Maybe next year Bron...

Somewhere Dan Gilbert is pouring expensive champagne on a cocktail waitress and snorting China White goodness off a tabletop. The haters rejoice. Personally, I'm pretty sad. It feels like the 2006 NCAA tournament all over again. I've been a Lebron James fan since I read about him in the hoops magazines in the barbershop when I was in high school. We're the same age, so after T-Mac and Iverson went downhill I gravitated towards Lebron. He's a great player. Are there parts of his game I think need improving? Absolutely. Do I love to watch him play? Definitely. In fact, if you look at all the games I've watched on NBA League Pass, about 80% had Lebron playing in them.

Tonight hurt bad. The heat were supposed to win. They have 2 of the best players in the league on their squad. And Chris Bosh, while not exactly a force, certainly isn't a bum. Dallas is a good team. I really like how Dirk has developed into a killer. But I wish he could've done it against somebody else's squad. I really wanted the heat to win. Bad.

I defend Lebron, kinda like I defend Duke. Sure Duke has far more haters (and championships) than Bronzilla. But, I cant stand to see the haters get what they want most: a Lebron failure. Somewhere in the past year it was no longer cool for a man to decide where he wanted to work. The Decision kicked the Lebron hate into high gear. Sure it was a spectacle; but when you're one of the best players in the league you can announce your job change however you want. But when Bron did it, it was wrong.

Now 11 months later, the Miami Heat are ousted from the playoffs. They made it to the finals, which is an impressive feat. They even looked unstoppable for about 42 minutes a game. And then there were moments where they looked like they were running a middle school offense. 1 vs 5. Then the German and the Jet, dropped a blitzkrieg on Miami and Miami gave up. I couldn't understand what my eyes were witnessing. I kept expecting Miami to claw back in it. To flip the switch. The sands were escaping the hourglass and it seemed like I was the only one that cared.

This could be a blessing in disguise for Miami. Maybe they needed to get embarrassed like this to spark a fire in their gut. Maybe a full offseason will help them develop an offense beyond "pass the ball to Will". I really want to Lebron to win multiple rings so he can finally get the credit he deserves. Sure he played like crap in the finals, but people act like he's never been spectacular before. But then again it's all about "what have you done for me lately?".

Lately, the heat have let me down. But then again, there's always next year. Afterall, I'm used to this...I'm a Braves fan. Here's to 75-7 and the hardware! I'll toast to that!

J-Full