Larry Brown Sports

LeBron James did not appreciate Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel referring to the Miami Heat as “just the next team” standing in their way from reaching the NBA Finals. In fact, he was so insulted by the remark that he responded on Sunday with a clearly irritated tone.

“We’re not just another team,” James told reporters, via ESPN’s Michael Wallace. “I don’t understand what he’s saying. But we’re not just another team. That’s not true. He said we’re just another team in their way. We’re a great team. If we’re just another team, you really don’t prepare for just another team. You have to prepare for us.”

Vogel made his remark after the Pacers beat the New York Knicks 106-99 in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on Saturday.

“It’s exciting, but this is not about getting back at Miami,” Vogel said when asked about facing the Heat. “You’re in the final four, you’re competing for a championship. You’re competing for a championship. And they’re just the next team that’s in our way. And that’s how we’re approaching it.”

Indiana gave Miami a tough test last year when the team’s met in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They were up 2-1 in the series before Miami came back to win in six. The way last year’s series went probably had the Heat on alert. But Vogel’s comments are already leaving an impression; James referred to them as “bulletin-board material.” Also recall that Vogel tried pulling the same trick before the teams met last year when he called the Heat the biggest floppers in the NBA.

“We’re very confident,” James said. “We’ll be ready for them. We don’t need bulletin-board material. We’ve heard everything, we’ve seen everything. But I would say we’re not just another team, though.”

The way Vogel described how they view the Heat is good for his team. If you want your team to feel like they can compete with the Heat, you have to view Miami as just another team. The problem is Vogel should have kept those words between himself and his team rather than say them publicly. Now, James is going to have extra motivation entering the series. That’s bad, bad news for Indy.

Now that LeBron James has won a NBA championship ring, he can wear big old diamond rings as jewelry without feeling the backlash from his haters.

After the Miami Heat eliminated the Chicago Bulls from the playoffs with a 94-91 win in Game 5 on Wednesday, the Heat star went fairly casual with his postgame attire. But he definitely dialed up his accessory game.

James was flossing an enormous diamond pinky ring to go along with a bracelet and watch.

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LeBron James’ tendency to act on the court during situations of contact was heavily debated over the past week.

James was shoved by Bulls backup center Nazr Mohammed during Game 3 of the Miami Heat-Chicago series and seemed to sell how forcefully he was pushed. Nate Robinson and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said they felt James flopped on the play. After being scrutinized, James responded by telling everyone, “I don’t flop.”

Well James’ acting was in question again in Game 5.

James was bringing the ball up court in the fourth quarter of Game 5 with around seven minutes left and the Bulls up 81-80. Robinson went straight for James and hit him in the face. Both of them fell down. Analyst Steve Kerr thought it was pretty bad, saying “that was close to a flagrant on Nate Robinson.” Replays seemed to show James snap his head back to exaggerate how badly he was hit:

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The first half of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night was physical and resulted in one flagrant foul and several technical fouls.

Joakim Noah and LeBron James were called for double-technicals at the end of the first quarter after they got physical with each other. James was attempting to drive but was called for an offensive foul. As he came into the paint, Noah wrapped him up. James responded by swatting Noah away, leading to words between the two. They were both assessed with technical fouls.

A few minutes later, Chris Andersen was called for a flagrant foul, and Nate Robinson got a technical foul a few minutes after that.

Andersen slammed into Marco Belinelli to draw his foul:

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LeBron James has improved his game so much that he really has no weakness. His defense is outstanding, his passing and rebounding is stellar like usual, he’s improved his offensive efficiency, and he’s even become a good outside shooter. But the one area James feels he needs to improve is free throw shooting.

James is a career 74.7 percent free throw shooter. His highest percentage of his career was when he shot 78 percent from the line in the 2008-2009 season. He’s never made 80 percent of his free throws for a regular or postseason, but he’s looking to change that.

“I need and I want to shoot in the 80s,” James said via the Heat’s website. “That’s my next goal, my free-throw shooting.”

James has been working with teammate Ray Allen, who is sixth all time in NBA career free-throw percentage (.8936), on improving his free throws. He’s even adopted his teammate’s routine at the line:

“I don’t know if he adopted my routine, I think he just goes to what’s comfortable for him. Looks good. He missed two free throws [last night] but he looks like he has a greater deal of confidence when he’s on the line,” Allen told the Heat’s website on Tuesday. “Just how he shoots it looks a lot more fluid. Our little free throw games, they’re definitely helping him.”

James and Allen compete against each other with shooting games at practices, and LeBron has even won their outside shooting competitions sometimes. He’s looking to make that happen with free throws, too.

He went 7-of-9 at the line on Monday doing the Allen routine. That’s not a bad number for him.

If you look at James’ career stats, you’ll notice that he has improved on his numbers almost year after year. It’s hard not to appreciate his desire to get better.

LeBron James won the NBA’s MVP award on Sunday, but he fell one vote shy of being a unanimous selection. The writer who did not vote for LeBron, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, wrote a column on Monday defending his decision to give Carmelo Anthony a first-place vote. Not surprisingly, ‘Melo doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.

“As far as the guy in Boston, I don’t know why he catches so much flak for that,” Anthony said after Game 2 against the Pacers, via the NY Daily News. “He has the right to vote for whoever he want. LeBron won the MVP. Why is everybody so mad that he didn’t win it unanimously? … Thank you.”

Of course Carmelo understands why Washburn voted for him, even though 120 other voters felt LeBron was the obvious choice. A lot of people think Washburn only voted for someone other than James to make a point and be different, but it’s not as if he voted for a bench player.

Anthony led the NBA in scoring with 28.7 points per game and has carried the Knicks for a large portion of the season. Washburn said he felt Carmelo was more important to the Knicks than LeBron is to the Heat, which is a tough argument to make. Not only is LeBron one of the best offensive players in the game, he was also in the running for Defensive Player of the Year honors. Anthony is more of a scorer than an all-around threat like James.

In any event, we know who Carmelo would have voted for.

H/T Pro Basketball Talk

Nate Robinson was a beast in the Chicago Bulls’ stunning 93-86 win over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series on Monday night. Robinson had 27 points and nine assists in 40 minutes of action. His 24-point second-half performance was even more impressive considering the situation; he was playing with a fat lip after getting into a collision with LeBron James late in the second quarter.

Robinson and James dived for a loose ball with around 4:20 left in the first half. James rolled on top of Robinson, accidentally pushing the Bulls guard’s face into the ground. Robinson was bleeding from his mouth and left the game to get 10 stitches. He did not return for the rest of the half.

Robinson returned to play the entire second half and scored the team’s final seven points during the comeback win.

Below is video of the play where Robinson and James collided:

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