LeBron may never be loved in Cleveand again, but who said the rest of the world couldn't jump back on the LeBron James bandwagon?

LeBron James is a villain. Everyone hates everything he does. So how is he supposed to become a hero? That is the question I have been thinking about.

LeBron is a lot like Kobe Bryant. Kobe is loved and hated… no in between. Kobe is also said to be great and bad in crunch time. Same with LeBron. LeBron needs to change if he is going to make NBA fans love him again.

So far LeBron has done a great job at keeping in the shadows this summer. But LeBron will have to come out once the NBA lockout is over. When he does, LeBron needs to show everyone he wants towin a ring for the Heat more than himself. LeBron should go out on the court every night and take over the game, unlike what anyone did last year. The Heat need to become HIS team.

LeBron should show us that he is the most hungry player in the NBA. He needs to show he is mature enough to take the Heat to any city, and take over every game. LeBron could do so much with all the teams role players, but he would need to use the time he could use to make himself better to make his teammates better.

Miami has the big three so they need to work together like the 08 Celtics. LeBron would be the Heat’s Paul Pierce. LeBron is a great player, he just needs to step up and become the leader, and maybe, if he does all that, he can gain his fans back.

Would getting rid of a few teams help the NBA?

Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas, New York, Boston, etc. The good teams. Cleveland, Minnesota, Sacramento, Charlotte, Detroit, Milwaukee, etc. The bad teams. New Orleans, Houston, Indiana, Memphis, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia, etc. Somewhere in the middle.

The NBA is broken up into three different sections. The sections aren’t official, but they are very, very real.

The good teams are the teams that make it to the playoffs with a good seed year, after year, after year. The teams in the middle are the mediocre teams that may or may not make the playoffs, and are not championship contenders. The bad teams are the teams that have no chance at the playoffs, and they are looking for a higher draft pick.

The NBA is a great league, don’t get me wrong, but, obviously it has it’s problems, as does any business. But one problem with the NBA is that it has too many good and bad teams.

I may sound crazy right now, but I am about to explain what I mean.

The good teams have a lot of star players. Miami has Bosh, James and Wade. Boston has Allen, Garnett and Pierce. New York has Anthony, Billups and Stoudamire.

The bad teams don’t usually have an all-star on their roster. Minnesota has Kevin Love, okay, but Cleveland has… Antwan Jamison and Kyrie Irving. Charlotte has Kemba Walker. The Kings, Tyreke Evans. See what I mean?

The NBA would be so much better if their were more teams that could contend and less teams that might be good in ten years. So, what could the NBA do?

If the NBA cut ten teams (five in each conference) good players on bad teams could go play for better teams and make new teams contenders. Imagine if Philly had Kevin Love and Iggy. Or if Orlando got Deron Williams. Or if Houston got Tyreke Evans. The NBA would be THAT much better.

The Houston Rockets are one of those teams that could be great, but they need that push. If Houston got a star that a bad team has, the Rockets might be able to win a ring. All they need is a star, and Kevin Love or John Wall have what the Rockets need.

But, fans would get angry. Sacramento is about to move and Kings fans are devastated. Could David Stern get rid of ten teams without upsetting fans too much?No. But it would be better in the long run.

I don’t want to upset Cavaliers fans, but let’s face it, Cleveland sports suck. They could be good, but the Cavs had their chance when they had LeBron, and they had their chance in the 90′s when they had Mark Price and Brad Daughtery.

Stern could move teams like Cleveland who don’t have a good history. Detroit couldn’t be moved because of their deep history, but the Timberwolves never won a ring, they haven’t  even made a finals appearance.

If the NBA did something this big it would be a lot of hard work, but it would be worth it (even if it did upset a few fans).

Jason Terry should be the starting shooting guard for the Mavericks. I didn't work too hard on this article but I wanted to post something, enjoy.

He sat in a tattoo parlor ready to get his newest tattoo. Hoping, that maybe it could give his team some good luck. And it did.

Standing at 6’2” Jason “the Jet” Terry is short for his position. But that doesn’t keep him from playing shooting guard in the NBA, even though he has to guard Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.

Anyway, Jason Terry is a very talented player, and, yet, he still plays sixth man for the Dallas Mavericks. Why?

Terry has been with Dallas for seven years and was there when they lost in 06. He saved Dallas in game six of last year’s finals. Even when Dirk couldn’t hit a shot he made sure Dallas didn’t fall into a hole, kinda like Ron Artest in game seven of the 2010 finals. Huh.

Well, Rick Carlisle has Terry as a sixth man even though he is the second or third best player on the team. J.J. Barea who isn’t even six feet tall was starting at shooting guard for the latter part of the finals. Why not Terry?

Unlike most coaches Rick Carlisle is willing to change his roster and move different players to the starting line-up in order to win, and that is exactly what Terry can do. They have nothing to lose, they just won a ring and thet aren’t looking like favorites to repeat so now are they supposed to get Caron Butler re-signed and start him and Shawn Marion? They probably will, but that is the wrong choice.

I’m not saying they shouldn’t re-sign Butler, but Terry is the most experienced player they could start at shooting guard. He won a ring and is a veteran. He can guard Kobe and D-Wade, and score against anybody. He intimidates people, he talks trash, he’s loud when he plays well. Barea is humble and not as talented, Butler may be better but he is a three, not a two.

Dallas should have Jason Kidd and Rodrigue Beaubois at point, Terry and Rudy Fernandez at the two, Butler and Marion at the three, Dirk and Brian Cardinal at the four and Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood at the five. That is a good team, and that doesn’t leave Corey Brewer, Jason Terry and Rudy Fernandez all fighting for playing time. But, hey, I’m not Rick Carlisle. but if I were I assure you, Jason Terry would not be sitting on the bench for the tip-0ff.

Could the Portland Trailblazers be the next L.A. Lakers? Maybe, just maybe.

Most of the good teams in the NBA Western Conference are old teams. the Lakers, Mavericks and Spurs were the top three seeds in last years playoffs. All three teams are old.

Many younger teams will begin to get into the playoff mix, most of them are not that great yet, but teams like Memphis, Houston, the L.A. Clippers and the Warriors are just a few of the teams I think could be serious contenders in a few years. And we cannot forget the Thunder.

But I see one NBA team that could be just like the Lakers of the past few years. The Portland Trailblazers.

Portland is a good city that players could be attracted to and they have a strong fan base. In fact, the Mavericks lost two of the three post-season games in the Rose Garden.

At point guard the Trailblazers got rid of their Derrick Fisher (Andre Miller) and got someone younger and better. Raymond Felton.

The Lakers needed more talent at point guard but now Portland doesn’t need that as much. Felton is a very talented player who has played on many teams and been in many different locker rooms. He is an upgrade from veteran Andre Miller.

Portland also has their Kobe in Brandon Roy. Okay, so Brandon Roy isn’t exactly Kobe Bryant, but that is his team, and he doesn’t want anybody taking the role of leader.

For example, when Portland was down 2 games to 1 in game four, they went into the fourth quarter with an 18 point deficit. Well, Brandon Roy led the team scoring 18 of the team’s 35 fourth quarter points, and the Trailblazers won the game 84-82.

The Lakers have Ron Artest who may be their best defensive player. He also came out huge offensively in the 2009-10 NBA playoffs. He hit a game winning buzzer beater against the Phoenix Suns which changed the momentum of the series. And then came out big in game seven of the NBA finals when Kobe couldn’t.

Gerald Wallace is Portland’s Ron Artest. Wallace is the team’s best defender and can have huge games like Artest can.

Pau Gasol is L.A.’s power forward who is good on both sides of the ball but not as strong as big man like Kevin Garnett and Blake Griffin. LaMarcus Aldridge is a pretty good player on both sides of the ball but not the strongest big man either. He is big and tall like Gasol, and maybe a future all-star, but not the best power forward in the NBA.

The Greg Oden, Andrew Bynum comparison kind of scares me. Both players are injury prone, but are very good when healthy. But you want to hear something REALLY SCARY? Both men are 7’0” 285 lb. No joke. And they are not even a year apart in age!

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, both teams have a great coach. The Lakers had (keyword, had) Phil Jackson and Portland has one of the best coaches in the NBA. Nate McMillan.

As for their benches Portland could use work. Their Lamar Odom is Marcus Camby.See what I mean?

Portland also needs one thing to be championship contenders in a few years. The same thing that keeps Chicago and OKC from getting rings. They need a veteran.

I don’t mean just any veteran. I mean a veteran who has been to the finals. Dallas has Dirk and Kidd. L.A. has Kobe, and Boston had three superstars and a great coach.

I don’t see Portland getting three superstars so they might need a veteran who has been to the finals.

Who will represent the East in the NBA finals?

The NBA playoffs are my favorite time of year. Players like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James go off and it is impossible to stop them. Derrick Rose has led the Bulls to a 3-0 series despite being down in the fourth quarter in all three games.

As for the Miami Heat, all of the stars have been important to take a 3-0 lead over Philly.

Boston leads New York 2-0, but if some of the bad calls in game one were erased and Stoudamire hadn’t been injured in game two the Knicks could be leading the series 2-0.

Orlando and Atlanta are tied at a game a piece. Dwight Howard has done everything he can to help the Orlando Magic win, but it has not been happening.

The series will end up like this:Chicago 4 Indiana 0, Miami 4 Philadelphia 0, Boston 4 New York 1, Orlando 4 Atlanta 3.

The second round will have a rested Bulls team taking on a fatigue hurt Magic team. Orlando is not strong enough to win the series.

Dwight Howard can stop Boozer or Noah, but Brandon Bass cannot hold them. Derrick Rose will not hit all those lay-ups, but he will continue to play like the MVP. Orlando’s supporting cast has not been playing well against Atlanta so they will rely on Dwight Howard too much.

You could say the same about Chicago, but they are able to make comebacks. Rose is unstoppable, Korver can hit a few shots and Boozer will have up and down nights. Chicago 4 Orlando 2

No.2 Heat vs. No.3 Celtics

The Celtics won the regular season series 3-1. But this isn’t the regular season.

Miami has been playing good basketball against Philly, no, tremendous basketball. Boston, meh.

The Celtics are playing New York, they barely won two home games against them. Bad calls, lucky shots, Knicks injuries. Boston is… too old.

As for the Heat, the Big three have been on fire and other players have been helping, nothing great, but Miami went into Philadelphia last night with a 2-0 lead, momentum, and Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

I have not watched every Heat playoff game but I know they have been playing better basketball than the Boston Celtics. And that will continue to happen. Miami 4 Boston 3.

No.1 Bulls vs. No.2 Heat

D-Rose vs. D-Wade. Luol Deng vs. Lebron James. Carlos Boozer vs. Chris Bosh. AMAZING. The amazing thing about this, this is the SECOND best series in the east. Second. The Heat just beat Boston, next up, Chicago.

There will be swearing, pushing, yelling. But most importantly, there will be winning. One game after another, traveling between cities. Lebron and Wade trying to go back to the finals, Bosh and Rose trying to get rings. I having nothing else to say about this series except for this. Miami 4 Chicago 2

Now that the playoffs are underway, I think I should make my predictions for who is going all the way.

No.1 Spurs vs. No.8 Grizzlies

The Spurs have a big three consisting of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. They have one of the NBA’s top coaches and a strong supporting cast. If this were a movie, the Spurs would have won the Oscar for best picture. But it isn’t and it is playoff time.

Ginobili is hurt but the Memphis Grizzlies are not a very big threat to the Spurs. Even if Ginobili is hurt. Spurs in five.

No.2 Lakers vs. No.7 Hornets

Chris Paul is not enough. He needed David West to get two wins in this series, but he doesn’t even have him. Kobe Bryant will stop Paul and Pau and Odom will shut down the paint. Lakers in four.

No.3 Mavericks vs. No.6 Trailblazers

I know, the series is allready one game in, but that doesn’t matter. Dirk and Kidd may have led the Mavs to a comeback victory in game one, but they are not the Bulls.

The Trailblazers have their big three and they want to get to the second round. The Mavericks always choke. Blazers in 7.

No.4 Thunder vs. No.5 Nuggets

A lot of people like the Nuggets. Why? Is it because they won a bunch of games after the Carmelo trade? Yes. The playoffs are not the regular season.

The Thunder took last years champs to six games in last years playoffs. Durant didn’t win the MVP, but he is still the star of the team, and Westbrook should have gotten more love for Most Improved Player. The Nuggets are the most overrated team in the NBA.

Thunder in six.

No.1 Spurs vs. No.4 Thunder

The Thunder are not championship contenders. No, not yet. This year the playoffs consist of the Spurs, the Lakers, the Bulls, the Heat, the Celtics, etc. But the Thunder are a team who can make a run in the playoffs, but not against the Spurs.

This match-up would have Duncan, Ginobili and Parker take on Durant, Harden and Westbrook. When we compare the two benches, the Thunder look like they deserve the number one pick in the draft compared to San Antonio. Coaches? Popovich.

This match-up goes to the San Antonio Spurs, though it takes them six games to do it.

No.2 Lakers vs. No.6 Trailblazers

Kobe vs. Brandon Roy! Gerald Wallace on Ron Artest! Lamarcus Albridge on Pau Gasol! BEST SERIES EVER! Okay, maybe not, but it will be pretty fun to watch.

The coaches would be fighting a mental game while the players play. The comments players say would get hefty fines, this would become a rivalry. Can you imagine a second-round series that exciting? It would be BETTER than the Bulls and the Celtics two years ago. Maybe.

The winner of this series would have no energy left, but it would have been worth is. The team that plays better under pressure and better defense wins this series. L.A. in seven.

No.1 Spurs vs. No.2 Lakers

A few months ago, I might have picked the Spurs, now, it’s a lot tougher.

The two teams are very evenly well matched. Picking this match-up does not have to do with the on court battles. No, I decided this series simply by looking at two things.

Reason One:The Spurs always choke. Yeah, yeah, they have four banners, three of which they received in this century, but ever since the 2007 championship, San Antonio has not been back in the NBA finals. The closest they got was the five game conference finals series against the Lakers in 2008.

Reason Two:Kobe is the best post-season player currently in the league. He gets so prepared and refuses to lose. Last season Chris Rock was trying to talk to him as he sat on the bench in the finals. Kobe ignored him.

It may not be too convincing but it’s the best I could get. Also, San Antonio has not beaten the Lakers in the playoffs since 2003. Lakers in seven.