Where’s the love for Dwayne Wade? One vote? Really? Wade, with the right supporting cast, is just as effective as Lebron is. I am absolutely baffled at everyone groveling at the feet of this media and self-pronounced King when he hasn’t won anything. Wade showed that he could get it done in crunch time, hence the championship jewelry to show for it. I mean, sure, Lebron is talented. No one can take that away from him. He just doesn’t have that killer instinct that other players like Kobe and Wade have. He just doesn’t.

When Wade gets hot, you could see it. Take for example his game against the Celtics in the playoffs last spring where he was torching the net. He looked at his hand and proclaimed that it was hot! When Kobe gets hot, you can just see the reckless abandoned look in his eyes. He knows that he is going to score and no one can stop him.

People will think I am spouting blasphemy here, but Dwyane Wade is every bit as good as Lebron James. Both of these guys are born bread scorers and distributors. I think they will play well off of each other this coming year. Chris Bosh will probably be averaging 25+ points a game because of the open and easy buckets he will get from the defense scrambling trying to contain James and Wade. All I’m saying is stop proclaiming James to be the godsend of modern basketball and take a closer look at the teammate he has who has already been to the mountaintop of basketball glory.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

Cleveland fans, I understand the agony you are going through right now. For a city longing for a title, LeBron James was your last hope for quite some time. And now, after deciding about a week ago to go to the Miami Heat, that title seems far away. Not only that, but the city feels betrayed by James, who grew up in Ohio. But sorry Cleveland: LeBron James owes you nothing.

Before James came into the league, the Cavaliers could not even win 20 games. A few years later, they found themselves in the NBA Finals. And just this past season, Cleveland had the best regular-season record in the NBA. Basketball became relevant in Cleveland for once, and James provided Cavaliers fans with many great memories. But now, Cleveland fans will remember James as an all-time great who turned his back on the state where he grew up in.

In his heart, LeBron James wanted to stay in Cleveland. During the season, he wanted Amare Stoudemire to come. After the season, he tried to recruit Chris Bosh to come to Cleveland with him. Clearly James wanted to stay in Cleveland, and more importantly, win in Cleveland. Owner Dan Gilbert had seven years to properly put a good supporting cast around LeBron. It is telling that Cleveland had the best regular-season record this past season, but did not have a single all-star outside of James.

All LeBron wanted to do was win, and this was his best opportunity. If he stayed in Cleveland, there is no guarantee he would have won a title under his current contract. Someone so good would have probably won eventually, but at what price? Nobody knows if Cleveland would have ever given him a proper sidekick. As Dwayne Wade said on ESPN, nobody wins a title alone. Michael Jordan hit Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had each other, etc. If LeBron James wanted to leave Cleveland to go completely corporate and go for the fame, he would have chosen New York.

Due to no tax in Miami on his contract, James is not really leaving any money on the table. But you cannot blame a player for wanting to win. Yes, he should have gone about making his announcement differently. But for someone that gave so much to a city for seven years, and not be appreciated is ridiculous. He filled up that arena every night, and that should not be forgotten. Fans always rag on players for not wanting to win. But now when someone tries to win, there is a backlash. James will get the rightful titles that he deserves, whether everyone likes it or not. And Cleveland, suck it up, because James gave everything to your city for seven years that a human being possibly could have. He owes you nothing.

The Heat enters Wednesday’s season finale against the visiting Nets in control of where it is headed in the standings.

Less certain is where it is headed in the playoffs.

With a victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat would finish as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, the same position it finished last season. The difference is the Heat enters the game at 46-35, after finishing last season 43-39.

The Heat also would secure the No. 5 seed should Milwaukee lose its season finale in Boston.

Less certain is the Heat’s playoff opponent, with Boston and Atlanta each looming as a potential first-round foe, with that best-of-7 series to open on the road either Saturday or Sunday.

Click here to read the full article – By Ira Winderman of Boston Herald

Rafer Alston’s absence from the Miami Heat took another turn Wednesday, with the team denying that the embattled point guard was told shortly before his sudden departure he would no longer get playing time.

On Wednesday, Spoelstra — who, like the rest of the Heat organization, said he still has not heard from Alston since a text-message exchange last week — denied Alston was told that his minutes were gone, saying only that the 11th-year guard was informed before Miami’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday that Carlos Arroyo was taking over the starting job.

“Actually, he probably still would have been in the rotation,” Spoelstra said. “Probably not with the minutes he would have liked, and I also told him that the way the year’s been going, that it’s still up for grabs. I’ve had those conversations with everybody in the locker room. It’s about production right now.”

The Heat hosted the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Alston remains listed on the roster, but his image did not appear in the team’s pregame introductory video.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Of the 119 players on the NBA’s 3-point accuracy chart this season, the Indiana Pacers might be surprised to learn who ranked next-to-last.


Dwyane Wade might not stay there much longer.

Only a 27 percent shooter from long range, Wade made his first four attempts from beyond the arc — including one that counted after goaltending, of all things — and scored a game-high 32 points as the Heat easily beat the Pacers 113-83 on Tuesday night.

“I’ve been feeling good about my shot lately,” said Wade, who topped the 11,000-point mark for his career on a second-quarter layup. “I think my first shot was a 3, which I normally try not to do. But I was in rhythm, shot it, hit it and after that the confidence was up.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com