James named MVP for third time: Prior to Sunday’s Game 1 win over the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Heat forward LeBron James was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, his third time in four years winning the award. James was given the award after average 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game in the regular season, and then he went out and dropped 32 points, 15 rebounds and five assists on the Pacers to lead the Heat to a 95-86 victory. (Updated 05/13/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/21/12).
Fantasy Analysis
There was not much suspense in the unveiling of the award, as James had arguably the best overall season of his career. He shot a career-high 53.1 percent from the field, and lead the Heat to the second best record in the Eastern Conference. The Heat has a 1-0 series lead in the Second Round, as they attempt to get back to the NBA finals for the second year in a row. James has continued his strong play into the postseason and should be considered a must-start Fantasy option in all playoff formats. (Updated 05/13/2012).
05/21/2012 02:33 Report Card 5.20.12: Heat pull even; Spurs advance
Each night, Eye on Basketball brings you what you need to know about the games of the NBA. From great performances to terrible clock management the report card evaluates and eviscerates the good, the bad, and the ugly from the night that was.
05/20/2012 20:01 LeBron James' ridiculous Game 4
LeBron James finished with 40 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks in Game 4.
05/20/2012 18:39 LeBron, Wade shine; Heat even series
LeBron James scored 40 points, superstar sidekick Dwyane Wade added 30 - 22 in the second half - and Miami's dynamic duo took over after halftime to bring the Heat even the series with a 101-93 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal Sunday.
After a whirlwind first season with the Heat for LeBron James, Fantasy owners can go into the 2011-12 season much more confident in him than they did last fall. A fear of the unknown temporarily knocked King James off his perch as the consensus No. 1 overall choice in Fantasy going into his first season on South Beach. After all, it would be LeBron's first season having to share the limelight (and the ball) with
the likes of stars like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But LeBron went on to address those concerns and proved that he remains the cream of the crop in Fantasy hoops. We now know, as anticipated, that there will indeed be a drop in scoring as part of joining up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, but the fall in scoring was not as dramatic as feared (29.7 ppg in 2009-10 to 26.7 ppg in 2010-11) and there still remains a considerable gap between him and the next tier of elite players. That gap closed some last season, but it remained as he averaged seven assists and seven rebounds for the fourth
consecutive year and maintained practically the same level of production across the stat line that he has enjoyed throughout his career. The result was LeBron outscoring all others in Head-to-Head points for a fourth consecutive season. We suspect he will make it five consecutive years this season and fully
endorse him as the top overall pick in Fantasy hoops, regardless of format. (Updated 8/23/11)
