February 3
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Chris Bosh will have to wait a week, but he's already found himself in an All-Star debate. While, as expected, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were announced Thursday as All-Star Game starters in the final tabulation of fan voting, the remaining member of the Miami Heat's Big Three will have to wait until next Thursday, when voting among conference coaches for reserves is announced. James and Wade are joined in the Eastern Conference starting lineup by Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony."
February 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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To say LeBron James' dunking juices are stirring would be an understatement. Two days after the fact, he still was talking Wednesday about what Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin did Monday night to Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins. So could this finally be it, the year James takes his dunks to the show level and enters the dunking contest during All-Star Weekend in Orlando, perhaps to go one-on-one against Griffin? "I don't know. I'll be on the fence every year about it," he said following the Miami Heat's shootaround at the Bradley Center, in advance of their game against the Milwaukee Bucks."
February 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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LeBron James had it all at the start. So did the Miami Heat. Then it all went away. Did it ever. Up 18 early after a 24-point first quarter by James, the Heat imploded in the second half of what became a 105-97 loss Wednesday night to the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center, one of the ugliest moments in the Heat's Big Three era. "What that second half showed, is we still have a long way to go as a ballclub," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It can go the other way quickly if you don't stay close to your identity." The Heat didn't even come close to doing that, wasting what turned into a season-high 40-point effort by James. He previous high had been 37 on Christmas Day against the Los"
February 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The tag-team approach is back. And now no one is talking about LeBron James or Dwyane Wade being better by themselves. Not when they're playing this well in tandem. Not after these past three games. With Wade back from the sprained right ankle that kept him out for six games, James and Wade have regained their common stride in victories against the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets, part of the five-game winning streak the Heat carry into Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. "It is at an all-time high right now, honestly," James said of the chemistry between the two. "It is just a chemistry that we have. Last year was a blueprint for us. It is not like"
January 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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With the Hornets in town, the buzz was gone. No, this was not the electric atmosphere of Sunday afternoon, when the Miami Heat made a rare regular-season statement with their decision over the Chicago Bulls. Instead, it opened as every bit the struggle of the second night of the Heat's previous two home-and-home back-to-back sets. Languid. Lethargic. Listless. With New Orleans making 10 of its first 11 shots. The difference is unlike those games against the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, the Heat found their second wind and used it to blow past the West-worst Hornets 109-95 Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena."
January 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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What a day. What a game. What a stage for the one real rivalry in the East — Heat vs. Bulls — that delivered such full-court emotion, Chicago guard Derrick Rose stood by his locker afterward and … What the … What's he … Tears? 'Give me one,'' Rose said, eyes welling up, of the two foul shots he missed with 22.7 seconds left in the Heat's 97-93 win. "I missed both of those. … Come on." A year ago, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra admitted players were crying in the locker room after a loss to Chicago to offer how much they cared. The idea became another laughtrack of that Heat time. Crygate, it was labeled."
January 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Playoffs in January? About as close as you're going to get in the NBA. On a day the NFL and NHL offered gloried exhibitions of All-Star triteness, the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls offered true grit Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena. "For a regular-season game, that's probably as intense as you'll find," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "It had intensity, to say the least." Get the FREE Miami Hoops iPhone and Android app Playoffs in January? You bet, all the way to the finish of a 97-93 Heat victory that sent a message from both sides to the rest of the Eastern Conference that there is us and then everybody else. "In many regards," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, "it was a typical"
January 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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This time LeBron James was finishing. On the court. At the foul line. Whatever it took. And this time, Erik Spoelstra, who has taken such pride this lockout-compacted season in measuring the minutes of his star forward, wasn't about to get in the way. So with Dwyane Wade sidelined yet again, and with the too-young-to-know-any-better Detroit Pistons mounting an unexpected challenge, Spoelstra stepped back."
January 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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LeBron James balked at the implication going in, that this somehow was himself vs. Kobe Bryant, even with Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade again sidelined by a balky right ankle. James then nearly made the debate moot when he missed the morning shootaround with flu symptoms. Ultimately, James found himself with ample support, in a 98-87 victory Thursday night over the Los Angeles Lakers that lifted the Heat to 5-0 in Wade's absence this season and 10-4 overall. "I just wanted to be there for my teammates," he said, after finishing with 31 points, eight rebound and eight assists."
January 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist David Hyde
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There was this fascinating scene at the end of the first half that spoke of the larger night and, beyond that, to the season the Heat wants to play out. LeBron James was guarded by Kobe Bryant, just as you'd want, as the night asked. Bryant recently said only Chris Paul and Derrick Rose were clutch players in his mold. That's not the stage LeBron wants a debate to be on just now. Kobe has a career portfolio for winning big moments. LeBron is defined by his Dallas disappearance until the next Finals."
January 19
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat may be without two of their Big Three. As many expected, Dwyane Wade will not play Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers because of a sprained right ankle. But LeBron James may also not be available. The Heat forward will be a game-time decision, as he left shootaround early with the flu. James played through the same sickness in Tuesday's victory over the San Antonio Spurs, but his health began to regress Wednesday night. "He didn't feel good last night," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He feels a little bit more like he did two days ago. That bug has been going around.""
January 14
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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His beloved Dallas Cowboys did not make the playoffs, and that stings for LeBron James. But he'll always have Tim Tebow. Saying he can relate to the Denver Broncos quarterback on so many levels, James said Friday he has found himself keeping an eye on the former University of Florida star, who faces the New England Patriots on Saturday night in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.' "Honestly, I've been paying attention to Tebow all year, even while I was watching the Cowboys," James said Friday at Pepsi Center, prior to his Miami Heat playing the Denver Nuggets. "I love to see what a guy can do when his back is up against a wall, when everybody is counting him out." Asked why, James"
January 13
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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First of all, let's get past the exaggeration. LeBron James did not take 42 steps before getting to the foul line in the closing seconds of regulation Wednesday. Five or six are closer to reality. But, as the video above shows, that was quite a stroll at the end of regulation for the Heat forward against the Clippers. Because James could not make his free throws, the issue became moot."
January 12
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Fresh off his appearance on "Saturday Night Live," Charles Barkley changed mediums Wednesday, but continued with a familiar theme: LeBron James as passive superstar. Asked on Chicago's "Waddle & Silvy Show" about the Heat forward failing to even attempt a single shot in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors, Barkley said it was just more of the same. "I think LeBron James' personality is he just defers," he told the ESPN radio affiliate. Barkley said it was no surprise that when Dwyane Wade returned from a three-game absence due to a bruised left foot, James' scoring total went down."
January 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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For the second time in as many weeks of this late-starting NBA season, Miami Heat forward LeBron James has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant took the Western Conference honor for games played Jan. 2 through Jan. 8. James, who also won the conference honor for the season's first week, helped the Heat to a 3-1 week, leading the Heat in scoring each game. Over the four games, he averaged 31 points on .607 shooting, along with 9.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 1.33 steals. Heat power forward Chris Bosh was among other nominees for the East honor."
January 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The announcement that Dwyane Wade would be unable to go came about 45 minutes before tipoff. The fact that LeBron James again was good to go came during the first quarter. Over. And over. And over again. A game after both Miami Heat stars sat out Thursday's triple-overtime victory against the Atlanta Hawks, the return of James was enough Saturday night in a 101-90 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center. "Once I said I was going to give it a go, then it was back to business," James said."
January 5
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Through the prism of the Big Three, sometimes the little things can go unnoticed. But with Dwyane Wade sidelined Wednesday with a bruised left foot, his teammates, including one in particular, found themselves with a greater portion of the canvas to take stock of themselves. So James Jones, starting in place of Wade, stepped into a series of silky 3-pointers, Chris Bosh took a more aggressive bent in getting to the line, and LeBron James filled out the box score. Boy did he ever."
January 2
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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A lot of memories have been made since Dwyane Wade and LeBron James decided to team up to play on the Miami Heat. And just after the clock struck midnight to bring in the new year on Sunday morning, the duo did it again at the Shelborne Hotel in South Beach. As James' friends, family and teammates turned to one another to say, "Happy New Year," the All-Star forward picked up an engagement ring from Wade, who was in charge of holding it until that moment. James then dropped to one knee and proposed to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson, who said yes. "It was real cool," James said. "It was an opportunity for me with my personal life, so it was good. My girl, she's very excited." Brinson"
January 1
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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A far more engaging personality in his second season with the Miami Heat, LeBron James took that premise to a higher level Saturday. A James representative confirmed Sunday to the Sun Sentinel that the All-Star forward is now engaged to his longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson. James celebrated both New Year's Eve and his 27th birthday, which was Friday, with a Saturday celebration on South Beach. That is when he popped the question. James and Brinson, his high-school sweetheart, have two young sons, 7-year-old LeBron Jr. and 4-year-old Bryce."
December 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Iran Winderman
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Well this certainly is an imposing combination, perhaps even more imposing than the Heat's Big Three: A Saturday's New Year's Eve party on South Beach that also is doubling as LeBron James' birthday party, with the Heat forward turning 27 Friday. According to the New York Post, James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and their significant others will be among the 50 or so at the Shelborne Hotel, with a post-dinner Lauryn Hill concert to follow. But it's what follows New Year's Eve that could limit the revelry. The Heat not only have back-to-back home games on Sunday and Monday, against the Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks, but then leave later in the week for a weeklong coast-to-coast trip that"
December 31
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Memo to Miami Heat operations department: Next time use more force with the NBA office to schedule LeBron James' birthday as a home game. The AmericanAirlines Arena crowd deserves better than being deprived of such theatrics. Once again offering his birthday best, this time on the day he turned 27, James helped the Heat overcome a gimpy Dwyane Wade and shaky foul shooting to match the franchise's best-ever start at 4-0, with a 103-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. "They gave us everything we could handle," said coach Erik Spoelstra, who actually might have been the Heat's star of the game for the play he drew up for a sidelines out-of-bounds set with 6 seconds"
December 30
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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"Yeah," LeBron James said with a smile, "I do." The question at Thursday's optional Miami Heat workout at the Target Center was whether he still remembered how to shoot 3-pointers. Through three games, and a very conscious effort, he has yet to attempt a single 3-pointer. Last season, by contrast, he attempted 279, an average of 3 1/2 per game. This season, James said he's not even practicing them on a regular basis. "I've cut back a lot," he said. "I still work on it and still shoot it. It's not part of my everyday workout, though." That doesn't mean the weapon has been removed from his arsenal. "I don't know if I'll be able to go a whole season without shooting a 3," he said with a"
December 26
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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That victory the Miami Heat were looking for last June in Dallas? They found it Sunday. That additional element to make the game easier? They apparently have found that, as well. Doing to the Dallas Mavericks' championship celebration what the Mavericks did to their 2011 championship hopes, the Heat got the best of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to roll to a 105-94 season-opening Christmas Day rout Sunday at American Airlines Center. "It was a good, business, professional win for us tonight to get this thing started," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We understand this is going to be a wild journey." Celebrities: See who is courtside at the Finals In a game played at a decidedly non-playoff pace,"
December 24
Miami Herald
columnist Israel Gutierrez
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Think back to the Finals failures that stand out most. The LeBron James step-back jumper from the baseline when all that stood between him and the basket was a 6-4 Jason Kidd. LeBron's awkward post-up attempt against the even smaller J.J. Barea that resulted in an offensive foul. Go back even farther to the regular-season failures in game-winning situations. The swatted attempt against Amare Stoudemire and the Knicks. LeBron's difficult lefty layup attempt over Joakim Noah in the torturous loss to the Bulls. Nothing about those moments looked comfortable for LeBron. He's among the most intimidating presences in the league, with maybe only Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin even comparable,"
December 23
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ira Winderman
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Q: There is no better defense for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh than LeBron James dominating the ball and forcing shots. The Heat will never be the team that they can be until they play as a team on the offensive end of the floor. He won't hit those forced jumpers more than one night out of three, at best. He is such a good passer that he could be so much more. -- Ron. A: Which is why I would think more structure in the offense would be a good thing. Wednesday, even though only an exhibition, raised concerns. I think breaking LeBron of old habits isn't going to be as easy as occasionally stationing him in the post."
December 15
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Lights! Camera! Dwyane Wade! LeBron James! Chris Bosh! At the podium on media day. In front of the photographers. Celebrities: See who is courtside at the Finals And amid daily media throngs after practice. The others? You can find them to the side, often alone, waiting for the Miami Heat star attractions to finish their mega media obligations. "We," power forward Udonis Haslem said, "work on the bus and make sure it keeps working." While it could be debated whether the Miami Heat started the latest incarnation of the NBA's "Big Three" trend, what's become clear is that teams aren't necessarily viewed as "teams" anymore, but rather as core players and the rest of the roster."
December 10
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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There's one opening question about the Heat this year, and it isn't about Chris Bosh's 10 added pounds, what Shane Battier brings or if Eddy Curry can rediscover his path with this franchise. The question is about LeBron James. Dwyane Wade took the first swing at it after the first practice Friday. Wade talked about comfort, trust and relationships. He said how LeBron likes to laugh and didn't much last year. Wade said, "We all know he's a talented guy. It's all about getting comfortable with the Miami way. … He's got to be the type of person that's made him successful. I don't think he was that last year." Finally, at a pause in Wade's good and lengthy answer, LeBron said, "You know I'm"
December 8
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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Among the Big Three, he was the one who was here first. To a degree, that puts Dwyane Wade in a different place with the Miami Heat than LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Wednesday, at the media launch event for his Jordan Fly Wade 2 sneaker, Wade spoke very much as a team captain, the lone member of the team's Big Three with such a designation. During a relaxed interview conducted in the bleachers of a gym in downtown Miami, Wade offered his thoughts about James' tumultuous year, Bosh's growth as an equal partner in the team's postseason success, and how he has stepped back when it comes to recruiting and the free agency of backcourt partner Mario Chalmers. He also spoke two days before"