Forward Danny Granger has been the face of the Pacers during their playoff series against the Heat. He’s been behaving like he’s trying to prove he’s not scared of the Heat, and that’s resulted in several confrontations over the past week.
Though Granger’s behavior may have endeared him to his teammates, it’s not sitting well with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — both of whom he’s confronted during the series.
“Whatever he’s trying, it is not working,” James said on Tuesday. “He’s said he’s not scared of LeBron, ‘I want to let (James) know.’ I guess he’s doing it for his own psyche. It’s stupid.”
Wade believes Granger is doing things for show.
“My message to Granger was that you just can’t keep running up into people’s faces for altercations. We’re not fighting on this basketball court so let’s not act like we’re going to fight. We can be physical and do all that but certain things got to stop. Are you out here to play basketball or are you out here to be a tough guy?”
From an outsider’s perspective, like Wade, I’ve felt that Granger looks pretty silly acting like a tough guy on the court, but I do understand where it’s coming from. Granger’s clearly trying to psyche up himself and his team, and it seems to be working. But you have to worry about the moves backfiring; you don’t want to give All-NBA players like Wade and James more reason to come after you.
