It aint easy being brilliant...

bigeisamazing:

PICK

YOUR

POISON

BITCH

Annoying, admitedly.

But oh so true.

This has the potential to be so scary. 

Rashard Lewis will take nearly a 94% pay cut to become the most recent veteran to join the Miami Heat. Lewis’ salary will drop from $21 million to the veterans minimum of $1.35 million.

And deservedly so, quite frankly.

Solely based on recent performance, the 32 year old Lewis was among the games’ most overpaid players. The 7.8 points on 38% shooting and 4 rebounds that he averaged as a member of the Washington Wizards last season, are certainly not those worthy of a $21 million a year contract.

The new deal will allow Lewis, who secured $13 million in a buy out from the New Orleans Hornets, to join with LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Allen and the rest of the defending champion Miami Heat to chase his first ring with the boys in South Beach.

I’m not sure what role Lewis will play for the Heat in 2012-13. He’s not known for defense, they aren’t adding him for shooting seeing as how he shot less than 25% from distance last season, and with LeBron, Wade, Allen, Chalmers, Miller, Jones, and Cole, the Heat are loaded down with perimeter players.

Sounds to me like this cat will get the veteran minimun and a title ring to hand towels to Bron and Wade this coming season. Not a bad gig, if you think about it.

After inserting 21 year old Avery Bradley, a clear defensive upgrade over the sharp shooting Allen, into the starting lineup last season, it was clear that Ray Allen’s role with the Boston Celtics had changed.

And Ray Allen was not happy about it.

Ray Allen’s demotion to 6th man role, a reported rocky relationship with star point guard Rajon Rondo, the Celtics’ signing of Jason Terry, and an opportunity to chase one last ring with the defending champion Miami Heat, drove the NBA’s all time leader in 3 point field goals into the arms of Pat Riley.

And he was willing take a third of the pay to join the South Beach repeat cause, too.

No matter WHAT you think about Miami Heat and their all star caliber players, you HAVE to respect incredibly talented superstars who are willing to set individual goals to the side, and take pay cuts to join the cause for a TEAM goal.

And if there is anything we have come to find out about Ray Allen, it’s that he is a definite team first kind of player.

Allen left 2 years and $12 million from a team he had won a championship with, on the table to join the defending champs for 3 years and $9 million.

So what does Allen bring to the Heat?

Well, ANYBODY who watched the NBA Finals will tell you that the Miami Heat defeated the Thunder in the NBA Finals for two reasons:

1. LeBron James FINALLY realized he was the most unstoppable perimeter force in all of basketball, and took advantage of it.
2. The Miami Heat shooters were reigning 3’s at an extremely prolific level.

Reason #2 is where Ray Allen comes in.

The 36 year old Allen has knocked down 2,718 threes in his career at a 40% clip. The 2,718 threes are an all-time record.

And with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade attacking the basket and constantly putting pressure on the interior defense of the opposition, that will leave Allen wide open, with all day to set his feet for wide open 3 point field goals. So at some point in time, the defense will have to decide to play James and Wade one on one, and they will relentlessly attack the basket, and set up a tent at the free throw line. With Allen, Battier, James Jones, and Mike Miller knocking down 3’s, James and Wade attacking the rim, and Chris Bosh knocking down 15-18 foot jumpers, the Miami Heat’s spacing on offense should be that of which any NBA team that aspires to elite would envy.

Bottom line, when you are already the champs, you don’t rebuild, you reload.

You keep your core in tact, and recruit a few more guys that fit what you are trying to do as a team.

And with the addition of Ray Allen, super teammate, former champion, and 3 point shooting extraordinaire, THAT is exactly what the Heat have done.

Ray Allen is taking his talents to South Beach.

So…do you think that Kendrick Perkins is NOT smiling here because:

1. Golden Corral’s chocolate waterfall wasn’t working.
2. Golden Corral was out of cotton candy
3. Perk, like ALL OTHER naive former Celtics or C’s fans still believes that the C’s would have beaten the Lakers in Game 7 of the 2009 NBA Finals had HE played, and is pouting about it.
4. LeBron James waited til the NBA Finals against his team to prove he was the greatest basketball player on Earth and FINALLY ascend to his throne.
5. LeBron’s momma denied him a pitty fuck, and split with Delonte West to celebrate the Heat’s championship.
6. HE IS JUST A MEAN, ORNERY LOOKING MOTHERFUCKER
7. All of the Above

LeBron James had one of the most complete, and dominant years in NBA history in 2011-12.

• 3rd in the NBA in scoring
• 13th in NBA in assists
• 3rd in NBA in steals
• 12th in NBA in Field Goal percentage
• NBA MVP
• All NBA first team
• All Defensive first team
• NBA Finals MVP
• NBA Champion

Congratulations, LeBron James on winning the very prestigious (at least for MY blog), first annual BALLER OF THE YEAR award.

LeBron James had 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists as he messed around and became only the 5th player in NBA history to record a triple double in an NBA Finals clinching victory.

LeBron James buried ALL “no ring” jokes.

Buried ALL questions as to whether or not he was a clutch, big game performer.

And ascended to a throne that the NBA has had waiting on him since he was 16 years old.

I now present to you, King James.

know, if you had told the average basketball fan that OKC was going to get 32 from Kevin Durant, 19 from Russell Westbrook, and 19 from an up to this point ABSENT James Harden, and score 106 points as a team, that person would have told you that the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to win Game 5 and take the series back to Oklahoma City, FIRMLY in the driver’s seat for the series’ final 2 games.

And you would have been wrong.

REALLY wrong.

LeBron James was officially crowned the King of a league many have predicted he would lead a glorious reign over since he was a 16 year old high school kid in Ohio.

James became only the 5th player in the history of the NBA Finals to record a triple double in an NBA Finals clinching victory.

26 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, and MILLIONS of critics silenced with the sound of the game’s final buzzer.

Let’s be honest with yourselves for a moment, critics….

It was ALWAYS just a matter of time.

We have all been witnesses to the kind of skill set that one simply never in a lifetime sees from a 6’8 260 pound man for nearly 9 years now.

Now, we are all witnesses to an NBA championship that many foolish people predicted he would never win.

But let me stop before I get to far ahead of myself and let the 5 hoops fans on God’s green Earth who did NOT see this game know that LeBron did NOT do this by himself.

Chris Bosh had his best game of the postseason with 24 points and 7 rebounds, Dwyane Wade had 20, and the bad back havin’, slow and old ass Mike Miller emerged from the end of the Miami Heat’s bench to DRILL 7-8 3 pointers, on his way to 23 enormous points. In total, 6 Miami Heat players scored in double figures.

I thought the Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to be the deeper team?

I thought that the Oklahoma City Thunder were the favorites to win this series, and leave LeBron James and the Miami Heat without an NBA championship for another year, while the LeBron James “no ring” jokes continued?

Only 3 Thunder players managed to score in double figures, and let’s just say that Russell Westbrook didn’t duplicate Game 4’s 20-32, 43 point game on Thursday. Westbrook shot an attrocious 4-20, and got 19 points solely on his ability to get to the free throw line.

I cannot HELP but think about LeBron James BRILLIANT 45 point Game 6 performance against the Boston Celtics.

With the Heat facing elimination, against a team that had gotten the best of him in the past, and in a city in which he had struggled in his career, LeBron James turned in one of the all-time great performances in NBA playoff history to tie the series at 3 wins, and sent the series back to Miami where the Heat would win once again, setting up an NBA Finals series with the Thunder.

What would have become of the Miami Heat had they lost that decisive Game 6 in Beantown??

Would they have fired young head coach Erik Spoelstra?

Would they have broken up the Big Three??

Which of the Big Three would they have traded???

NONE of that matters, now.

Thanks to LeBron James.

Thanks to LeBron James 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in a 23 game, Miami Heat playoff run.

The Heat trailed in each and EVERY one of their 4 postseason series.

And EVERY time they got down, LeBron James responded with an epic performance.

Before THIS postseason, their was a debate as to who the best player in the NBA was.

There is NO MORE.

The NBA’s best player, and deserved winner of the regular season MVP, Finals MVP, and most importantly, an NBA Championship, is LeBron James.

The “no ring” jokes are DEAD.

The questions as to whether or not LeBron James is a clutch, big game performer are DEAD.

The question is NO LONGER “will” LeBron James win an NBA championship?”

The question NOW, is “how many NBA Championships can King James win??

Congratulations to King James, and the rest of the 2011-12 NBA champion, Miami Heat.