Larry Brown Sports

The Miami Heat held a moment of silence prior to Saturday’s game against the Wizards to recognize those who were murdered in Friday’s massacre in Newtown, Conn., and they added a personal touch.

Many of the Heat players were joined by their children for the moment of silence as a way to show how personally connected they felt to the tragedy.

“Very emotional time,” LeBron James said after the game. “(Dwyane) Wade brought [the idea] up. We all thought it would be the best thing to do. Not taking anything for granted, knowing that we have our family still. Very emotional time and to have our kids out there was great.”

“The team is very close, and we all have kids. So everyone’s affected by it,” added Wade.

James told reporters before the game that a horrific event like that places life in perspective.

“Basketball, this is nothing,” James said. “These games are nothing compared to when you have a tragedy like that. It sucks that sometimes you need a tragedy to put things back in perspective, to appreciate what you have. But it does that to people. It’s unfortunate that you have to have something like that to understand what’s really important and some things that aren’t important at all. Family is the No. 1 important thing in life.”

Wade and James, who are the team’s leaders and among the most visible stars in the NBA, actively tweeted about the massacre on Friday:

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Charles Barkley called out Dwyane Wade the past two weeks, and LeBron James says the TNT analyst needs to “shut up” now that Wade proved him wrong.

The Miami Heat have appeared on TNT’s nationally televised game the past two Thursdays. Barkley has gone after Wade’s play while discussing the games on “Inside the NBA.” He has said that the Miami Heat guard is older and no longer attacks the basket the way he used to. He also has said that the Heat won’t win another title the way Wade has been playing.

Wade shot 10-for-30 in those two TNT games, averaging just 16 points.

When asked on Saturday about Barkley’s criticism, Wade seemed to indicate there was a rift between them.

“I forgot all about that guy,” he said, according to FOX Sports Florida’s Chris Tomasson.

Though Wade brushed aside Barkley’s criticism, the comments seemed to inspire him.

Wade shot 9-of-12 for 26 points in a win over the Hornets on Saturday, and he went 11-of-13 for 26 points in a win over the Hawks on Monday. The strong performances prompted LeBron James to come to his defense.

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Dwyane Wade has taken many bold fashion steps over the past few years ever since hiring a consultant to dress him. He’s worn the pointless nerd glasses, color-coordinated his finger wraps with his ties, and he even painted his toe nails. Maybe his most notable look was the hot pink pants he wore during the playoffs.

Coming in a close second are the super-skinny pants he wore on a recent team flight.

Heat teammate LeBron James was so struck by the pants that he shared a picture of them on Twitter and Instagram, saying Wade was “taking fashion to a whole new level with these pants.”

What do you think? Is Wade setting a fashion trend or is this a look he should ditch? I know what my answer is: toss em!

Photo via LeBron James/Twitter

Rajon Rondo was called for a flagrant foul during the Miami Heat’s win over the Boston Celtics after he wrapped Dwyane Wade up to prevent him from walking in for a layup. It was somewhat of a hard foul as Rondo certainly wasn’t playing the ball, and Wade ripped Rondo after the game and called it a “punk play.”

Not surprisingly, Rondo saw it differently. In fact, he thinks Wade’s complaints are a bit hypocritical.

“I don’t think it was a hard foul,” the Celtics guard said according to WEEI.com. “He sold it a little bit, and that’s basketball. They were up, he drove to the hole and I didn’t want to give up a layup. Simple as that. I didn’t yank him down or dirty plays that you’ve seen him play in the past, so that’s what it is.”

Rondo has a point. Whether the foul was out of line or not, Wade has quietly become one of the dirtier players in the NBA. In last year’s NBA playoffs, he completely laid out Darren Collison of the Pacers when Collison had a clear path to the basket. D-Wade also broke Kobe Bryant’s nose last year with a hard foul — in an All-Star game no less.

Compared to some of the dirty plays Wade has committed in the past, Rondo’s foul was nothing. Wade said he is going to remember it next time the Heat and Celtics play each other. One has to wonder if that’s going to be his excuse for yet another dirty play.

During the final seconds of Tuesday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, Rajon Rondo was called for a flagrant foul after he grabbed Dwyane Wade from behind by the shoulders and neck. The foul was unneccesary considering the Celtics were trailing by nine and there was virtually no way they were going to come back. Wade was not pleased about it after the game.

“I got my kids watching so I stopped myself but it was a punk play by him,” Wade said according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. “He clotheslined me.

“I’m here to play basketball, man. If you want to do something else, then go do something else. Boxing, this is not it. I was glad I was able to stop myself in that very moment and move on from it. We’ll see next time we play.”

Windhorst also said Wade indicated he will remember the play when the two teams face each other again in late January and wouldn’t rule out retaliating. While Rondo certainly wasn’t going for the ball and the foul was out of line, it’s not the hardest foul we have ever seen. The play was made out of frustration but it wasn’t as bad as Wade is making it out to be.

We already knew the Heat and Celtics didn’t like each other, as evidenced by Kevin Garnett completely snubbing Ray Allen toward the beginning of the game. Rondo’s flagrant on Wade simply adds fuel to an already-roaring blaze.

Chest bump to Pro Basketball Talk

The thought of LeBron James in a Lakers uniform has sent the internet into a frenzy over the past 24 hours. On Thursday, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported that a number of NBA executives believe the Lakers have positioned themselves to make a run at LeBron in 2014 should Kobe Bryant retire. To make matters even more interesting, Lakers owner Jim Buss told the Orange County Register that the team has intentionally structured itself so it has a significant amount of cap space in 2014, although never mentioning King James as a specific target.

As you might expect, Dwyane Wade is one of a number of people who don’t want to hear anything about LeBron going to the Lakers.

“They need to leave my teammate alone with that, and go mess with somebody else,” Wade told the Palm Beach Post after Miami’s preseason win over the Pistons. “He’s gonna be here. We’re straight.”

For his part, LeBron simply said that he understands how rumors can be and that he is worried about nothing besides defending Miami’s title. While the concept is certainly intriguing, going to L.A. would make very little sense for LeBron. The idea is for him to carve out his own legacy and win multiple championships, not follow in the footsteps of arguably the greatest Laker of all time. Unless things go poorly in Miami over the next two seasons, I can’t imagine it would be in LeBron’s best interest to head to L.A., return to Cleveland or go anywhere else. He needs to stay in South Beach and win not one, not two, not three — yeah, that whole thing.

Chest bump to Pro Basketball Talk
Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Even though Dwyane Wade explored his free agent options during the summer of 2010, most people figured it was a foregone conclusion he would re-sign with the Heat. Wade had been drafted by the Heat, won a championship in Miami, and was the team’s franchise player. Plus, his franchise was busy recruiting other stars to join him and form a super team. Why would he sign elsewhere?

That’s not how Wade saw it. During an appearance on Chicago Tribune Live on Thursday, Wade said his visit to Chicago really messed with him because that was a childhood dream.

“It was very tough, it was one of the hardest decision I had to make in my life,” Wade said.

“I’m a Chicago guy and I grew up idolizing the Chicago Bulls, idolizing Michael Jordan and wanted to wear that jersey. So the day I went for the Chicago visit and they gave me the No. 3 jersey, I mean, that day messed me up. I went back home and I had the jersey on and, I mean, I turned into a kid again.”

The Heat have reached two NBA Finals, beaten the Bulls, and won one title since Wade re-signed with the team. No way he regrets his decision. But it’s interesting to note how much he considered signing with Chicago; I had outright dismissed the possibility.

Kobe was nearly a Maverick? Wade nearly a Bull? What could have been.