Are Heat the next Bad Boys, or just misunderstood?

[Flash]

It's not fashionable to wear black on South Beach, or even wise, considering the soaring humidity. But do the Miami Heat have any other choice, seeing how that's the color they've been given by a segment of the basketball community?They were labeled: Bad Guys. Betrayers. The Team To Hate. And other descriptions that can't be printed here. The general public's hysteria has been gleefully whipped to a froth by a media that loves to designate certain teams and players as being good and evil. And now the image has taken a life of its own, like fungus, and training camp hasn't even started. Yes, it's just August.

 

<p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Somewhere, the Pistons of the late 1980s, a team that actually embraced the idea of being detested, are feeling mighty jealous right now.

 

Never mind that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, the three stars who are the center of the storm, have never been accused of hitting their woman.

 

Never mind they haven't been socked with drunken driving or texting while driving or even jaywalking, for that matter.

 

Forget that these three have never been busted for using drugs, selling drugs, carrying drugs or knocking off a drug store.

 

Did they ever clear out a bar by tossing bodies on the street, or punch an officer, or charged with sexual assault? No, no and no.

 

None of the three are accused of abandoning their children. If anything, Wade spent much of his summer engaged in a nasty divorce battle trying to get custody of his two young boys, whom he constantly dotes on.

 

And none of these players went into a rage and gave his girlfriend's father a beat-down (also known as pulling a K-Rod, as in Francisco Rodriguez, the Mets pitcher charged with doing just that).

 

None of that matters, right? Their crime was having the audacity to leave their former teams (Bron and Bosh) and hooking up to form a Supreme Team, an egotistical if not cowardly way (according to the many critics) to win a championship. As Wilt Chamberlain once said, "nobody roots for Goliath," and based on the talent of those three players alone, the Heat definitely fit the description.

 

Also, never mind that Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen teamed with Paul Pierce in Boston three years ago, which was mostly met with public approval and made KG, who couldn't wait to leave Minnesota, the feel-good story of the year.

 

<p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> So, yeah, it's convenient for some to portray the Heat as a symbol of what's wrong with sports, or rip them for dancing silly on a riser during their over-the-top welcome to Miami, or because a segment of the media says you should. But let's see. Does the black fedora actually fit this team and these players?

 

Or is the "outrage" way overblown?

 

Wade: He's guilty of ... well, at this point, guilty by association, unless somebody finds something solid on him. And good luck with that.

 

Wade is perhaps the most endearing public figure in Miami since Sonny Crockett. He led the Heat to their only title, with a historic performance in the NBA Finals. He smiles easily. He's about as humble as a star of his level gets. When Stan Van Gundy was jettisoned in a controversial decision by Pat Riley, it was Shaquille O'Neal with blood on his hands, not Wade. And it was Wade who threw his weight behind Erik Spoelstra when word circulated that Riley might return to the bench, if that's what it took to coach the incoming stars.

 

But: He openly recruited two players from their original teams to Miami to form something that might be special. What a creep, right?

 

Bosh: Fun-loving, inquisitive and quirky; that might be a fair description of Bosh. Few athletes have embraced the social media phenomenon as aggressively, which allows Bosh to reach his fans directly. While a fair amount of other NBA players (at least those born in the States) have a real problem playing in Canada, Bosh developed a love for Toronto, despite the wicked winters. He's considered a community treasure in South Dallas, where he's giving of his time and money to help those who grew up with the same social challenges as he did.

 

But: Bosh voiced his displeasure, on more than one occasion, about the Raptors' lack of heart, and was never sold on the franchise's direction. What a bum, right?

 

James: He grew up in Akron and then, when the sad-sack Cavaliers won the first overall pick, expressed joy at playing close to home. He actually looked forward to spending a long time in Cleveland, making him a rarity in sports. Up until Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semis this spring, he was relatively hate-proof, except for scattered incidents, most famously for the Riverdance that rubbed Joakim Noah the wrong way. He carried the Cavs on his back for seven years and never went Kobe on the franchise, meaning, he never went on a media blitz, demanded a trade and moaned about his team for an entire summer, as Bryant did a few years ago.

 

But: LeBron made that admittedly-dumb prime-time TV show. This has merit, along with his failure to thank Cleveland in a timely manner. The TV show offended everyone (although perhaps not the Boys and Girls Club, which received a nice check for charity). That makes him lame, right?

 

 

nba.com

[Lkr]

They aren't bad boys

[Flash]

They aren't bad boys

 

I don't think he meant that by the style of play, rather how everyone just loves to hate them now.

[fish7718]

They are major douchers, or at least they have been acting like it lately, that is all.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Wade isn't but it's odd how he wants to play with stars considering he won a title as the sole star.

 

Bosh is a baby and his comments about Toronto are rude and annoying.

 

LeBron is Prince James and apparently was acting the past 7 years as we see who he really is.

 

They are all boys. Just watch their party in Miami.

 

And what they did was pretty bad. I mean you have Bosh and James taking cheap shots at their former teams all summer. James is even isolating Cleveland and trying to make a war. That's how desperate they are for media attention. They all haven't shut up yet so it remains bad.

 

Are they bad boys of the NBA? No. They are superstars. Lights, Cameras, Glamor. They live for the starlight, not basketball.

[Real Deal]

If they weren't so cocky about the entire situation, I would love to see them in the Finals against the Lakers.

 

But really, how everything went down, the cockiness (not a lot from Wade, but he's gotten there), the showboating as if they already won...I HOPE it lasts until the playoffs, just like Cleveland's act did. I would love to see these guys lose in the first round, even Wade at this point (never thought I'd say that again after Shaq left the Heat, but here I am).

 

And I'm also rooting for the Knicks to put together a trio with Melo, Paul and Amare, and hopefully, they will be a bit more humble.

 

It would be nice for LeBron to read my posts, by the way. I want him to add me to his list of people he's keeping tabs on.

[Flash]

I can see where you guys are coming from on LeBron, I really do because not even I like how he handled the whole situation but Bosh and Wade? I haven't really seen D do anything remotely douchy aside from maybe the comment at the welcome party about being the best trio ever, but I think that was more a heat of the moment type of thing and Bosh I don't even know. If you can show me the comments about Toronto that's cool and then I can see where you guys are coming from on him. He just seems to be enjoying his new found celebrity status and I'm pretty sure it'll wear off eventually.

[Flash]

And I'm also rooting for the Knicks to put together a trio with Melo, Paul and Amare, and hopefully, they will be a bit more humble.

 

 

I doubt it. Our big 3, Melo and CP3 are all really tight so I don't think there's all that much difference in humility and I don't think playing in New York would make them all too humble either. I think that's what needs to happen though or have Melo and Paul go to NYC and Orlando respectively and then create a 3 headed monster in the East for the next decade or so.

Edited August 17, 2010 by Flash

[Cleveland's Finest]

Well D-Wade and Bosh had cameras following them during their free agency, even Wade watching LeBron's "Decision"...his reaction being videotaped...really?

 

It's that all summer they have been so interested in themselves.

Edited August 17, 2010 by The New Beginning

[Flash]

Well D-Wade and Bosh had cameras following them during their free agency, even Wade watching LeBron's "Decision"...his reaction being videotaped...really?

 

It's that all summer they have been so interested in themselves.

 

I think the documentary thing is whatever. No ones ever gotten to see what that's like and it would be pretty cool to get an inside look at how it really goes. And Wade didn't video tape his own reaction lol, that was just a random person at Prime 112 that was videoing him.

[Cleveland's Finest]

I'm sort of indifferent towards Wade. You are right, there's no reason to hate him. I just don't get why he felt he needed them. He always seemed like the one young superstar who was above it all. He had the ring, he was clutch and a true leader, and he was loyal. But then again I also don't like him because who he's friends with and his party.

Edited August 17, 2010 by The New Beginning

[Flash]

I'm sort of indifferent towards Wade. You are right, there's no reason to hate him. I just don't get why he felt he needed them. He always seemed like the one young superstar who was above it all. He had the ring, he was clutch and a true leader, and he was loyal. But then again I also don't like him because who he's friends with and his party.

 

Wade will always have the fact that he won that tile for us in 06 but I guess he just wanted to play with 2 of his closest friends and have a chance to win together. At this point, I don't think any of them care who's team it is or whatnot, I think they just wanna go through this together and have a chance to go down in history.

[Clutch]

honestly..i think you cant TRULY hate on anyone on that team except for bron for a lot of the reasons that he has been seeing haters for

 

you CERTAINLY can't hate on the organization...Riley said "dynasty" and delivered a team on paper that has potential to be exactly that - i respect the organization even more now, Riley especially..this dude always finds a way to bring in the players - im still remembering the mess they were in after shaq left...what an incredible turn around

 

those other reasons people are hating on wade and bosh and all the role players and stuff....thats just out of their own distaste for the bigger picture and fact that lebron is there - i dont think wade and bosh alone with the supporting cast would've gotten this much hate

[Real Deal]

Riley, Wade...they don't deserve hate for going out and trying to recruit guys to play for this team. Wade won his ring, he proved he is the man in Miami, and even today...well, it's still his team. And Riley just did his job.

 

James is a punk. I've went over this too many times. Self-explanatory.

 

Bosh did bad-mouth Toronto, the city, and put the organization down as well. The Raptors fans have all of the quotes...I really don't care enough about Chris Bosh to go hunting for them at this time. A post search in the Raptors forum will find them, also.

 

My opinion has never changed about Chalmers, Miller, Arroyo, even Haslem (despite his latest incident)...but LeBron and Bosh (mostly LBJ) has ruined any love I will ever show the Miami Heat.

[Flash]

"It was different. All I knew was Vince Carter was there and I never saw him play on TV. It was a whole different country, and it was just different. I'm 19 years old, I didn't know anything about culture and being away from home. All I know is the States."

 

"Toronto's a great place, a fantastic city. It's a metropolitan area, but you could tell you're somewhere different. You could feel it, you could look at it, you can smell it. Everything. All your senses tell you you're somewhere different."

 

That doesn't sound that bad to me...

"Toronto is different," he said. "For one, it's a different country. If you don't know you're in a different country when you land then something is wrong with your senses. That's not to say that Toronto is not a great metropolitan city. It is a fantastic city.

 

"Different is not bad. I'm different. That doesn't make me bad," he said.

 

Bosh also claimed his decision to leave Toronto was at the end of a long process and not something he had committed to before the offseason.

 

"Everybody thinks, 'Oh, he was gone as soon as the season was over,'" he said. "It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. As different as another country is, it was still home for me. I had been there for seven years."

 

 

Again, if you show me where he ripped the city and the organization, that's fine.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Flash

[crabbylion]

These three gentlemen are young entrepreneurs that embraces the fact that the league is just a corporation and they're the employees. The grunts that make the entire billion dollar operation run. They know that they want to financially set up their respective families for generations to come, but they want to leave a legacy and be mentioned in the same conversations as greats of decades ago. They're not "Bad Boys" in any context, they're the present day professional athletes.

Edited August 18, 2010 by crabbylion

[Real Deal]

That doesn't sound that bad to me...

Yeah, you could just smell the difference. I'm sure Toronto fans loved that comment. I go to Miami and just smell how different it is. Just don't want to be there, you know? Just smelling it makes me want to come to Kansas.

 

And I'll let the Raptors fans comment more on that and find the quote where he grabbed the front office by the throat.

[SRV]

Wade isn't a douche. He just played the recruiting game to perfection. Even though he probably was about to join the Bulls until Bosh saved the day.

 

Bosh played in Canada. I really can't say I have ever seen a Raptors game on ESPN or national TV, and when he played the Heat he was just alright. No one knows much about him so I can see why he is excited with this, he made a guest appearance on Entourage, you can't get that by playing in Toronto your whole life, and not many good players want to go play in Canada.

 

Lebron had a big time show and all that. Like I said before, that is 7 years of Cleveland feeding his ego, calling him the King. You guys have nothing to blame but yourselves, I never bought into that garbage from Lebron.

 

This is a time of media, guys back in the day couldn't do this because media was limited. Now you got facebook, twitter, youtube and so on. All of this builds into a players image now days, so they are getting absorbed into all this and they seem cocky because they are EVERYWHERE.

 

Sure the party might seem over the top, but they did it because they could. It was a big celebration for Heat fans, its something that people talked down on, saying it wasn't possible with the salary cap. Hell if I did something amazing, I would celebrate too. Once again, that was for media attention, giving people something to talk about. Building their image even more. It might come off wrong to some people, but for the people of Miami its great. I can't wait for the season to begin, and even if you hate them, you know you will be watching all their games.

[Built Ford Tough]

Bosh played in Canada. I really can't say I have ever seen a Raptors game on ESPN or national TV, and when he played the Heat he was just alright. No one knows much about him so I can see why he is excited with this, he made a guest appearance on Entourage, you can't get that by playing in Toronto your whole life, and not many good players want to go play in Canada.

 

The Raptors weren't on ESPN or National TV because for the large majority of Bosh's 7 years in Toronto, the team wasn't worth a damn. The Raptors had no problem getting on ESPN when Carter was at his best and the Raptors weren't consistently completely irrelavent in the East, like they have been for basically all of Bosh's 7 years, aside from the one season that they won the Atlantic Division.

 

Sure, the Raptors aren't exactly marketable in the US, partially because the American media looks down upon Canada, but how many terrible teams that don't have an exciting, budding superstar on them actually make regular apperances on National TV?

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but did Bosh not make the guest apperance on Entourage while still a member of the Raptors? I don't watch the show but they filmed the episode well before Bosh signed with the Heat considering he was talking about it on his Twitter account at the beginning of June? You can credit free agent hype if you want, but he didn't have that much hype surrounding his impending free agency at that point.

 

And somebody should tell Vince Carter that you can't become insanely popular in Toronto. It's not like he was the most popular player in the NBA during his peak and he was playing in Toronto. Leading the league in All-Star votes for something like 4 years straight, being pushed as arguably the face of the NBA for a few year stretch, being one of the most marketable athletes in all of sports.

 

I don't care that Bosh left. I am actually looking forward to seeing him play in Miami this upcoming season as I've always wanted to see him play alongside a legitimate franchise player. You can search my posts and you will see that I have said he was leaving for a while now and I even said it was in the best interest of both parties for the split, but acting like you are in a lose-lose situation or playing on "another planet" because you are in Toronto is what annoys me. Bosh wasn't as popular as the other stars in the league during his time in Toronto because of three things:

 

1) He simply isn't a superstar. He is an All-Star player, but clearly below the level of guys like LeBron, Kobe, Paul, Durant, Wade, Melo, Williams and Howard.

 

2) The Raptors sucked for the large majority of his time there.

 

3) His game simply isn't that marketable. His game is about mid range jumpers and isolations. He doesn't really do anything that appeals to the casual fan.

 

Combine those three things and it isn't exactly rocket science why Bosh wasn't hyped up around the NBA.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Built Ford Tough

[*Swish*]

Its all because of LeBron. Wade and Bosh would of been perfect and wouldnt of bother anyone except Heat haters.

 

F*** you LeBron.

 

 

(just realized how he was such a douche) he needs other stars to get him a ring....... I HOPE HE WONT GET ANY.

[Flash]

(just realized how he was such a douche) he needs other stars to get him a ring....... I HOPE HE WONT GET ANY.

 

Name 5 players who have won a ring by themselves without playing alongside another star..

Edited August 18, 2010 by Flash

[*Swish*]

Name 5 players who have won a ring by themselves without playing alongside another star..

joining two superstars is just an easy way to get a ring. At least he should of wait in Cleveland till they bring him a star to play with. thats why I dont blame Wade.

[Real Deal]

Name 5 players who have won a ring by themselves without playing alongside another star..

Star as in...another superstar?

 

Kobe, Wade, Duncan, Hakeem, Jordan.

[Hawks Fly High]

Name 5 players who have won a ring by themselves without playing alongside another star..

Well people do need stars but Lebron needing Wade is different becuase Wade isnt an average star. He is a superstar. On top of that he got another bery good All-Star. Thats why its a punk, cowardly move. If Lebron recruited Bosh it would have been just fine. Just like Kobe has Pau, and Jordan had Pippen.

[Flash]

Star as in...another superstar?

 

Kobe, Wade, Duncan, Hakeem, Jordan.

 

No not superstar. There's a difference between star and superstar. Superstars are guys like LBJ, Wade, Durant and Kobe. To me, stars is that second or third tier or guys like Bosh, Amare etc.

 

Kobe had Shaq and Pau. Wade had Shaq. Duncan had Robinson and then Parker/Ginobli. Hakeem had Drexler and MJ had Scottie.