With free agency complicating the emotions of fans and front office officials, teams are often caught in a pickle when figuring how to salute the achievements of players who return in a different uniform. To put this into context: Zaza Pachulia was once feted on film by the Atlanta Hawks. LeBron incited the behavior at the start by performing his signature chalk-toss before tipoff, a gesture he previously reserved only for Cleveland.īut here’s what was more noticeable: after spending seven years with the Cavs, winning two Kia MVPs and taking a talent-starved team to The Finals in 2007, LeBron didn’t receive a video tribute that night, which has become standard in the NBA today for returning heroes.
The reception was as hostile as expected: home-made signs scribbled with insults, chants of “Scot-tie Pip-pen” - linking LeBron as Dwyane Wade’s co-star - and an overall nasty atmosphere throughout the game in which LeBron was booed with every touch of the ball. This was months after LeBron famously dumped Cleveland for the Miami Heat in free agency and, for many Cavs fans, that return date was circled in red, the color of blood. Security at Quicken Loans Arena was on high alert - LeBron was escorted by more bodyguards than usual - and for that game, beer was sold only in cups instead of plastic bottles. LeBron James will get squeezed into the bosom of Cavs fans and greeted fabulously when he makes his first return as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, which means this isn’t 2010 anymore.Īlmost eight years ago today, Cleveland also pulled out all the stops during a LeBron return visit - meaning, to protect him from potential violence. He will feel and hear the love tonight and bathe in a level of warm comforts that no other visiting player has ever experienced in Cleveland before. At the very least, it's promising to be a good read and might provide a laugh or two.* Tonight on ESPN: Lakers vs.
Shaq talks about how he wasn't hard on LeBron like he was other young stars, as well. One excerpt talks about how LeBron made an error by not getting back on defense, but the team glossed over it during film study, but Mike Brown got on Mo Williams about the very same thing on the next play. There's more excerpts to check out at that link, it's pretty telling stuff regarding LeBron's treatment in Cleveland. Nobody wanted him to leave Cleveland, so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted to do. Our coach, Mike Brown, was a nice guy, but he had to live on edge because nobody was supposed to be confrontational with LeBron. HOOPSWORLD has some good excerpts, emphasis mine: He mentions that James was given special treatment above any other player he's seen before, giving specific examples to times when James was excused from making errors and mental mistakes. O'Neal talks about how James was supposedly given a very, very long leash by the Cleveland coaching staff. That last bit is the juicy part, at least by our reckoning.
The book will talk about, among other things, his relationship with Dwight Howard, his feud with Kobe Bryant and also his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. 15, he's set to release an autobiography titled "Shaq Uncut: My Story." The book chronicles O'Neal's life from his childhood to retirement and is expected to be a good source of inside, behind-the-scenes dishing about the teams and players he's been around throughout his career. Shaquille O'Neal is not about to slow down in regards to being in the headlines, not by a long shot.
0 kommentar(er)
