Down goes Lebron - Down goes LeBron

My tweeted thoughts (with a few from other folks on Twitter sprinkled in as well) on defeat of the Miami Heat's Big 3 ("led" by a prematurely crowned king) at the hands of the class act Dallas Mavericks. Proof positive that teams beat collections.



RT @KingJames Now or Never!!


Great players have been prevented from becoming champions before. Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Iverson, the list goes on and on. But they shared a trait. When those guys got to the Finals they went for it with everything they had in them, left it all on the court. Left in defeat but not shame. Can you honestly say that about LeBron’s performance in the Finals this year, particularly in Now or Never quarter #4.

Champs know how to close the show. Snatch spotlight & force other guys to be spectators to their greatness. LeBron is a near perfect hybrid of Magic Johnson & Michael Jordan physically. But at do or die time he was neither magical nor like Mike.

Being in spotlight voluntarily means you take the good with the bad. THE DECISION was choosing to shine spotlight on spotlight, so if LeBron and his fans don’t like the negativity headed his way, there’s only one person to blame and it isn’t the media or “haters”.

The last pro athletes to be as despised as LeBron is (at least for the moment) were probably George Foreman & Joe Frazier because Muhammad Ali was a master of spin control. Lebron’s the opposite.

Ali got people to hate his opponents. Neat trick. LeBron got people to hate HIM. Only useful if you WANT to be the bad guy, feed off it. I don’t believe that’s truly what LeBron wants or what he feeds off of.

Before Ali was beloved he was often perceived as the "bad guy" in the ring. He thrived regardless of whether you loved or hated him. It will be interesting to see if LeBron’s game is affected at all by his popularity level going forward.

Good thing for Miami that Dirk's feelings were hurt by LeBron/Wade mocking, causing him to hoist bricks for much of final game of series, otherwise Mavs win it by 20+. Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks, new NBA champions.

Of course Dirk got his in the 4th. You know why? Cause that's what champions do. Take note, LeBron.



Maybe now Dirk starts getting long overdue credit. The dude shoots 3's like Reggie Miller, crazy handle, fall back Js at ridiculous angles, solid post game, all of this at 7 feet tall. Incredible!



With all due respect, those who thought Miami would win are those who get all caught up in highlight reel dunks rather than fundamental basketball.



Once Dallas manhandled the Lakers, who were a damn good team that very possibly beat the Heat as well, it was clear that this was the Mavs year.



Never anoint yourself KING prior to having a throne. So let it be written. So let it be done.



Mavericks may have had just 1 championship run in them. Heat are just starting. But so are Bulls and Knicks. East is up for grabs.



Good point. Franchise already celebrated. They just didn’t realize they were partying for less than they thought. RT @tclarkusa Heat fans, don't be mad at LeBron think back to huge parade you had when you 1st got him.

Did you see the number of blue jerseys in arena during game 6, supposedly a home game for Miami? If any NBA franchise does not deserve another championship, it's the no real fan base Heat.

Reporters in press conference tried so hard to get Spoelstra to blame LeBron. He wouldn't crack, unlike LeBron.



Heat were nowhere near more talented than Mavericks. Just WAY more hyped is all.

I'm certain Dirk left court after win to gather himself emotionally, not to diss James & Wade. Great series. Great storylines. Great #NBA season.



I don't in any way see Spoelstra taking the fall and getting fired unless there's tape of him telling LeBron to wilt under pressure. How do you get fired for leading a team all the way to the Finals, even if the young man is viewed by his bosses more as a caretaker than coach?



I plan to be happy for a couple months over the Heat loss, then will get back to my own little life. Thx for the advice, LeBron.



God did not want LeBron to win a ring this year, proved it by inventing the 4th quarter



Time for the "I know I repeatedly said Heat would win easy, but always knew they'd get smoked" tweets.



Nice to see both communist Russia and the Heat fall in my lifetime. #TakingItTooFar :-)



Heat fan nation is not based in Miami. Spread across nation in hearts of guys & dolls who drunk the LeBron Kool Aid.



"There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE." - Dan Gilbert



RT @mcuban how amazing was it that dirk, brian cardinal and ian mahini planned to all sign with the Mavs this summer !! #big3 #makingithappen



RT @DanLevyThinks Pat Riley? RT @clintonyates: Awwwwkwwarrrd. —> RT @KingJames The Greater Man upstairs know when it's my time. Right now isn't the time.



LOL RT @Unsilent: I hated LeBron before hating LeBron went all mainstream. #hatehatehate



How many shots did Dirk take & make in 4th quarter after starting game 1of 12 shooting? How about LeBron who started off hot? #TaleOfTheTape



LeBron has proven to be a master of one thing. Taking a bad situation and making it exponentially worse.



Was result of NBA Finals caused by what Mavs did or what Heat (particularly you know who) didn't do? Some of both IMO, mainly Mavs performance.



Most fluffy trending topics on Twitter bore me after an hour or so. LeBron's downfall is an exception, doesn't even require a hashtag.



Tweets defending LeBron are particularly entertaining. Most start "Not to defend LeBron but..." No need to finish such a sentence.


I still can't believe those intense pre-game pep talks by LeBron didn't work. "We should go out and win, man. Or not. Either way I'm rich." LeBron James gives Ray Lewis-esque pep talks, if Ray had a lobotomy that is.



LeBron should get this picture as a tattoo. If it doesn't inspire him to greatness, nothing will. twitpic.com/5b0yo5

When I tweeted & blogged about Pippen's remarks, stating LeBron belongs nowhere near Greatest Of All Time discussion, some guy bombarded me with video clips that were supposed to prove how fantastic LeBron truly is. Wonder where that guy is now. He's been curiously silent.


Here's my G.O.A.T. blog posting: http://bit.ly/lBXZL2

And here are my thoughts on LeBron leading up to his DECISION: http://bit.ly/9inkWn

When I first started going in on LeBron after The Decision, I freely admit much of the anger stemmed from my hopes he'd land on the #Knicks



I know fellow #Knicks fans felt as I did. Obviously fans in Cleveland were enraged. Hopeful fans in a couple other cities also upset...



But reading Twitter over last few weeks and most especially today, DAMN, it's clear a lot of folks from all over the country don't like that supposedly royal dude. It isn’t just spurned fans that he rubbed the wrong way.


This twitter name says it all - @LaughAtLeBron



I get why people don't like LeBron. Seems very arrogant & his DECISION really felt like it went against competitive spirit of the game



I think people who used to admire LeBron when he played in Cleveland turned on him because great players lead. Going to South Beach was following. Point blank



As for those who defend LeBron, they're entitled, but I've yet to see a single compelling reason to do so except maybe pity.



After the tone and content of his comments in that post game press conference, I don't have it in me to sympathize/empathize with LeBron. Showed zero humility



I lost respect for Wade along with LeBron on account of that coughing mimicry nonsense. Dirk as a 13 year vet deserves respect. But at least Wade played hard throughout series. What did LeBron do? Have you ever had a deer in your headlights? Then you know what LeBron did in the Finals.



Playing poorly is not a sin. Playing scared is not a sin. Continuing to be an arrogant jerk while playing poorly & scared? Makes you soft IMO


I am convinced now that LeBron made the right DECISION by picking Heat over Knicks. Pressure of New York would have CRUSHED him.



I'm no hypocrite though. I'd take LeBron in a heartbeat if the #Knicks could acquire him for a bucket of KFC with extra large Coke



But even on #Knicks, LeBron would have to carry Landry Fields bags for at least a month before I started cutting him some slack.



I seriously thought I was hearing things when LeBron made that "go back to their lives" comment. I may have literally said "Oh no he didn't!" A Hollywood scriptwriter could not have come up with a better line to make it clear LeBron was the villain of this story.



Barkley spit at a fan; Rodman kicked cameraman; Artest ran into stands to fight fan; many NBA sucker punches. But LeBron REALLY messed up



Tiger Woods gave lamest public apology ever but was still smart enuf not to say "now go back to your sad sexless lives"



If LeBron defends Jason Terry a fraction as hard as his die hard fans defend him, Heat sweep. Nah. Simply means it takes Mavericks 7 games rather than 6 to get their rings.



Regarding his obnoxious press conference statments, he's been taking questions since high school. LeBron doesn't blurt things out at this stage of the game, he says what he means and either hopes it goes over okay or simply doesn’t care.

LeBron seemed very mature for his age coming out of high school. He has since stood still at best, possibly regressed.

You fail to score on exactly 100% of the shots you don't take.


Poor, deluded Shawn. Our educational system is failing today's youth. lol http://tinyurl.com/3r3mgda

Blame Michael Jordan - http://bit.ly/mK5N7L

@WhitlockJason piles on http://on-msn.com/l782Ut

Another good article about LeBron - http://es.pn/kbHWyF