It was as memorable an NBA Finals as you could ask for, with nearly every game decided in the final minutes.

Yet two days after the Dallas Mavericks captured the first championship in franchise history, all the talk isn’t about who won, but who lost.

Namely, LeBron James.

Ever since James and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami with Dwyane Wade, their every move has made NBA news headlines, been studied, scrutinized and dissected. The media did their best to turn the Heat into WWE-style heels, with several columnists openly rooting for their failure, as it would somehow validate purists who believe you can’t win an NBA championship with only three players.

But despite a rocky start, the Heat were right there near the top of the NBA standings at the end of the year, and made mincemeat of the 76ers, Celtics and Bulls on their way to the NBA finals. Suddenly The Decision, the welcome party they threw for themselves, and the talk of a dynasty all seemed on the verge of being forgiven. Only an old Mavs team many wrote off before the first round of the playoffs stood in the way of the Heat becoming maybe the most divisive champions the Association has ever seen.

Only the Mavs, or a bizarre disappearing act from the best basketball player on Earth.

LeBron looked good through the first three rounds of the playoffs, playing excellent defence while facilitating and scoring in equal measure on the other end. Wade and Bosh each carried the Heat offensively at times, but LeBron was their best all-around player.

But there he was after Game 3 of the Finals, sitting beside Wade for their usual tag-team press conference, deflecting questions about “shrinking,” not being a true superstar. And there he was two days later, scoring only eight points while a flu-ridden Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas to a dramatic late victory. Two days later he posted the least impressive playoff triple-double in history, faltering again in the fourth quarter of a crucial Game 5.

He put the finishing touches on his magnum opus of mediocrity in the deciding Game 6, deferring repeatedly to Wade and even Eddie House with the game on the line, unable to successfully post up J.J. Barea, who stands a full foot shorter than him. Overall, his scoring average in the Finals was eight points lower than it had been throughout the playoffs.

So while the media praised Nowitzki and the Mavs, a collection of ring-less veterans finally getting their due, the conversation very quickly moved back to LeBron.

What happened? Why did it happen? How could it happen?

Some took it as proof that Miami’s three-star, no-bench strategy defies the basketball gods and thus had to be stricken down.

Others took it as proof that LeBron lacks the make-up to be the generational icon he so desperately wants to be.

Sadly, what’s getting lost in all this conjecture is the good story – a team of past-their-prime role players came together for six weeks in the spring, played smart, team basketball, and won a championship, while Dirk Nowitzki solidified himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.

(Something LeBron still hasn’t done.)

For three or four years, discussion of the world’s best basketball player centred around Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Dwyane Wade might sneak into the conversation on occasion, but the NBA community basically fell into two camps – LeBron or Kobe.

In the last year or so, Kobe has started to decline while LeBron has only improved, clearly establishing himself as the league’s premier superstar.

Unfortunately for King James, a new challenger for the title emerged this season. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, in only his third season, became the youngest ever player to win the NBA’s MVP award, leading Chicago to the top of the NBA standings and setting up a showdown with LeBron and Wade’s Miami Heat.

Rose’s rapid ascent has suddenly injected him into the best-player-alive discussion, one which the Eastern Conference Finals should provide plenty of fodder for.

Let’s take a look at how the two stack up.

Offense

Rose: Rose entered the league as one of the most athletically gifted point guards in years. He will casually probe the perimeter of the defence before taking off into the lane in the blink of an eye. He might have the quickest first step in the league, going from a stand-still to full speed before his defender can even react. That initial burst is compounded by a vicious crossover dribble that looks simple but drops defender after defender on their ass. He’s also a strong finisher with great touch on his floaters, and rivals Dwyane Wade in his ability to convert circus shots while being fouled.

Thanks to his athleticism, Rose scores at will. But he’s also an adept passer, ranking in the top 10 in assists despite a limited supporting cast.

His only weakness on offense is the limited range on his jump shot. He’s money from 18 feet, but his three-point stroke, while significantly improved

in 2011, still needs work.

LeBron: Despite their different positions, LeBron’s offensive strengths parallel Rose’s. Incredibly big for his position, and quick for his size, LBJ can effortlessly blow by anyone in the league, and is impossible to stop once he gets into the lane. He possesses incredible court vision and can make passes from anywhere, to anywhere. His mid-range game isn’t quite as steady as Rose’s, and shoots about as well from three.

Defence/Rebounding

Rose: Despite his size and athleticism, Rose isn’t the on-ball defender one might expect him to be. Under D-crazy head coach Tom Thibodeau, he’s improving, but he has the skill to be a lockdown guy on the perimeter and just isn’t there yet. He is a very good rebounder for a point guard, though, and can contest and block shots in transition with his incredible leaping ability.

LeBron: It took a few years, but James has emerged as the versatile, shutdown defender his size, strength, and awareness allows him to be. Able to share the offensive load with Wade, he’s been able to concentrate more on D without burning out. He can block shots, rebound, and play on- or off-ball defence exceptionally well.

Intangibles

Rose: In his first two seasons, the Bulls young guard didn’t display a fiery star mentality. He competed hard, but seemed like more of the strong, silent type. In 2010-11, however, he took over a team on the verge of contention, developed one of the best “f-you” sneers in the Association, and played harder than just about anybody. Overnight he has turned into one of the best leaders in basketball, far more concerned with winning than maximizing his endorsement deals.

LeBron: The “Global Icon” shunned his home state and sullied his legacy so he could hang out on the beach and play basketball with his buddies.

Overall – LeBron James

The two nearly cancel each other out on offense, both capable of carrying a team by themselves. Rose plays with an infectious intensity and enthusiasm, while LeBron coasts occasionally, but The King’s dominance at both ends of the floor allows him to keep the title of best basketball player alive. Rose was the most valuable, it may sound like a betonline com scam, but LeBron is still the best.

Despite making a WWE-style “heel” turn by taking his talents to South Beach, LeBron James’s star has only gotten brighter this year. Earlier this month, it was announced that sales of his No. 6 Miami Heat jersey surpassed even those of Kobe Bryant, who for years reigned supreme in the NBA’s merchandise wars.

So The King now reigns supreme at Foot Locker, but is he better on the court than future Hall-of-Famer and five-time NBA champion Bryant?

Let’s take a quick look at how they match up.

Shooting

For years, Kobe has been one of the best mid-range shooters in basketball. No wing player is better at creating his own shot and converting baskets with multiple defenders in his face. Watch his conference finals performance against the Suns last year to witness a dazzling array of step-backs, pull-ups, and turn-arounds. As age and injuries reduce his explosiveness, he’s come to rely more and more on that deft shooting touch to get his scores.

LeBron’s jumper, on the other hand, is only slightly better than it was when he entered the league. It’s good enough that he has to be guarded fairly closely out to the three-point line, but it’s not exactly a weapon.

Edge: Kobe

Athleticism

This one’s not close, which isn’t meant as a dig on Kobe. LeBron is simply a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, built like a defensive end with the speed of a cornerback. He can alternately overpower, run past, or jump over just about any defender. In his prime, Kobe was as explosive as any wing player in the league, but these days he relies on his incredible skill set and finesse to get his points.

Edge: LeBron

Passing/Ballhandling

Like Magic Johnson 20 years ago, LeBron is a point guard in a forward’s body. With remarkable court vision and great hands, he’s capable of highlight-reel passes both in transition and in half-court sets. He’s not going to cross up too many defenders, but doesn’t really need to. His first step is so quick he’s past his man and inches from a dunk before they can even react.

Kobe, on the other hand, is a bit more of a ballhog, preferring to break down his defender and find his own shot. He handles the ball well, and can certainly pass when he needs to, but it isn’t the main focus of his game.

Edge: LeBron

Defense

As his eight first-team All-Defense selections would attest, Kobe is a ferocious on-the-ball defender capable of shutting down a team’s best wing player, even switching on to quicker point guards when need be. He’s also a willing team defender, drifting over to offer weak-side help when required.

LeBron isn’t quite the man-to-man defender Kobe is from game-to-game, but has a tendency to step up his intensity on that end in bigger games and when matched up against other star players. He has the size and athleticism to guard just about anybody, making him extremely useful in managing match-ups. His greatest strength on D is his shot-blocking, particularly his knack for flying in to block shots when his opponents are running in transition.

Edge: Kobe (though it’s getting closer)

Intangibles

Kobe isn’t exactly the most likable guy, with his habits of calling out teammates, demanding the ball, and generally acting surly on and off the court. But the fact remains that he’s as fiery a competitor as the sport has seen since Jordan, a maniacal hard worker with an undying will to win.

LeBron, on the other hand, wants to be a “Global Icon”, and seems to consider hanging with his pals at South Beach to be just as important as working on his game. Kobe seems to add a new element to his game every year; LeBron still has no post game and his jumper still kind of sucks.

Edge: Kobe

Overall

A couple of years ago, before a decade of playoff runs, grueling regular seasons, and international ball robbed him of his elite athleticism, Kobe was still the best wing player in basketball. But at this stage of his career he’s more of a crafty veteran scorer than a dominant offensive player – and he’s still prone to stopping the ball and taking questionable shots.

LeBron is the best athlete in the world and has translated that into absolute dominance at both ends of the floor, and at 26 is just entering his prime. The King has the crown.

Edge: LeBron

While Super Bowl betting players will be busy this weekend with playoff action, there are a couple of NBA betting matchups to keep an eye on in your online sportsbook.

Heat Bulls Betting – Saturday, 8:00 PM ET

The Bulls should be home favorites in this clash, as they’re 17-3 SU and 12-7-1 ATS at the United Center this season, and they could even face the Heat without LeBron James, who missed Thursday’s loss at Denver with an ankle injury. Miami is 2-3 SU and ATS in their last five trips to Chicago, but you may not want to put much stock in that as the Heat are obviously a different team now. Chicago is 8-3 SU on the season in the second half of back-to-back games, so Friday night’s game in Indiana may not be a big deal.

Lakers Clippers Betting – Sunday, 3:30 PM ET

The Lakers will be favored “on the road” on Sunday afternoon, but even though they also play in the Staples Center, they’re 2-3 SU in their last five against the Clippers as the road team, while coming in 5-0 SU in their last five as the home team when facing their city rivals. The Lakers are still 4-1 ATS as a visitor at the Staples Center, and they pulled out a one-point win back in November. The Clippers are no longer a team you can just steamroll with Blake Griffin in the lineup, but the Lakers are still the team to beat when you’re betting online.

Carmelo Anthony is being booed by fans in Denver who for seven years have cheered and supported the star forward. The feeling is new for Anthony, who has exhibited nothing but hard work and dedication throughout his tenure as the Nuggets’ premier player, but surely he understands why the crowd has turned. Since the summer, when his friends LeBron James and Dwyane Wade teamed up in Miami, rumors have swirled regarding Anthony’s desire to depart Denver, who are mired in the middle of the NBA pack, for a team with the potential to contend, preferably a big market in which his wife LaLa could enhance her career as a television personality. At the couple’s wedding in August, New Orleans’ star point guard Chris Paul suggested in a toast that Anthony might join him and Amare Stoudemire in New York, which would please all sides except, of course, the Nuggets. As the season goes on and the Nuggets’ $65 million contract extension gets colder on the table in front of Carmelo, a trade becomes more likely, but in the tangled world of the NBA, nothing is certain.

Anthony, a 6’8 frontcourt player who scores at will, is set to become a free agent at season’s end which would give him the opportunity to chose his favourite destination, however, at this point a league lockout looms due to a collective bargaining dispute between the owners and the players’ union. The lockout and subsequent new CBA would almost certainly limit players’ salaries and Anthony could be in for a huge pay cut if he fails to sign an extension this year. The Nuggets have offered such an extension but Carmelo has declined to sign, holding out hope that a move to New York is in the works. The Knicks have had conversations with Denver but have been unable to come as close to a deal as their cross-river rivals, the New Jersey Nets have. The Nets have been rumored to be part of two separate multi-team deals this year, the latest of which is reported to land New Jersey, along with Anthony, the backcourt of the 2004 championship Detroit Pistons; Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton. New Jersey has the combination of draft picks and young players in guard Devin Harris and forward Derrick Favors to pry ‘Melo away from Denver but their constant leaks to the media have irked the Nuggets’ brass.

The Nets’ new owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has stated clearly that he wants to put a winning team on the floor, especially in time for the team’s prospective move to Brooklyn for the 2011-12 season. That move to New York City is a selling point for Anthony to accept the trade to the Nets and sign an extension, especially if he is joined by his current teammate Billups and Hamilton, who has been an All-Star in seasons past. It appears as if Anthony is holding out hope to be traded to the Knicks, who would embrace the forward’s East Coast style of high post scoring, and the Nuggets might help him get there. After the most recent trade talks were leaked to the media this weekend, it has been suggested that Denver might trade Anthony to the Knicks out of spite for the Nets. On Sunday Anthony shot 3-11 from the field against Paul and the Hornets in a game on the NBA schedule in which the Nuggets looked disheartened and lazy. The Anthony rumors have deeply affected the team as they continue to slide down the NBA standings. After the game Anthony was asked if he believed he had just played his last game as a Nugget. The former Syracuse star replied: “No, not at all”. It might not have been his last, but the clock is ticking while the Big Apple holds its breath.

Since NBA betting season is upon us, and the preseason is underway, we’re going to look at…..a feud between LeBron James and a football player.

James has been busy over the summer, pushing his documentary “More Than A Game” (shouldn’t you win a title first before making a documentary?) and making a guest appearance on “Entourage” (which was understated and funny). But he also found time to get into a little trouble, indirectly. Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Braylon Edwards is being accused of punching James’ friend at a nightclub, and James called Edwards “childish”, stating that Edwards must be jealous of him and his friends.

Shoot, why wouldn’t he? Edwards plays for a team that you couldn’t pay people to bet on in your offshore sportsbook. James has great hands, Edwards drops more than he catches. Edwards doesn’t have a movie out. It would be funny to see Edwards and James fight, although I’m betting management of the Cavs fail to see the humor in it.

Nothing will happen here, and everything will be fine….except for Edwards, who continues to be a part of a squad whose Super Bowl odds were flushed before they started.

The season is almost over, and it’s almost playoff time, but NBA betting players still have some player props to bet on, such as the MVP award. Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant won it last year, and he’s earned consideration this year, but there’s only one winner, and that is……

LeBron James have simply been the best player on the best team in the league, and since that seems to be the way the MVP is decided, he has to win (how the MVP is decided is a whole ‘nother blog post). James is second in the league in scoring, he’s shot career bests from the free-throw and three-point line, he’s become a much better defensive player, and he’s more forceful at the end of games, which is something we’ve been waiting for since his 30-point second-half outburst against Detroit in the playoffs a couple seasons back. You could make a strong NBA betting case for Dwayne Wade, who leads the league in scoring and has carried Miami to a No.5 seed on his back, and Bryant has been the straw that stirs the Lakers, the best team in the West. But when NBA betting players go to make their choice for MVP, they have to go with Lebron James. Give the “King” his crown.

Shawn Marion made his Toronto debut last night, and while the NBA betting odds have not improved for the Raptors, “The Matrix” has shown that he can make Toronto a much better team.

Marion had the impossible task of guarding Lebron James in his first game as a Raptor, and although Toronto lost 93-76, Marion didn’t make it easy on “King James”. It was a battle that UFC betting fans would be proud of, and even though James almost had a triple-double with 20 points, nine boards and nine assists, Marion was in his face the entire game. Offensively, Marion had 10 points, along with six assists and six boards as he was trying to get used to his new team. He also looked eager to run, and the Raptors will have to do a better job of breaking out to utilize Marion’s talents.

…LeBron James?

Roy’s first love is basketball, but he’s a fan of all sports, so you can guarantee that I’ll be getting in on some Super Bowl XLIII betting action. This commercial ties it all in together quite nicely.

Wow. LeBron would put the Browns in the Super Bowl betting conversation instantly, and I’m willing to bet that he’d drop less passes than Braylon Edwards.

Monday night, the NBA and online betting communities should be up in arms as Cleveland heads to Los Angeles for a meeting with the Lakers, but let’s be real: there are 24 players on both teams, yet there are only two to worry about. Reigning MVP Kobe Bryant tries to lift his team out of a two-game losing skid against the man most are picking to succeed Bryant, LeBron James. This is the first time these two megastars have been on the same court since leading the USA to a gold medal in Beijing last summer.

These two stars went head-to-head twice last year, with Cleveland winning both games to extend its streak to five victories in a row over the Lakers. Bryant had 27.0 points, 8.5 boards and 5.5 assists, while James was a beast, putting up 37.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in this all-world showdown.

With both of these teams favored by sportsbook odds to reach the NBA Finals, this monster matchup gets even bigger each time Bryant and James lead their teams into battle. NBA lines have the Lakers as 5-point favorites at home tonight.

PICK: Bean to end the Cavs’ strange and recent domination of the Lakers.