Skip to main content

James settling in with Heat - SunHerald.com

MIAMI - He had the ball on the baseline with the Milwaukee Bucks' Mike Dunleavy defending him Sunday night. When Dunleavy leaned ever so slightly to his right . . . LeBron James took one dribble and stormed toward the basket.

He soared under the rim and emerged on the other side, ripping down a ferocious dunk that left the sold-out crowd in AmericanAirlines Arena roaring in approval. James stood there for a moment in a hulking pose, admiring his work and enjoying a moment that looked exactly like so many he had for seven years at Quicken Loans Arena.

As the Cavaliers prepare to face James and the Miami Heat Tuesday night for the first time this season, James is still adjusting to his new life. Last season was the complicated transitional phase, but he is flourishing this season.

The Heat are 6-1 without Dwyane Wade, in large part because of James. Wade has missed the past four games with an ankle injury and is questionable for Tuesday night's game. The Heat scored impressive victories over the Spurs, Lakers and Sixers last week, until tired legs gave out in a sloppy loss Sunday against the Bucks.

James is averaging 29.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists - numbers in line with his career averages of 27.7, 7.1 and 7.0. He entered the season promising to shed the villain role that he encountered last season. He was going to smile more and enjoy the game again.

"He's very committed, he's very focused and he was last year," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "If he happens to do that with a smile on his face this year, I don't have a problem with that. He's been very committed as a leader of our team."

Despite the highlight dunk, James didn't play his best game Sunday night, particularly in the final minutes, when he missed a jumper, blew an easy layup and was part of the Heat lineup that allowed tiny Brandon Jennings to get a key offensive rebound and basket when the Heat were trying to rally.

But James was at ease in the locker room afterward, joking about an errant blow to the face he received from the Bucks' Andrew Bogut.

Depending on who is speaking, James, at times, appears more relaxed and comfortable than he was last year and sometimes he's not.

"Obviously, it was a whirlwind of a season last year," Heat center Joel Anthony said. "He's a lot more comfortable in his position here in Miami. That's to be expected after getting over that first year."

The Heat recently created gimmick posters with a 1970s theme, one of which features James in an afro wig and sunglasses and holding a disco ball, reminiscent to all those skits and singing performances he would give on the Jumbotron during Cavs games.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NBA Rumors: LeBron James' Son Bronny Is on Draft Boards of 'Multiple Teams'

Chris Coduto/Getty Images Bronny James' USC team has struggled this season, but that reportedly hasn't stopped the NBA interest in the son of legend LeBron James. "When I talk to people around the league, he's on the draft boards of multiple teams," Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Thursday: Charania noted teams around the league believe he is "further along" on the defensive side of the ball than the offensive side, which makes performances like Wednesday's all the more important. The USC freshman finished with 11 points, six assists and five rebounds while shooting 5-of-11 from the field in one of his best offensive showings of the season in a loss to Arizona. The only game that he scored more points in was a Dec. 30 loss to Oregon State when he finished with 15 on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. Perhaps most importantly, James played a season-high 30 minutes against the Wildcats on Wedn...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Happened to the Rivalry Between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony? - Bleacher Report

They were two young stars with unique and special abilities on the basketball court. They had recently played in a high-attention scholastic contest against each other. They were both selected in the same draft. The LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony rivalry was supposed to be the best individual rivalry since Magic and Bird. But while the relationship between Bird and Johnson is dramatized in a new Broadway play , Anthony and James will meet for the 15th time in their careers and do so without much fanfare. James and Anthony first met in a USA developmental camp in 2001 . Much like how Johnson raved about Bird after they played together on a college All-Star team playing in an international tournament, James couldn’t stop talking about Anthony. The two squared off in a high school showcase game the following year that pitted the player regarded as the best senior in the country (Anthony) against the one that was the best junior in the country (James), a game Anthony’s team wo...
Post a Comment
Read more

‘So You Think You Can Dance’ 18 episode 3 recap: In ‘Auditions: Day Three,’ one hopeful was like ‘the LeBron James of dance’

"So You Think You Can Dance" season 18 ended the first stage of the competition on Monday night, March 18, with the last dance hopefuls looking for a spot in the choreography round. So far the bar has been set pretty high by standout performances from dancers representing a variety of dance styles, shapes, sizes and ability levels. So who stood out among the last crop of contestants? Did the show save the best for last? "We've put 25 people through," said judge Allison Holker at the start of the show. She singled out contemporary dancer Braylon Browner and gymnast Dakayla Wilson as standouts from the first two days of auditions. Comfort Fedoke agreed that Wilson is capable of anything a professional choreographer could throw at her. Maksim Chmerkovskiy was especially impressed by contemporary dancer Easton Magliarditi . But "there's so many other things outside of dance that we're also looking at." More from GoldDerby SEE ...
Post a Comment
Read more