Category Archives: LeBron
If you were starting an NBA franchise, who would you choose with your first pick?
LeBron? Kobe? Durant? Rose? Say the NBA was initiating a fantasy draft for all teams, and your franchise had the first pick, who would you take to lead your team to glory? Here at Behind The Box Score, we have been pondering this question for some weeks now and decided to pose it to all of our readers. We will give you a list of possible candidates, and leave it up to you to decide in the comment section. So let’s get it started.
Sports Tidbits for the Week (February 20-26)
After nearly two weeks of Linsanity, Jeremy Lin and the Knicks will get their true test in the Eastern Conference, as New York travels to Miami to play LeBron and the Heat on Thursday. Following a 100-92 loss at the hands of Deron Williams and the Rocafella Nets, oops, I mean, New Jersey Nets, Lin and the Knicks hope to upset the surging Heat. Miami, at 25-7, have won 14 of their last 16 games, with the previous six coming by 10 or more points. The ironic aspect of the Heat’s success this season is the incredible amount of undercoverage the team is receiving. As James continues to have arguably his best season thus far in his career, the successes of LeBron and Miami have been minimized due to Lin’s comet like crash on the scene, taking the entire world by storm. It will be interesting to see the outcome Thursday in Miami when these two meteors collide.
In other news…
- Retired slugger Manny Ramirez has come to an agreement with the Oakland Athletics. The contract is set for one year, at $500,000, a tremendous pay cut considering Ramirez was making $20 million in each of his two years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez, who turned his back on the Tampa Bay Rays following a second positive test for banned substances, was slated to serve a 100 game suspension for the 2011 season. With his retirement, league officials have reduced his suspension to 50 games for this season, saying the retirement was virtually “a 140 game suspension.” ESPN’s Pedro Gomez, who has been around Manny all offseason, says the Manny the A’s signed, is “a changed man.”
- The New York Yankees have handed all of their troubles on the mound over to the Pittsburgh Pirates. New York dealt overpaid pitcher AJ Burnett to Pittsburgh in exchange for two prospects and a signed Terry Bradshaw helmet, according to multiple sources. Burnett, who was 11-11 last season with a 5.15 ERA, has $31 million remaining on his contract, in which New York will pay $20 mill.
- In the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings look to extend their record home winning streak to 24 games on Thursday against the defending Western Conference champion, Vancouver Canucks. Detroit is fresh off a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks, who have lost six straight. All is well in Detroit sports at the moment.
- Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games following his ejection Sunday night in a 96-81 loss to Detroit. Rondo, who received his second technical foul late in the third quarter after throwing the ball at an official, was upset over a foul not being called. The timing of Rondo’s suspension is detrimental to the Celtics, as the talented point guard will miss games at Dallas and a rematch vs Oklahoma City.
Jilted Lovers Meet Again: LeBron scores 28 in third return to Cleveland
CLEVELAND, OHIO-In LeBron James’ third return to Cleveland Friday night, the place where the King once dominated court, hatred and animosity stilled loomed over the 20,500 seat Quicken Loans Arena. But this time, the hatred didn’t feel as real. In a drama filled week from a media standpoint, LeBron, who was quoted on Thursday saying he wouldn’t “rule out returning to Cleveland” felt no love from his hometown crowd.
While the boos and occasional rants from hecklers still remained, the outcome was eerily similar to that of LeBron’s first return to Northeast Ohio on December 2nd , 2010. After Miami jumped out to a 11-0 lead early on, all energy that was pent up prior to the start of the heavily anticipated game, was instantly gone. And from that point on, Miami never looked back. Scorching the Cavs for points inside and out, the Heat were literally on fire, shooting over 70% from the field midway through the second quarter. Unable to get anything going offensively, the only impressive part of the game Friday from a Cleveland fan’s perspective, was the half time show, in which two acrobats tumbled each other in the air using only their feet. Leading by 25 after the first half, Miami would roll to a convincing 111-87 victory.
The Cavaliers, shooting 39.5% from the field, were led in scoring by rookie Kyrie Irving, who totaled 17 points, including a few eye opening drives to the hoop. Outside of Irving, Antwan Jamison, Ramon Sessions and Tristan Thompson each scored double digits. For Miami, LeBron James finished with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Dwyane Wade racked up 22 points, and Chris Bosh recorded a double double, collecting 16 points and 12 rebounds. With the loss, Cleveland drops to 11-17, while Miami continues a strong push to a number one seed in the East, improving to 24-7 during this lockout shortened campaign.
Following the win Friday, James was quoted as saying, “It’s always special coming back here. I know these fans, they know me. They know how competitive I am. I just try and lead my team to victory every night. It’s definitely special every time I come back here.” For someone who is as hated as he is in Cleveland, those are humble words from James. While Cavs fans continue to belittle James for his decision from over a year ago, it’s clear LeBron has moved on, and so should Ohio. In December 2010, there was no chance of seeing a James jersey in the crowd, but tonight, there were dozens of LeBron supporters prevalent throughout the Q. As the boos dominated the environment, the fan base almost seemed confused when James finished multiple buckets with thunderous dunks. When lovers conclude a relationship with a brutal breakup, in order to find love again, each person needs to move on and forget the past. For Cleveland to ever have a clean conscience, it’s clear they need to just let LeBron be. I understand he left Cleveland on national television and ran a franchise into the ground, but everyone needs to be broken in order to grow stronger. And with the comments from earlier this week, there is a possibility the confused fans might find love again, this time in the essence of a rekindled flame. Until then, Cleveland should focus on this team, and the progression the city has to look forward to. Even after a bitter loss Friday night, the future is still bright in Northeast Ohio, regardless of whether or not the King finds his way back home.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/QTSmG8jE7JA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
As Carmelo trade rumors swirl, arrogance and ego remains
After LeBron James held the summer of 2010 in his hands, as far as the sports world is concerned, another star was waiting for his moment. Buried in the shadow of LeBron once again, Carmelo Anthony wasn’t the only conceited star looking for an easy route to a ring. As tension began rising in the Denver front office, it became well known that the 3rd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft wanted out, and out soon. Similar to the LeBron issue, Denver has the ability to offer Anthony more money than any other team in the league. But is it money that these stars want? Clearly no. After taking into account the amount these guys have already made in their seven years in the NBA, what’s the difference between $20 million/year and $16 million. Once you throw in two All-Star teammates and a larger market, the money is meaningless.
Sports are…
To some like me, sports are everything. You learn a lot from organized sports. For example:
-how to play the game the right way
-how to play fair, with rules
-how to interact with others and be a helping hand towards a greater cause
-how to grow as a person
-how to deal with the situation your forced with
-how to make your teammates that much better
-and lastly, MOST importantly,
LeBron plans switch from 23 to 6 in honor of Jordan
For the majority of LeBron James’ life, #23 has been a mainstay. Sporting the number his senior year of high school which resulted in numerous national televised games, a state and national title and earlier last month, a movie, the King or Akron Hammer as he has been dubbed all across America this week, is planning a change in his number to honor Michael Jordan. A week removed from a trip to New York which included a Yankee parade, draining a fadeaway j then landing in the lap of Jay-Z and numerous indications that James will be going to the city that never sleeps after this season, James is back in the headlines.