Lebron James

Thunder too talented Ira Winderman Sun Sentinel Thunder in six. If Chris Bosh were fully healthy, there might be an issue of overall talent. The Thunder simply come from too many directions with too many weapons. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will have to be at the absolute top of their games. The Thunder are young, athletic, long and talented. And that would seem to be too much to overcome. The Thunder are coming off a confidence-inspiring showing in the Western Conference finals against the Spurs, while the Heat are coming off a matter of survival against the Celtics.

Too good to let go K.C. Johnson Chicago Tribune Erik Spoelstra is as linked to Pat Riley as winning. So, yes, even if the Heat go 0-for-2 with the Big Three, Spoelstra will be back as coach. The better question is: Who would Riley get to replace Spoelstra? Riley knows as much as anyone that this roster still remains somewhat flawed. Frankly, that the Heat have overcome their glaring holes at center and point guard speak almost as much to Spoelstra's aptitude as the prodigious talents of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

LeBron still enemy No. 1 Ira Winderman Sun Sentinel By fans? By players? Different answers. With fans, LeBron James, whether he chooses to wear the tag of villain or not, is public enemy No. 1 for the way he changed the free-agency landscape and announced his decision. When it comes to players, Raja Bell has a unique way of getting under players' skin. Zaza Pachulia would be a close runner-up. As far as most embraced from the public perspective, few maximized their visibility during the lockout as well as Kevin Durant, whose marketing people could not have done a better job. With players, there is enduring respect for Grant Hill and how he persevered through career setbacks while maintaining sportsmanship in his play.

A-Rod. K-Rod. F-Rod. I-Rod. B-Rob. We are not living in the Golden Age of sports nicknames. J-Roll. O-Dog. T-Mac. D-Wade. These are not nicknames; they're contractions, abbreviations. Crowned "King James" at the outset of a career that has yet to see him win a championship, Lebron James was dubbed so because that version of the Bible is common parlance. It had - and has, given that he's ruled nothing yet in the NBA - no relevance. Mr. James might as well be nicknamed "Vulgate.

If you missed out on the Melo League All-Stars when they played the Washington-based Goodman League All-Stars at Morgan State University's Hill Field House last month, you now have a chance to watch Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul and others play a glorified streetball game on Sunday night. Well, that's assuming you have a computer, and since you're reading this now, that's probably a safe assumption. The Melo League All-Stars will play Team Philly, which is led by Tyreke Evans and Hakim Warrick, in a game that's being billed as the "Battle of I-95.

LeBron James is poised to take his talents to Baltimore. Amid the recent flurry of face-offs between leading pro-am leagues during the NBA lockout, the Miami Heat forward has said he will join a group of NBA stars that Tuesday will represent the Baltimore-based Melo League and take on Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant and a group of stars from the Washington-based Goodman League. "I'm in," he told the Associated Press on Sunday. The game, scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Morgan State University's Hill Field House, follows an Aug. 8 game at St. Frances that featured Durant and fellow NBA players Brandon Jennings and Josh Selby (Lake Clifton)

There appears to be no end in sight to the NBA lockout, but if you're lucky enough to secure a ticket to a friendly pickup basketball game being held Tuesday night at Morgan State, you'll likely see a wealth of NBA talent squaring off. Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony has recruited a group of friends that includes two-time league Most Valuable Player LeBron James, as well as All-Star point guard Chris Paul, to form the Melo All Stars. In an effort to raise money for Anthony's various charities and stay in basketball shape, they'll take on another team stocked with NBA players led by league scoring champ and Washington native Kevin Durant.

As if Americans couldn’t dislike LeBron James more after he told us that we “have to get back to the real world at some point,” he took his talents to a youth basketball camp and dunked on a pre-pubescent baller high school student who looks like a pre-pubescent baller in a friendly game of knockout. Afterward, LeBron told reporters he hates puppies and American-made automobiles. OK, so maybe I made that last part up, but people will act like he did after they watch this video.

If there's any team in sports that deserves to be mocked, it's the Miami Heat.  The temptation to dig into the Heat's NBA championship loss to the Dallas Mavericks -- and star Lebron James' arrogant behavior afterward -- proved too much last night for comedian Stephen Colbert. On his usually politics-focused show, Colbert played the clip of James' preseason event in which he and teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh celebrated their future eight championships (!) before they had even played a game together.  "Everyone knew they were destined to win," Colbert said.

Wade, Heat will prevail Steve Svekis Sun Sentinel It's a best-of-three series now, and the Heat own home-court advantage. With that being the case, Dwyane Wade will take home his second championship and Finals MVP trophies. Despite LeBron James' putrid offensive production down the stretch during this series (2.3 points per fourth quarter), the Heat still have been in position to win each game. If James remains in hibernation, there is a chance the Heat could drop another game at home, and Dirk Nowitzki could get revenge for his 2006 failings against the Heat.