Archive for May, 2011

It’s crazy how much of an influence a player’s mentality has over their performance in the game of basketball. Mentality truly holds the key to succeeding in the NBA, especially given how much emphasis is put on a player’s ability to perform late in games. Think of the greatest player to play the game, Michael Jordan. Jordan forever changed the landscape of how we measure players through his unbelievable desire and will to win. It now determines everything upon which we judge players today. Jordan cared about nothing else than winning. He did not always get on with teammates, coaches [...]

The Cleveland Cavaliers defied the odds to secure the first pick in the 2011 NBA draft, even more surprisingly given they did it with the Los Angeles Clippers pick which had just a 2.9% chance of winning. LeBron James was receptive of this achievement. “I’m happy for the franchise and happy for the fans,” James said. LeBron spoke of Kyrie Irving who he knows well as Irving was a regular at LeBron’s Nike Camps. James even tried to sign the former blue devil to his marketing firm LRMR but Irving chose to go with a little known up and comer [...]

LeBron James ranked second in professional athletes in Forbes’ latest Celebrity Power List. Lady Gaga surprisingly knocked Oprah off her perch to claim the no.1 spot, earning over 90 million dollars in the last 12 months combined with 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million Twitter followers. Justin Bieber ranked third. James was pipped by only one other athlete, Tiger Woods. The golfer still holds a huge level of influence amongst not just golf, but all of professional sports, despite the fact his last tournament win was at the Australian Masters 18 months ago. Kobe Bryant came in 14th. James has [...]

If you follow this blog you will have seen the last post I did, regarding what Miami need to do to beat the Bulls. I know Eric Spoelstra is a big fan of the site, but he must have had the whole team reading my blog a few days ago because they did exactly what I asked of them. They rebounded the ball and they matched Chicago’s energy. They did a much better job on Noah and made Boozer basically obsolete. I thank Spoelstra and the Miami Heat for their continued support of the King James Gospel. But seriously, Miami [...]

Rebound. Rebounds are the very beginning of a possession, and the very end of a successful defensive set. They can also be a second chance opportunity. Rebounding may be the most underrated statistic in the game, but it is certainly not the most undervalued. Players have made careers upon their ability to box out and rebound. All the great teams have had one of these guys. Miami do not have one so that means collectively they must work together to ensure Chicago do not win the game based solely on their superior rebounding ability. In game one Chicago had 19 [...]

It was touted as the most exciting series of the entire playoffs, but game one couldn’t be more one sided. Miami came in fresh off a 4-1 win over the reigning Eastern Conference Champions, whereas the Bulls came in off a tough 6 game series against a much less experienced team in Atlanta. Yet it was the NBA’s no.1 seed that stuck it to Miami and put the Big 3 back in their place. I highlighted Noah and Boozer as Chicago’s most important players yesterday and they stepped up big time, combining to destroy Miami with offensive rebounds and second [...]

Despite the stellar defenses of both teams, the Celtics-Heat series provided us with some of the most sparkling offense we have seen all season. LeBron isn’t expecting that to be the case when he takes his talents to Chicago for the eagerly anticipated series with the Bulls. “I can definitely see points in the game when it’s not going to be fun for fans to watch if you love exciting basketball because it’s going to be offensive struggles sometimes,” James said. Both teams present a level of athleticism perhaps above any other teams in the league and that means it [...]

Over the years we have come to question some of the decisions and statements LeBron James has made. Over the past year LeBron James has gone from the face of the league to the most hated man in sport. Regardless of how people feel about LeBron James, they cannot stop watching him. The hysteria that arises every time he touches the ball in anticipation of seeing something you have never seen before far outweighs anything else. There are countless superlatives relevant to LeBron James, but following game 5 in Miami I have a new one to throw at you. Maturity. [...]

Immediately following Boston’s abrupt elimination from the playoffs at the hands of the Heat in Miami, the cameras showed Garnett, Pierce, O’Neal and Rondo all walking down the tunnel to the change rooms. In amongst the mayhem and excitement that ensued, noted by Wade somehow ending up in the stands and LeBron in tears on the ground I don’t know if anyone actually noticed that the majority of the Celtics team did not shake the Heat player’s hands. I may be wrong, but I watched the game twice to check if my first reactions were right and I am very [...]

If you saw Game 3 and knew nothing of LeBron James or the Miami Heat your impression would be very low of both. Even if you only knew of LeBron James and the Miami Heat from this past season you probably wouldn’t have a very high opinion. Both LeBron James and the Miami Heat have shown us little to no reason as to why we would believe they would best Boston come playoff time. You would have complete confidence Boston would control the series if they games were all close, because of LeBron Miami’s much publicised failures late in games. [...]