shoot them with confidence. The ball movement has been much better, and it has benefited them and naturally it’s benefitted us as well."

• Point guard Mario Chalmers said he aggravated the injury to his left hand Tuesday night when Darren Collison reached in and tried to slap the ball away from him. But Chalmers said the pain wore off and he feels pretty good about playing Friday in Cleveland.