Posted on 06/21/2012 9:16:33 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
MIAMIWhen speaking about his oft-criticized and overanalyzed star, LeBron James, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has a line: you cannot win unless you win.
ames won in every conceivable way on Thursday as his Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 in Game 5 of the finals to win James's first NBA title, erasing nine years of doubts and disappointment.
The man dubbed "The King" while in high school finally had his coronation, and while the game will go down in history as James' vindication party, it will not be remembered as particularly dramatic. The Heat opened it up in the third quarter with five 3-pointers and led by 24 to start the fourth quarter.
James played a great 44 minutes for his final act of the season, putting together a triple-double with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to set a steady pace for a championship drubbing.
Miami became the most disliked team in the NBA in 2010 when James ditched the Cleveland Cavaliers to team up with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to form a megateam in South Florida.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Some of us in Ohio can’t get that spineless quitting thing out of our minds when Lebron shut his game down when he was with the Cavs against Boston in the playoffs....see if he won the title that year he couldn’t leave to be with his 2 coconspirators.. I didn’t watch tonight.... I think the college March madness games completely blow away any playoff NBA crap.
Miami, as a city, does not "riot" like other urban cities over sports victories. Most people there are "too cool" to riot like that. Plenty of championships have been won down there.
Like most of America, I’m not a fan of the Heat, but what are you going to do? LeBron is the best player in the game and he finally has a couple of very good players around him. As for the Thunder, they’re young and very talented. They aren’t going away.
Technically that was not a fight and nowhere near a brawl. Actually barely a skirmish.
This would be a little more like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-25s4uwFQ
RE: Would have liked to see OKC win it.
They’re a very young team. Maybe next year.
After all, Lebrone had to pay his NBA dues for 8 long years before winning this one.
Thugball, as fixed and fake as wrestling for sure.
College Basketball is at its all time low point in terms of the level of play.
Who do you think is in on it? Players are throwing games? How much money would it take to get multi millionaires to throw a game?
lol - I can’t remember the last time an NBA player was called for dribbling. I guess that got in the way of the magical dunk.
The one moment in the game that told me all I needed to know about NBA “officiating” was the Flagrant 2 they were going to call on Derek Fisher.
At MOST it was a foul....
I trust the NBA almost as much as I trust obama...
That wasn’t the league doing it but a throwaway case of someone with their own interests. You implied there was some sort of ‘narrative’ being set forward which is totally implausible.
The ref said he did not work alone. It was institutionalized.
He also talked about certain players getting the calls... it was understood.
http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read
Thank goodness LeBron got his championship!
It would kind of suck if he reels off five or six titles in a row.
Already hearing scuttlebutt about Ray Allen, Steve Nash, and other veterans without rings migrating to South Beach.
The NBA has always given stars the benefit of the doubt when it comes to calls. You can call a foul on every play. The point is that there is no fix as to who will win.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.