The proof is in the pudding...Lebron is a hoe with no backbone...
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Lorenzo de Medici
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By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine
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The Miami Heat's players are frustrated with Erik Spoelstra and some are questioning whether he is the right coach for their team, according to people close to the situation.
With the ballyhooed Heat losing four of their last five games and sporting a mediocre 9-8 record, the players are privately grumbling about Spoelstra on several fronts.
Sources say the players believe he is not letting them be themselves, that they are questioning his offensive strategies, and that they think he is panicking because he fears losing his job.
Stein on Spoelstra's situation
The pressure on Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has been simmering for a while. ESPN.com's Marc Stein has some perspective on where we've been, and where we might be headed. Blog
In contrast to the popular view that Spoelstra has been hesitant to jump on superstars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, sources say the Heat coach has shown no fear in criticizing them.
Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious."
"He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."
It is not known whether the players voiced their concerns about Spoelstra during their players-only meeting following Saturday's loss at Dallas. Nor is it apparent whether the bump between James and Spoelstra during a timeout in that game was accidental or a result of tension between the two.
Following the loss Saturday to Dallas, Wade said: "I never would put anything on the coach -- win, lose or draw -- because they can give us the game plan but they're not on the court playing. ... Now it's time to take ownership. This is our team, even though we respect our coaches for what they do."
According to the sources, the Heat players believe Spoelstra's offensive strategies have been too simplistic. They feel like he is running nothing but pick-and-rolls and telling the Heat's secondary players to find open spots on the floor for catch-and-shoot jumpers.
The sources said the players also think the constant speculation about Spoelstra's job security is getting to the third-year coach and that he has resorted to nitpicking over minor details because of it.
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"He's not a motivator," one of the sources said. "Instead of coaching he's at the point where the players are starting to sense that he's fearing for his job."
"I don't worry about changes," Wade said on Saturday. "I can't control them. Only thing we can control is our effort and the way we play."
While the players may be having their doubts about Spoelstra, it is not clear whether they want team president Pat Riley to coach them. Several people close to the situation said Wade definitely does not want Riley to come down to the sidelines. Sources also said that while recruiting players this past summer, Riley insisted that he would not coach the team.
"Riley kept saying 'Spoelstra's a good coach and he'll grow into a great coach,' " a source said. "He said he got his coaching break [with the Los Angeles Lakers] around the same age as Spoelstra got his."
It is widely believed that Riley does not want to coach this season. However, one source said that privately Riley has at times been critical of the Heat's game-planning.
While expectations around the league have started to lessen for the Heat because of their struggles, the sources said the players still have a championship-or-bust mentality for this season and that they are open to whatever changes are necessary to get there.
While the players think that may mean a coaching change, one member of the Heat organization said the team is suffering from a lack of leadership from the players, not the coach.
"They don't want to step on each other's toes," the person said. "There's no leader on the team. Somebody has to speak up and be the leader on the team. They can't be afraid to step on people's toes. They need a vocal leader who's going to make everybody accountable. I don't think it's on the coach. It's on the players."
Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine.
? forbid the coach tells you to treat the game seriously. LeBron is not a winner. Plain and simple.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/news/story?id=5862172
Comments
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Well we knew the coach was gonna get blamed if this didnt work out.... Didnt think it would happen so soon.
Didnt Wade say he didnt wanna play for Pat Riley again??? -
Lebron seems like a dude that just likes being famous and wants to be cool. Dont get me wrong thats normal and all.? forbid the coach tells you to treat the game seriously. LeBron is not a winner. Plain and simple.
But...it dont win championships. -
LOL @ Spo being the Brad Childress of the NBA, maybe that bump was intentional
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pat riley is just twindling his thumbs and van gundy probably looks like the second biggest fool behind spoelstra
the jackson said it out loud, riley got next -
the heat should hire rick adelman
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i think it was shaq that hated those 3 hour praticesWell we knew the coach was gonna get blamed if this didnt work out.... Didnt think it would happen so soon.
Didnt Wade say he didnt wanna play for Pat Riley again??? -
Lebron seems like a dude that just likes being famous and wants to be cool. Dont get me wrong thats normal and all.
But...it dont win championships.
I knew this from the jump... when someone emphatically says they want to be the first billionaire athlete its tell you alot about that person.. You add up all the actions from the past few years.. and well there you have it... the higher the pressure the more he shrinks..
Thats pretty brave of Spo i guess you can say ? like that whenyou have the support of Wade who has said with conviction he loves his coach.. and Bron has never heard that.They still will be ok.. but when the going gets tough .. lebron gets going... but they should right the regular season ship. -
According to the sources, the Heat players believe Spoelstra's offensive strategies have been too simplistic. They feel like he is running nothing but pick-and-rolls and telling the Heat's secondary players to find open spots on the floor for catch-and-shoot jumpers.
wait wasnt that what everybody expected them to do anyway with Lebron and Wade....lmao....and what the hell is Riley gonna do different than Spo?...thier roster is the problem not the coaching -
wait wasnt that what everybody expected them to do anyway with Lebron and Wade....lmao....and what the hell is Riley gonna do different than Spo?...thier roster is the problem not the coaching
The strength and weaknesses of there superstars also..are hampering the team.. they and fans really thought this shis was gonna be easy -
playmaker88 wrote: »The strength and weaknesses of there superstars also..are hampering the team.. they and fans really thought this shis was gonna be easy
co-sign.... -
and this is LeBron's fault how? why is this a story? ya'll blame this ? for more ? than The Reason blames Jay-Z for...coach tells him to stop joking during practice...it's not the first time a coach has said that and given that LeBron has been playing basketball since he was probably about 8 it's not the first time a coach has told him "Stop jokign during practice"
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and this is LeBron's fault how? why is this a story? ya'll blame this ? for more ? than The Reason blames Jay-Z for...coach tells him to stop joking during practice...it's not the first time a coach has said that and given that LeBron has been playing basketball since he was probably about 8 it's not the first time a coach has told him "Stop jokign during practice"
The issue is that LeBron wants to be "the guy" and they said there's no leader on the team. The issue is that LeBron wants to be 'the guy" and his team mates and probably him as well has an issue with him being called out in practice. That's the problem. You're the one with the fame, you want this to be your team, you made "the decision", so it's up to you to lead this team and stop being a ? . -
and the implode begins..........
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The Miami Heat's players are frustrated with Erik Spoelstra and some are questioning whether he is the right coach for their team, according to people close to the situation.
With the ballyhooed Heat losing four of their last five games and sporting a mediocre 9-8 record, the players are privately grumbling about Spoelstra on several fronts.
Sources say the players believe he is not letting them be themselves, that they are questioning his offensive strategies, and that they think he is panicking because he fears losing his job.
"Right now, in my opinion, no one is doing a good job," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, asked Monday about Spoelstra's performance. "We're 9-and-8. We're all in this together. The players are not doing a good job. The coach is not doing a good job."
In contrast to the popular view that Spoelstra has been hesitant to jump on Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, sources say the Heat coach has shown no fear in criticizing them.
Exhibit A was a recent shootaround in which Spoelstra told James that he had to get more serious. The source said Spoelstra called James out in front of the entire team, telling him, "I can't tell when you're serious."
"He's jumping on them," one source said. "If anything, he's been too tough on them. Everybody knows LeBron is playful and likes to joke around, but Spoelstra told him in front of the whole team that he has to get more serious. The players couldn't believe it. They feel like Spoelstra's not letting them be themselves."
But Spoelstra, at the Heat's morning shootaround ahead of Monday night's game against Washington, said players and coaches don't always get along -- and that's normal.
"A coach-player relationship in this league often will be confrontational at times. And other times, it's smooth sailing," he said. "But just the dynamic of the competitive nature of everybody, expectations, results -- all these things combine, yeah, sometimes it will get testy. And that's good. Especially when people have a pure heart and mind about getting better, that just shows that the sides want to make it right."
While he talked about his team's frustration at its play not yet matching its lofty expectations, Spoelstra did not directly respond to the comments.
"If it's an unnamed source, I have no comment about that. That could come from anywhere," he said. "I think the guys in our locker room are pure about what we need to get done and to improve and that's all I'll comment on. Anything else is really just speculation."
Wade said winning will fix everything.
"When success comes we win as a whole," he said. "If we win four in a row, coach is going to look great. If we have a good December, you're going to be talking about coach of the year. And he might not change a thing."
It is not known whether the players voiced their concerns about Spoelstra during their players-only meeting following Saturday's loss at Dallas. Nor is it apparent whether the bump between James and Spoelstra during a timeout in that game was accidental or a result of tension between the two.
Spoelstra said he "didn't even notice" the bump until it was mentioned after the game.
"Coming out of the timeout, it's a pinball at the game, I'm colliding into a lot of people. So it's probably a perfect case of overspeculation from this team," he said Monday.
"I was fine with that timeout. The fact that guys are not happy about the play, tempers rose, you could see the fire and passion in people's eyes. That's the way it should be," he added. "None of us should be happy about what was going on in the third quarter and taking it in stride."
According to the sources, the Heat players believe Spoelstra's offensive strategies have been too simplistic. They feel like he is running nothing but pick-and-rolls and telling the Heat's secondary players to find open spots on the floor for catch-and-shoot jumpers.
The sources said the players also think the constant speculation about Spoelstra's job security is getting to the third-year coach and that he has resorted to nitpicking over minor details because of it.
"He's not a motivator," one of the sources said. "Instead of coaching he's at the point where the players are starting to sense that he's fearing for his job."
While the players may have their doubts about Spoelstra, it is not clear whether they want team president Pat Riley to coach them. Several people close to the situation said Wade definitely does not want Riley to come down to the sidelines. Sources also said that while recruiting players this past summer, Riley insisted that he would not coach the team.
"Riley kept saying 'Spoelstra's a good coach and he'll grow into a great coach,' " a source said. "He said he got his coaching break [with the Los Angeles Lakers] around the same age as Spoelstra got his."
It is widely believed that Riley does not want to coach this season. However, one source said that privately Riley has at times been critical of the Heat's game-planning.
While expectations around the league have started to lessen for the Heat because of their struggles, the sources said the players still have a championship-or-bust mentality for this season and that they are open to whatever changes are necessary to get there.
"Come on, if you lose, no one's going to be happy and nor should they be," Spoelstra said Monday. "Our group is still connected. So we're still trying to work and get better. That's the only thing we're focused on right now. As all the noise starts to raise outside of our circle, we have to stay connected and get through this. It will get better. "
While the players think that may mean a coaching change, one member of the Heat organization said the team is suffering from a lack of leadership from the players, not the coach.
"They don't want to step on each other's toes," the person said. "There's no leader on the team. Somebody has to speak up and be the leader on the team. They can't be afraid to step on people's toes. They need a vocal leader who's going to make everybody accountable. I don't think it's on the coach. It's on the players."
http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=5862172&top -
Kobe and Jordan did not play around and that is why they both have multiple championships.You won't see Brady doing that simple minded ? or he would not be a 3 time Sb champion.Jeter did not go into Yankee stadium acting like a pre schooler.What all of this means is that franchise players,leaders are all bout business which makes them the greatest.
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even if the coach is not that good.Super star players should never only score 3 points in a game or miss shots the way Wade and Bron has.Bosh has been struggling too.They can not even play well individually.
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I already made this thread, ? .
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that bump was uncalled for. lebron i feel cant deal with the criticism/pressure now with the team being 9-8, and hes looking for a scapegoat.
can anybody answer this for me......what was the cavs' worst starting record with lebron?? i dont think they started this bad though -
even if the coach is not that good.Super star players should never only score 3 points in a game or miss shots the way Wade and Bron has.Bosh has been struggling too.They can not even play well individually.
They want to win Ships but dont want to work hard for it... -
bron just sour cause he got called out for being a clown...
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these ? dont want to take the blame point blank ....
so its the coaches fault wade is having 3 and 7 point nights ...?
gtfoh these ? thought it was gon be a benz ride to the finals .... -
copperkid27 wrote: »bron just sour cause he got called out for being a clown...
this too .... Bron seems like the type to take ? to drastic measures if he gets called out .... dramatic ass queen .. -
no ones above being called out for things...thats a sign that he and some of his teammates thinks he bigger than the game
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what should he do?
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Bron wild for that ? ....
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