Larry Brown Sports

LeBron James earned some major praise from opponent George Hill on a night when he uncharacteristically blew two plays at the end of a playoff game.

James turned the ball over in back-to-back possessions to end the Miami Heat’s 97-93 loss to the Indiana Pacers. On both plays, he threw passes that were snagged by Indiana’s defense. After the game, Hill was asked how the Pacers were able to defend James in those situations, especially after LeBron burned them twice in a row at the end of Game 1.

“George, is there any player in the world more dangerous with the ball in that situation, facing the floor, looking at the defense, than LeBron James? And how do you guys pick him off not once but twice in that situation?” a reporter asked him.

Hill responded by comparing James to God.

“Yeah, it’s only like one person that’s like more scarier than that, and that’s God,” said Hill. “I’m sure if we’re looking at him in the face we’d be very nervous. I’m sure he could make all the plays that we want people to make.

“But LeBron’s a great player. He’s the MVP for a reason. He’s one of the best that ever played this game. He’s a big focal point, and we know that when he’s up there probing the floor and looking at everything, that we can’t just focus on him. We have to focus on the people around him because he’s a great playmaker. He has our full attention.”

When asked about Hill’s remarks, King James said he was far from being a deity.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Brian Shaw was seen yelling out one of everyone’s favorite lines after Ray Allen missed a free throw during Game 2 on Friday: Ball Don’t Lie.

Indiana Pacers forward Sam Young was called for a b.s. technical foul early in the second quarter in Miami for hitting a ball LeBron James was holding. The Miami Heat chose to have Ray Allen, a career 89.4 percent free throw shooter, shoot their two technical free throws. Allen made the first free throw and Shaw, a Pacers assistant coach, received a tech for yelling at the refs. Allen then missed the next free throw to keep the score at 31-23.

Shaw yelled out “ball don’t lie,” to let everyone know what he thought of the technical foul call.

Ball don’t lie is a popular playground phrase that is uttered in a karmic sense after controversial calls are made. Rasheed Wallace is often credited for popularizing the phrase, but my boy Benjy Smith was saying it on our elementary school playground before ‘Sheed was even at North Carolina.

Paul George absolutely annihilated Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen with a dunk late in the third quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night.

The Indiana Pacers forward was being guarded by LeBron James with about 10 seconds left in the quarter. He went left, blew by James, and then took off and dunked over Birdman with a spectacular throwdown.

Here’s the image for your poster:

Read The Rest of the Story…

Dwyane Wade is one of Gatorade’s most recognizable endorsers. Like any other major corporation that sponsors a superstar athlete, Gatorade compensates Wade with a lot of money and a lot of sports drinks. And by a lot, we mean D-Wade has a fully stocked Gatorade fridge in his house.

“Just came home to a packed #gatorade machine,” Wade wrote along with the photo above that he posted on Instagram. “I give it 2 weeks b4 we need a refill..#kidsdrinkupeverything.”

Now all the Wade household needs is a machine that will yell at Dwyane before he leaves the house wearing something like this. If they can get one of those bad boys installed, what more could they need?

H/T Darren Rovell

Phil Jackson has coached two of the greatest basketball players ever, yet he wouldn’t choose either one of them first if he were starting a team.

During an interview with Time, the former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls coach said he would take Bill Russell first if he were starting a team, not Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.

“In my estimation, the guy that has to be there would be Bill Russell,” Jackson answered when asked, via SI’s The Point Forward. “He’s won 11 championships as a player. That’s really the idea of what excellence is, when you win championships.”

Time’s Belinda Luscombe followed up that question by asking Jackson whom he would choose between MJ and Kobe. Though excerpts from his new book “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success” make it seem like he leans towards Jordan, Jackson mostly avoided answering the question.

“I would flip a coin,” Jackson said. “Whichever one came up heads or tails, I’d take that person. They were that good.”

Jackson caused a stir when the book excerpts made it seem like he was picking MJ over Kobe in the historical debate. Bryant seemed to take issue with Jackson’s commentary and tweeted out a response:

Read The Rest of the Story…

Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel made one of the most inexplicable decisions of the 2013 NBA playoffs on Wednesday night when he had Roy Hibbert, his best post defender, sitting on the bench for the Miami Heat’s final two possessions of the game. LeBron James took full advantage, taking the ball right to the hoop each time and leading Miami to a 103-102 overtime victory.

After the game, Vogel literally had no explanation for why Hibbert wasn’t on the floor.

“I would say we’ll probably have him in next time,” he said.

Naturally, Hibbert was also asked for his thoughts on watching the final seconds of the game from the bench as his team let what could have been a tone-setting win slip away. Next time, he says he’ll let it be known that he feels he should be in the game.

“I’ve grown as a player, this is my fifth year and maybe I need to start talking up more,” Hibbert told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night. “They pay me [max-contract money] for a reason.

“I didn’t say anything, and I wish I did. From now on, I need to speak up.”

They don’t pay Hibbert max contract money to make coaching decisions. Those are left to Vogel, but it’s probably not a bad idea for Hibbert to put up a fuss next time if Vogel can’t properly do his job in such a crucial situation.

Who are we kidding — there won’t be a next time. Hibbert is going to be on the floor in any tight games going forward, as he should be. The problem is Vogel’s epic screw-up allowed Miami to steal a game, and the defending champs don’t exactly need any help. The man calling the shots let one get away, and it could cost his team a shot at a championship.

The Indiana Pacers played a great game against the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Heck, after Paul George made three free throws to give them the lead with 2.2 seconds left, it looked like they were even going to pull off the win. But luckily Miami had Pacers coach Frank Vogel give them an assist.

Vogel inexplicably pulled center Roy Hibbert out of the game for the Heat’s final two possessions in overtime. With 24.6 seconds left in OT, the game was tied at 99 and Vogel subbed out Hibbert for Sam Young. He initially had Hibbert in the game defending Chris Bosh but decided to make the substitution before Miami inbounded the ball for its possession. Hibbert walked to the bench with his head down, clearly upset with the decision.

Read The Rest of the Story…