We all know we should not count LeBron and the Miami Heat out, even down. But Dirk Nowitzki is playing out of his mind, and I can honestly say, and growing up in the Golden State of NBA Warrior Mind makes this even harder to utter, for the FIRST TIME: Dirk Nowitzki is deserving of his first NBA title.

I admit I usually root for anything that results in a dumb-confounded, sourpuss-look on Mark Cuban’s face. Especially when it is at the cost of the Mavericks as a whole.  After all, real Warriors fans truly have nothing but disdain for the Mavericks. It’s a byproduct of being a 49ers fan.

But Dirk and Jason Kidd are on the verge of having a precious, glorious ring, and they deserve it.

Tyson Chandler deserves it. The man has done nothing less than a herculean effort, sacrificing his body, laying everything out on the line, and giving the Mavericks the mindset and focus that makes them who they are.

I have been befuddled as I have watched Dirk elevate his game in a fashion I have always thought he should, but often wondered why he hadn’t.

He is playing tougher than I have ever seen him, and at a level that truly thrusts him into a level of a legend. And, he is doing it against the player I officially despise more than Kobe, LeBron James.

The Chicago Bulls did everything right during game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, demolishing the Miami heat championship-like fashion. The Bulls owned Miami in the 4th quarter, outscoring them 31-19 in crunch time.

The Bulls had everything going on all cylinders as Derrick Rose led the way for Chicago with 28 points and solid offensive and defensive support from Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer, dominating over the Miami Heat, 103-82.

Luol Deng impressed defensively, impeding LeBron James from getting things going on offense. In total, the Bulls team defensive scheme limited the 1-2 punch duo of Dwyane Wade and James to 12-32 form the field, dispelling the mythological hype of their impending dominance that every major media outlet claimed would occur game 1.

In a game of match ups, the Bulls simply match up better against the Heat than most other teams do, and here is why we can expect to continue to see the Bulls keep the Heat on their toes for the duration of this series:

• League MVP Derrick Rose is a powerhouse who destroyed the Miami guards, and will continue to do so.
• Rose’s ascension into super-stardom is happening right now, and should not be underestimated.
• Joakim Noah will not have any serious competition from the Heat in the middle, and should be close to a double-double every game.
• Luol Deng is a far better defender than most people give him credit for being, and his offensive game is quite good. Oh yeah, and he can shoot the three these days, after not being able to do so his first 6 years in the NBA.
• Noah’s defensive presence in the middle allows the Bulls to play tougher defense knowing Noah is back there to help out.
• If Carlos Boozer can play the way he did in game 1, life for Rose and the Bulls looks much better than it did before.

If Miami can somehow find a way contain Rose (not likely), and then focus on Chicago’s supporting cast, they have a good shot to correct their own mission of a trip to the finals. It looks as though the Big Three left the Heat with salary cap deficiencies that are becoming evident as they travel further into the playoffs.

Obviously, Wade and James canot be expected to shoot this poorly every game. However, Chris Bosh is not going to reach the 30 point plateau in this series again. It seems that Bosh, Wade, and James have trouble to all have successful games during the same game. There is still a chemistry issue that the Heat must figure out, quickly I might add, in order to turn the tables against the Bulls.

If they can’t get “Big Three” to generate solid output simultaneously, the Bulls are simply too good of a basketball team to beat.

And if they continue playing like game 1, Chicago’s unsung heroes will start getting the credit they deserve, as NBA stars.

Over the weekend Mike Miller finally got his chance to log meaningful minutes for the Miami Heat, and dropped in 32 points and 10 rebounds. Granted it was a against an inferior Toronto Raptors team who is currently in complete disarray, it was a great performance for Miller to regain his form as well as so much needed confidence.

Miller represents the key ingredient to what the Miami Heat have been missing all season long. His shooting, ball handling, and knack for rebounding are crucial elements that need to be present in the Heat’s lineup from the opening tip. He is still not fully recovered from his preseason thumb injury, but it appears he is recovered enough to drop 32 points when he gets the minutes.

He is being very diplomatic about his lack of playing time:

“Right now I’m not getting minutes I’m accustomed to but hopefully they’ll come and I’ll take advantage of it,” Miller said. “I’ve never really, in my whole career, had a time when I haven’t played so I’ve had to get used to that. But I haven’t been on a team that is this talented and I have been injured like this.”

Having Miller and Dwyane Wade in the backcourt and LeBron James gives Miami three viable ball handlers with great distribution skills. Miller adds much needed outside shooting to spread the floor, as well as representing a third player to bring the ball up the court as a point guard.

Moving Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo to the bench alongside Eddie House will give Miami depth in the backcourt second unit. Rotating James Jones, Joel Anthony, Erick Dampier and Zydrunas Ilgauskas around Chris Bosh will be the most advantageous arrangement for Miami. Heck even a rare Jamal Magloire siting might even be prudent in this situation.

The bottom line is that Miami needs the main four contributors to be Wade, James, Bosh, and Miller. Filling in these other voids strategically by using the remaining roster in platoon-like roles that best suit nightly matchups could be the wisest way for Miami to win more and launch itself to the front of the pack in the Eastern Conference.

This means logging big minutes with the Big 4 and sacrificing everyones minutes. Once the winning increases, players can grumble all they want, but if they get a ring, they will all ultimately find the happiness that comes with being a NBA champion.

Message to Erik Spoelstra: Get Miller in the starting lineup, and have him, Wade, and James share the point guard duties. Let all the other chips fall where they may.

After the Lakers manhandled his former Cleveland Cavaliers team winning by 55 points, LeBron James could not leave his former team and fans alone. LeBron took jabs at his former team, hiding behind his twitter account while saying:

“Crazy. Karma is a B****. Gets you everytime. It’s not god to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!”

This is the latest act of stupidity from LeBron, and really shows that LeBron simply does not understand that we are no longer buying his act. How many times can you continuously say things like this and expect to get away with it?

LeBron is becoming the champion at doing something stupid, and then later saying he regrets it, etc. He needs to realize that the best way to be a professional athlete is to be professional, and to keep these thoughts to himself.

It’s just sad when you see someone as talented as James continue to self inflict his image and fall further from being the NBA’s poster child and become something more or less like the NBA’s bastard child.

Why does LeBron want to be the bad guy now? Is this his new image? LeBron, the bad boy? Maybe he has cornered himself to the point where he feels  as if he has no other choice but to embrace this new image?

Are the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James, turning into the bad boys of the new decade?

LeBron James returned home with all the hoopla and the hype in the world surrounding him. The entire basketball world was watching, but it was ultimately a snoozefest after the booing Cleveland fans gave him their best. As the noise subsided, so did Cleveland’s ability to play basketball, and the Miami Heat crushed the Cavaliers, 118-90.

The first thing I noticed about the Heat is that they are actually quite boring to watch. The predictability of the Miami offense becomes boring so fast that it is unbearable it at times.

The Heat need to start deferring more to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and remove the ball from LeBron’s hands as much as possible.

LeBron stagnates the offensive scheme, and the shot clock erodes while LeBron holds or dribbles the ball pointlessly while the heat stand still and do nothing. More ball movement means more efficiency on offense, and less time for LeBron to hold onto the ball and do nothing. All of which will help the Heat become more exciting to watch.

James could easily get more assists by cutting, catching the rock, drawing a double team, and then dishing to an open Wade or Bosh than he will holding the ball incessantly while draining the shot clock almost every possession.

Sure this “LeBron-fense” strategy will work with horrible teams such as the Cavs, but it also highlights why the Heat are 12-8, rather than having a significantly better record. Don’t misinterpret what I am trying to say here, a 12-8 record is decent, but the Heat could be doing much better.

My line of thinking is as follows: Let Mario Chalmers start, and let the Big Three move without the ball more. Why not utilize the speed of Chalmers to allow the Big Three to fill lanes keep defenses guessing? Doing so they will bring excitement into the game as the Big Three attack the hoop.

Chalmers’s knowledge of how to get Wade the ball in the right spots can be extended to Bosh and James as well. Although the PG position is pretty much a patsy role in Miami, the Heat could be well to do using Chalmers’ defensive skills for 30-plus minutes a night.

No dig on Carlos Arroyo, but Mario Chalmers is a much better natural defender than Arroyo. Chalmers was the incumbent starter but after a devastating injury during the preseason that cost him his job, appears to have fully recovered. Maybe it is just me, but I want the best defense out there as possible surrounding the Miami Superfriends.

The Heat need to shake things up and inject more life and fluidity into their ball movement and overall mentality. Doing so will make the Heat fun to watch, and should immediately propel them into ownerships of the league leading records. Failure to do so will result in one of the most talented  teams wasting their talents while boring us all to death.

The Boston Celtics met the Miami Heat for he second time in the early stage of the 2010-11 season, and were again successful beating the Heat for a second straight time. In doing so, Boston has made it abundantly clear that they are still the team to beat in the Easter Conference and Miami’s Big 3 is still no match for Boston’s Big 4.

The main difference I noticed during this game was something that cannot be measured by looking at the numbers: A complete sense of togetherness Boston possessed while the Heat appeared to have a larger display of separatists on the floor for most of the 48 minutes.

The continuity that the Boston Celtics had on display against the Heat was also highly disruptive of the Heat’s offensive intentions, often forcing Dwyane Wade into bad spots to the tune of  6 turnovers and 2-12 shooting from the field.

LeBron had another great game, speaking statistically, but it’s becoming more apparent to me that when his stats are Oscar-Robertson-like, Chris Bosh suffers as the victim, and it also hurts the overall team chemistry. If Miami can’t figure out how to get LeBron to defer to Bosh more and allow an inside out game to develop, the offensive attack is skewed in a way that allows great defensive teams like the Celtics to zero in, neutralize, and consequently negate all LeBron’s big numbers.

Conversely, the Celtics had no problem moving the ball around, and did not have to defer to any one in particular in order to get their offense going. Many ball fakes, wrap around passes, and kept the Heat guessing where the Celtics would strike from. This was a far more effective strategy to make the Heat work and get tired while playing defense, and benefited the shooting opportunities for Ray Allen. Allen had 35 points with seven 3 pointers.

Another good sign for Boston was the activity level of Kevin Garnett. He has already been off to a great start compared to last season, but if he continues his pace and form like tonight’s game, it is highly likely that his Celtics will be making the push for rings in June.

It was the game everyone has been waiting for: The reigning Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics would start the defense of their run to the NBA Final against the new look Miami Heat.

Supposedly LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were going to easily trample everyone and anyone in their way. Things did not play out the way they thought, and Boston Celtics defeated the Miami “Super Friends” 88-80.

Wade committed a murderous 9 turnovers, and shot 25% on 4-16 from the field, Chris Bosh went 3-11, and while LeBron James managed to get his stats, he also committed a ghastly 8 turnovers as well. Only Wade has a legitimate excuse as he is recovering and playing his way back  into form after hamstring injury derailed his preseason.

Get it together fellas.

Rajon Rondo led Boston to victory with 17 assists to only 3 turnovers. While Kevin Garnett was committed 7 turnovers he managed to get a double double.

Don’t panic yet Miami fans, this is only the first game of a long season. However, if LeBron cannot find a way to get more people involved and futhermore realize he can create for others simply from the attention he draws from defenses, he might fail to get more of the non-stars involved and the Miami Heat will be facing more losses than anyone might imagine.

LeBron took 21 shots while committing 8 turnovers, but only finished with 3 assists. Something is wrong with this picture any way you look at it.

Derrick Rose had a lot on his mind when it comes to LeBron James’ decision to join the Miami Heat, and shared it with ESPN Radio. After discussing his new teammate Carlos Boozer, Rose eventually had this to say about LeBron James:

“If he really wanted to come he would have come no matter what. He is grown, he makes his own decisions, and to him he made the right decision so everybody has to live with it because he has to live with it.”

Driving to the lane is not going to cut it.

Rose clearly looks forward to the challenge, adding:

“Yeah, it’s going to be fun. Playing the Heat is going to be fun,” Rose said. “I don’t know about anybody else’s team but I think my team is ready for war.”

Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah,  and the newly acquired Carlos Boozer will form a solid line up to compete against the “Super Friends” Miami Heat lineup of James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Realistically though, Rose must drastically improve his outside shooting to give Chicago any chance of beating the elite. Until he can spread the floor from from the outside, teams can defend the  post and offer up better defense.

Rose will definitively dominate Miami unless they assign Wade the defensive task of trying to slow Rose, which I could easily envision creating problems for the Bulls. Wade has all the bulk and speed to hang with Rose. Wade can beat on Rose for the majority of 48 minutes.

As it stands now, Miami and Chicago and both poised to strike at Boston for supremacy in the Eastern Conference. If Rose starts draining the 3 ball, it will infinitely help the Bulls’ cause.

The media has officially been set ablaze after LeBron James and Chris Bosh agreed to join Dwyane Wade to form the Miami Heat troika.

The Miami Heat is about to conquer the world.

LeBron has been highly criticized by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and the media for his decision.

I cannot see James making a better decision than he did. He wanted to win. NBA Players would rather play in Siberia than they would Cleveland. Cleveland should praise LeBron for not demanding a trade earlier.

But what does LeBron’s decision prove? It proves that he does value winning over everything else, especially his own self-love and his brand. He proves it by accepting less money in order to surround himself with better talent, and a better organization, and his first real chance at making a run at multiple championships.

And how do we know it is a better organization? Miami entered the league in 1988 and has already won a title. That settles any debate in my mind.

Or maybe it is the fact that Miami players stick with the organization after their careers are done, or that Wade could have left, but instead stayed and made this happen because the Miami organization instilled in Wade a sense of ultimate loyalty.

Fans in Cleveland have been burning his jersey to make their opinions known. I can’t really blame them, I do not really see any purpose to a Cavaliers Jersey or t shirt, other than kindle for the fire.

Nothing gets a fire going like Cleveland Cavaliers apparel!

But as time passes and wounds mend, and regardless of your disposition to James, you will have to marvel at watching the greatest combination of NBA players ever assembled on a single roster. It is going to be unfair for the rest of the league for a long time. Possibly the greatest run in NBA history since the Bill Russell Celtics era.

This decision by James paints him in an entirely different light to me. I have written about how he needed to make this move in order to truly grow his global brand, because everyone loves a winner. How can he possibly dilute his brand by winning multiple championships?

LeBron’s friendship with Wade and Bosh grew stronger with their experiences while winning the Gold Medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It allowed them to foster a fellowship that has made this happen. They all sacrificed financial gain for the sake of winning. To me, that is what the game of basketball is all about.

We are going to be treated to the best basketball we have seen in a long time. Wade, James and Bosh are all unselfish team-oriented players. They are willing to make the extra pass, and work extremely hard on defense.

Wade will be able to terrorize teams on offense like never before. Expect Wade to surpass Kobe Bryant as the greatest shooting guard in the NBA. Due to Wades supporting cast, teams were able to limit his brilliance. Now we can finally see it because Wade will have great players around him, just like Kobe has always had during his career.

James will have the best drive and dish options he has ever seen. Expect James passing skills to lead to more comparisons to Magic Johnson. For the first time since Oscar Robertson, a season-long average of a triple double is very possible.

Bosh will have the best one-on-one options down low. Defenses will have to sacrifice the damage by Bosh in the paint to try and slow Wade and James. We will see massive increase in Bosh’s efficiency, and whatever two players  Miami puts out with the big three will have an easy night every night.

The 2010 NBA Draft went according to plan with John Wall going first, and everyone else basically falling into place. Even the Golden State Warriors followed protocol making a horrible selection at 6. Alas, all is normal in the NBA.

But the biggest success came from the teams that were already involved in the NBA free agency class of 2010, and they made a bigger splash by using the draft to create more cap space using the addition by subtraction method of packaging players into draft day trades.

The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat made the most room, freeing massive cap space and taking the serious lead to make their teams title contenders this summer.

The Bulls sent Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick to the Washington Wizards, freeing up enough space to sign two max free agents. They retained Luol Deng, so the Bulls can now immediately offer a major free agent a solid playoff ready supporting cast in Derrick Rose, Deng, and Joakim Noah.

The free agency power is in my hand!

LeBron James’ name and the Chicago Bulls seem to keep popping up in conversations and the rumor mills, but now you can start hearing things like “LeBron and Bosh” or “LeBron and Amare” emerging as the new conversational trend.

The Miami Heat, who were already poised to make some serious waves in free agency, shipped out Daequan Cook and the #18 pick to Oklahoma City Thunder,  clearing the space now for the Heat to resign Dwyane Wade, and sign two free agents.

Miami now can offer free agents the beach, Wade, and a lifestyle that is more desirable than almost any other NBA franchise location around (Note: Miami’s acronym= Minnesota).

For now, these two teams are the big winners as we waltz our way into the July 1st fiasco, however, once LeBron inks a deal, and the rest of the players fall into place with their teams, we wont really know.

As of now Miami sits at the top of the list of all franchises hoping to hit the free agent marketplace, perched and ready to make the most noise this summer.