Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

[Gramps91]

So basically you don't like the guy because he wants to be the best(god forbid someone want to be the best) and because ESPN treated him like he was important(ESPN could have easily said,we're not doing "The Decision") Oh and also because he apparently likes to have fun. Am I wrong with my assessment?

Everyone wants to be the best. He decided a long time ago he was the best before he ever won a ring. He could have also easily said, "I'm not going to act like I'm the most f***ing important thing in the Universe" and he should have been locked in instead being a complete baffoon. Maybe he could have won a championship in Cleveland if he had been more focused on basketball and less focused on being stupid. Since going to the Heat he has focused more on locking in (aside from the completely ridiculous photo bombs) and I give him credit for that. He doesn't celebrate before winning now. He wins first and celebrates after.

[AlexBrady]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

Okay, here is where I have the problem. How were the Heat the better team going into that summer?

The 2nd thing is, the Cleveland front office never really made any attempts to surround the guy with better talent. Lebrons best teammate in the end was Boobie Gibson.......who the hell wants to stick around for that. I don't blame the guy, I would have hauled *** too.

Everybody likes to bring up that Bird,Magic, and Jordan wouldn't have done that, well why would they have. Bird played for squads that had three other Hall of Famers in the starting lineup. Magic played for squads that featured two other hall of famers in the starting lineup. And Jordan did more whining about wanting out than anybody,just go read the Jordan Rules. My point is, they were playing with outstanding talent, so why would they go anywhere? Let me ask you, you think Bird,Magic or Jordan are gonna stick around when their best sidekick is Boobie Gibson?

LeBron didn't do much to increase the effectiveness of his Cleveland teammates. He didn't set screens or move without the ball. The opposing defense knew he was always going to be put in a screen/roll up top and they loaded up on him.

[kgbrolic]

Its not Lebron per se. America hates the Heat because this team is not organic. I never remember hating the Heat ever in my life before now (Tim Hardaway, Zo, "Baby Jordan" Harold Minor, Thunder Dan, Voshon Leonard, Bimbo Coles, Ronny Seikaly, Wade/Shaq, etc). I loved all those players. I like Lebron individually too...BUT...

The hate comes from the fact that they are a fake team. A bought team. You have a bunch of players that were pretty major stars before they came to the Heat, they all come together and weasel their way into making a legit team (taking less money, etc) and then think they are the best thing since sliced bread. And it is absolutely disgusting to me. And all of these FAKE Miami Heat fans that came out of nowhere just puts the icing on the cake. I bet that 50% of their current fans are bandwagons and the other 50% are probably Miami residents who hated the Heat...but love them now because they have Lebron.

They are all just a mockery. Plain and simple.

[Sgt_Carnage]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

LOL!!! There was Bulls hate it's just that there was no Social Media, ESPN Message Boards or Media Fueled rivalries that never existed. I stopped viewing it as hate people are going to cheer for the team they cheer for and jeer the other. The funniest thing is that at this point people that do dislike Lebron for leaving Cleveland are few and far between...yea I see some here but to be honest they can only "(Fill in random legend) would have never left his team to play with another superstar" yet they can't explain why Lebron had to carry the team to the playoffs every year.

I guess nobody realized how hard Lebron had to work just to get his Cleveland in the Finals....and yet he's a coward for leaving when his contract ended. LMAO!!! I find holding a team hostage demanding a trade is alot worse than leaving for a new team when you have fulfilled all of your obligations to that team.

I hate that arguement. They say "Oh,Larry Bird wouldn't have done that." Okay then you go and look at what was around Bird and you're like "well why would he leave, the team he's playing for is stacked." Lets stop acting like Bird and Magic were surrounded by stiffs. Lets stop acting like being surrounded by Pippen,Horace Grant and John Paxson isn't a better situation that being surrounded by Antwan Jamison, Anthony Parker and Mo Williams.

[OrganizedChaos]

I am a huge Miami Heat fan, To me LeBron James is the hardest working NBA player in the league and his playing style is unmatched. My favorite part of his game was what dogged him in Cleveland, he wanted to make the best basketball decision on each possession which usually meant hitting a guard wide open in the corner who would then brick the shot. He's not the most purest of scorers but hes the best 6'9'' passer/defender I've ever seen. I'd love to see a Miami v Bulls series.

[Sgt_Carnage]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

Its not Lebron per se. America hates the Heat because this team is not organic. I never remember hating the Heat ever in my life before now (Tim Hardaway, Zo, "Baby Jordan" Harold Minor, Thunder Dan, Voshon Leonard, Bimbo Coles, Ronny Seikaly, Wade/Shaq, etc). I loved all those players. I like Lebron individually too...BUT...

The hate comes from the fact that they are a fake team. A bought team. You have a bunch of players that were pretty major stars before they came to the Heat, they all come together and weasel their way into making a legit team (taking less money, etc) and then think they are the best thing since sliced bread. And it is absolutely disgusting to me. And all of these FAKE Miami Heat fans that came out of nowhere just puts the icing on the cake. I bet that 50% of their current fans are bandwagons and the other 50% are probably Miami residents who hated the Heat...but love them now because they have Lebron.

They are all just a mockery. Plain and simple.

You can say the same thing about alot of the fans during the Bulls championship years, or the Shaq/Kobe dynasty years. This is nothing new.

Also,how did they weasel their way into anything? They were free agents, they had the right to go where they wanted. Some of you act like these guys were still under contract and forced their way out of town.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

^Lol @ your sig.

Just Lol.

[kennyacid]

Simple.. People hate them because their team keep losing to them

[ojandpizza]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

I really the hate the "Heat are a bought team" argument.. Every team in the league is a "bought team", these guys aren't playing for free. And this isn't baseball, it's not like Miami has all the money to throw at these guys, everyone has the same cap.


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[VDusen04]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

Also,how did they weasel their way into anything? They were free agents, they had the right to go where they wanted. Some of you act like these guys were still under contract and forced their way out of town.

I agree. Their decisions were most definitely legal. But for the folks who favor competition, it was not a very savory series of transactions. Three prime time Dream Teamers from the Eastern Conference grouped together as a means of minimizing competition. That's not really fun for a lot of viewers and fans, particularly if that team wins as expected, even when some of their players perform at a fraction of their full potential (i.e. Wade).

[ThreeKing]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

It's EVERYTHING about them.


-The team is a bunch of prima-donna, 'look-at-me', d-bags.

-Even the PA guy is a loud-mouthed, arrogant, annoying ****stick.

-They found a "loophole" in the system to team up.

-They also get ring-chasers helping out.

-The amount of egregious bull**** calls they receive during the playoffs is an absolute travesty.

-The 'prison-ball' defense they're allowed to play.

-The suck-***, blowhard Miami media that is constantly swinging from their junk.

-But more importantly and probably the biggest reason a ton of people hate them, is because of their arrogant, mouthy, douchey, front-running, pathetic fanbase. If LeBron were to leave, that gym would be completely empty on a nightly basis.


Simply can't wait until they're done. THAT'S when you'll see the REAL Heat fans. All 7 of them.

[AlexBrady]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

I am a huge Miami Heat fan, To me LeBron James is the hardest working NBA player in the league and his playing style is unmatched. My favorite part of his game was what dogged him in Cleveland, he wanted to make the best basketball decision on each possession which usually meant hitting a guard wide open in the corner who would then brick the shot. He's not the most purest of scorers but hes the best 6'9'' passer/defender I've ever seen. I'd love to see a Miami v Bulls series.

In Cleveland, LeBron would play with the ball on a string for ten seconds and only then make the golden pass to his teammate in the corner. All the time standing around only amped up the pressure on the shooter. Plus, they knew that if they missed they wouldn't see the ball again.

[DubTrey1]

Back in the day, Jordan and the Bulls were not overexposed to the limits that all sports are at this point. Specific to this discussion - Miami and LeBron are dedicated fixtures on a network dedicated to NBA by the network that supports its own product - whereas ESPN was basically it for MJ and the rest of the world had to see what MJ did on highlights basically - since alot of the games were not always available nationwide... I mean WGN ran the games - but not all cable outlets carried it - at least not around my neck of the woods. The nation is all up in everybody's business in the world we live in now. Social media, NBATV, ESPN (all of them), FOX Sports1 etc - America is full of haters basically. No one likes anyone anymore unless they are on their home team, and if someone on their home team gets sideways, they want to run them out of town... In the end, I don't really care if the heat win, or Spurs do.. I just want a good series. Enjoy the games for what they are, and the players for that matter. When LeBron retires, everyone will start with all of the nostalgia on how awesome he was and how there will never be anyone as dominant as he was, with the size, skill and ability etc etc... Just IMO

[DiscountCleric]

If LeBron had convinced Wade & Bosh to come to Cleveland, or if Bosh had convinced Wade & LeBron to go to Toronto, the hate wouldn't be there. But they all went to the warm weather, to the party scene, to the city who made the playoffs 60+% of the time & was five years removed from winning a championship.

The city that needed them the least got them all, and two cities hungry for success were left to starve.

[ojandpizza]

Re: Sound Off: Why Does America Hate the Heat?

LeBron didn't do much to increase the effectiveness of his Cleveland teammates. He didn't set screens or move without the ball. The opposing defense knew he was always going to be put in a screen/roll up top and they loaded up on him.

C'mon AB, you know good and well that Cleveland team couldn't afford to play LeBron off the ball anymore than what they did.

Definitely do not agree he didn't increase the effectiveness of his teammates either.. He had Gibson, Sasha, and Gooden all playing at a starters level, 3 guys who a few years later don't even have jobs in the league anymore. Propelled Mo Williams from a bench guard to an All-Star. The only player who didn't elevate his game paired with LeBron was Hughes. Who Mike Brown often played out of position, and let him go iso whenever he wanted which led to contested jumper after contested jumper.


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