Dan Le Batard's Miami Heat Rant

[DRK Star]

I hate basketball, but this is solid.

[Serial Fail]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

[tommyt]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

do you think Jordan could have done it without Pippen and Rodman? not trolling btw

[lewfather]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

rofl

[Bootsy Collins]

It was a strike shortened season. There should be an * next to 2011-2012 NBA Champions

[peter mcneil]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

Lebron is already one of the greats and his stats stack up pretty well to Jordans with both of them at the same age. I would agree with you regarding him needing help but Lebron was the clear leader this post season, he was fucking dominant. I'm not a Lebron fan but he's going to get another title or two and he's going to go down as one of the greats.

[OSA]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

I don't understand why that's a bad thing. If you a great salesman and you decide to join a team of salesmen who are all great at what they do, why should you be persecuted? Should you stay in a firm where you wont reach your potential? That move was about his career and future just like a salesmen who joins a firm with allstar salesmen is thinking about his career and future.

[peter mcneil]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

I don't understand why that's a bad thing. If you a great salesman and you decide to join a team of salesmen who are all great at what they do, why should you be persecuted? Should you stay in a firm where you wont reach your potential? That move was about his career and future just like a salesmen who joins a firm with allstar salesmen is thinking about his career and future.

It would have been better for his legacy if he stayed in Cleveland and made them a winner, obviously. The way the title was won this season is very similar to how Jordan did it when he had all stars playing with him, they were great secondary options but Jordan was the man and game after game the best player on court. Lebron in this post season was the same, totally dominant and clutch in the biggest moments. Despite going to Miami with 2 other all stars this post season is clearly great for his legacy. How many more titles do you think he will get, what the over under, 2? The one guy I can't stand is Bosh, that guy is a fucking dork.

[OSA]

I don't understand why that's a bad thing. If you a great salesman and you decide to join a team of salesmen who are all great at what they do, why should you be persecuted? Should you stay in a firm where you wont reach your potential? That move was about his career and future just like a salesmen who joins a firm with allstar salesmen is thinking about his career and future.

It would have been better for his legacy if he stayed in Cleveland and made them a winner, obviously. The way the title was won this season is very similar to how Jordan did it when he had all stars playing with him, they were great secondary options but Jordan was the man and game after game the best player on court. Lebron in this post season was the same, totally dominant and clutch in the biggest moments. Despite going to Miami with 2 other all stars this post season is clearly great for his legacy. How many more titles do you think he will get, what the over under, 2? The one guy I can't stand is Bosh, that guy is a fucking dork.

If the 3 are healthy and happy then Lebron can get at least 3 more.

[Muck Ficon]

I hate the arguement "Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, just like Lebron had Wade and Bosh". It's not even a close comparison. Pippen was just as good a player as Wade? Rodman was just as good as Bosh? Not quite.

[Pooh]

I hate the arguement "Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, just like Lebron had Wade and Bosh". It's not even a close comparison. Pippen was just as good a player as Wade? Rodman was just as good as Bosh? Not quite.

You're a little younger so you might not remember just how good pippen was.

[tommyt]

I hate the arguement "Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, just like Lebron had Wade and Bosh". It's not even a close comparison. Pippen was just as good a player as Wade? Rodman was just as good as Bosh? Not quite.

[Dan Druff]

I hate the arguement "Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, just like Lebron had Wade and Bosh". It's not even a close comparison. Pippen was just as good a player as Wade? Rodman was just as good as Bosh? Not quite.

You're a little younger so you might not remember just how good pippen was.

Yeah Pippen was really good in his prime, but was overshadowed by Jordan.

Rodman only brought rebounds and defense to the table, but he was exactly what that Bulls team needed.

A one-man team just isn't going to win championships in today's NBA, no matter how good that one man is. At least Lebron finally got the "choking" monkey off his back, and I think he'll be more relaxed in future playoff series.

[Steve-O]

You're a little younger so you might not remember just how good pippen was.

Yeah Pippen was really good in his prime, but was overshadowed by Jordan.

Rodman only brought rebounds and defense to the table, but he was exactly what that Bulls team needed.

A one-man team just isn't going to win championships in today's NBA, no matter how good that one man is. At least Lebron finally got the "choking" monkey off his back, and I think he'll be more relaxed in future playoff series.

#1 Jordan and the Bulls won BEFORE and with Rodman, so this is a silly comparison.

#2 -- Lebron is a beast and stepped up big time this year in the playoffs. Whether you like him or not, he will be an all-time Top 5 player

#3 -- Pippen was not Dwayne Wade. Pippen struggled to lead the Bulls when Jordan "retired" to play baseball and it wasn't the team that was the problem (since Jordan came back and that team was an all-time great with 72 wins. Pippen was an excellent defender, a good slashing type of player, but he couldn't create his own shot, and there will never be a superstar in the NBA who can't create their own shot.

#4 -- the whole Miami experiment will make the NBA unwatchable in a couple years as otehr players do the same and two or three teams have evenry first and second team all NBAer.

#5 -- Bosh is the most overrated All-Star in the league. he has a nice 15-20' jumper for a big man, and because he never posts he gets a lot of offensive rebounds by crashing from the perimiter (very hard to box-out a big guy who plays that way).

[JUSTIFIEDhomicide]

You're a little younger so you might not remember just how good pippen was.

Yeah Pippen was really good in his prime, but was overshadowed by Jordan.

Rodman only brought rebounds and defense to the table, but he was exactly what that Bulls team needed.

A one-man team just isn't going to win championships in today's NBA, no matter how good that one man is. At least Lebron finally got the "choking" monkey off his back, and I think he'll be more relaxed in future playoff series.

You guys are forgetting people like Steve Kerr and Tony Kukoc among others who helped, but Kukoc was like a taller Harden in his prime

[TheTemplar]

You guys are forgetting people like Steve Kerr and Tony Kukoc among others who helped, but Kukoc was like a taller Harden in his prime

I agree, Tony Kukoc was fantastic. He and Steve Kerr were the type of players who were the go to guys when the stars got in foul trouble, or needed a rest.

[Steve-O]

Yeah Pippen was really good in his prime, but was overshadowed by Jordan.

Rodman only brought rebounds and defense to the table, but he was exactly what that Bulls team needed.

A one-man team just isn't going to win championships in today's NBA, no matter how good that one man is. At least Lebron finally got the "choking" monkey off his back, and I think he'll be more relaxed in future playoff series.

You guys are forgetting people like Steve Kerr and Tony Kukoc among others who helped, but Kukoc was like a taller Harden in his prime

The late 1990's Bulls was a weird team and so unorthodox it will likely never have an equl. They had no point guard and relied on Jordan, Pippen, and Harper to bring the ball up --basically choosing the person who had the weakest defender. They had a ridic rebounder in Rodman; Harper, Pippen and Jordan could all lock down a team's PG, SG, or SF; the rest of the team were role-players who knew their roles, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Kukoc, Randy Brown, Bill Wennington, etc

[Muck Ficon]

You guys are forgetting people like Steve Kerr and Tony Kukoc among others who helped, but Kukoc was like a taller Harden in his prime

I agree, Tony Kukoc was fantastic. He and Steve Kerr were the type of players who were the go to guys when the stars got in foul trouble, or needed a rest.

Mike Miller reminds me of Kukoc. Streaky as hell with the 3-pointers.

[jsearles22]

I hate the arguement "Jordan had Pippen and Rodman, just like Lebron had Wade and Bosh". It's not even a close comparison. Pippen was just as good a player as Wade? Rodman was just as good as Bosh? Not quite.

You're a little younger so you might not remember just how good pippen was.

Scottie Pippen-Considered one of the best small forwards of all time, Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team 8 straight times and the All-NBA First Team three times. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1994. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996–97 season.

Dennis Rodman-One of the best rebounders/defenders in NBA history. Rodman still holds the 5 highest rebound per game averages in the NBA since 1979. THE 5 HIGHEST!
Rebound percentage, career: 23.4%
Rodman also holds all conceivable records for both offensive and defensive rebound

Horace Grant (before Rodman)- Grant was noted for his defensive play; he was selected four times for the NBA All-Defensive Team.[1] He helped Chicago win three consecutive NBA championships (1990–91, 1991–92, and 1992–93), securing the third with a last-second block.

BJ Armstrong- In 1991, he helped them win their first NBA title against the Los Angeles Lakers after winning 61 games. In 1992, Armstrong averaged double-digit scoring while coming off the bench behind longtime starter John Paxson to help the Bulls win 67 games and their second straight title. In 1993, he locked down the starting job, contributing to a 57–25 record and the Bulls' third straight title. He also claimed the NBA's three-point field goal percentage crown with a mark of .453 on 63-for-139 shooting.

And to dispel the rumor that Jordan single handedly brought the Bulls back into the limelight after he retired the first time:
With a lineup of Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Longley, and perhaps the league's best bench in Kerr, Kukoc, Wennington, Buechler, and guard Randy Brown the Bulls posted one of the best single-season improvements in league history and the best single-season record, moving from 47–35 to 72–10,[4] which remains the best record in NBA history. Jordan won his eighth scoring title, and Rodman his fifth straight rebounding title, while Kerr finished second in the league in three-point shooting percentage.

Luc Longley, Kerr, Kukoc, etc were very very good players. The difference between what Jordan and Lebron did is only semantics. Management built a team around Jordan and Lebron had to seek that out because his owner in Cleveland was an inept douche. The Bulls always had very very good players other than Jordan. Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, Kerr, Longley, Armstrong, Grant, Paxon, etc etc. These teams were not Jordan and a bunch of scrubs which is what Lebron had in Cleveland. Blaming Lebron for leaving that is hilarious.

[Sloppy Joe]

Couldn't listen to it any further than "Chokelahoma City, your hearts are Brokelahoma City, you put your oil in barrels and we put out oil on women."

LeBron, in my book, will never be one of the greats because he couldn't do it alone or with the pieces that Cleveland got him. He had to run to Miami and get paired up with two other all-stars and, even at that, he doesn't win the title if Bosh doesn't come back from his injury.

LOL at the remaining Lebron haters. You may not like him or how he handled The Decision but to say that he won't be one of the greats, or even already isn't one of the greats is ignorant.

He just finished one of the most impressive regular season/playoff runs in history when the talent of the league s probably at it's highest since the first BUlls 3-Peat (1991-93).

How many titles have been won over the last 25 years by teams with superstars that didn't have other great players? Hakeem's Rockets and the Pistons from the mid-2000's, can't think of any more.

Love him or hate him, LBJ is God.